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 6456 | Snowmobile VERMONT Featured Club The 1980s brought even more members into the club, eventually reaching 1,100 snowmobilers. The trail system grew fast thanks to the gracious local landowners. The need for a second groomer pushed the board to buy a 1984 Tucker Sno-Cat and split the mileage between both machines. “The Sno-Cat was great until it would de-lag in the middle of the woods,” commented operator Dan Gosselin. “And it would happen often!” Dan is the Drift Dusters current groomer coordinator and an active operator. He is in charge of maintenance and scheduling of the groomer. “The steel tracks on that thing would make it go anywhere, but it would be a rough ride.” Now in the late 1980s, with almost 200 miles of trails, Drift Dusters board of directors really needed help from more volunteers. Groups of residents from other towns began starting their own clubs to help manage the trails and reduce the span of control. The neighboring clubs eventually bought their own groomers and the Drift Dusters were able to focus on the northern part of Orleans county. In the early 90s, the board was looking to replace their current fleet, the Ski-Dozer and Tucker, with a new groomer. The idea of purchasing a Ford tractor and installing tracks came up. It was decided to purchase a tractor since it can be used year round and Carl and Earl Hackett already had experience working on tractors. “It seemed like the most practical machine at the time,” commented Ed Jenness. It didn’t take long though, to figure out that a tractor was not the right piece of equipment to be grooming the clubs tight and twisty trails. It was top heavy and not very nimble through the woods. This became very apparent when the tractor tipped on its side while grooming on February 24, 1994 underneath Interstate 91 in Derby. This close call prompted the club to move back to a smaller twin track design and they purchased another Bombardier groomer, a BR 180. Since then, the club has had a 2003 Bombardier BR 180, a 2009 Prinoth Husky, and now currently a 2016 Tucker Sno-Cat. In 2015, the board of directors received a USDA grant and decided it was time to support a local business, Get-Sno (formerly Cooks Equipment) and give Tucker another try. With the development of new clubs in the area, Drift Dusters began experiencing relief with trail mileage and their final jurisdiction consisted of trails within the towns of Derby, Holland, Morgan, Charleston, and just over the town line into Norton. The clubs area is divided by Trail 105 to the north and Trail 14 to the south. Trail 105 C connects the two trails and runs through Derby’s business district within yards of the Northeast Kingdom’s only Walmart and meets up with the North Country Mountaineers. Trail 5 connects the system to the south meeting up with Orleans Snowstormers. Trail 105 A runs along the Canadian border east-west through Holland into the Bill Sladyk Wildlife Refuge and through some of the same trails that our founders used to ride. Due to the close proximity of the border, it’s not uncommon to see the blinking lights of the Canadian groomer that runs parallel to ours. Trail 105 A was established over a decade ago to provide relief to Trail 105 which runs in the same direction and sees hundreds of snowmobilers a week. In the east we meet Brighton In 1994, it became apparent that the club’s tracked Ford tractor was not an ideal grooming machine for their type of trail terrain. It was soon replaced with a Bombardier BR 180. The club’s trail network has 62 miles, 10 bridges, and 40 road crossings. It is known for having direct access to many convenient amenities for snowmobilers. Members strive to maintain close mutually beneficial relationships with these businesses.