8722_MSA_Here&Back_SpecialEdition

Bowlin Matagamon Shin Pond Snowmobile Club

I find a small cadre of Bowlin Matagamon Shin Pond Snowmobile Club members inside the Shin PondVil lage Restaurant. This may well be the best spot of the day to sell hands to the Poker Run as sledders are constantly coming and going . . . not to mention that it’s hard to beat a place like this with good food and great company. There is a reason why Shin Pond is a proverbial hot spot for sledding. Part of it is the abundant amount of snow, which can typically be found here, but it’s also the scenery. And while many Clubs can boast of great views or sce nic stops, Shin Pond is perhaps one of the best places to unload one’s sleds if you want to take a trip to the aban doned locomotives at Eagle Lake. I draw another card . . . correction . . . another lousy card . . . and chat with Club SecretaryTerry Hill for a bit before hopping back in the car for my next stop.

Shin Pond Village is always a busy place. If there is a snowmobiling mecca in this area, it would be here. It seems as if every sledder in the area even tually ends up here to top off the fuel tank, wolf down some food or have a beer before returning to the trails. I take a few minutes out of my trip to see Ralph Ellis – owner of The Motor Sports Doctor. Two weeks ago when my Renegade unexpectedly died 26 miles away from Shin Pond it was Ralph who came to my rescue as he has started a business where he res cues dead sleds and stranded sledders with his custom-made trailer he pulls behind his Polaris snowmobile. In between working on sleds and being a would-be hero, Ralph also maintains Shin Pond’s fleet of rental sleds. I chatted a bit with Ralph, thanked him again for his help two weeks pre viously and then left him to return to working on repairing a sled.

Bowlin Mattagamon Shin Pond

Founded: 1988

Members: 60

Miles of Trail: 130

Groomers: ?

Best Tip: Roberts Mountain, Cunningham Mountain and the Locomotives Why volunteer? “This is a way to give back to the community. I figure how am I really a member of the snowmobiling community if I don’t volunteer in a club?”

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Bowlin Matagamon Shin Pond Snowmobile Club Groomer