Hope you had an enjoyable summer; the start of the fall season is only a few days away. It will bring cooler temperatures, colored leaves and all that good stuff. I’m sure you know what comes after that!

Trail Changes and Improvements: In the spring, at the end of the riding season, a list of trail conditions needing attention is compiled. These are addressed during the summer to improve conditions for the next riding season. These three projects were identified for this year:

• Dutch Road trail improvements including the filling of a water hole and stump removal
• Rebuild the Character Bridge in Little Hope
• Install a drain pipe in the wet area by Raleigh Chesley near Dyer Road.

In preparation for the refurbishment of the 54 foot arched bridge in Little Hope, additional planks were needed. On a cool sunny Thursday morning, Kent Kessler, Fred Morris and Ken Zambrzycki (two retirees and one physically handicapped) trekked off to Elgin, Pa. to Mick Brother Lumber for bridge blanks. Mick Brothers are very snowmobile friendly and have been quite helpful in helping us meet our needs for sign stacks and bridge building material. On a great price and promise of new snowmobile maps, we came away with 36 new 2 x 6 bridge planks. These are now stacked in the storage barn ready for application.

A trail change will re-route the trail running from the Greene Township building to Lake Pleasant Road. The trail will now be just West of the Algier property rather than cutting through the property. The trail will cross Lake Pleasant Road near Sampson Road - watch for new trail markers.

General Trail Maintenance: We perform annual general trail maintenance where all trails are walked, cleared of debris, brush-hogged and cutback, as necessary, to make them ready for the upcoming snowmobile season. This is where you can help. If you have a favorite trail section you are familiar with and would like to work on, we would appreciate your help!

If you are interested in lending a hand this year to ready the trails, please give Mark Matczak a call at 796-6666 and get on the schedule. If he is not there, please leave a message.

Trail Documentation: The PSSA Blue Trail for the Wales Sno-Drifters trail system has been GPS mapped.

Warning: We continue to caution you and all of your friends to only ride on the trail which the Game Commission approves for us to follow through the Game Lands. We have had a good working relationship through the years with the Game Commission, but this could be placed at risk by a few in our sport that have no respect for the concerns and interests of the Game Commission. The Game Lands are a restricted area and regulated for use by many outdoor enthusiasts (we are but one group). They also have responsibility for the wildlife in this space. Some snowmobilers are jeopardizing our current Game Lands trail by riding in areas other than the approved trail. Areas of concern are along the gas line that crosses the Game Lands and the area South of Siegel Road. If we fail to communicate and control the misuse of the Game Lands by fellow snowmobilers, we will lose any and all trail rights. Please heed and take this seriously.

Important change to the start date for riding in the Game Lands: The start date for snowmobile riding in the Game Lands has been changed. Riding is now prohibited until January 21, 2009.

Club Equipment: Our drags have been overhauled by Dan Postlewaite and our two work sleds will receive general maintenance to prepare them for the upcoming season. At the upcoming general membership meeting, scheduled for 9/25/2008, we will be discussing the possibility of the sale of our large enclosed equipment trailer. The trailer is currently located at Church & Murdock Electric.

PSSA approved the two mini-grants we filed for and the money will be distributed from DCNR funds. The first mini-grant is $2,000.00 for grooming and the other is for trail projects for $1,500.00. These figures represent an 80/20 split, with 80% being the grant and the 20% being our donated labor.

Note of sadness: We were saddened to hear that long time club member Larry Myers and his family lost a loved one earlier this month. Larry’s mother passed away on September 6th. Please keep Larry and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Membership Meeting: Mark your calendars now for the first general membership meeting of the season – Thursday, September 25^th at 8:00 P.M. at the Greene Township Building. Come and catch up on all the details of issues facing the club as we head into a new season.

Lend your support and input – see you at the meeting!