7361-R3_MSA_Nov2020_MaineSnowmobiler

Clubs That Groom with Work Sleds East of the Penobscot River By Larry Lafland

As the sun sets earlier in the day and leaves begin falling it is our time to shine. The first plan is to review and update landowner lists, then get permission to use their land for trails. This can take up to 30 hours or so. With Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club connecting with five towns, most of the reviews of landowners can be done online, but there are always a few you either have to call or visit a town office to get the info you need. Dealing with 190 landowners in five towns there is always about a 10% change in ownership, some times more than that. Then brushing and clearing trails begins. EMSC has 80 miles, 20 of which is Connector Trail 107. Some miles are on powerlines that EMSC has permission from the power company and/or landowner adjacent to it to use, but the largest percentage is in the woods. 2020 fall work has brought extra work to EMSC this year as an inconsider- ate person cut trees and shot up a speed sign on property that our trail is on. This had nothing to do with snowmobilers but we lost

the use of this section of trail and it has taken about 90-man hours to do the re-route. The average fall work can take 250 plus/minus hours getting ready for the first snow. Then the fun begins! We take the work sleds out for the first few snowstorms using just pipe drags to get the trail base established. Once the base is in place and there is more snow to work with, out come the Mogul Master Drags. With the amount of mileage EMSC has this can be an every night event with an all volun- teer staff of guys and gals. Using just work sleds like we do, drag- ging trails has to be done more often as the snow is not packed as hard as it would be using a larger, heavier piece of equipment, but in heavy residential areas this is what we have to use at this time. I have heard from some people it is great to go North on the faster trails but it is always good to come home to the slower trails where the wild- life is plentiful. Landowners and others also use the trials to cross country ski and walk their dogs. Municipal and club grants help the

club pay for grooming. Back in the day many years ago people at EMSC would go out alone to groom trails and it was not uncommon for me as trailmaster to get a call saying they were broken down or stuck and needed help. Knowing this EMSC developed a policy that there are always two sleds out together. They can get twice as much done this way as well and it is much safer. Clubs that are close to EMSC also have work sleds they groom with. Clifton Area SC has about 30 miles of club trails and 13 miles of Connector Trail #107 which is a municipal trail. 60% of their grooming is done with their two work sleds with pipe drags early in the season and switching to Mogul masters once their base is in place. They also have a SUV to groom Connector Trail 107 and some of their club trails. All this is done with club members volun- teering their time. Pine Tree SC in Milford a little further to the north of EMSC also uses their two work sleds to groom Connector Trail 107, part of ITS 84

and club trails early and in low snow conditions. As the condi- tions change, they switch to using a BR 60 to do ITS 84 and Connector Trail 107 when we have good snow cover. They have a total of 38 miles of club trails and 31 miles of ITS 84 which they receive municipal and club grant money to do. Orrington Trail Riders to the south of EMSC also use just sleds to groom with. Again, they use pipe drags early and then switch to Mogul master drags as the con- ditions improve. They have 36 total miles of trails, doing eight miles of Connector Trail 107 and 28 miles of club trails. Their trail system fund- ing all comes in the form of a club grant. South of Orrington is Family Snowmobile Club in Bucksport. They groom the last section 13 ½ miles of Connector Trail 107 and also have club trails for a total of 60 miles. They use work sleds and do have an S10 they use on some of the trails. To the East of EMSC is Bald Mountain SnoRiders in Dedham. They connect EMSC to Ellsworth

SC and they also connect to Bucksport. They have 36 miles of trails which they groom mostly with Super Wide Track Skandics. They also do part of their trail sys- tem with an IMP. Their funding is through a club grant. The Ellsworth SC has 30 miles of club trails and 12 miles on the Downeast Sunrise Trail, ITS 82. They use two Bear Cats to groom trails. They also have a SUV they use. This section is always in great shape when there is enough snow coverage. Their funding comes from municipal and club grants. See pictures of some of the equipment these clubs are using to make a smooth ribbon in the snow for great local riding here in the lower Eastern Region. We are out there even when the tempera- tures are below zero dragging with no protection from the cold. Why you ask- because we want our trails to be the best they can be. Hopefully everyone gets out and has a great snowmobile season in 2020-21!

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