8843-R6_MSA_September2024_Newsletter

Continued from Cover

ward the story a bit here to say that no matter how much one enjoys driving, trust me . . . driving a Camry on tarred roads in later-Winter with the inevita ble frost heaves can never compete to driving a sled on those white ribbon highways whether it be blasting up a railbed, zooming through a hayfield or zigzagging through the tight twisties of a woods trail. On the Friday before the KAST Poker Run I loaded up Google Maps and began to figure out the best and most efficient course by road. Through the power of Google it looked like the entire run could be done in 229 miles and in 4 hours and 44 minutes . . . of course Google has no idea that I am part Irish and have the gift of gab not to mention the fact I fully intended to stop and eat lunch somewhere along the way. It was however during my plotting and planning that another thought occurred to me . . . rather than just quickly stopping, grabbing a poker card and then hurriedly moving on, I thought it might be worth the time to meet some of the men and women who volunteer in the various clubs. I mean I’m relatively active in my own snowmobile club, but I am also guilty of having ridden right past other snow mobile club houses when out trail riding as I often have a destination in mind or want to reach a certain spot by a certain time. In the past I have not really stopped to talk to the folks who are actually grooming the trails, putting up the informational signs and rebuilding the bridges. And so here I was . . . barreling down I-95 heading towards my first stop of the day. Just barely visible through the weak sun of the morning dawn was my first – and certainly not the last – view of Mt. Katahdin.

Fro Dough Pizza in Mattawamkeag 10 minutes to 7 – the starting time of the Poker Run – fully expecting to see a number of cars, maybe even a line of folks, waiting to draw their first poker card. Instead I found an empty parking lot and closed pizza shop. As I settled in to wait I took a few min utes to peruse Facebook. In those few moments I also found myself amazed to a degree. It is no surprise this past Winter and its lack of snow has been tough on businesses and snowmo bile clubs alike. As I flipped past photo after photo of groomers out and about doing their business I thought to myself that it really has been something to see the trailmasters and groomers pull off a virtual miracle by somehow pre serving what snow is on the trails and keeping the trails open . . . in a normal winter seeing photos of the groomers laying down flat tracks in late-Febru ary would be no big deal, but this year seeing them still going at it even now is pretty special. After 15 minutes of looking at Face book and surfing the Net I began to get nervous. Was I in the right area? Had they moved the stop? Fortunately, that was right about when Naomi Smith – who with her husband Chris Smith has been instrumental in getting KAST up and running – showed up. A few minutes later Kasie Gray, a member of the Mattawamkeag Road Runners Snowmobile Club, showed up with paperwork and signs. Kasie and I chatted a bit about the Road Run ners which is one of the legacy clubs which sprang up in the early-1970s when snowmobiling began to take off for the first time here in Maine. The Road Runners – with their dis tinctive logo of a scarf-wearing, snow mobile-riding road runner– maintain 80 miles of trail. Like so many other clubs, a lack of volunteers has Kasie and her husband “Bear” (Kasie says even Bear’s own friends don’t know

Mattawwamkeag Road Runners

Founded: 1970s

Members: 20

Miles of Trail: 80

Groomers: “Two blue groomers.” Kasie

Best Tip: Kasie says the best rides are either to ride through the Mattawamkeag Wilderness with its great views or take the trail to Benedicta which has some great views of the mountains and sees very little traffic. Why volunteer? “My husband and I enjoy riding. We saw a need with the club needing volunteers as there are a lot of older members and not a lot of younger people joining the club to help out.”

This isn’t good. I pulled into the gravel parking lot of

Continued on Page 10

9