7909-R2_MSA_Mar2022_MaineSnowmobiler

MSA Club News

way of the future. This is the last Newsletter for this season, so have a wonderful summer and don’t forget that we meet at 7:00pm on the second Tuesday of the month from Sept. to April at the Rome Town Hall. Please come and give your thoughts on what we are doing and voice your ideas. Hal Garnett, Secretary ANSON-NORTH ANSON sc Anson, ME Hi, we held our last meeting Feb. 9 at Anson town hall. We held our fishing derby Feb. 12 th . Pretty slushy condition, but really good turn out and lots of fun. First place winner of the shotgun donated by SK firearms in Madison was Todd Moreschi. Congrats to him and his small mouth bass at 2.15 lbs. Thank you to all fishermen and ladies who helped support our club. We had lots of good food and prizes. Thank you to all the businesses local and far who donated food and prizes, all is very appreciated. On Feb 19 th we held our annual hotdog cookout at Friend field. The trails were hard and several water holes but we had a great turn out!! Very generous snowmobilers stopped by and supported our club.

Just because we travel them all the time, we knew them well, unfamiliar travelers had no idea. Was a great learning tool to see it with different eyes. Everyone stay safe, watch your speed, never know what’s around that next corner. Always respect your landowner, they are the key to every trail. Charlene McFarland, Club Secretary Hello Trailblazers, This has been a less than desirable winter in our area when it comes to snowmobiling. I think at best we had one good week of rid- ing so far. Nevertheless, our crews were out grooming as much as they could. The club has had one trip up to Stockholm where they got several miles of riding in. There is another trip starting tomorrow in Jackman. Hopefully they will have enough snow to get some riding in. Last week our club, along with our fire department and Lifeflight, had a rescue train- ing session. Everything was all lined up to have the ‘bird” come as part of the training, but at the last minute it got called out. We made the best of it and used a snowmobile to sit in the landing area. The Lifeflight repre- sentatives did a great job walking us through their procedures. Thank you to them for tak- ing the time to come to our small town and our small club. Big or small they expressed the fact that snowmobilers and a rescue sled is a very important aspect of them being suc- cessful in retrieving a patient and evacuating them from a remote area. I want to mention that the March meeting is election time. Also, thank you to those who sold and bought raffle tickets. We are almost done with the month of winners. It is currently our biggest fundraiser. We will soon start the planning process for our next fundraiser to be held, most likely, in June. We are looking at having a swap meet, flea market, antique anything show. Watch emails and facebook for updates. Roberta Kemp, VP WESTERN REGION BRIDGTON EASY RIDERS Bridgton, ME The February 11 th , 2022 BER meeting was called to order at 7PM. There was no Pot Luck supper, yet 39 members showed up! Blaine Chapman, President, started the meet- ing with a salute to the flag. He updated the membership at 139 family memberships and 25 business memberships which totals 164— the highest membership ever! Blaine reported the Club drag has been re-welded and a new carburetor has been installed on one of the Tuckers. Thanks to the trail crew! It was suggested by Bill Preis that the club look into the cost for a large BER Logo that could be made available for the backs of all those BER members trailers. It was approved. There was considerable discussion about the February 6 th trip to Millinocket in which 39 BER members trailered up to stay 5 nights in the very comfortable Baxter Park Inn where we made day trips to various destinations. This is a great way to get to know other Club members, and if you are new to sledding, you can learn the basics from the Pros. It was very easy to find a comfortable riding group, no matter your style of riding. On the first night we had a Meet and Greet Pizza and Sub Party in a special meeting room that also served as the breakfast room, in which the hotel provided orange juice, cof- fee, tea, hot chocolate, cold and warm cereals, toast, bagel, etc. Boy—do they have snow in Millinocket! The trails in Millinocket are usually well groomed and offer some very scenic vistas and views of Mt Katahdin. One popular ride is to Abol Bridge which is on the Golden Road. You can almost reach out and touch Mt Katah- COCHNEWAGAN TRAILBLAZERS Monmouth, ME

din. Right around the corner on ITS 85/86 South on the west branch of the Penobscot River are several cottages with stunning views of the river and Mt. Katahdin. The most pop- ular photo spot in summer and in winter, is at the “Big Rock” which is decorated with art and “Keep Maine Beautiful” (See attached photo)

NORRIDGEWOCK SPORTSMEN ASSOCIATION Norridgewock, ME Well, it seems like we finally got enough snow to play in, and keep groomed for every- one else to play in. Two of the last storms were the most snow we got in a single snowstorm in several years (2 storms 12+ inches here in town). But warm temps and rain made for a short season around here. I hope you were able to get out for a ride or three before it all turned green and brown. I rode a grand total of 5 miles around town, and probably half of that was pulling my kids and sleds up the hill. Water crossings are no longer safe. Don’t even think about it. Your life is more important than one more snowmobile ride. I like to snow- mobile, and I like to swim, but I don’t want to swim with my snowmobile. Our webmaster has been hard at work. email: norridgewocksportsmenassociation@ yahoo.com, Facebook: Norridgewock Sports- men Association, Instagram: norridgewock- trailz, Website: https://norridgewocktrailz.wordpress.com Respectfully submitted, Bob Washburn, Secretary, Membership This newsletter will appear in the March MSA paper so hopefully everyone has had a reasonable season riding the trails. The Read- field Blizzard Busters have been fortunate to receive some of the precious snow that fell in central Maine. The dedicated club members have made every effort to keep trails groomed and ready for riding. It is currently mid-Feb- ruary as I write this, the bad news is that our area has recently received sleet and freezing rain. As well as some abnormally high tem- peratures. With colder temperatures fore- casted we hope to secure some more good trail conditions. Fortunately, conditions up North and in the higher elevations have been good. We hope everyone took the opportunity to load the trail- ers and find that “white Gold.” Although the snow cover in central Maine normally is thin in late March the trails up north should still offer lots of great riding. So, get out there and ride. Also, it’s never too late to join a snowmo- bile club. Without the clubs there would be no trails. Period. Remember to stay safe, ride right and think snow! Marge and Lee Livingston Club Reporters www.cobbosseeconteesnowmobileclub.com Many thanks to JB Bennett Grooming Equipment for updating our drags. They have already been put to work and are amazing. Many thanks to the residents of West Gar- diner who support the club by donating their returnables (cans/bottles) that helps with trail maintenance/equipment costs. Snow finally arrived, grooming crew have been out and doing an outstanding job. All trails are open and ready to ride. Some of our members rode the Rangely/Eustis trail system late January. Trails were in great shape for the amount of snow on the ground. Thank you, Rangely Lakes Snowmobile Club and Arnold Snowmobile Club. February 6 th , we held our first club ride trav- elling 60 miles from our clubhouse in West Gardiner in to areas not familiar to us. As newbies to these areas, we encourage clubs to ride the trails as if you’ve never been on them before. Many areas were not signed. We came to a number of forks on the trails, both ways looked heavily travelled, with no signs, also unexpected sharp corners or steep hills. The road crossings did have road names. Over- all, it was a great day. In years past, our club had snowmobilers unfamiliar with our trails and found areas that WE had poor signage. READFIELD BLIZZARD BUSTERS Readfield, ME COBBOSSEECONTEE sc West Gardiner, ME

Tuesday night was a repeat of our trip two years ago at the East Branch Sno Rovers SC Club House for a spaghetti supper, complete with garlic bread, coffee, tea, soft drinks, and dessert. What a feast! This was followed by a local band that provided some great dance music that kept our members on their feet. Two of our more talented Club members took to the stage and belted out some songs and played guitar. Thanks to the East Branch Sno Rovers SC Club for putting on the feast, pro- viding the band and making us feel welcome! There are many great lunch destinations that are accessible by sled including River Drivers Restaurant at New England Outdoor Center, Shin Pond Village, Wildwood Trail- side Camps, Matagamon, and Kokadjo, Those destinations ranged in distance from 12 to 60 miles one way. There were a few unplanned, off trail excur- sions, that landed sleds in waste deep snow, but everyone had a good time and nobody got hurt. There are dozens of photos and videos on the Bridgton Easy Riders Facebook Page that will show the beauty of the Katahdin area along with Club members enjoying the festiv- ities. (See below)

As always thank you to our amazing land- owners, it’s because of them that you have such great trails to ride. Thank you to all of our groomers who put in so much time to work on the trails, and to all the volunteers who make this club happen. Thank you all !!! ANASC The annual VINTAGE SNOWMOBILE SHORAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY! Rain can take a season off; I suggest winter. Rain is for April showers and May flowers. Our region has yet to experience back-to-back snow falls. Rain does not need to invite itself to every snow event. Rain is rude. Our trails have been closed since February 17th. There are too many washouts and open ice in critical locations to promote trail use. There are more warm temps and liquid falling from the sky predicted. Snow will fall during the upcoming weekend. Hopefully it will jump start a new round of grooming and riding. Our membership is growing and we are working to grow our trail system and usage. We implore our trail users and members to respect landowners. Stay on the trails and do not cut trees without permission. Every member is an ambassador of the club, so please live up to your title. The club works hard to maintain good relations with landowners. Therefore, we hear about every incident that occurs whether the perpetrator is a club member or not. If you see or know of someone being disrespectful, please be a good ambassador and say something. We do not want to lose our privileges. Most of our trails are for snowmobiles only. Do not use ATV’s, dirt bikes, tanks, horses, or anything else without permission from the landowner. Be good ambassadors and LET IT SNOW! Hans Rasmussen hanseieio@gmail.com SMITHFIELD MOONSHINERS sc Smithfield, ME

The Club also spent some time discussing the February 19 th Rally which turned out to be a big success in spite of the challenging weather conditions which saw 55 degrees during the days before the rally. But the very cold temperatures on Friday night allowed our groomers to create some amazing trails for the 161 sleds that participated. We were pleased to see many riders from neighboring clubs who came out to support the event and at least 3 new members signed up for membership and the March trip to Caribou. The indoor part of the event, at Bridgton Community Center, was busy with activity,

(Continued on Page 12)

11

m o b

o w

0 2 2 l M a i n e S n

i l e

r

r c h 2

M a