I'm guessing all the rain we received during summer of 2021 created the trench.
Observation by Jeffrey Luther:
New trench on the winter trail, with all the rain we had during the summer of 2021 I was expecting to see more on the trail, but was lucky this was the only one. Lots of energy is created when water is flowing, and can cause havoc in places where water flow is. This photo is from December 17, 2021. When seeing the trench/ditch, it was too late, I put on the brake, but the momentum of the plastic sled with the ATV on it pushed me into it, luckily there wasn't any damage other than a slightly bent hitch.
Comments by LEO Network editors:
Thanks Jeffry for the observation. It makes us think of other delayed impacts to the ground and thawing after the big rains of 2021. See lake draining event near Kotzebue, 2022. Mike Brubaker