I participated in the 34th Annual Winona Forest Tourathon for the second consecutive year, on February 22. It is a 50 kilometer cross country ski race, skied in the classic technique. It is held on a 12.5 km course in the Winona Forest, just east of Mannsville, NY. This is in the Tug Hill region, which receives almost 300" of snow annually which mostly comes in the form of Lake Effect snow from Lake Ontario.
The drive from Stevens, Pa to the Tug Hill region can normally be completed in a little over 4 hours, but this was not going to be a normal trip. After packing and waxing skis, I finally got on the road over an hour behind schedule. It was a warm rainy day in Pa, and I was concerned about the trail conditions at the race course since the forecast called for below freezing temperatures overnight. I emailed the race director about whether the trails would be too icy to race. He kindly responded that the trails should be good, but high winds might be an issue. I decided since I had taken the day off work, I probably should stick with the plan and head north.
As I drove north, I encountered a lot of fog and heavy rain. My route was 222 to Reading, 61 to Port Clinton, 895 to New Ringold, 443 to Tamaqua and then 309 to 81 around Hazelton, and then 81 through Binghamton, NY to the Tug Hill region. There was a detour in Tamaqua, due to a bridge project, and I either missed the signs or the detour was poorly marked, so I ended up wasting 20 min. finding my way. When I stopped for lunch at a Subway in Hazelton, the rain was really dumping. By the time I got to Binghamton, the rain had stopped and it was clearing.
As I drove north toward Syracuse, I noticed that the snowpack was actually thinner here in south central NY than it was in most of Pa. Many of the February storms had tracked south of this area, and lake effect events don't contribute much in this corridor. There were a lot of bare spots on south facing slopes, and water standing in low spots. After passing through Syracuse, the snow-pack started to get deeper as I drove north and got closer to Lake Ontario.
Results
Harris Lodging
The drive from Stevens, Pa to the Tug Hill region can normally be completed in a little over 4 hours, but this was not going to be a normal trip. After packing and waxing skis, I finally got on the road over an hour behind schedule. It was a warm rainy day in Pa, and I was concerned about the trail conditions at the race course since the forecast called for below freezing temperatures overnight. I emailed the race director about whether the trails would be too icy to race. He kindly responded that the trails should be good, but high winds might be an issue. I decided since I had taken the day off work, I probably should stick with the plan and head north.
As I drove north, I encountered a lot of fog and heavy rain. My route was 222 to Reading, 61 to Port Clinton, 895 to New Ringold, 443 to Tamaqua and then 309 to 81 around Hazelton, and then 81 through Binghamton, NY to the Tug Hill region. There was a detour in Tamaqua, due to a bridge project, and I either missed the signs or the detour was poorly marked, so I ended up wasting 20 min. finding my way. When I stopped for lunch at a Subway in Hazelton, the rain was really dumping. By the time I got to Binghamton, the rain had stopped and it was clearing.
As I drove north toward Syracuse, I noticed that the snowpack was actually thinner here in south central NY than it was in most of Pa. Many of the February storms had tracked south of this area, and lake effect events don't contribute much in this corridor. There were a lot of bare spots on south facing slopes, and water standing in low spots. After passing through Syracuse, the snow-pack started to get deeper as I drove north and got closer to Lake Ontario.
Results
Harris Lodging
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| Bedroom at Harris Lodging |
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| Kitchen and dining area |
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| Lounge |
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| CCC Camp building and icy parking lot. Race registration and coordination operates out of this building. |
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| Snowbanks along the road leading to the CCC camp and start area. |
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| Winona Forest trailhead and race start area. This is a dirt road when the snow melts. |
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