Snow sharers

An exercise-minded reader from Bangor sends the following:

“A glorious, mild Sunday morning, the snow lay shining, the sky clear and we had no housework that couldn’t be ignored. Spouse and offspring roused along with self and off to alma mater in Orono for an overdue hike in the snow. Adults to walk, boys, ages 5 and 3, on sleds for a little exercise and a little fun.

“We managed the exercise part for a half hour but the fun for only about five minutes. That’s how long it took a cross-country skier, without a hello, eye contact or stopping, to tell us we were ruining the trail. We weren’t on a trail, we were on the road leading to the cornfields, which is at least 12 feet wide, and were being careful not to step in the tracks made by the skiers. It didn’t seem to matter. He looked offended merely by our presence.

“The boys felt bad, as if they had broken something, but we tried distract them by being cheerful about the day and kept walking, again watching out for the ski tracks. Five or 10 minutes later, it happened again. No hello, no eye contact, no stopping. A woman slowly skiing along, pointing with a ski pole at boot marks on the road and telling us why these were not allowed and that we shouldn’t be there.

“Now the boys felt terrible – the older one said that maybe we could come back in the summer. Not wanting to meet a third angry skier, we went home, a rare family morning lost. I thought the state of Maine was encouraging people to exercise to stay healthy. Isn’t the university a part of the state? Are the roads really off limits to nonskiers?”

Dave Ames, UMaine’s director of recreational programs, says the university welcomes to its trails hikers, snowshoers, dog-walkers and, on some, horseback riders in addition to skiers – just no motorized vehicles, which have been a problem of late. (The dogs should be leashed; the owners should clean up after them.) Skiers, he said, have no business telling walkers, with or without children in tow, to go away. New signs ask walkers to stay to the side, off the groomed parts of the trails. Skiers, according to Mr. Ames, are sometimes frustrated because walkers don’t always follow this courtesy. But killjoys on skis who are under the impression they own the trails are mistaken.

The university woods includes 10 or 12 miles of trails, some narrow and others easily wide enough for trucks, and are used by hundreds of people each weekend. There is plenty of room to share on the wider trails and accommodate everyone’s need to get out and exercise during the winter. Conflict might be avoided with a dose of politeness. Maybe skiers could start by saying hello.