The Prez Sez by Barry Bradley

There have been many changes since I last served as president of this club. Most of the changes have been to the clubs trail system. Five years ago the club had a heavy duty Yamaha snowmobile and a 4X10 drag to prep the 47 miles of class 4 trails (min. width 4 ft..), for which VAST paid the club to groom twice weekly, condition permitting. We also had about 90 miles of secondary trails which were groomed occasionally at club expense. Five years ago the club voted to apply for an upgrading of our trail system. The total mileage is about the same, the 47 miles of class 4 are now class 1 (min. width 8 ft.) and 27 miles of secondary trails have been upgraded to class 2 (min. 6ft.). Both the class 1 and 2 trails are groomed twice weekly (conditions permitting) and are funded, at different rates, by VAST. To meet the requirement for class 1 and 2 trails the club purchased a 1986 SkiDozer and a few of our members converted a Chevy Blazer into a tracked unit and named it the Drag- N-Wagon. Last year the club, with a grant in aid from VAST, purchased a 2001 Tucker SnoCat. When you ride our trails you will appreciate the joint efforts of the club and VAST. Now the three units are available to groom all 130 miles of trails. Maintenance, such as bridge building and/or repair, de-brushing, signing and upgrading for safety, are also covered by VAST. Your TMA purchases at work. The planning process starts in early May; then must be approved by the club, the county and by VAST. All projects must be completed by December 1st, long before most people purchase their TMA, but we all want the trails to be ready for that first snow fall. Volunteers and equipment make this happen and our trail beaters are doing an excellent job.
If you are among the many riders who just don't have the free time to help, the TMA form has a place to make a contribution to our local grooming fund.
Another change has been the closing of the Poultney Valley Club. For many years we shared ownership with other organizations, where we could hold meetings, have fund raisers, have a dinner to recognize our Landowners and also have a place to store equipment. We miss the many conveniences of a club house. At the November meeting the club approved the purchase of a covered trailer to house the clubs accumulated inventory in one location. The club also approved a committee to look into the lease or purchase of land, with access to the trail system, for building a metal building to store equipment and hold meetings. The proceeds from the sale of the Poultney Valley Club would be used for this project. Come, join us at a meeting and help us improve on our great club.

Trail Beaters by Tom Coloutti

You may remember that I started my last article by telling you about all the flagged trail stakes in my garage. Well, it's only Thanksgiving and with the help of 3 dedicated members, over 300 of them have already been pounded into the ground. I put together another 100 new stakes, with flags and reflective tape, and still have them left to do. So, probably by the time you read this, those will be done too.
This fall, we had 4 bridges in need of work. Three of them needed widening - Godzik's, Coloutti's, & Farrington's. The 4th, Town Farm Bridge, needed more planking added and they are all ready for the season. While I'm on the subject of bridges, I will be making some phone calls to members in the spring. We will need to help the State of Vermont on the rail trail as they will be replacing the trestle bridge, south of Bixby's, and the overpass bridge in Castleton.
Brush- hogging has been done on about 70% of the trail system - about 48 miles. There has been extensive pole saw work done on certain portions of the rail trail and that work has been done by only a handful of guys, literally a handful of "5" guys. The whold rail trail should look like it does from Bixby's to the trestle, between Rt. 30 and Walker Road, ang about a mile south from Castleton College crossing. The only way we can make it like that is with help. Once we get it cut back to where it once was, we can then get a sidearm brush-hog and cut it back every other year. It doesn't take long for brush the size of your thumb to grow.
A new culvert was installed on the Gambosi property, Corridor 4 in East Poultney, along with a small re-route so we can avoid a wet area. There is also a re-route on the Genier property in Middletown Springs and this will help us avoid traveling along portions of the Dayton Meadows road. Look for arrows and signs.
Talking about signs, we're really trying to have a lot of focus on better signing this year - especially making sure the Route signs correspond with the V.A.S.T snowmobile trails map. The club has spent about $350.00 this season on signs and we've learned that proper signing is vital to the trail system. We need to clearly identify the trail in meadow areas, inform riders of sensitive areas where speed and noise is a problem, and we ask that ALL snowmobilers be aware of the signs and the reason for them.
One area of special interest is the section of trail through the Moyer's property on Finel Hollow Road in East Poultney. There are a few riders who are really causing trouble on that trail and you're going to ruin it for everyone. This trail now has speed restrictions and if I get another complaint from the landowner, the trail will posted with a curfew. Keep in mind that this trail, and the rest of our trail system, is on someone else's property. That means that it's a privilege to ride on their property - have some respect. A little common sense goes a long way. Be conscious of the signing, the location of the trails, and remember that most of the time, you're on private property. Don't abuse it.
With the trails in pretty good shape, hopefully we'll be grooming soon - so think snow! Keep in mind when riding, if you see the groomers - they have the right of way. I can't stress strongly enough that if you're on the trail and you see the groomer coming towards you and their coming up a hill - please pull off the trail. The groomer needs to keep up momentum to pull the hill so make sure you're well off the trail. Remember, the groomer is out there day and night to make your day more enjoyable so give the operator a break, move out of their way any time you see them on the trail, and don't make them "ugly".
I really want to thank a very small group of guys who helped me this fall. We didn't have a lot of trail work to do this year, which was a good thing, because not many people showed up to help. There are a handful of guys who showed up every Sunday since the beginning of September and without your help the trail work wouldn't have been done. There is still more work to be done - so 'Mike', be sure you leave your family a note telling them what you're up to!!
As always, many thanks to our landowners for their generosity of allowing us to share their property. To all our landowners and club members, Francie and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and our best for a Happy New Year. See you on the trails!
.