Aitkin got a light 5" of dry snow. I was able to pack most of the trails with the Piston Bully. Grooming went fairly well for how dry the snow was, all trails that are available have been groomed. Leaves are starting to show on some south facing slopes.

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(Brad Krause)

Groomed all of No Achen today. Snow was a very dry and fluffy 4 inches. Snow did not really add to base but I was able to mix it into the base to make a better skate lane base. Groomer did not like blending the two passes on the downhills, especially on the Black bear loop. The creek on the west side of the Lily lake loop is now frozen but there is not enough snow to groom over it, some rocks are still showing. I adjusted the track setter to the outside third of the skate lane to give everyone some more room. I'm off to ABR this week to get some ideas of new equipment and better grooming options.

(Brad Krause)

Groomed the outer loop of trails on Monday. I used the teeth to try and break up the ice. Snow did not pack very well and is very dry. The drag has a mind of its own when the teeth are down so I did my best to keep it going straight down the trail. On the West end of the Lily Lake Loop the creak at the bottom of the hill has opened up and has flowing water/rocks showing so use caution. I was able to open up the far west loop (Blue Lake Loop) that has been closed for a few years. I was not able to brush the whole blue lake loop. A small segment has raspberries sticking through roughly a 1/3 of a mile (classic skiing).

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(Brad Krause)

Good training run on skate track. A little rough and soft in spots. But snow is deep and held up really well to warm afternoon. Extra thanks to Aitkin County staff for all the brushing work. Overall a great night. Additional grooming runs will only make it better. Thanks Brad.

(Brian Leitinger)

Overall...OK. Thanks to Brad for grooming and his "first run" explanation. Thanks to Aitkin County and the private land owners for the opportunity! Many sections of the classic track were set too close the the edge and sometimes in the underbrush making it difficult and maybe a little dangerous for classic skiers. I'll look forward to next time!

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(Dave Sadlowsky)

Good base of 16" of snow packed last Friday. Trails groomed for classic and skate skiing today. Base is 4-6" everywhere I checked. This is my first time running the grooming equipment so trails should only be better each time they are groomed. Parking lot is located at trail head this year; just follow the plowed trail through the gate.

(Brad Krause)