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Green Lake Snowmobile Club sees lots of activity, traffic on local trails

Ken Alexander column
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Snowmobilers watch as a side-by-side owner slips and slides his way along one of the trails. Green Lake Snowmobile Club members frown on the use of quads and side by side-by-sides, which chew up the snow based on the club-maintained trails, in the winter. (Submitted photo).

There has been a lot of snowmobile activity on the local trails, but Green Lake Snowmobile Club president John Sullivan says more snow is needed to smooth out the trails.

Most of the trails are “bumpy” due to the traffic on them and a relatively low base of snow, he noted, while the Jeep Lake trails have been lost to riders now because of the ongoing active logging in the area.

“Trails and roads have been ploughed, but it may be a benefit in the future because when the burned trees are harvested, there will be less of a danger of hazard trees coming down [over the trails].”

He warns the ice depths on the lakes are inconsistent at this time. “The lack of a really cold spell has resulted in the ice not thickening up as it has in past years.”

Noting there is running water going through some of the trails, Sullivan suggests riders slow down and ride through the water carefully.

Club rides

Club rides, which include a club member leader, are held Wednesdays and Sundays. Riders should meet at the clubhouse at 10 a.m. and bring a lunch.

Sullivan says they had 10 people for the first ride, The trips are intended for club members only. Those who would like to become members can call John at 250-456-2145, or go to the website: greenlakesnowmobileclub.ca and click on “membership” in the column on the left-hand side at the top of the website to get to the club application form.

Grooming status

The club hasn’t groomed the trails this season because it is waiting for a new four-foot drag to arrive, hopefully sometime this month, Sullivan says.

“We downsized to a four-foot drag that will be pulled by one of our snowmobiles [rather than a larger drag pulled by the Bombi],” he said.

The club was worried about the Bombi breaking down on the trails, which would require repairs to be made outside on a trail because it was too large to drag back to the shop for repairs.

Sullivan says trail grooming will be “proportional to the club membership participation.”

“We must have extra manpower [to help with grooming] and extra finances to cover the gas and oil costs.”

Club members who can’t attend a trail-grooming working bee can help by making a donation to help cover the costs for gas and oil.

Winter: Sled-only

trails

The club protocol is that people should only be riding on the trails with snowmobiles during the winter.

For the most part, Sullivan says people have been co-operative about not using their quads and side-by-sides on the trails during the winter.

“There are a lot of new people moving into the area and they may not be informed about the protocol.”


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