Back on track

A faint but methodical swish swish was the only sound cutting through the forest, alerting other inhabitants that a cross-country skier was approaching. A woman in a striking purple coat glided around a corner emerging into an open area from beneath criss-crossed boughs of pine. Far enough back not to encroach on her solitude came a pair of friends and in their tracks, an older couple.

With 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, of sprawling trails, it wasn’t hard for skiers or snowshoers at Bigfork Community Nordic Center to feel like they had the place to themselves. Just when they grew accustomed to the quiet, another skier would fly around the bend, reminding them that they weren’t alone.

The Nordic trails in Bigfork opened for the season last Tuesday.

“It’s getting later — Some years, we open right after Thanksgiving,” said Dave Hadden, with the North Shore Nordic Club, which maintains trails in Bigfork and Lakeside. “This year the big storm missed us.”

Although the organization doesn’t keep exact figures, Hadden estimates usages of the trails in the high hundreds. On Sunday, at least half a dozen vehicles were parked neat the trailhead at the intersection of Foothills and Jewel Basin Road.

The Bigfork Community Nordic Center came to life out of the efforts of four Bigfork locals, including Hadden, John Gangemi, Don Bauder and Neil Navratil, who wanted to start a chain of Nordic trails right here in their community. They founded the North Shore Nordic Club and in 2004, began transforming the existing forest road network where the center sits today into a cross-country skiing area.

In those early years, they relied on “very crude, used equipment” to get the job done, and over the years have fundraised and acquired grants to build up their trail-grooming arsenal. The Nordic trails are groomed five days a week in the morning and include mostly flat or gently sloping terrain, with more difficult sections in the upper loops of the system. Highlights include the bridge over Noisy Creek along Peters Ridge Run and trails that wind up the hillside, offering views of the valley. As a rule, the easier terrain tends to be lower in the network, while more difficult sections are higher up on the hillside.

On the busiest days, Hadden said there could be as many as 50 to 70 skiers and snowshoers spread out on the trails.

“Some days on the weekends you can’t hardly find a place to park,” he said.

The trails are open to cross-country skiers and snowshoers only, and the latter are requested to keep off the primary track for skiers. Hikers, snowmobilers, fat bike riders and ATV users are asked to recreate elsewhere. Dogs are also forbidden from the trail system.

“We ask people not to bring their dogs because it would just be a madhouse,” Hadden explained. Canine tracks also damage the groomed surface, according to North Shore Nordic’s website.

Since the trails are located on state trust lands, anyone wishing to recreate must obtain a state land recreation use permit, available online through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, or establishments where fishing and hunting licenses are sold. Permits are $5 for seniors and youths, $10 for individuals and $20 for a family with up to six members. No other fees are required to use the trails, but donations are requested to fund grooming operations and equipment.

“We rely heavily on local support,” Hadden said. “We always try to do a little bit better and a little bit more every year.”