This weekend we finally made the trek North to Eb’s trails, the pride of the Saskatoon Nordic Club.  We carpooled with new friends Randy and Doreen, who like a lot of Nordic members  are also Canoe Club members in the summer months. Eb’s includes over 50km of trails, mostly through Aspen and Spruce woods… it looks just like Sweden!  The trails were WAY more technical than I anticipated; lots more narrow winding sections than Hemlingby, no prolonged climbs but there were some VERY steep sections.  There is also a charming little värmestugan for warming up and eating a snack.  Sorry – I forgot my camera on this trip.
Luckily the conditions were not too icy so I was able to control myself more or less. Â For those times when it was ‘less’ (I had quite a few minor wipeouts), the snow was fairly soft so I am not covered in bruises. Â The tracks were mostly fairly deep and in good shape, but there were a few backcountry sections that were littered with porcupine detritus (since they eat the bark of trees and litter it everywhere), or where the snow was pretty thin and the lumps made by tree roots made things pretty miserable.
Overall I am really enthusiastic about Eb’s – the only bummer is that it is a 1 hour drive north of the city. Â It is worth it, but not the kind of thing you can do on a daily basis – it is really a weekend trip so it can be done in the daylight.