In Memory

In loving memory of Brian, 2 years on January 31. PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND RIDE, you may kill someone’s son, daddy or best friend. Sue Darnell and Jim Keenan

[Reposted from 2/1/04] I AM NOT GIVING A REPORT OF TRAIL CONDITIONS - I am very angry - AT THE HOT DOGS, THROTTLE JOCKEYS AND RACER WANNA BE'S - THEY are killing the sport and innocent others in the process. One year ago today, I was witness to a death on Trail #8 and hoped and prayed to make it through today without a repeat. This was not to be.

On what began as a beautiful, sunny day, a 14 year old nephew of one of our groomer operators was involved in an accident on Trail #8 just west of Trail #43. He and another rider were taken straight to Marquette General Hospital. Due to his age, I am unable and unwilling to release any particulars.

Within a couple hours of that accident - a head on collision was reported on Trail #443. The rider was not seriously hurt, thankfully. He suffered only (?) an injured knee and was able to limp his sled into town (with the handlebars 90 degrees out of alignment). As he explained to me, he saw the other sled coming toward him on the wrong side of the trail so he headed up the right bank to get out of the way. His sled tipped onto it's side and back into the path of the oncoming sled, pinning his leg beneath it at the moment of impact. His comments to me were "All I could think was if another sled was coming to take me out...I have two little ones at home and one on the way...I will be around for them and my wife." He is traveling home tonight, selling his sled, and was emphatic that he will never ride again.

Within minutes of learning about this incident, the emergency radio went off and the day turned oppressively dark - another fatality. This one was on our most beautiful trail of all, the Lake Shore Trail #89. The victim was riding tight against the right bank with his group when a rider with another group came around a curve on the wrong side, directly into him, according to reports from witnesses. The victim was thrown right off his sled by the impact and died before EMS arrived on scene. The left ski of the other sled was ripped clean off by the impact as well. Three riders came in a short time later and said they had just come from the scene and had seen one of the groups a little earlier, drinking next to the trail.

The incidents on Trail #443 and #89 were both a direct result of riders NOT staying on their own side of the trail, traveling way too fast through the curves, and obviously riding beyond their own ability and that of their machines. Ironically, both riders alleged to be at fault, survived; one without injury, the other was transported to the hospital but was talking to EMS workers all the way.

When will they learn? Obviously not soon enough. While discussing these incidents, I had one rider brag about how he rides the other side all the time. He actually said, "sometimes you don't have a choice when the trail is bad." ~ !!!!!!!???????#*#@%^ ~ TO THIS RIDER AND OTHERS WITH THE SAME ATTITUDE -- GET OFF OUR TRAILS! -- IF YOU WANT A THRILL - TAKE IT TO THE TRACK AND BY ALL MEANS - PUT YOUR OWN LIFE ON THE LINE ~ IN THE APPROPRIATE ARENA!!

Middlepoint Snowtwisters, if you are reading this, I want you know that the EMTs appreciated the seat for which you paid; it was put to good use today as were the radio communicators donated by fellow Sno-Trails members, Don and Patty. Thank you all!

Let Us Not Forget

Reprinting this story is to remind everyone that we need to control ourselves on the trail or risk lives or the mental trauma caused by a momentary lapse of judgment. I know I will never forget.

kw (Originally Reported 2/2/2003)

"Witnessing one fateful incident has now effected myself, several of my dearest friends and about 50 or so passers-by! I am going to get down right blunt and you will not like what I have to say but it needs saying! Too many of you are displaying more and more wreckless, careless, and destructive behavior than ever. You are committing suicide on our trails, endangering others and it has to stop! I am so upset that if I could, I would impound every snowmobile, close down the manufacturers of them and destroy every trail across the country right now! While grooming Friday night Norm and I, along with several of our friends on the EMS service had the horrifying experience of seeing another rider be added to the growing list of snowmobile fatalities. A man in his mid-forties with two young children, came over a hill on a straight away 5 miles west of Grand Marais as the sun was setting in the sky and ultimately, on his life. This man did everything wrong; he had been drinking, had not strapped his helmet, had left his group behind, and was traveling far to fast when he simply lost control of his snowmobile. Apparently no one saw the accident but the sled had rolled, pitching the man off and tumbling with him 200 feet before coming to rest crosswise in the trail. He sustained severe injuries and died shortly after arriving at the hospital. A totally avoidable, waste of life. That's not all - When his buddies found him and went for help, one stayed behind. He was left alone, cradling his dying friend in his arms for what must have seemed like an eternity before we came upon the scene. We called 911 and helplessly waited with him, watching the precious life of his friend and someone's son, brother, husband, and father slip away. While the snowmobile ambulance rushed the victim to the ambulance waiting at the trail head and then off to the hospital another hour away, we waited with his friends for the police to arrive and make their report. Three and half hours after we arrived on the scene, the mans friends were able to continue on; a long, 45 mile ride to their motel with their thoughts and mental images of the accident to keep them company. All the while not knowing their friend's fate. I can't imagine how they are coping with what started as a good time only to turn into a trip none will ever forget - for all the wrong reasons! The State Troopers told us we could just push the sled off the trail and leave it there for more riders to see! Instead, they loaded the remains of the snowmobile onto the groomer and we hauled it and the dead man's unbuckled, undamaged helmet to town and inconspicuously parked it away from view! We wanted to drop it in front of one of the bars! This incident is causing me a great deal of anguish. Could I have said or done anything more to save this mans life? How many more children will be orphaned in the name of fun? Can I do anything to save more from this fate? And what if other riders had been coming up that hill when this happened? What if those other riders included that family with 4 children we had just passed 15 minutes earlier!? How many more lives could have ended needlessly? What if our groomer had not come along to put out markers warning unsuspecting riders of the carnage ahead? What if our groomer had been coming up that hill when he lost control? What mental traumas has the sight of this accident caused the passers-by? As morbid as this all sounds, I say it in hopes that more of you think before you take that first drink and carelessly get on a machine capable of 100+ miles an hour, only to become the next one we have to haul out of the woods, leaving your friends, families and us to cope with those images for the rest of our lives."

Update: While this incident remains very fresh in my memory and continues to weigh heavily on me, this article was spontaneous and reflects my state of mind at the time. Since then, I have escalated my involvement in the Grand Marais snowmobile trail program and am one of the organizers of the Grand Marais Sno-Trails Association. I can do more through my involvement in the club and will continue fighting the use of any drug while operating a snowmobile. kw

Take the pledge - Zero Tolerance! Don't Drink and Ride!

Endorsed by the Grand Marais Sno-Trails Association

In Memory on the third anniversary of Steve's death. [klw]