Merry Xmas & Happy New Year! I for one am still hoping that there will be enough snow to ski and snowshoe on before too long. A few of us went up last week to cleared several windfalls that we hadn’t removed earlier. From that trek, I can at least tell you that there was 2-5 inches of snow on the snowshoe trails. There might be a little more after the last snow shower. For the sake of the “Best Hand” fund raiser, and the rest of the season, let’s hope there is a bigger snow storm coming in the future.
Regarding the upcoming fund raiser, Saturday January 6th, hopefully a lot of you are planning to participate. I also encourage you to spread the word to friends that may be interested in x-country skiing or snowshoeing. Who knows, if they join us for the event they might decide to join the club and help support the future maintenance of the 4th of July trails.
At next week’s club meeting there will be a sign-up sheet for volunteers to help staff the “Best Hand” event support tasks. We may still need of eight to ten folks to help. So please be on the lookout for the sign-up sheet on the table as you come in the door of the meeting room.
As usual, several stores have helped support the event with a variety of prizes. But as mentioned before, if anyone is interested in donating items they would be welcomed. If you do, bring them up on the day of the event and deliver them to the prize table at the panhandle hut. Please put your name on the donations so I know who to thank! If you can’t make it to the event, and wanted to donate something, give it to any of the board members at next week’s meeting.
I hope everyone that wanted to stay active with the club has had a chance to renew their membership. If not I encourage you to sign on to the WEB site and fill out the membership form and submit it. It may be the result of a lest the stellar snow season, but according to Randy our membership numbers are a bit down this season. Also if you know anyone who uses 4th of July for recreation, please let them know that if they join the club they would be helping ensure the future maintenance of the trail systems.
As a reminder, there are a couple of other events coming up in January. On Saturday, January 13th Skiing at Farragut State Park with Nancy Lewis is coming up. January 19 and 20th, Nancy is also leading at trip to Fish Creek Park n Ski near Grangeville. On or near the weekend of January 27 and 28th, Jim Mcmillen will be heading to Rossland B.C. If you are interested in any of these trips there may be sign-up sheets on the table as you enter the meeting room next week. But you can always contact the trip leader directly and they would be happy to add you to their roster of participants.
Keep in mind that due to changes in circumstances or conditions, or lack of, trip leaders may need to adjust event dates or plans shown of the recently sent out winter schedule. So it is always a good idea to make sure your signed-up for the event so the leader knows who to keep informed about changes. The WEB site may also be a good source to check to see if changes to scheduled events are being advertised.
The guest speaker at next week’s club meeting (Tuesday, January 2nd, 7 PM) will be Paul Loutzenhiser from FONIT’s. He will fill us in on the trail association partnership the club recently join into, and how
the club may participate and benefit from it. Goeff will also include some details about his role and activities as our club’s representative.
See you Next Week!

Fish Creek Park-n-Ski area is one of the newest areas added to the Idaho State Parks and Rec.Dept. Their info describes it this way: "The terrain is moderate and well-suited to beginners and intermediate skiers. On a clear day you can see Seven Devils and Gospel Hump Wilderness areas. For the adventurous, some nearby ."   Nordic backcountry touring is possible." To read more info, see: To read more info, see: https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/activities/xc-skiing/central-idaho-park-n-ski/
Central Idaho Park N’ Ski
parksandrecreation.idaho.gov

Grangeville is a 3-hour drive south on Highway95, through Lewiston. There are numerous historical areas to visit in that area also, including the Tolo Lake Mastadon. If weather allows, we can return via Highways13/12, up the beautiful Clearwater River. Fish Creek is just 8 miles southeast of Grangeville on an easy drive state road. There is the Snowhaven Tubing area there also.

A convenient place to stay (make your own reservations) is the Super 8 by Wyndham, just one block off Hwy 95, with an indoor pool and free breakfast. Their phone number is 208-983-1002. The senior rate is listed s $136/night. Other motels in town can be found on Expedia. For the adventurous, there are also Yurts to rent at Winchester State Park, 30 miles north of Grangeville, on Hwy 95. They are $82/night, bedding for 5 people, with decks and BBQs. For reservations, call 1-888-9-CAMPID  or 1-888-922-6743, or the park #208-924-7563.

Nancy Lewis, 208-451-4649

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Date:  Jan 28, 29, 30
Lodging:  Sure Stay Best Western
Price:  10 rooms are reserved each with 2 full size beds at $157.49 CN
or around $100 US per room/night.
Contact:  motel 250-362-7364 or 833-362-7364 and say you’re with the Panhandle Nordic Club from
CD'A to receive the discount.
Travel Time:  4 hours
Amenities:  microwave, small fridge, lunch room, hot tub

Make your reservation by the end of Dec to secure a room reserved by the club.  There may be rooms available in Jan for the same price, if there are vacancies.  Must be a club member to participate.

​Contact Jim McMillen 208-755-2575 for info.  Text is better if I don’t have your phone# or leave a message.

Hope everyone is hoping for lots of snow! So far it’s been less then encouraging. But the good news is everything is in place at 4th of July, so that when the snow gets here the skiing and snowshoeing will be great. Keep your fingers crossed.
For those who really enjoy snow shoe opportunities, there is a new route you might be interested in. A loop has been created off of Jeannettes Jaunt. Skip probably will have signs placed on the intersections before too long. But for the moment if you want to test it out, once we have enough snow, you may need to look for snow shoe tracks that take off from Jeannettes Jaunt down the hill toward the freeway. The loop involves a little uphill and downhill travel, and might be considered moderately difficult. You would need to be your own Judge!
At the next club meeting the main agenda will be generating the list of winter activities and getting them scheduled. I hope everyone has been thinking about some ideas. Jim Millen already asked me to make sure that a ski trip to Rossland B.C. gets on the list. So we have a start.
Speaking of activities, hopefully most everyone is aware that on the WEB site there are trip leader guidelines, sign-up forms and other helpful info to assist folks you volunteer to lead activities. If you aren’t familiar with where to find these documents go to: Home page/More (on the tool bar)/Member Page (on the drop down)/scroll down just pass the volunteer form/ you will see Trip Guidelines, trail classifications, sign-up templates, etc. etc. FYI – thanks to the efforts of Katie Stubblefield the trip related documents have all recently been updated. Take a look.
In addition to creating the clubs winter activities list, I want to remind everybody to bring some cookies. It is the annual cookie exchange (cookie party) for members, that in the end provides leftovers to be given to the IDT plow operators to thank them for keeping the parking lot plowed. So don’t forget to bring homemade or store-bought cookies for all to enjoy.
Planning for this year’s Best Hand ski and snowshoe event begins this month. As usual gathering up the prizes for the event is a big task. The members of the board will be busy checking with 2-Wheeler Dealer, Ski Shack, Fitness Fanatics and other locations for donations. Efforts by anyone who wants to help out by checking with other stores or donate items is certainly welcome.
The event always needs volunteers to help set things up or staff card distribution stations, etc. So when the requests are made and the lists for volunteers come out this month please consider helping out.
As a reminder, If you hadn’t picked up a Park and ski sticker yet, make sure your payment specifies that it is designated for AREA 4.
Also if you haven’t gotten around to renewing your membership or know someone who might want to join please keep the following in mind or share it with others:
1) Personal information entered on the club mailing list is populated from the membership form, the membership form on the Nordic club WEB site must be filled out electronically to make this happen.
2) If you wish to have your information added to the membership list you must check “yes” in the box in the lower right corner of the form “Add to PNC Group Membership List”. Please make sure to Key “Submit” after you have completed the form.
3) Payment of dues, can be done either electronically (preferred method) or manually (mailed to the club PO Box 2583 Hayden, ID 83835). Keep in mind, you must still submit the form electronically to be included on the mailing list and/or membership list. If you have questions, forward them to Randy Brewer via [email protected].
Please sign up as soon as you can. It really helps to get the membership list for the year completed early. And this year Roberta Truscott will be making up name tags for those on the list. She can’t really get going until the list is pretty much complete. 
Thanks again for your support!
See you Next Week!