Snowmobilers - Some of them

I just got back from the wilds of Northern Wisconsin (Minocqua, to be exact), where I hadn't been in 44 years. It looks remarkably the same as it did, with some new development but nowhere near what's been inflicted on Door County. Jim Peck's Wildwood is still there, as is Bosacki's Boathouse (though we were disappointed in the food and service there). The old cottage my family stayed in on Lake Marion in 1961 and 1963 is still there, though it has a McMansion next door. Every restaurant still has a Friday fish fry, and prime rib the other nights, just like Wisconsin supper clubs should. Unfortunately, Paul Bunyan's is closed for the season, so we couldn't stuff ourselves with pancakes and sausage. We had to go to Ella's in Woodruff for that.

One thing there were a lot of was snowmobiles. I didn't have any real problem with them at first. I even told my wife that it's be fun to rent a pair and try it out ourselves. The smowmobilers we encountered on Wednesday and Thursday were nice people, who were courteous and didn't ride late at night.

But my opinion changed on Friday and Saturday. Dozens of snowmobiles were parked around the hotel where we were staying, with their trailers blocking the lot. The owners would start the engines and let them run while they propped open the hotel door to carry their stuff up. That meant the smell of unburned gasoline and 2-cycle exhaust permeated the building. They started riding in groups of ten or fifteen, crossing the roads without looking, and trying for every little bump or hump they could find to perform a jump.

I walked out on the old railroad trestle over Lake Minocqua, which has been turned into a hiking, biking, and snowmobile trail. There was very little snow left on most of the trail (it had all been turned into "snirt.") And there was no snow at all on the trestles. But the riders kept using it, making a sound that rattles your teeth. The studded belts of the snowmobiles had chewed up the wooden planks on the bridges so badly that it was like walking on dried out sponges instead of wood. Bikes won't be able to use it, I'm afraid, until they do some repairs.

The rest of Northern Wisconsin was just as bad. You could see the snirt trails everywhere you went. Now some of the trails are marked, cared for, and maintained through organizations. But a lot of them are on private propery or just the sides of the roads.

The one place I didn't begrudge the snowmobilers their fun was on the frozen lakes. They can have them to themselves. (Well, I did drive our Ford Escape out onto the ice of Lake Minocqua just for kicks. Something about going down a boat launching ramp headfirst and then just continuing out onto the water -- feels forbidden, daring, and fun all at the same time. But I stayed well away from the snowmobiles).

Then here's the weekend drinking combined with snowmobile driving. A lot of these trails connect to taverns, and I saw a lot of snowmobiles parked outside of them. I hope people weren't driving under the influence.

Anyway, I don't want to be a curmudgeon, and as a cyclist I don't think I have to worry about being hit by a snowmobile (the way I have to worry about being hit by a wave runner while I'm sailing my sailboat). But let's face it, noisy smelly machines driven by rude people are annoying no matter what the season. I just hope the rude ones can stay home until they learn some manners. And maybe until they start making environmentally friendly snowmobiles.