Mrch 6, 2009
MIRAMICHI - A cold wind after a night of rain might have kept many snowmobilers off the trails Saturday, but not the people who work to keep them safe.
Brody Sisk and Stephen Geikie are the off-road vehicle enforcement officers for Northumberland County and set out in the blowing snow to do their afternoon patrol.
Their sleek white snowmobiles joined the trail system near the Northumberland Woodlot Owners Association building and tore through the snow on their way to get gas.
With a system that works like a mini highway, signs dotted the trails at junctions to guide snowmobilers along the way.
Once they had gassed up, Sisk and Geikie were back on the trail. A bone jarring ride on the back of Sisk's sled took me to a junction where the pair expected to find a lot of traffic.
As Sisk exchanged his helmet for a fur hat, he noticed beer bottles and cans poking out of the snow along the side of the trail.
With rows of power lines hanging overhead, Sisk tossed five cans and a bottle into a pile near the junction signs and said they don't see litter like that as much as they used to.
"Hopefully one person didn't drink them all themself."
While they waited for snowmobilers along the normally busy section of trail, Geikie and Sisk tipped one of the sleds onto its side so they could adjust the suspension to compensate for the extra weight from an extra passenger.
"It was bottoming out there a bit," Sisk said.
There was little excitement at the junction until a group of snowmobilers from Nova Scotia rode up the trail where the enforcement officers checked their insurance, registrations and trail passes.
As they pulled away, Sisk said the trails were usually quite busy.
"You could check up to 200 or 300 sleds on a normal Saturday."
Although their first check stop was out in the open, Sisk said they set them up where riders have to go so they can't avoid them.
"We try to do it around a corner, like the police do."
With business slow, we suited up and headed off along on what to me was unfamiliar territory.
Cold wind seeped through my outer layer of clothing wherever there was a zipper or loose cuff as I bounced around on the seat behind Sisk, my mittened fingers gripping bars behind my legs.
Every bounce sent me into the air until I reached the end of my extended arms and went crashing down onto the seat.
My head bounced around from the extra weight of a heavy helmet as I leaned into the turns, following Sisk's lead.
Wherever our sleds met a road, we stopped and checked for oncoming cars before travelling on.
Geikie took the lead and sped on ahead of us. As we rounded a corner he was checking an ATV on a separate trail and caught up to us when we parked at a road crossing.
Despite flashing blue and red lights, a lone snowmobiler avoided the parked machines and headed down a side trail.
Geikie said the ATV rider told him there was a big crowd at the ATV club so he decided to check it out.
"I'm gonna take a drive by just to let them know that we're here."
Sisk took me along with him as he set off in search of the rider who avoided the check stop and we set off in the other direction.
We ducked and leaned as tree branches swatted our helmets, but found no sign of the snowmobiler. After a few minutes of listening for his engine, we turned around and headed back to meet up with Geikie.
Miramichi Off-Road ATV Club president Scott Black rolled down the ATV trail and stopped for a few minutes to talk with the officers while they waited for more traffic.
Sisk said the enforcement officers try to keep in touch with the ATV association.
"We've got a good rapport and we want to keep things sensible."
Black said there has been a good response to the enforcement officers from snowmobilers and ATVers.
"There's more common sense on the trails."
As we stood at the end of the trail, Sisk commended the ATV club for their work.
"They're well organized and doing things right."
Despite the cold wind, the snow was slushy in places and a misstep sent my feet plunging though a thin layer of ice. My boots were just waterproof enough to keep my socks dry, but when Sisk asked if I wanted to keep patrolling with them I decided not to press my luck and we headed back to the city.
It was a serene ride back with the rumbling engine the only sound in the snow covered forest. As we got closer to town, we passed signs of civilization, like crumbling concrete pipes behind a business we passed and an old stove abandoned on the side of the trail.
By the time we reached the enforcement office the sun was shining in a clear sky. While I was heading home to a warm apartment Sisk and Geikie were ready to patrol the trails until 10 p.m.
"It all comes down to everyone going home safely at the end of their trip," Sisk said.
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