Trails Closed.

The pictures below were taken last Thursday:



The trail shown above is heading toward Smith Pond.  There will be more of this as the temps warm this week. Also, on the seasonal roads especially, running water has undercut the trail base and sections of base are breaking off, soon to drop lower and leave large holes in the trail.  Grooming suspended for the season.

Click on this link www.trailconditions.com to post trail reports or comments
on the T.C. Riders thread. 

NORTH SECTION (north of the powerline and 46 Corners area)
TRAILS CLOSED.

SOUTH SECTION (south of the powerline and Camden area)
TRAILS CLOSED.

Thanks to all who .   .  .   
"Slowed Down   &   Stayed Right!" 

Ted

---

The bridge in Johnson Park (pictured above) provides access to downtown Camden via Secondary Trail S-46B (connect from Corridor Trail C-4i).  Snowmobile Trailer parking is available behind the Camden DPW garage and sleds have trail access over this bridge using S-46B to C-4i.  Camden is a "snowmobile friendly" village - the only downtown area on Tug Hill accessible from the Corridor Trails.  All village streets are open to snowmobile traffic with the exception of NY Routes 13 & 69.  We can keep the streets open by riding slowly and carefully in the village, yielding the right-of-way to all traffic and pedestrians.  It is very important to limit noise - all village areas are very noise sensitive.  Let's not loose this valuable downtown resource through careless speed and noise. 

Directions to Snowmobile Trailer Parking Area at Camden DPW:
Arriving on NY69 from the east (Rome), turn left on 3rd St. (by churches)
Arriving on NY69 from the west (I-81, Parish), go thru traffic light, turn right on 3rd St.
Arriving on NY13 from the north, turn left on Mechanic St. (by Pizza Plus)
Arriving on NY13 from the south, turn right on Mechanic St.

At the bottom of the hill is the DPW Garage.  To the left of the building is a driveway leading to the parking area.  If the driveway to the left of the building is blocked, go to the right of the building.  Please avoid parking immediately behind the DPW building unless the snowmobile trailer parking area is full. 



NOTE: This parking area is lighted and police patrolled. 

Directions to Downtown Area from the snowmobile trail:
Go thru the DPW parking area, proceed behind the DPW building, then straight up Mechanic St. shown on the right side of the picture (two gas stations available) -or-

For "off-street" snowmobile parking, turn right on 3rd St. and left on Miner Ave.  Just before the traffic light, turn right into the village parking lot.  Both hardware stores have access to Main St using their back doors. 

Click here for a map of Camden, then zoom in for street names.

---

The process leading to this day was long and involved.  Many meetings, much discussion, evaluation of different makes and models.  This is the fourth new Tucker that we have purchased from Cook's Equipment of Newport, VT over the past 15 years.We have had very good luck with Tuckers.  The 4-track configuration has certain advantages on our trail system.  A 5-man cab is especially useful when doing trail work in the dead of winter after an ice storm.   Tucker has upgraded the entire machine since our 2002 (bought in 2001). Especially nice is the new 185hp Cummins with all electronic control and the Allison 5-speed transmission also electronically controlled. 

Let's not forget that the Tucker is 1/2 of the equation.  The other half is the brilliant
B.G. Rossco/Marcel drag.  This is probably the most sophisticated drag available this season.   The way the drag articulates allows the pan to put tremendous pressure on the trail.  The result is a harder trail that will hold up better.  Also very important is the ability to flow wet and sticky snow through the drag.  We should be able to groom under very adverse conditions that would have clogged and disabled our old drag.  What's critical here is being able to flatten a trail when temps are still "warm" so the trail freezes flat as temps drop.  With our old set-up, we very often would have frozen moguls to deal with as we could not groom while temps were above 32 or 33 degrees.

So what's the bottom line here??  We have the equipment to put down the best trails we have ever had.  They were not too shabby before, but now they should hold up better. 

---

AccuWeather Winter Forecast for 2008 - 2009

NWS SNOW MAPS 

The National Weather Service (NWS) "Snow Information" page for the Northeast Region has links to numerous maps of interest.  For the serious sledder planning a snowmobiling trip in the northeast, these snow maps may be helpful.  Check out the additional links at the bottom of the "Snow Information" page :

NWS Snow Maps

NWS Montague Radar (Tug Hill Region)

24 Hour Snow Depth Change

(Be sure to select today's date and then click on "Redraw Map."   It appears that this map is not updated every 24 hours, so it may default to the last revised date.)  On this map it is easy to see the Increase/Decrease in snow cover.

For those of us who rabidly follow the weather and look for any information that might help predict future snow potential, this next link might help. After all, without "Lake Effect" the Tug Hill might not have much snow - it seems most major storm systems track south.

Lake Ontario Surface Temp

Return to Top

---

TRAIL CHANGES & COMMENTS
    .  .  .  for 2008 - 2009 Season.

WOLCOTT HILL ROAD
This road crossing is a very sensitive residential area and actually uses the neighbors’ yards.   Stay in the corridor and be alert for children playing in the yards. SLOW and QUIET in this area, please.  We relocated the road crossing slightly and trimmed the pines for better visibility.

TRAIL FROM AMERICAN LEGION to THE GRAPE 'n' GROG
This trail crosses NY Rte 69 to the Grape 'n'Grog.  This is a VERY busy highway!  With the new bridge in Johnson Park, this trail now connects to the Camden DPW lot which is open for trailer parking.  Village streets are open to downtown Camden.  State highways are NOT open to snowmobiles.  Please ride responsibly. 

HANIFIN CORNERS (MOHAWK CONTAINERS)
When parking at Hanifin Corners (this is 1 mile south of 46 Corners), be sure to obey the "No Parking Here to Corner" advisory signs.   Law Enforcement has issued tickets for parking beyond these signs.   Please, as always, honor the "No Snowmobiles" signs in the neighbors' yards.

THOMSON CORNERS ROAD CROSSING
This is a VERY noise-sensitive area.  Residents at the crossing ask that sleds not park at the crossing and engage in loud conversation or leave motors running.  Noise is the leading complaint against our sport.  Let's not loose a trail for something that is entirely avoidable.

PUG'S POND
CLOSED.

FLORENCE - OSCEOLA ROAD
Absolutely and without exceptions or lame excuses, Respect "NO SNOWMOBILES" and "STAY ON TRAIL" signs.   Failure to comply will result in loss of the trail.  This would be BAD NEWS!  Sleds would have to use the highway to connect to the Redfield trail.  It is not certain that Oneida County would open the highway for snowmobiles to connect to the trail. 

T.C. Riders Snowmobile Club
We take this opportunity to say “Thank you” to all of our members.   T.C. Riders is committed to maintaining for our members and guests the best trail system in NYS.   We welcome your comments and suggestions.  Use the convenient e-mail link at the top of each web page.

Return to Top

---

Where to Buy Trail Guides 

Camden American Legion/Arthur S Moran Post No. 66 Camden Auto Service Camden Collision Carpenter’s Paint & Hardware Carquest Auto Parts Christmas & Associates Country Store Eastern Shore Associates Ellis Insurance Agency Good Life Tavern Grape ‘n’ Grog Hill Insurance Agency Joe's Chevron Kelley’s Sport Shop K. J. R. Contracting, Inc. Kirch Hardware Mad River Realty Moosehead Lodge - Florence Hill Rd. Pizza Plus R.A. Wilkes Real Estate Spink Lumber,Inc. Walter's Chevrolet Florence Mahogany Ridge - Thomson Corners Florence Hotel - Downtown Florence Redfield/Osceola Hayloft Pub - County Rte. 27 & 39 Osceola Hotel - Downtown Osceola Osceola Outpost - Downtown Osceola Reservoir Inn - County Rte. 17 Taberg Shooting Star Cafe - NY Rt. 69 Stokes Mikes Cycle and Sport Shop - NY Rt. 26 Constantia/Sylvan Beach Oneida Lake Inn – NY Rt. 13 Rome KDK Sports – NY Rt. 69 west Rome Savings Bank Schoff Polaris - Elmer Hill Rd.

Return to Top

---

Rules of the Trail 

	NYS law requires all snowmobiles to yield the right-of-way to the groomer. When overtaking the groomer from behind, always wait for the groomer to stop before you pass.
If you encounter hazardous trail conditions, flag down the groomer and advise the operator, or dial (315) 335-0020 to reach the Tucker Sno-Cat's cell phone.
You can also report trail conditions/hazards to:

Ted Gay, Trail Committee Chairman: 315-271-7818 or tedgay@twcny.rr.com

Bob Place: 315-264-9182 or blplace@twcny.rr.com.

Trail comments, suggestions, and advisories are always welcome.

Return to Top

---

Groomer Operators Schedule
2008 - 2009 Season 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
John Seward Ted Gay	-- open --	Bob Place Steve Unruh	Ken Tilton	Steve Hizen Ray Ott	Dave Haflett	Keith Williams Bill Staelens
North	-- open --	South	North	South/North	North	South
Essential Phone Numbers
	Groomer	NYS Police			Camden Police
		Station	Cell	Pager
	335-0020	437-2831	249-9966	345-1340	245-1222

Return to Top

---

Trailer Parking Sites

(1) Camden DPW Garage, Corner of 3rd & Mechanic Street **
(2) Kelley’s Sport Shop, Rte 69, Camden (toward Parish).
(3) American Legion, Moran Post Road, Camden ***
(4) Grape & Grog, Rte 69, Camden (toward Rome).
(5) Mahogany Ridge, Thomson Corners.
(6) Florence Hotel, Downtown Florence.
(7) The Hayloft Pub, between Florence & Redfield.

** NOTE:  Parking at the Camden DPW has direct trail access to
                  Corridor 4i via the new bridge.
*** NOTE:  The lot across from the Legion is unplowed.  Park behind
                  the Legion toward the rear, but be careful not to block
                  the snowmobile trail.

These businesses plow the parking lots at their own expense.  Help keep this critical service to our sport by supporting the business where you park.

Return to Top

---

Home | Membership | Officers | Trails Info | Club Events | Club Pictures | Area Services | Links

Webmaster: Ted Gay