Forced to practice the snowmobiling equivalent of bushwhacking, known as riding “bandit” trails, the East Herkimer Sno-Riders decided something had to be done to fill a seven-mile hole in the region’s trail system.
The state several years ago proposed to connect East Herkimer by way of an official “corridor” trail through the towns of Schuyler and Frankfort, according to Ron Aldrich, club groomer. Yet the extent of state officials’ planning had reached a less than conclusive apex.
“They drew a squiggly line on the map where they wanted the trail to go,” Aldrich said in a phone interview.
Actually putting up signs and brushing and grooming the trail to between an 8 foot to 10 foot width fell upon the local riders. But Aldrich and many volunteers from the club, which has around 450 members, were simply fed up with coming to a dead end trail and having to deal with a variety of risks in order to proceed.
“You never know what will happen on a bandit trail,” Aldrich said.
Going bandit means facing everything from extremely rough and unsafe makeshift trails to complications from unknowingly riding on private land.
The Sno-Riders during the last two years addressed the problems.
Building relationships with landowners along the trail, club members forged agreements allowing the trail to pass through, Aldrich said. Then came the ongoing process of making the trail “nice and smooth” and placing signs which make navigation much easier, he added.
Funds for the work came from a mixture of state allocation and club events and fund-raisers. All the labor, however, consisted of members volunteering their time, according to Aldrich.
With the gap filled, East Herkimer can now reach trails maintained by clubs in Ilion, Salisbury and Newport. The trail begins off of Route 5 at the intersection of Watkins and Baum roads. From there it runs parallel to Route 5 down Dutchtown and Shortlots roads, turning into the town of Frankfort at Newport Road.
“It’s been working out great. All the snowmobilers have been saying how much of a difference it makes,” Aldrich said. “It was just a big thorn in my side to not have a trail there,” he added.
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Forced to practice the snowmobiling equivalent of bushwhacking, known as riding “bandit” trails, the East Herkimer Sno-Riders decided something had to be done to fill a seven-mile hole in the region’s trail system.
The state several years ago proposed to connect East Herkimer by way of an official “corridor” trail through the towns of Schuyler and Frankfort, according to Ron Aldrich, club groomer. Yet the extent of state officials’ planning had reached a less than conclusive apex.
“They drew a squiggly line on the map where they wanted the trail to go,” Aldrich said in a phone interview.
Actually putting up signs and brushing and grooming the trail to between an 8 foot to 10 foot width fell upon the local riders. But Aldrich and many volunteers from the club, which has around 450 members, were simply fed up with coming to a dead end trail and having to deal with a variety of risks in order to proceed.
“You never know what will happen on a bandit trail,” Aldrich said.
Going bandit means facing everything from extremely rough and unsafe makeshift trails to complications from unknowingly riding on private land.
The Sno-Riders during the last two years addressed the problems.
Building relationships with landowners along the trail, club members forged agreements allowing the trail to pass through, Aldrich said. Then came the ongoing process of making the trail “nice and smooth” and placing signs which make navigation much easier, he added.
Funds for the work came from a mixture of state allocation and club events and fund-raisers. All the labor, however, consisted of members volunteering their time, according to Aldrich.
With the gap filled, East Herkimer can now reach trails maintained by clubs in Ilion, Salisbury and Newport. The trail begins off of Route 5 at the intersection of Watkins and Baum roads. From there it runs parallel to Route 5 down Dutchtown and Shortlots roads, turning into the town of Frankfort at Newport Road.
“It’s been working out great. All the snowmobilers have been saying how much of a difference it makes,” Aldrich said. “It was just a big thorn in my side to not have a trail there,” he added.
