GREENVILLE – A Massachusetts man, who spent Thursday night in the frigid air of the Moosehead Lake region, warmed himself by fire and kept his hands moving throughout the night to stay warm.

Louis Lessard, 46, of Ware was safe and sound when a group of Winslow snowmobilers discovered him at about 10 a.m. Friday. Familiar with Maine weather, Lessard had been prepared for such an emergency.

Lessard had left Leisure Life Lodge at 10 p.m. Thursday to travel a local club loop under the full moon when he discovered he had left the loop trail and was on an unmarked trail. As he attempted to turn the snowmobile around on the trail, the clutch failed to disengage and sent both Lessard and his snowmobile off the trail and into a brook, his wife, Tammy Lessard, said Friday.

Earlier Thursday, Lessard had traveled the same route he intended to travel that night and found it pretty, she said. He told her earlier in the evening that he planned to go to one of the three places, either Indian Hill, Kokadjo or Sandy Bay. Just before he left, however, he told her he was headed to Wilson Pond, she recalled.

When Lessard discovered he couldn’t budge the sled, he hunkered down for the night under a blanket and warmed himself with fire, according to his wife. He had a screwdriver and dug into the snow throughout the night just to keep his hands moving, she said. He also had carried a second set of gloves; the first pair got wet when the sled broke through the brook.

Early Friday morning, Lessard walked the trail to a camp where he found a shovel leaning against a building. He used the shovel to remove some of the snow around the sled and then returned it, his wife said. A few hours later, a group of snowmobilers came upon Lessard and gave him and his sled a tow to the Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Club.

Lessard said her husband was thankful for the help provided by the Winslow group and appreciated the efforts of local wardens.

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