Thanks to all the visitors to the CROSSCOUNTRYSKIPA.COM website. The comments and suggestions have been encouraging. I am trying to update your suggestions by adding the links and information Pennsylvania cross-country skiers want and need. I've added club links and a few more events. Please keep the suggestions coming.
I had the opportunity last Tuesday to do trail maintenance with a group of eighth graders from Park Forest Middle School in State College, PA. The group was able to accomplish an amazing amount of work in three hours. With nine people, many of the downed trees you would need to cut through with a saw, were simply lifted off of the trail. This sped up the process considerably and made short work of most downfalls. My life as a trail maintainer has always been a solo or duo operation. I am sold on the concept of group effort after my experience with the students. We used only loppers and two small pack saws. I can see the benefits of club outings to do this kind of work. I encourage all cross-country ski clubs in PA to organize a group trail maintaining event.
Finally, there are rumors of flakes for the first week of November. Weather World hinted at the possibility of some snow flakes possible for the northwestern part of the state later next week. We are getting closer to the ski season. Get your gear and equipment ready and keep roller skiing. HP

The rumors of snowflakes (see my last entry) turned into a snowstorm that began on Thursday, October 15 and continued through Saturday, October 17. For those of us living in Central Pennsylvania the snowfall brought down trees and power lines. My own home was without power for about 40 hours. Trees with leaves still on them was the main problem. However, I managed to get out on the skis Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and I hope to squeeze out one more ski day. There is a warm up on the way and a clean up too! I think the two photos below capture the joy and pain of an early storm like this. On the one hand there is the excitement of getting out on the skis on unexpected snow, and on the other hand, there is the damage that early snow causes. I embraced both as I skied and lived through being without power. The cleanup took several hours of dragging limbs to the curb for the chipper. The job was made easier by a neighbor who stopped by with a chain saw. Will this turn out to be a stormy and snowy winter? Who knows, but I'm hopeful. HP

The storm split trees and downed power lines.

Enjoying an early ski outing.

If you watched Weather World (see the Got Snow? page for a link) last week the s... word was mentioned. One of the long range model forecasts hinted at the possibility of snowflakes for northwestern Pennsylvania. Models rarely get it right though when predicting 12 days out, but the mere mention of the word snow was comforting. Last year the first ski of the season for me was October 29 at Black Moshannon State Park. So we are getting closer to the time when it can snow. In the meantime, the roller skiing continues on the bike paths. On my last roller skiing adventure, I experienced a nasty fall when a walnut got caught in my left front wheel. Of course this happened right in front of a pedestrian. When I roller ski around folks in Pennsylvania, most are curious about what I'm doing. It is not a familiar sport in PA and I feel a little like an alien and people usually take a long look at you. Now in a heap on the side of the path, I was a crumpled alien. The pedestrian was kind and offered a hand up. I asked if the video cam was rolling and the person chuckled. If you are roller skiing this time of year be careful. There is more debris on the path from falling leaves. Wet leaves can really be slick . And watch out for walnuts! HP

Coming Soon! We hope. (Photo sent in by a North Central Pa. Skier)