8116-R4_MSA_Sep2022_MaineSnowmobiler

MSA Club News

Temperatures in the nineties and very high humidity. Hopefully by the time this first MSA newsletter of the 2022-2023 season is in your hands the temperatures will have moder ated and we are enjoying those cool nights that are only a fond memory today. The Readfield Blizzard Busters Snowmo bile Club is planning to hold our first meeting of the new season on September 14th, 2022 at 7:00 PM. The Weathervane Restaurant in Readfield is providing a private space (down stairs “pub room”) for the club to hold our meeting. Lots to be discussed and planned for the upcoming season. Please check our Face book page for any updates or news. Until the next time, THINK SNOW! Marge and Lee Livingston Club reporters www.cobbosseeconteesnowmobileclub.com Thanks to the residents of West Gardiner for donating their bottles/cans for trail upkeep. We purchased a 12 ft open trailer with ramp to transport those donations. Thank you to Diane’s Signs, West Gardiner, for making and donating the signs for the trailer. COBBOSSEECONTEE sc West Gardiner, ME We lost a member and friend in a tragic accident this summer. Condolences to the family of Shane Malloy. Club meets year-round and thanks to the Rhotens, Cogleys and Welch’s for hosting cookouts. We have some mighty fine cooks and bakers and enjoyed every bit of it. Annual camping trip to Cathedral Pines in September, always fun and Chuck’s bacon over the open fire is a huge hit. Club meets 1 st & 3 rd Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m., 3rd Tuesday potluck supper is held at 6:15 p.m. with meeting to follow. Did I mention we have some mighty fine cooks/ bakers? Weekly trail work starts Sunday, October 2 nd meet at the clubhouse at 8 a.m. – 12 noon and continues every Sunday until trails are done. There is always lots of work to do before the season is upon us, all help is welcome. Fall is a busy time for everyone, appreciate any help you give. Any high school student in need of commu nity service, contact Dave Cogley, Trailmas ter for dates/times to help. Get out into the outdoors, help your local snowmobile club, dedicated volunteers and gain the community service you need. Charlene McFarland Club Secretary WESTERN REGION BRIDGTON EASY RIDERS Bridgton, ME See us on Facebook Bridgtoneasyriders.com Hello MSAMembers, After a very warm summer we are looking forward to winter, and plans for the upcom ing snowmobile season are already underway. We hope to have some great snow conditions for riding! Bridgton, like some other towns in southern Maine, is experiencing growth, so the Club will be figuring out if we need any trail modifications. This past winter, in addition to local riding, the Easy Riders enjoyed two fantastic Club returnable bottles/cans. Thanks to the residents of West Gardiner for supporting our snowmobile club. Cobbosseecontee Snowmobile Club recently purchased 12 ft trailer to transport donated

trips up north. These trips are fun, and because we divide up into smaller groups, each with a leader, the trips are suitable for riders of different abilities and experience. Our Club’s membership has doubled in the last 5 years, ending the ‘21 - ‘22 snowmobile season with 173 members, our largest membership ever! Our very popular Lake Region Snowmo bile Trail Map gets updated every year. It shows trails for the eight Snowmobile Clubs in the region that participate on the map. The Waterford Sno-Packers Snowmobile Club has decided to join the map next year. Bill Preis will be contacting the snowmobile clubs to get updates and changes on the trails, the advertis ers, contact information etc. With good group cooperation it is hoped the map will be printed and ready to distribute by December, 2022. Bridgton Easy Riders first meeting of the season will be Friday, September 10th at Bridgton Community Center, on Depot St. Bridgton. The Fabulous Pot Luck Supper will begin at 6PM followed by the business meet ing at 6:45. All are welcome! Come learn about our upcoming Club events: the Christmas Holiday Party, Club Rally, and Club Trips. We’ll also learn about the new Bridgton Easy Riders Decals for the backs of our snowmobile Trailers, as well as progress on the Club’s application for 501C3 tax exempt status. Hope to see you Sept. 10th, 6 PM at the season’s first Fabulous Pot Luck Supper and Business Meeting. Bill Preis BER Club Correspondent NORWAY TRACKERS Norway, ME Find us on Facebook norwaytrackerssnowmobileclub@gmail.com Welcome Back Sledders, Hope everyone has had a wonderful sum mer. We are looking forward to an exciting snowmobiling season with lots of snow. Over the summer, our club met at our busi ness member restaurants for dinner to support them and connect in the off-season.

join us. Follow us on Facebook for updates and events. Look for your membership packets in the mail shortly. Please get them back to us as soon as you can so that we may fund our pre season maintenance. We accept payments through our Venmo account. We will also be selling super raffle tickets this year. This is a great way to support your local club and the MSA. I will be sending them out in the membership packets. JOIN A CLUB, SUPPORT THE SPORT Dan Trouant, Membership Chair Hello everyone, It’s that time of year already to start prepar ing for the winter months and all the work get ting ready for the upcoming season. You should have received your membership renewals in the mail by now. If you haven’t received it or you’d like to join us for the first time please reach out to me and I’d be happy to get you whatever you may need. (603) 986-7293. We have 2 bridge projects to complete this fall as well as groomer and drag maintenance. If you’d like to lend a hand, we’d appreciate the help. We meet every Sunday morning at 8 AM (starting up the Sunday after the fair) at Watson’s Garage at 54 Fair Street. If you’d prefer to help out on any other day, we can coordinate with you and let you know the areas that need brushing, etc. There’s always something to do on our 75+ miles of trails in our area! The club will be applying for a grant for a new drag and a Merrill Limb Masher to make trail work easier and faster. We will be looking for volunteers in our fair booth again this year. Please reach out to me if you’d like to help. The shifts run from 9 AM - 1 PM, 1 PM - 5 PM and 5 PM - 9 PM all 8 days of the fair. We prefer to have 2 people in the booth per shift. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a good winter and lots of snow! The Wild River Riders is a small club in Gilead, Maine. We maintain 30 miles of trails and are a critical link to the New Hampshire trail system, as well as a connector between the Maine snowmobile clubs, Stoneham Knight Riders and the Greenstock Snow sports. The highlight of our trail system is Wheeler Mines, which have interesting ice formations in the winter and are a destination stop and the location for our annual cookout at the end of February. Bridget Gorton Club Secretary WILD RIVER RIDERS Gilead, ME FRYEBURG AREA SNOWMOBILE ASSOCIATION Fryeburg, ME

For a nice ride, start at our Park and Ride on Route 2 in Gilead and head left out of the parking lot, following our well-marked trails. In about five miles, your first stop will be the mines. We recommend a counterclockwise loop, and the trail is posted as one way. As you head up the trail, beautiful views of the Mahoosuc mountains begin to appear, as well as Bethel; Maine’s prettiest mountain village. There is a pull off area for sleds, and the first mine is just a short walk from the trail. This mine usually has lots of blue ice. Continue up the one-way trail until you arrive at the Wheel er’s cabin. After admiring the view, loop around the cabin, and you will see the larger ice cave. If the water is frozen, you can walk inside this cave, but be sure not to walk under hanging or dripping icicles. For the ladies, there is also an outhouse at this location. Head down the hillside and continue east towards Bethel and the Greenstock Snow sports trails. Enjoy the views of the mountains as you follow the pipeline and cross several farms. (Please stay on the marked trails!) Follow the signs to Crocker Pond. Crocker Pond is a White Mountain National Forest Campground in the summer, but in the winter is a pretty place to stop and take a break. Some years the pit toilets are open if you can kick the snow out from in front of the doors. After your break hop back on the trail, which puts you on the Stoneham Knight Rid ers trail system. Keep an eye out for the signs for Mt. Adams. If you’re lucky, and the trail has been recently groomed, it’s a nice ride to a beautiful view overlooking Evergreen Valley. Back on the trail, you will ride some of the finest trails in Western Maine. The trail through Evergreen Valley and over Deer Hill to Evans Notch is an excellent ride. Evergreen Valley and Evans Notch are both roadways closed in the winter to traffic and groomed for snowmobiling. Don’t forget to stop at the Welcome to Beautiful Maine sign for a photo op! You will also want to pull over at the height of land in Evans Notch to enjoy the view down the valley and see the Lion’s Head formed in the rock. When you near the end of Evans Notch, keep an eye out for the signs pointing back to Bethel where you will once again be on our trail system. This is a beauti ful remote ride through the White Mountain National Forest back to our park and ride. Your roundtrip ride is approximately 60 miles. Fill up your tanks before starting this ride, or you will have to detour off this route for gas either in Bethel or Stoneham.

Several of our dedicated members worked on our tuckers over the spring and summer to make sure they would be ready to roll this winter. We will be starting trail work on Sun day mornings in October. If you ride our trails and are not a member, please consider joining our club. It takes a tre mendous amount of time and money to main tain our trail system. Without members there would be no club, with no club there would be no trails. Every little bit helps. Drop us an email or message us on Facebook. Our mem bership application can be downloaded or I can mail you one. Our meetings are typically the first Tuesday of the month at the Norway town hall. Our first meeting of the season is Tuesday Septem ber 6th. We will be hosting a potluck dinner at 6:15 with a meeting starting at 6:45. Our October meeting, however, will be the sec ond Tuesday: the 11 th . Everyone interested in snowmobiling is welcome and encouraged to The Norway Trackers met for dinner this summer at Ari’s Pizza; one of our long-time business members. Thank you for years of support.

POODUNCK sc Dixfield, ME

Hello fellow sledders! Hope everyone had a great summer, sure was hot here in Maine! So now let’s concentrate on a nice cold snowy winter Mother Nature!!!

(Continued on Page 12)

11

w m

S n o

o b

e r 2 0 2 2 l M a i n e

i l

e

r

S

e p

e m b

t