Today was truly a five star day.

ROUTE: From P7 up 30 to Ridge (1) over tot he Fortune Lake Parkway, up to Etienne Brule and back the same way except for an unfortunate jaunt down 31.

CLASSIC: Fantastic conditions on 1. The tracks were solid and quite fast and the trail was well-groomed. There is a intermittent debris pretty much everywhere but worst in the heavily wooded areas, of course. The Parkways grooming was mediocre and very slow for some reason, probably because there is more direct sunlight up there. The tracks were breaking down and nowhere near as good as on Ridge. Due to a number of falls I was very wary of the quick, very steep turn from 30 to 1 on the way back. Instead we screwed up and went down 31 which was much more steep. Despite the snow it is way too tough a downhill slide for a chicken like me.

SKATE: Everywhere looked great to me. The grooming was excellent, the snow had settled in since yesterday and it looked like there was enough snow for good control.

TRAFFIC: P7 was crowded but there were several spots open on the way in and the way out. There were lots of people out today but there was no congestion anywhere.