8651-R2_MSA_March2024_Newsletter_Web

MSA Club News

ply of timber was depleted, and today they remain where they were abandoned. (See pho tos below) More information can be found on the website of Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands.

of snow. This all goes back to our dedicated crews who work tirelessly all year. Our groomers did get out a few times. Hopefully you were able to get out and ride. Our last meeting of the season is April 2nd at the Norway Town Hall. Pot luck at 6:15 and meeting at 6:45. We welcome everyone where we will be electing officers and closing out our season. Have a great summer.

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EMBDEN TRAVELERS sc Embden ME Find us on Facebook

CENTRAL REGION

I am writing this on deadline day as seems to be the case this season; hoping for snow. January gave us 25.5”. February, to this date, totals 4.5”. I haven’t groomed since the 16th experiencing some frozen and rutted trails. We must have had a mountain sled(s) or three renegade riders that really tore up the soft/wet snow packed trails the week before. The trail up Dunbar Hill from East Shore Road looked like a skidder went on it. Not the easiest to repair. We do apologize and thank you for enduring some rough trails. I see some trail systems we connect with have stopped groom ing operations. I guess we have too. We wish to thank all that attended the Snow Fest on the 17th. It appeared that most attend ees drove to the Embden Pond Boat Landing to enjoy some great food, games, conversa tion and the best Hot Chocolate in the county. The Snow Fest did end with a whiteout snow squall totaling 1”. Look to our Facebook page for an upcoming meeting in April. We are hoping for multiple candidates for all positions as nomination and election of officers will be taking place at that meeting. Be safe and healthy, Your Cub Reporter CONCHNEWAGAN TRAILBLAZERS Monmouth, ME What happened to winter? I am glad that I took advantage of the modest snow we had here in town. My Max, Scott, and I got a small, but traditional ride around town and up to the fire tower on Mt. Pisgah. I had them take me over the new reroute our club needed to make in the center section of town where it crosses Route 132 and then Academy Rd. The group that did that work did a great job and we are also thankful to the landowners that allowed us to make this trail possible. On February 15 th our club along with the Monmouth Fire Dept. conducted a training session with our rescue boggan. This was our third rescue training session since we put the boggan back into service in Monmouth. I hav en’t heard the fulI report on how it went, but preliminary reports show it was successful. I would also like to thank everyone that sold and bought snowball raffle tickets. This is cur rently our biggest fundraiser so it is important that all the tickets get sold. Congratulations to all the winners! They were posted daily on our facebook page. Our next fundraiser will be our 3rd annual Swap Meet and Lawn Sale. Watch for information on our facebook page as well, as this will be happening this spring. In other news, we will be voting for club officers at our March meeting. Our long time President, Hugh LeMaster and Secretary, Doris LeMaster have decided not to run for reelection. They have both dedicated many hours to the Trailblazers and for that we are grateful. Thank you Hugh and Doris! Our annual camping trip has also been added to the calendar. It will be at Peaks Kenney State Park the weekend of August 9-11. Sites fill up quickly so if you want to join us, reserve soon. Roberta Kemp V.P. and Membership Chair WESTERN REGION norwaytrackerssnowmobileclub@gmail.com In September, we start planning for a great snowmobile season. We pour a lot of time and money into our groomers and trail system. Sometimes we have to fix our trails two or even three times due to some of the weather we’re dealt. But we do it because we are hopeful for a good season of riding. If we don’t prepare early, we will never be ready when snow does fly. All we can do is hope that next year is better than this year. Thank you to our members who support us through the good and the bad. Special thank you to those who made extra donations. We received fan letters and many compliments on the condition of our trails despite the lack NORWAY TRACKERS Norway, ME Find us on Facebook

COBBOSSEECONTEE sc West Gardiner, ME

www.cobbosseeconteesnowmobileclub.com This season has been challenging due to the weather conditions. THE storm earlier this year did major damage to our trails, fallen trees, a bridge swept away due to high water and lack of snowfall making trails impossi ble to use. Huge thank you to the members who have been on trails not just on our regu lar Sunday trailwork days, also Saturdays and whenever possible. To the snowmobilers who respected the closing of the trails until pass able and safe, much appreciated and to those that didn’t, this is how we lose our trails. In appreciation to landowners for use of their property, recently two landowners’ names were drawn for $75 gift certificates at local businesses. As I write this, it is mid-February and no Sunday club trail rides on our own trails, very discouraging. Mother Nature is not done yet, or at least we hope not, that we can ride on our trails before end of season. Charlene McFarland Club Secretary ROME RUFF RIDERS Rome, ME We started the month of February with good trail conditions and an excellent base. We received no significant snowfall throughout the month but continued to drag our trails 3 times in February and were able to maintain mostly excellent trail conditions even after the 5-day warm spell mid-February. We know where we have problems under low snow con ditions and have plans to hopefully address those areas next summer. With those trail improvements completed we will be in great shape to provide good riding in the future with minimal snow. Nearing the end of February and we have suspended grooming operations until we get more snow and cold temperatures. We were able to use our new side x side drag a couple times and are still working out some issues with the actuators but are very happy with the way it performs. This larger drag will allow us to groom more trail in fewer number of passes saving the club time and fuel. We are still working on our 2024 RTP grant application. Our original submittal was denied but the good news is we still have an oppor tunity to resubmit the application addressing some of the shortcomings with the original submission. We hope to meet the March 15th resubmittal deadline. Hello Snowmobilers, Where is the winter? It’s 41 degrees where I am in the last of February - No snow in sight predictions of warm weather and rain. Some clubs are closing their trails and clubhouses. With February school vacation upcoming, we were planning to be open every day. At our last meeting we decided to close the trails as they were not in good riding conditions. We have had our clubhouse open on the weekends starting the last of January to Febru ary 11, 2024. Our club has struggled like most clubs with water holes and dirt. Thanks to all who came into the clubhouse. It was great to see everyone. Thank you to all of our volunteers who kept the clubhouse open. Without their help this would not have been a success. If we somehow get more snow, we can reopen and groom again. Wish full thinking. We will also continue to work on our bridges that need to be replaced during the upcoming year. We will need volunteers or donations to help with the work and cost of repairs and replacement. Think snow LEXINGTON HIGHLANDERS sc Lexington Twp, ME

Dan Trouant, Club Reporter

The Pleasant Mountain sc Bridgton, ME Bridgtoneasyriders.com

The Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club meeting (Formerly Bridgton Easy Riders) was called to order by President Blaine Chapman on Friday, February. 9, at 6:45PM followed by a salute to the flag. Blaine reported that the Club has 128 Mem bers and 26 Business Members. These num bers are down from previous years because of the lack of snow. Water holes persist on local trails because of the wet and warm tempera tures, and it required 60 pallets to fill them. Snow was then shoveled onto the pallets to make a passable trail. Thanks to the great turn out of the trail crew to do the work with many hands. There will be a new trail route crossing Knights Hill Road at the Power Station for next season. Blaine talked about Mike Guptill who spent 3 weeks repairing a blade on the Tucker at his own expense. Blaine suggested that the Club reimburse him and the motion was approved. Bob Corthell introduced Gerry Majors, Western Region Director, who reported that there are 62 Clubs in the Western Region. Gerry will check to see if he has a sign for the intersection of ITS 80/89. Bill and Jean Preis attended the January MSA meeting in Norway along with Bob and Mary Corthell on a very snowy night and had a chance to see what MSA is all about. There was no Fabulous Pot Luck Supper at the February Club meeting because members were returning that day from their Club trip to Millinocket, and they related many stories from that very successful trip. On Sunday, Feb. 4 th , 34 members of the Club had driven north to Baxter Park Inn, Millinocket, that would serve as their base for 4 days of snowmobil ing. There is direct access to the trail from the Inn’s parking lot, and gas is available nearby. The Club has made this trip several times in recent years, and has always had a great time. The Baxter Park Inn offers a delicious buffet breakfast in a private banquet room, which gives the Club members a place to socialize and plan their day. On Club trips such as this one, the group of Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club mem bers consists of couples as well as singles, and everyone has a chance to select a snowmobil ing group to match their interest and experi ence. Group leaders, and many of the riders, have communicators in their helmets (cur rently the Cardo system) so they can respond to one another when needed. They can also alert others in the group about approaching sleds, upcoming trail junctions, rest stops, and scenery. Care is taken to keep the riding group together and be sure everyone is safe. Riding conditions in the Millinocket area were superb and trails were well-groomed. The region is famous for its scenery, and from the snowmobile trails there are often clear views of Mt. Katahdin, seen from many differ ent directions. The view of Katahdin’s Knife Edge, seen from the east, is spectacular. There were also rides to popular places such as Shin Pond Village, Brownville, Matagamon Wil derness, and Kokadjo. One day, a group of the Club’s more expe rienced and adventurous snowmobilers aka “The Fast Group” rode 221 miles round trip to “The Trains”, which is a popular year round tourist destination. Two massive steam engines that were used almost a century ago to move timber were left behind after the sup

Food is always an important part of snow mobile trips, so Club members made sure to visit favorite restaurants at each destination, as well as River Driver’s Restaurant and Knife’s Edge Restaurant (part of New England Out door Center) and Grandbelly’s Country Cafe. A special treat is the evening spent at the snowmobile clubhouse of the East Branch Sno Rovers. The evening includes a delicious supper followed by their local 15-piece band that provided great entertainment and dance music. It is always a fun time. The next meeting of Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club, (formerly Bridgton Easy Riders) will be Friday, April 12th at 6 PM for the Fabulous Pot Luck Supper, at the Bridgton Community Center, followed by the business meeting at 6:45PM. We welcome new members—Hope to see you there, Bill Preis Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club Correspondent Spring Greetings from Pejepscot Sno-Chiefs! I have seen a few fun pics from friends who found trails to ride up north, but certainly a challenge this winter. Lots of friends ice fish ing though! We held our regular club meeting Feb 13 th , at the clubhouse, 9 members present. Thank you, Holly Randall & family, for providing what I heard was a most delicious chicken/ broccoli/pasta dish in the crockpot. We have good cooks in our club! Lots of discussion on the condition of the trails, going to have to wait until Spring or later now to work on cutting a new access trail to make a new link to to the Bowdoin trail system. We do have landowner permission secured, which is a big relief. Unfortunately, we were forced to cancel our PEJEPSCOT SNO-CHIEFS Lisbon Falls, ME Find us on Facebook

Cathy Horne Club reporter

L-R: Tim Nilsen, Club President, Rep. Rick Mason, Sen. Jeff Timberlake, Steve Curtis, club Trailmaster

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