Most skiers and other non-motor outdoor enthusiasts I know despise snowmachiners, but... I don't. I know I'm supposed to find them loud and obnoxious, and complain about how they ruin my peaceful and tranquil skiing, but you know what? They whiz by in like ten seconds, and that's it. If it really bothers someone so much, I think there might be an underlying nervous condition that needs to be examined. Not only that, snowmachiners sort of groom the trail for me when there is fresh, fluffy snow. They are the first to break trail on the Tanana, when I would otherwise be up to my knees in powder. Not only that, but I find that they are remarkably dexterous and can cut a large swath around me so as not to frighten or threaten me or my dogs. They can go over jumble ice and over a certain amount of brush and shrubbery, yielding the trail to us skiers. Also, the noise works in their favor... it warns me that they are coming so I don't pee myself!
Finally, I feel safer knowing that there are higher-speed travelers on the trail system. If, God forbid, I ever have an emergency, one of them could get back to the road system and call for help before I could. Now, I could never enjoy it as a hobby myself (they just look dang cold to me), but I certainly don't mind sharing the trails with them.
The only anti-snowmachine argument I can sort of buy into is the waste of gas. It's one thing to travel by snowmachine when you have to, but it does seem a waste to burn gas for a hobby. But that seems sort of hypocritical. We are all living in a place where our very existence (heating our homes, shipping up massive quantities of food and supplies, burning more gas as our cars run richer in the cold, etc) already makes our lives not very environmentally friendly. I'm not about to pull up roots and move to Florida, where I won't use any heating oil and will be able to support myself from my own garden. So I'm not about to criticize those who burn extra gas.
7 comments:
arright, what's jumble ice?
One day, I should write up a post, but it's been my experience that all snowmachiners hate skiers and mushers, Mushers hate all skiers and snowmachiners, etc. And trappers get it the worst, after they punch in trails (which are at least 75% of our trails around here, at least originally) when all three other groups start disrespecting them...
Why can't we all just get along?!
You are a grateful person and just be careful not to be too close when the snow machine drives by.
Hm... that's funny, because I have no problem with any of them, except trappers who don't put up signage that traps are in use in the area. I don't care who cut the trail; if it's on public lands and becomes multi-use, it's only courtesy to let others, who have dogs, children, etc, know that you have traps in the area.
Now mushers, I feel guilty toward because my loose dogs often distract their working ones. I just apologize and hang my head like a Labrador retriever who just stole something off the counter. It's a false guilty look, since I have no intention of stopping (much like labs have no intention of quitting counter surfing), but I feel guilty, at that moment.
Oh, jumble ice! Jumble ice occurs when the frozen crust of a river gets broken up by the current underneath and jumbles all together, leaving the effect of strewn boulders. It can cause flooding in the Spring, when it blocks the flow of the water upstream.
I'm not fond of riding skidoos since I get nauseous from the exhaust - but the trails sure are nice for walking the dog, skiing and getting away from town!
I always loved the way the snowmachines packed down the trails throughout town. Made my winter bike commute very nice. And they always did a great job on the trails out of town.
Mushing trails were the best to ride on, just as long as I knew the mushers have the right-of-way. Many times I'd step off the trail holding my bike overhead while I was in waist deep snow, smile and wave at the mushers who made such great trails.
I've never had a prob with multi-use trails, one of the nice things about Fairbanks.
It's a little different down here... I have no prob with people walking their dogs on the beach; the dogs are happy and friendly. Unfortunately there are some down here who don't want to see any dogs on the beach, sigh.
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