Cross Country Chronicles: Weekend snow brings great skiing at Great Brook Farm

Skiers who took to the trails this past weekend certainly got their share of snow. The Associated Press reported 29 inches fell on the Blue Hills, far more than the predicted 6-8 inches. However, we also got rising temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s.Luckily, these temperatures did not hinder skiing that much. On Sunday, my girlfriend Laura and I enjoyed an afternoon on the groomed trails of Great Brook Farm, a 1,000-acre Department of Conservation and Recreation state park in Carlisle. The Ski Touring Center at the park (http://www.greatbrookski.com/) works under contract from the DCR and runs 10-plus miles of trails. One attraction is a working dairy farm ? another is lantern-lit night skiing on Tuesdays and Thursdays.Under the tall, thin pine trees, we skied the mostly flat surfaces of the Lantern Loop and the Litchfield Loop, navigating the occasional bunny slope. One such descent took us past a vernal pool, where the spring peepers will presumably start singing soon.We had plenty of company, although the trails didn’t feel crowded. Skiers of all ages joined us, from children with their parents to senior citizens. One group behind us debated strategy for going downhill, and their preparation paid off, as everyone seemed to make it to the bottom in one piece.Overall, you could get a prolonged glide on the trails, and the surfaces didn’t feel too slippery. Going downhill, I felt like I could shift direction, brake and come to a stop at the bottom, then transition right back to the diagonal stride.The warm weather did affect the snow at times. The area near the cross country center, where the trails began and ended, was muddy, making it challenging to find and stay in tracks. Yet in the more heavily forested sections, the air felt colder, and the going was smoother. In fact, it reminded us of our trip to Bretton Woods, NH about a month and a half ago.Great Brook is open for cross country skiing until March 20. Alas, the Great Brook Facebook stream contained the following message on Monday: “This will be the last day for this snow since it’s melting fast, so get it while you can!”Here’s hoping that this wasn’t the last snow of this winter ? and that we get a few more helpings of snow to replace everything that’s melted.Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].