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		SKIING TRIP: Schneider's Farm January 18, 2003 Location: Schneider's Farm is located near Erbsville, Ontario. You'll want to take Erbsville Road until you see Wideman Road. Turn west onto Wideman Road and follow it until it stops. You can park your car here on the side of the road, and the trail starts right at the end of Wideman Road (UTM Zone 17N E531000 N4813200). Alternately, you can turn south at the end of Wideman Road, then take the next road to the West. The trails can also be accessed about 200 m down this road. Maps: Take a look at the Trail Map for a map of the Schneider's Farm trails The location map will show you how to get there. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free from www.adobe.com) to view the location map 1:50,000 Natural Resources Canada topo map of the area, 40 P/7, from Toporama. Weather: Nice, bright sun. Temperature was -10 oC or so...but with a fairly brisk wind in the open areas which made it a bit colder. Snow was almost perfect - very fast and no bare spots at all. Swix V30 Blue wax seemed a bit slick, but adequate. Journal: Mike came up from Woodstock today to go skiing with me. I thought Scheider's Farm would be a good place to go, as I've only hiked there, never skiied, and had heard it was great for skiing. We drove to Schneider's Farm in his van, and when we got there there were approximately 15 cars parked at the corner of Wideman Road and Wilmot Line. I'd never seen more than 3 cars there before! We started off by going up the steep hill immediately to the right. Talk about a good warm-up! We proceeded to get lost on the trails, and navigated based on which trail looked the most appealing at the time (ie. steep or not). We met a fair amount of people within the first 20 minutes or so, but after that saw very few people despite the number of cars. The snow was excellent - very fast! The trails are well-used and are either packed down smooth, or have tracks formed (although they are not track-set). The trail system has lots of hills, both steep and gradual, that provide fun for everyone. Mike and I spent a lot of time sprawled out in the snow in many painful looking heaps, but emerged in one piece at the end of the day. I was impressed at the trail system, which is even more extensive in winter than during hiking season (as people seem to blaze their own trails). It gets very confusing, since there are so many intersections and side trails, but it provides an excellent variety of trails, and you can ski a long time without covering the same trail twice. Mike liked my idea of mapping out the trails, and next time he comes he will bring his GPS so we can hopefully get the trails mapped out more accurately (but for now, see this Trail Map). More Info: My hiking trip to Schneider's Farm Stewardship Ontario Project #506 Fred Schneider Natural Meadow Management Stewardship Ontario Project #507 Fred Schneider Farm Windbreak Waterloo Region Nordic Sports Club Maps of Schneider's Woods Since this area is a part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, take a look at the Region of Waterloo GIS Locator for interactive maps of the area.
		This page was last updated on December 18, 2007 at 12:40 AM
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