8369-R1_MSA_May2023_MaineSnowmobiler

The Magic of Snowmobiling By Jason Dangelantonio

to go snowmobiling. Man, did it not disappoint. That 1 st trip I took to Old Forge was only the 3 rd time seeing my brother, but it felt like the first as this was when I really got to know him. Anyone that knew Andy knew his passion for snowmobiling. He also loved this small town in NY and had many friends in Old Forge. Sean and Dan were 2 of his friends I got to know very well that 1st trip. I had the opportunity to go on 2 trips snowmobiling with my brother Andy, for a total of 9 days during our 1 st season together. Little did we know, that summer we would see more of each other than during the winter. There is no doubt that we developed a bond that summer. We went on many adventures, shared many laughs, and had a lot of fun together. I purchased my 1 st snowmobile at the beginning of summer. Andy, Sean and Dan were there every step of the way. One of the things that we did as a group that summer was plan our trip to Maine for March. Unfortunately, my brother Andy passed at the end of September. I will be forever thankful for all of the time we spent together that year and all of the memories we made.That November Dan and I moved into my brother’s cabin to start our 1st full snowmobiling season together. Our club shared many adventures this winter together. Our trip to Maine signified two things; first it was the last thing that we had to do to honor my brother, as he was the one that planned this trip. Second, it marked our last chance to ride for the season. We had the best week of sledding to end the season this year in Maine. Some of the highlights included;

-We completed my brother Andy’s dream to see the ghost trains. - We had the chance to put some of my brother’s memorial stickers at some of the local businesses. - We met and rode with local legend Les Hill and he showed us around to the Shin PondTrails. - We rode a new personal record of two hundred and twenty-five miles in one day. - We had our first moose encounter. - We had perfect visibility and extra snow so we could get to lookout point to get great pictures. - We met Andy’s friend Rob who was staying in Caribou. - We got to ride some great trails from Shin Pond all the way to Caribou. - Most importantly we got to spend a couple of great days riding with great friends. It was tons of fun and an awesome week for us. We have already booked our trip back for next year. We have some great memories to carry us through summer to our next season.

We just recently got back from a trip in Shin Pond Village, Maine. Where we had a chance to meet and ride with local legend Les Hill. One of Les’s questions was, “how does a guy from Delaware (Jason), Connecticut (Sean) and New York (Dan) know one another”. Here’s the backstory of how the Old Forge Ditch Bangers (our snowmobile club) formed. Also, how I found and met my long lost brother Andy Pape. The story starts back in 1971, when my brother Andy Pape was born and my mother put him up for adoption. Let’s fast forward to the summer of 2018, when we used ancestry.com to find our roots. That September we received a message through ancestry.com from my brother Andy Pape. That October my mom and I met Andy for the 1st time. Andy was from Long Island, NY. He was a master auto mechanic by trade for most of his life and his favorite hobby was snowmobiling. He spent most of the winter snowmobiling at his cabin in Old Forge, NY. For as long as I’ve known my brother Andy he’s always wanted to show me snowmobiling. In February of 2022 I finally took my brother up on his offer

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