Trail etiquette

[gary_in_neenah]

Our local trails sometimes have people and their dogs walking, especially on weekends. I slow waaay down until I pass them. Geez, the last thing I want to do is hit their dog. I always wave and almost always they return the gesture. It's just part of being courteous.

The fewer people that we have that dislike snowmobiles the longer we'll have trails to ride on.

 

[joesnocruzer]

The hand signals (number of sleds following) are a great help for safety on narrow twisting trails. Most people in our area of North Central Wisconsin are good enough to do us this favor, and 95% of the time they are completely accurate. However, just like you should ALWAYS assume that there is another sled coming around the next blind corner, or over the next blind hill, you should not throw caution to the wind just because someone showed you a fist. There have been many times that I was grateful that a rider signaled more coming with a tight corner coming up. Let's face it, more information is better... just don't assume that it lets you throw caution to the wind.

 

[ezra]

when riding alone I like to hold up 2 just to keep em on there toes

 

[anonomoose]

....The fewer people that we have that dislike snowmobiles the longer we'll have trails to ride on.

This should be carved into every sign on every trail out there cause it is so EASY to forget.

Snowmobiling is a privilege and never a right a least regarding the trail systems.

 

[russholio]

Our local trails sometimes have people and their dogs walking, especially on weekends. I slow waaay down until I pass them. Geez, the last thing I want to do is hit their dog. I always wave and almost always they return the gesture. It's just part of being courteous.

The fewer people that we have that dislike snowmobiles the longer we'll have trails to ride on.

This is very true. My problem was not so much with the lady and her dogs being on the trail, but that the dogs were unleashed. No matter how well disciplined, dogs are still animals and can behave unpredictably. If one had decided to dart out into the path of a sled for some reason, even a slow-moving sled, it would have been game over.

The hand signals (number of sleds following) are a great help for safety on narrow twisting trails. Most people in our area of North Central Wisconsin are good enough to do us this favor, and 95% of the time they are completely accurate. However, just like you should ALWAYS assume that there is another sled coming around the next blind corner, or over the next blind hill, you should not throw caution to the wind just because someone showed you a fist. There have been many times that I was grateful that a rider signaled more coming with a tight corner coming up. Let's face it, more information is better... just don't assume that it lets you throw caution to the wind.

Well-said.

 

[POLARISDAN]

Develop these along with "advance notice LED" which displays on the windshield for other on coming sleds to quickly read with statements like "of course I OWN the trail, that's why I am in the middle of it..." and "where am I"..."eat my ice chips"...etc.

fuuuunnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[POLARISDAN]

when riding alone I like to hold up 2 just to keep em on there toes

hahahahahahahahahahahahhaahha

 

[G]

So far nobody has mentioned pedestrians walking on the trails. So far this year I've encountered 7 people walking or hunting on the trails. The most recent was yesterday in a thick tight twisty section of woods on a 90 degree left corner. I was on the extreme right and taking it easy because some ATVs had tore up the corners and as I came around the corner a guy with two beagles and a shotgun steps out of the woods about 15 feet in front of me. He was wearing a camouflage jacket and a dirty blaze orange hat. I think this was private land so I'm assuming he was the landowner or had permission to be there. I wave to say I'm sorry but he still looked really POd and surprised that a snowmobile would be on the trail.

So you are the jerk that scared off that rabbit I was going to shoot for supper. Thanks to you I had to eat Spam again.