ROUTE: Started at P18 and did pretty much all of 44 then crossed Hawthorne and did almost all of 45 and what the tree markers call 46. Overall the route was high on the chocolate and cheese ball calorie consumption scale: a good workout of pretty good length.

CLASSIC: The tracks on 44 are skied in and quite good for the most part. Some people are walking on the ski tracks but overall they are consistent. There is a lot of trail trash (leaves, needles and sticks etc.) some of which gets lodged in your ski wax. Trail 45 has been track set and it is really quite good, with the exception of some trail trash. If you want to ski only on track set trails, use P19 on Leitrim.

TRAFFIC: There were a couple of cars at 9AM and about 6 cars at 10:30.

WEATHER: It is still cold but with layers and a good hat and mitts it really is quite comfortable. I wore long johns, running pants and two upper layers with my thin running coat and I was actually sweating a bit at the end. My toes were a bit cold but nothing horrible. Take a chance on a cold day like this and you may be surprised how comfortable it is.