Is Chimney Rock frozen / snowy?

al415

Banned
I'm an hour south of C.R. and it has poured rain here all morning. Everything local will be soup until it freezes. How are things up there in the Branchburg area?
 

walter

Fourth Party
In snowy, rainy sloppy conditions like this, CR is one of the parks you want to avoid for a while.
 

Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Freezing rain here right now. I would think with the cold temps for night that it might be semi rideable tomorrow morning. Might actaully be fun.
 

al415

Banned
Freezing rain here right now. I would think with the cold temps for night that it might be semi rideable tomorrow morning. Might actaully be fun.

Before I decide whether to head out in the morning, what sort of temps would I need for it not to be a disaster for the trail?
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Before I decide whether to head out in the morning, what sort of temps would I need for it not to be a disaster for the trail?

At this point you would need 20 degree weather for several nights at CR. The bottom line is all the trails around are sloppy. Lately I've been on the road bike or X-country skiing.;)
 

woody

Well-Known Member
Before I decide whether to head out in the morning, what sort of temps would I need for it not to be a disaster for the trail?

If its anything like my yard (I live 2 miles from CR), there are a couple inches of dense snow covered with a crust of ice. Current temp 25. I was hoping it would freeze solid enough to ride on top of the snow without breaking through - that's a blast when you get those perfect conditions - but its not quite that solid.

I think it got cold enough overnight and will stay cold all day (high 27) so that mud and trail damage should not be an issue today. I'm heading over there in a little while to give it a whirl. I expect some difficult pedalling, but I can always hook up my Siberian Husky to the handlebars if the going gets too tough. :p If the trails turn out to be muddy, I'll just go for a walk in the woods instead.
 

fasterthanliam

New Member
If its anything like my yard (I live 2 miles from CR), there are a couple inches of dense snow covered with a crust of ice. Current temp 25. I was hoping it would freeze solid enough to ride on top of the snow without breaking through - that's a blast when you get those perfect conditions - but its not quite that solid.

I think it got cold enough overnight and will stay cold all day (high 27) so that mud and trail damage should not be an issue today. I'm heading over there in a little while to give it a whirl. I expect some difficult pedalling, but I can always hook up my Siberian Husky to the handlebars if the going gets too tough. :p If the trails turn out to be muddy, I'll just go for a walk in the woods instead.
Please post the conditions upon completion of your expedition . I am hiking sourlands in a little while and will post when I return.
 

woody

Well-Known Member
Please post the conditions upon completion of your expedition . I am hiking sourlands in a little while and will post when I return.

Riding in the snow can sometimes be so quiet and peaceful...this was not one of those times. The snow was super-crunchy and loud so it sounded like I was riding a stump grinder thru the woods.
The trails are totally rideable and fun, but a hell of a workout. About 2" of firm crusty snow, and I was sinking in about 1/4" to 1". Actually, it was a bit more solid and fast than I expected. After about 10 minutes, I dropped the tires to about 20psi, which helped a lot to prevent sinking too deep. There were more unfrozen wet areas than I expected (especially in the Red and Blue trails), but not too much, and no real deep mud that I came across. I hit Blue, Red, Orange & White trails. Doggy's paws were starting to get shredded by the crusty snow, so I had to skip the Yellow and cut the ride short. I expect that Yellow would take a bit of hiking to get up the initial climb, but would be fine once you're up there.

Have fun!
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
. About 2" of firm crusty snow, and I was sinking in about 1/4" to 1". Actually, it was a bit more solid and fast than I expected. After about 10 minutes, I dropped the tires to about 20psi, which helped a lot to prevent sinking too deep.
Have fun!

Ah, the dreaded breakable crust. Tough to ski and mtb bike on. Sounds like riding will be great as this crust gets beaten down by trail users & weather. Temps should stay cold enough to freeze everything up.:)
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
Woody, I think we were just a bit behind you today... we followed a fresh set of dog tracks for a while starting from Newman's. The pace today was mad slow but tons of fun and a hell of a workout.
 
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