Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Early Winter 2016 | 19 Our bridges are numbered 1 through 10. The eleventh bridge we just inherited this year and we haven’t put the numbers on it yet. Bridge 1 is on Trail 127 and is adjacent to Bixby Road. Bridge 2 is on Trail 127A and is adjacent to Preedom Road. Bridge 3 is on Trail 127 and is adjacent to DeRoo Lane. Bridges 4 and 5 are on Trail 127 and are adjacent to Route 100 South. Bridges 6 through 10 are all on Trail 127 on the West side of Okemo Mountain. Bridge 11 is on Trail 7 on the top of Okemo Mountain. Our club absorbed the entire $1,000 cost of materials for repairs done this year. We did not receive financial support from VAST, Windsor county or landowners. Many people use the bridges on our trail system for hiking, biking and cross country skiing. We have six bridges that will require rebuilding next year, and we plan to apply to VAST for funding for this work. These bridges were last done in 2008 and are at the end of their life. We work on these all at once because they are inaccessible by normal vehicles so we use larger off road machinery to take the lumber to them. HAWKS MTN. RIDGE RIDERS Jason Phelps, Member The Hawks Mtn. Ridge Riders are responsible for six bridges on our piece of the trail system. Four of the bridges are on Route 5 south from the Springfield Dam area. One is on the trail to old Abby Lynn Motel and is our club’s groomer access. The other is on an access trail to Route 106 Deli. This year we focused on redecking and adding another support pole to the bridge on our groomer access trail. Volunteers who help keep our bridges safe and care for their repair, maintenance and rebuilding are Barry Messer, Dan Hadwen, Jason Phelps, Mike Blais and Carl Spaulding. We did apply for and receive VAST grant funding to help with the cost of redecking one of our bridges this season. CHESTER SNOWMOBILE CLUB Patty Companik, member The Chester Snowmobile Club cares for over 20 bridges on their trail system on Corridors 12, 11 and secondary trials. This year the club’s volunteers rebuilt four bridges: Lovers Lane, two at Wymans Falls, and the bridge on the way to Cavendish. A smaller group of folks also worked on a bridge on a secondary trail which is located on Reservoir Rd. It was not in the plans, but was an emergency situation that had to be addressed before the season began. With the responsibility of caring for so many bridges on our system, we have bridge work to do every year. The VAST grants have supported this work as well as contributions from our landowners, the county and our club members. The folks who helped with our bridge work this year were: Stan and Joan Choiniere, Dick Jewett, Dick Bigwood, Roger Batchelder, Chris Batchelder, Randy Bigelow, Mike Westine, Geary Mills, Ken Grimm, Bob Menthe, Patty and Frank Companik, Todd Starr, Richard Wood, Sheldon Ghether, Wayne Wysocki, Rob and Tyler Jewett, Gerry Dockum, Lee Whiting, George Malin, Andy Rogstad, Cathy and Dennis Smith, Stubby Hewes, David Cherry, Russ Cummin, John Vullo and Tom Campanelli. Our bridges are used by many people, not just snowmobile riders. One of the bridges we did this year is used by the landowner and their horses. This landowner made a financial contribution to help offset the cost of the construction. Dick Jewett orders all the materials and has the wood cut and ready for us in advance. From deconstruction of the old to building the new, each 20-30’ bridge takes approximately six to eight hours from start to finish, using over 50 man-hours. This is primarily due to the advanced prep work and the many volunteers who help. After the bridge is completed, we usually enjoy lunch together. This year, the club cooked burgers and dogs, attended the Cavendish Pig Roast and one local business, The Stonehearth Inn, provided us lunch. This bridge is on the HMRR groomer access trail at intersection WR13 on Route 5 in North Springfield. Windsor Bridges Mike Westine, Frank Companik and Stan Choiniere square off the deck of a bridge on Chester Snowmobile Club trails.