Trail Report

Updated Saturday 28th of March 2009 09:10:17 AM

Gates are being closed this week as the snow has disappeared from most of our trail system. It looks like I will not be able to ride on the last day of the season, April 15th, as I did last year. Never the less, this was a great season. We groomed 13 weeks straight and went without a major thaw in January and February. Our grooming crew did a fabulous job with the new Pisten Bully despite a few problems with the gooseneck hitch and the rubber tracks. The hitch is fixed and the engineers at Kassborher visited from Germany to see our unit in action. It seems they design the power units to groom ski areas and did not realize how useful they are making snowmobile trails smooth. We changed the tracks over to steel cleats and we can climb the worst hills we have even if they are covered in ice. My travels this year allowed me to compare the trails in the Royalton area, the Lunenburg area and the Hardwick area to our system. I am impressed with the quality of grooming in all of the trails I had the privilege to ride and my hat is off to the dedicated volunteers who put the trails together. Now it is time to take them apart. I will miss this season as I did the last one and I will look forward to next season with anticipation. We will put a work day together as soon as things dry out a little. I will keep a trail report going for a few more weeks and hope to recap the 08-09 season. As always, Ride Right and Ride Safe. Mike

Website Update

The website is currently undergoing an update to a new content-management system, please be patient while the transfer is being completed. The transfer should be completed soon.

Trail Constructions and Relocations

The Trail Club has replanked several of the bridges in its trail system. The railroad crossing near EHV Weidmann on Route 5, north of St. Johnsbury Center, has also been fixed.

It will be a much smoother crossing with better visibility. Remember to stop before crossing the rails. Failure to stop for the crossing could result in loss of the trail crossing thus cutting off trail access north and south on Routes 2 & 5. This is a major crossing!

The reroute around the closure on Route 18 in Waterford is almost complete. There will be a short road ride around one landowner, but it is a protected area and should hold the snow most of the winter.

Trail Club Purchases New Trail Bully by Kässbohrer

Ten years ago, the Caledonia County Snowmobile Trail Club was part of the initial VAST groomer lease program. At that time, the Trail Club received two Pisten Bullies to groom the 100 miles of trail that the Trail Club was responsible for maintaining. Five years ago, the Trail Club had to purchase the Pisten Bully that we had been using as part of the first five years of the groomer purchase program. The Trail Club directors decided not to continue grooming the northern portion of Caledonia County and sold the second Pisten Bully. The Trail Club continues to groom the eastern portion of Caledonia County and into the western side of Essex County. [ continue reading ]

Check Ceremony

The Pisten Bully PB100 worked very well over the years, but it was 10 years old. This year, the directors of the Caledonia County Snowmobile Trail Club decided it was time to stop putting more money into repairing and maintaining the Pisten Bully. The directors felt it would be a wise move to sell the PB100 while the resale value was still high enough to get a good price.

The Trail Club directors chose to continue using Kassborher’s grooming equipment because there had been so few problems with the PB100 that had been used for the past five years.

The groomer that the directors and operators felt would do the best job on the trails that the Trail Club maintains was the Trail Bully. The Trail Bully is a little heavier and has a larger machine with the same size engine as the PB 100 but is more economical on fuel consumption.

The Trail Club groomer operators test-drove a Kassbohrer Trail Bully last winter to see if it would perform like they expected. The three operators were very pleased with the handling and traction of the Trail Bully.

After considerable discussion, the Trail Club directors voted to purchase a new 2009 Kassbohrer Trail Bully. The Trail Club will have to provide a $7200 down payment for the new Trail Bully as well as take out a mortgage for $75,000 at a 6.5% interest rate for five years to pay for the new Trail Bully. The monthly payment will be $1467.50. The VAST grant-in-aid portion of the payment will be $45,000, for a total cost of $151,500.

The new Trail Bully was delivered to the Trail Club’s groomer garage in St. Johnsbury, Vermont on November 13, 2008.

The goose-neck hitch used on the PB100 was modified to fit the new Trail Bully and Mogul Master drag that the Trail Club has been using for several years. After a few slight modifications to the door and the floor of the Pisten Bully garage, the new Trail Bully fit snuggly into its new home.
The Caledonia County Snowmobile Trail Club directors are looking forward to as many years of quality grooming with the new Trail Bully as we enjoyed using the PB100.  We appreciate everyone’s continued support and donations to the upkeep and maintenance of these expensive pieces of equipment that make our sport so enjoyable.