Are the trails ready yet? What does it take to get the trails ready?

• People – we need helpers. We have quite a few core volunteers, those who help every year and love doing it. They keep coming back because they love snowmobiling and have seen firsthand what it takes to get the trails ready. Last we checked none of the core volunteers were getting any younger. Sure, we have had a few new people the past few seasons, but its always good to be getting more new people to sustain us going forward for the years to come. Many hands make light work, so come out and help if you can, maybe you will start by helping on one of our organized workdays. We also have people who also volunteer during weekdays, as they are retired or can work flex hours, so this may suit you better. Also, as we are a non-profit organization, high school students can use any hours volunteered toward their community service hours. Contact the Sector Trail Director in your preferred area to see how you can help.

• Signage and pickets – The trails must be signed and picketed to meet the OFSC standards. This requires a discipline to install the pickets and signs properly. Pickets mark the trail and are very important to keep us on the trail agreed with the landowners. (Stay on the Trail) Signage must be installed to OFSC regulations, both to safely mark the trail and any hazards, and provide destination information, and for risk management. Some signage is left up all season if it applies on one of the multi-use trails such as the TCT or OVRT. Sometimes we can do the road crossings early, but away from roads, we generally wait until deer hunting season is over, and some areas are wet or swampy so we must wait for them to freeze up.

• Organized Workdays – to get the bulk of the trail work done. We have organized workdays, on the 3 Saturdays that follow deer hunting season. We need to stay out of certain areas while the deer hunting is on, both for our own safety and to respect the hunters and landowners. This season, the workdays are on the Saturdays Nov 26, Dec 3, Dec 10. For those that come out, we organize smaller teams of 4-6 people to head out and tackle different areas. Each group will have a leader with experience in proper signing and picketing, and knowledge of the trail being worked on. Travel is by truck and trailer for the road crossings signage, or to transport supplies of signs and pickets, or ATV’s with trailers full of signs and pickets to reach the areas further away from roads. The club also has a couple of off-road utility vehicles for this purpose. Bring water and a snack to keep you going but by the end of the day we also may supply some form of food such as pizza or chilli. Sometimes we stop at a local corner store for lunch or linner (late lunch, early dinner)

• Trail Preparation – In addition to signage and pickets, we must clear any hazards we find such as fallen trees. The club has chainsaws and pole saws we bring, and some volunteers bring their own too. It’s not necessary to operate or bring a chainsaw, as its always good to have more people clearing than cutting, to clear the cut trees and brush. The club also has a brushing tractor that can travel on certain trails to clear overgrowth. Other times we need new culverts installed or gates repaired. Projects such as these are done at different times in the off season, by dedicated volunteers, not necessarily on the workdays. Lake staking to mark the lake crossings, is done later in the season after the ice is thick enough, and by local experts who know the lake and ice conditions.

• Our next workday is Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. We usually meet at 9am at the listed locations in the west, contact the sector trail directors for locations in the east.

SW Trail Director Contact: 2021 9th Line Beckwith, Carleton Place Brent Phifer, 613-222-9506, brentphifer@yahoo.ca