Caution on all waters urged for sledders

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The snow that blankets Greater Bangor helps cover up a couple of important facts. First, it’s not officially winter yet.

Second, it may not be snowmobile season yet, either.

Not unless you use caution … which many folks aren’t.

On Monday I spoke with Eileen Lafland, the eastern regional vice president of the Maine Snowmobile Association.

Lafland spent a lot of time talking with other area snowmobile enthusiasts over the weekend and is concerned about the lack of common sense that some folks are showing.

“Obviously, it’s wonderful that we have snow on the ground on the first of December,” Lafland said. “As snowmobilers, that’s what we love to see.”

You know there’s a big “but” coming, don’t you?

Here it is.

“But nothing’s frozen. Rivers aren’t frozen. Streams aren’t frozen. Lakes and ponds aren’t frozen,” Lafland said. “Most bodies of water that aren’t bridged aren’t frozen [enough to sled across].”

That fact became readily apparent over the weekend as eager sledders began hitting the trails around Bangor.

One rider in Brewer got more than he bargained for, Lafland said, and ended up in chest-deep water.

The rider wasn’t seriously injured in the incident, but the messages should be clear: Wait a bit. Avoid water. Be careful.

Lafland said the clubs she deals with are exercising caution, but many riders aren’t.

“What’s happening is a lot of clubs in this area aren’t out grooming [trails] yet because they know the water’s out there,” Lafland said. “We don’t want people not riding the trails, but we want people to know it’s not safe [to go everywhere they might go later in the season].”

Lafland said early snow exacerbated the conditions that already existed.

“We needed the cold snap [before the snow] and we didn’t get it,” she said. “We got 12 to 14 inches [of rain] in October and November and that water didn’t have a chance to go anywhere.”

Lafland said she heard anecdotal reports of children walking on a pond in Washington County over the weekend. One passerby stopped and told a nearby adult that the pond had only skimmed over the night before and wasn’t safe.

And in this area, even small brooks aren’t likely safe enough to cross on a snowmobile.

“I know everybody’s excited, we’ve got the snow,” Lafland said. “But it’s not just the lakes and ponds [that aren’t safe]. It’s the backyard stream that’s now 30 feet across [due to the fall rain].”

With cold weather in the forecast, the conditions will continue to improve. Lafland just hopes riders will be patient, and use caution.

“Contact someone from the [local snowmobile] club and ask them [about conditions],” Lafland said. “What we’re telling people in our area is, if you can find a road system [that serves as a snowmobile trail], use it.”

Snowshoe trails on the Web

While spending some time chatting with Brad Ryder at Epic Sports last week, I started perusing the racks of snowshoes and marveling at the technological advancements that have been made in recent years.

As it turns out, the advancements aren’t entirely equipment-based.

On one rack of Tubbs snowshoes, I saw a peel-off flier that I thought many readers might be interested in.

As you might imagine, having a pair of snowshoes doesn’t do you any good if you can’t think of anyplace to use them.

The folks at Tubbs have addressed that and compiled quite a list of snowshoe trails across North America.

Hikers can click on the Web site at www.tubbs-trailnet.com and set up a search that will offer options based on location (Maine, for instance) and difficulty.

The site is user-driven, in that your fellow snowshoe enthusiasts are the ones who file the trail reports.

As of Monday a search of Maine’s options netted a list of 107 trails, including several in and around Bangor.

Just a few that are listed in eastern Maine: the Bangor City Forest, the Jerry Pond trail in Millinocket, the Magurrewock Mountain Trail in Calais and the Georges Highland Path in Rockport.

Users can also create and share trip itineraries, review trails and win prizes.

Tubbs is currently running a promotion during which people who submit a trail can win a free Tubbs TrailNet T-shirt.

John Holyoke may be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214.