One-hundred miles of snowmobile trails used by countless number of snow lovers in Chippewa County have to be maintained or else the trails would be rendered useless much of the season.
Enter the Sault Ste Marie Snowmobile Association where nearly twenty-four members volunteer their time, day or night, to maintain the trails to ensure they are in as best shape as possible, but also as safe as possible.
At a blazing speed of eight miles per hour, the grooming machine levels out the trail as much as possible to minimize dips and bumps. The volunteer in the machine also keeps the trails clear of debris such as downed limbs.
Dennis Hank, who is a groomer, adds "the groomers can only do so much, so snowmobilers need to respect and take care of the trails, too. If they see something in the trail, or nearby, that is a hazard, they should take the time out to remove it."
"Grooming is not an easy job," said Hank. "When we had all that snow over Christmas, we could not even pull the drag behind the groomer , so we had the unhook the drag and make runs just to pack down the trails with grooming machine itself."
The association has four grooming machines. Two stay in the Sault area, one in Kinross, and the other near Raco. It can take up to seven hours to groom part of a trail. Remember, these machines only go eight miles per hour!
They just purchased a new machine (without the drag) at a cost of $200,000. The Department of Natural Resources reimburses the association some of that cost, along with association fees and fundraisers.
"Most trails are in great shape, except for the Soo to Kinross trail. That one has some lower lying water on it. That's something colder weather will take care of," Hank stressed.
So next time you see a groomer out on the trail taking care of business, remember, they are volunteering their time to make your sledding experience better and safer.
The grooming season usually runs from December 1 to March 31.
