March 2016
When weird or crazy things used to happen on the farm, my dad always told me there must be a full moon tonight. The way this snowmobile season has gone, I must say there must have been a full moon since Dec. 1.
First, there was no real snow until the second week of January, and then it was hit and miss with some above average temperatures. It’s hard to build a base on a trail when it rains or warms up. This type of weather is very frustrating for sledders and groomer drivers.
Doing the Very Best MSA Can
On top of all that, the phones at the MSA office have been lit up like a Christmas tree. It seems like no one is happy with the trails and the grooming this season. Everyone who rides is all of the sudden the world’s authority on how and when to groom our trails.
There have been some problem areas, broken equipment, and new grant sponsors. That’s why the HOT line was started. MSA wanted to find out what our state’s problem areas were. MSA was looking to see what needed to be done to improve the snowmobile trails of Michigan. Taking riders comments on the hotline and working to get things done has worked well in the past, but as in all things, improvements take time.
The hotline was never intended as an outlet for someone to call and cuss out the MSA office staff. Our staff does not get paid enough to put up with that. It has been a rough year, and everyone has done their best.
Remember your $45 trail permit does not buy snow. If snow is not on the trail, it’s real hard to groom a good trail. A large number of those who have called the hotline to complain are not even MSA members. Yet, we (the office) give them the same time and answers that we would give a paying member . I find it kind of funny that they have time to call and complain, but not to join MSA.
Every snowmobiler should have to go and ask a landowner to use their land for a trail, brush a trail, put up signs, spend a night grooming, laying in a snow bank fixing a groomer, or getting one unstuck. If those complaining or those non-MSA members did even one of these things, then just maybe they would have a better understanding of our trail system and how it works.
If Not MSA, Then Who?
