LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 21 Sally is by far the most passionate snowmobiler in our group. She usually leads the pack unless Lori decides it's her turn to determine the destination and length of our ride. Both of them know the trails better than anyone else out there. A map is hardly ever needed when they're around. Some days we plan a short 50 -mile trip, but other days it's not uncommon for us to end up riding close to 200 miles. The 2020 -2021 season was so exceptional that Sally ended up putting 6,000 miles on her new snowmobile. Long days are not for everyone, so sometimes we split up into smaller groups and some people head back home to start a fire and check on our crockpot dinner. We invented a game we call "Name That Trail." At random times while we are out hiking, biking, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing and we go by a snowmobile trail or overlook that we have been to before on a snowmo- bile, we take a picture and text it to the rest of our group with the challenge of them naming what snowmobile trail we are near. Needless to say, it's usually Sally or Lori who guesses correctly. At the end of every season, we present someone with the "Rider of the Year" award. We started this tradi- tion years ago and it has brought our friends to challenge each other to do something that nominates them for this award. Whether it be something good like helping someone get out of a snowbank or something crazy like borrowing their daughter's snowmobile and going off trail with it and breaking the mirror, we all end up having a great laugh as everyone tries to figure out who the winner is. Last year we presented our friend Katie with the "Rookie of the Year" award. Katie grew up riding snowmobiles back in the 1970s but had not ridden since. When she came to visit this past winter, we gently convinced her to take a ride with us. Katie was hooked before we even made it off Trail 5. Once the sun starts climbing higher in the sky and the snow slowly melts away, we gather with our friends for one last ride to the perfect spot for a hot dog roast. We make this a nearby spot so that we can load up our toboggans and tow them behind the snowmobiles with all our food, drinks and firewood. The temperatures are dropping tonight as I write this, so we're hoping to see snowflakes soon. If you're in the Adirondacks this winter and you see four women burning up the trails, please flag us down and say hi. If you'd like, we'll show you some of the most beautiful trails in the area. For those of you who aren't sure if you'd like snowmobiling: You'll never know if you don't try. Meanwhile, let's pray for lots of snow this winter.

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