Business has been Grooming for PI Sno-Trails
by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor
During a typical Presque Isle County winter weekend, when there is plenty of snow on the ground and snowmobiles on the trails, members of Presque Isle Sno-Trails go to work. Just about the time a snowmobiler?s stomach starts to growl, and the sun starts to set, is when three New Holland tractors begin their rounds on the 125 miles of area trails. ?We do it mostly at night when there is minimal traffic,? said Rodney Altman, Sno-Trails trail coordinator and a member of the board of directors. ?We?ve been lucky going out after six o?clock.? If it is a busy night, the groomers may enounter 50 sleds. The lights are bright enough that they give snowmobilers plenty of notice to get out of the way. They also have groomer radio beacons for those who have radio communications in their helmets.
Depending on how much snow is on the ground, or the type of snow, Altman?s 80 miles of trails can take anywhere from six to nine hours to groom. Wet snow can take far longer. The local club grooms from Cheboygan to Posen on the former railroad grade, Canada Creek Creek Ranch to US-23, as well as the Black Mountain area. The 130-horsepower tractors pull a ?drag? with six staggered blades. ?(The blades) move the snow around and then the pan in the back spreads it out and packs it,? said Altman, a former Great Lakes freighter wheelsman. All of the tractors are equipped with a bucket, which is helpful in moving packed-in snow at trail/road intersections. Recently, groomers needed to remove trees knocked over during windstorms. One of the main objectives is to smooth moguls created by the snowmachines.
?The more snow you have, the more sleds there are, the rougher the trail gets,? said Rolland Rieger of Millersburg, who serves as Sno-Trails president. A third grooming machine in the Onaway area is handled by two volunteers and a third person who is being trained.
FUNDING COMES from $25 snowmobile permits, which are administered by the Department of Natural Resources. It pays for the fuel, machinery, and maintenance, but not labor. Ninety-nine percent of the time put in is volunteer. Rieger is a retired farmer/sawmill worker who used to snowmobile quite a bit. ?I had the opportunity to start a snowmobile club to get into grooming, and I have been at it ever since,? he said. In looking at the past two winters, there is no comparison. The 2007-08 season has brought a lot more snow, and subsequently, a lot more work. After being out Monday, that makes 14 grooming dates this winter, which already equals last year. Last January, the groomers were out three to four times. That total has doubled this year, and there is still a week left in January.
The snow totals are obviously up, but the number of sleds in the county, especially during the week, are down. ?Weekends have been good, but during the week it is way down,? said Rieger, who grooms 76 miles of trail round trip. ?Another thing is there is snow all over the state. They just started a new club in the thumb and (the club there) is doing 100 miles of trail.? A few years ago, the trails needed grooming five days a week. ?This year we?ve only been grooming on the weekends,? said Altman. The trails are open from December 1 to March 31.
THERE IS an amount of satisfaction that comes from making a smoother ride for snowmobilers. Rieger said riders were giving the ?thumbs up? as they passed. ?They can see where their money is at work,? said Altman, who added that he got a pat on the back at a recent restaurant stop. The work doesn?t begin when the snow starts to fly. It actually begins with the maintenance of the trails, and unfortunately, there has been too much of it needed in the fall, thanks to vandals. There is a proposal by the DNR to p
Altman likes the idea of having more people on the trails because there may be less damage to posts and signs. He believes 40 percent of the signs need replacing every year because of vandals.
?Those signs are not cheap,? said Altman. It is money that can be better spent enhancing the trails, or making them safer, although the club already is involved in sponsoring classes. In December, 13 youth ages 12 to 15 graduated from a snowmobile safety course taught by certified instructors Bob and Faye Pines.
So, the next time the snow starts to fly, and thoughts of heading out to the trails start creeping in, remember the caretakers of one of the county?s most valuable resources are putting in lots of hours for your handshakes, pats on the back, or that simple ?thumbs up.?