Hello everyone!
We had the opportunity to get out on the course today, and gosh, we liked what we saw. We’ve got some course details for you, as well as an update on the current situation at the St. Croix State Park Trail Center (our Race HQ).
As of early this afternoon, the course was well-packed and easy to travel. With just a couple spotty exceptions, the trail base is at least 1-2”, usually more. The surface is as you would expect from a snowmobile trail: superficially chewed up and bumpy in places, but nothing terrible. Jamison’s footsteps left only slight divots in the crust, and the Kubota Lisa was driving left only surface tracks, not ruts.
The trail softened slightly by the time we were done marking the course, as it was sunny and in the high 30s, but it’s cooling down significantly tonight and the trail should set nicely.
Overall, this is excellent condition for this trail and we can’t wait for you all to get out on it! We’ve added a couple short videos to our social media; if you’d like to see our commentary while walking around out on the course, you can check those out.
There are directional signs at intersections and driveway stakes every .25-.5 mile, depending on how exciting the terrain seems. Apart from those intersections (which are each marked with SEVERAL signs), just keep following the snowmobile tracks!
As always, we recommend having a copy of the course map or GPX on your phone or stowed in your gear just in case you want to refer to something.
Now, about the Trail Center: Our Race HQ has indoor bathrooms and shower stalls. However, the women’s bathroom is undergoing significant remodeling. It is not presently usable.
The remaining bathroom will be all-gender and has two toilet stalls, two shower stalls, and a urinal. All stalls have locking doors. We recognize that this is extremely sub-optimal and requires kindness and consideration from ALL of us, no exceptions. If you’re comfortable with this arrangement, excellent! If you’re uncomfortable with it, that’s absolutely okay, and we invite you to approach Jamison, Lisa, or any race volunteer for an assist. (Please, please, please reach out to us. We’re here for you!) Folks are also invited to go outside, as long as you use the far treeline.
There’s also a vault toilet outside! It’ll be brisk in there, but if you desire more privacy, it’s a great option. This toilet will be across the snow from the Trail Center near the mid-race checkpoint – if you’re standing in the parking lot and looking at the building, turn right and you’ll be looking toward it. We’ll have blinky lights attached to a sign outside this door, so you can find it.
Finally, there are two big parking lots for you to use (refer to our page on getting to the HQ: https://stcroixwinterultra.com/race-details/) south of the building. The tiny lot behind the Trail Center is not for participant use, and you may not drop off equipment there. Please unload your things in the parking lot and bring it to the building from where you’ve parked for gear check.
St Croix Winter Ultra 