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[RC] Pine Tree trail notes - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Kathy Brunjes brunjesk@xxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== Because so many people have asked, here are the "vital statistics" on the trail loops and holds for the Pine Tree 30/50/100 in North Waterford, ME Loop 1 - 14 miles with 30 minute hold away from camp....trails mostly wood trails/logging trails with dirt roads and pipeline (including river crossing on the pipeline) Loop 2 - 15 miles with 40 minute hold away from camp (same location as loop 1 hold)...trails mostly pipeline, woods trails and dirt roads, one section of tarred road about 1 mile in length (included going through the middle of my riding instructor's establishment - behind the indoor arena and past her outdoor dressage ring and across her pastures!) Loop 3 - 15 miles with 50 minute hold back at camp....back onto pipeline and through apple orchards and dirt roads/camp roads....through the middle of a bird hunting establishment with absolutely spectacular views of mountains and country side and through a couple of gravel pits Loop 4 - the kicker loop - 23 miles with 60 minute hold back at camp - into the sandy part of the ride and dirt roads, woods trails and (my favorite - I always beg Tom to include this section in the ride - NOT! NOT NOT!!)across a rocky bony section we call the "quartz trail" due to the pink quartz I found and took back to my rock garden (back in the days when I had time for a garden) - this loop is always in the heat of the day, and with the heat this year, it was really brutal in the woods...so closed in with no air flowing anywhere... Loop 5 - 15 miles with a 50 minute hold back at camp...this loop has the most tarred road on it...then into woods trails and back through the game bird establishment, where the owner of the property had water hoses set up for us and was filling out water bottles for us...he actually shuts down his establishment for us, which is a really big deal - then back through the gravel pits and into woods trails to base camp Loop 6 - 9 miles with a 30 minute hold back at camp...all woods and gravel roads...bony and rocky gravel roads...this is the trail we call the "hand in the rock" road..because some ingenious snow-mobiler carved an outline of his glove into a big boulder at the top of the trail...some people have a lot of time on their hands (no pun intended) Loop 7 is a repeat of loop 6, 9 miles into the finish...and the trail doesn't get any less bonier or rockier (!)in the dark... Glow sticks are put up for loop 5,6,7 all holds had 10 minutes added to the originally posted times, due to the heat conditions. due to a really cold wet spring, there was plenty of natural water on the trails, with streams and river crossings - all loops, excluding loops 6 & 7, had two fly-by crew stops for crewing horses spaced about evenly apart...which made it very nice to go just 5 or 6 miles before you saw your crew for more water. On loop 4, we saw our crews twice at the same location - 8 miles out, then we did a 5 mile loop back into the same fly-by location, then the dreaded quartz trail back into camp (10 miles) Hope this trail description and hold information is what people were looking for.... Kathy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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