WANNA RIDE?: Interested in taking to the trails like these riders posed on the Highland Rover Snowmobile Club’s scenic pathways? The club is offering those who’ve never snowmobiled a chance to try it ouy in February. See the related article for more details.
EMSDALE — Never been snowmobiling?
The Highland Rovers Snowmobile Club want to take you on the trails.
The club is offering free rides for folks who have never been snowmobiling on every Saturday and Sunday in February.
They’ll have two double-seater sleds available to introduce the curious to the popular sport, said Highland Rovers’ president Chas Clark. Club members will navigate; guests will be passengers.
“We will take them out for about 20 minutes on the trails,” he said, adding that snowmobiling is a great way to explore the area’s backwoods and encounter wildlife.
Clark said that there are many people in the area who have retired or moved from the city and may have never been on a snowmobile.
It’s these folks, as well as families, that the Highlands Rovers are reaching out to with this initiative, he said.
Clark said he wishes to break stereotypes like “snowmobiling is for young people; for young men to speed around and cause havoc to the environment.”
Snowmobiling, he said, is safer than driving a car and snowmobile clubs strive to promote and enforce safety in the sport.
Clark points out that snowmobiling brings a lot of money to the area’s businesses, and building on the popularity of the sport will benefit the local economy.
The Highland Rovers also participate in many community events and initiatives. They are involved in Perry Township’s parks and recreation committee, they support Kearney’s senior’s club and are involved with committees in McMurrich-Monteith, among other initiatives, Clark said.
“We’re looking for more membership for the club because we are a community club and we want to involve local people,” he said.
People interested in trying snowmobiling with the Highland Rovers must make an appointment for the rides, which will start at the club’s groomer shed in Emsdale.
Call Clark at 685-7739 or e-mail him at chasclark@surenet.net.
He asks that participants wear warm clothing and boots, as if they were going out skiing or sledding. The club will provide helmets.
The club also holds a fundraising barbecue the second Saturday of every month at their groomer shed in Emsdale during snowmobiling season. It’s right on the snowmobiling trail, Clark said, and they’ll offer hot dogs, hamburgers, coffee, hot chocolate and such, as well as warm washroom facilities.
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