Kelly Snowshoes Snowmobile Club
Kelly Snowshoes News (updated 11/15/2024):
December Club Meeting:
The next club meeting will be held on Tue, December 10 at Dale's Weston Lanes. Beverages start at 6:30 PM and the meeting at 7:00 PM. Please join us for the meeting and to enjoy some camaraderie!
Snowmobile Safety Class Dec 2024
The Kelly Snowshoes Club is proud to announce another Snowmobile Safety Class, which is being held on Saturday, December 14 from 8:00 AM - 2:30 PM. It is one of our goals as a club to promote safety in snowmobiling. The class is for up to 30 students and is posted now on the DNR website. Sign up here: DNR's Go Wild site. The details regarding the class are available on the DNR website. Just a reminder that you will need your child's DNR Cutomer ID number to enroll. The dates on the website are a bit confusing. The reference to Dec 4 is regarding the materials pick up only.
Calendar Cash Raffle November 2024
The Kelly Snowshoes Club is holding the Calendar Cash Raffle again this year for the entire month of November. We sold 500 tickets for $20 each. There will be one drawing each day for one lucky person that will be able to line his or her pockets with some cold, hard CASH! The amount depends on the day but will range from $100 to $700. Below you will find the calendar that will be updated daily with the name of the winner and that person's ticket number. We appreciate everyone that sold and/or bought tickets for this raffle. Keeping our groomers and drags in good working shape can be expensive, so thank you for your contribution.
NOVEMBER 2024
This is the Kelly Snowshoes November Cash Raffle CALENDAR OF WINNERS!! The daily winner will be drawn each day around 7:00 PM Central, starting on November 1. The winner will be announed daily below. The winner will also be posted daily on the Kelly Snowshoes Facebook page. Good luck to all of our ticket holders!
THANK YOU TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS: Below you will find that I'm bringing back a newly updated tribute to our board members, so I hope you enjoy this “Kelly Snowshoes twist" to Clement Clarke Moore’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Based on Wikipedia, his poem was first published anonymously in the New York Sentinel in 1823. The poem below is also shared in hopes of conjuring up a bit of inspiration for the upcoming season. Although it is Fall now and no longer "late Sunmer," feel free to give it a read using the same rhythm as that poem you know so well. Please enjoy...
~MPP~
'Twas Late Summer
‘Twas late summer, with the trails still leafy and green,
Not a sled was stirring since it’s still short of Halloween.
The snowmobiles were all tucked in the garages with care,
In hopes by December they could be flying midair.
The riders were all nestled snug in their beds,
While visions of snowflakes danced in their heads.
Trails that are white and clean is the goal,
So we can be ready to rock ’n’ roll in the snow.
When outside the Club Shed, there arose such a clatter,
Dennis sprang from his President’s chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the door he made a mad dash
To hear only thunder and see the next lightning flash.
Yup, it still summertime, and what do you know,
Kelly Snowshoes members aren’t all thinking snow.
They have Harleys to ride and fishing lures to fling.
They have picnics and campfires and golf clubs to swing.
But it won’t be long until trail-opening day,
So preparations for Kelly Snowshoes will soon be underway.
There’s grooming and brushing and signing to do,
To get our trails ready for the likes of you.
With registration renewals and memberships due,
With trail pass stickers and maintenance to pursue.
It all must be done in the blink of any eye,
To ensure we are ready for those sleds to fly.
Now Dennis! Now Randy, Now Melinda and Josh,
Lead us, lead us, lead up by-gosh.
On Robb. On Caleb, and of course, On Ben.
They truly are the best board members! Amen!
Shiny new signs were hung with care,
In hopes that new members will soon find our lair.
There should never be an El Niño as those weathermen say.
We want deep, sparkling snow for those tracks to play.
So now you must help influence Mother Nature,
By sending her messages much like a preacher.
She needs to know a winter wonderland is desired,
So frequent and blustery snow days will be required.
Cool temps are a must when we think of deep snow,
Since we want it always to be 20 degrees or below.
There should be no such thing on our trails as “snirt,”
Because pretty white snow should never be mixed with black dirt!
We want our talented young drivers to be happy and content,
To be driving the groomer in the spur of the moment.
We want rivers, streams and lakes that are solidly frozen,
To allow us to speed over the ones we have chosen.
As our summertime story comes to a close,
This old gal’s expectation is quite grandiose.
We want perfect Wisconsin snowmobile trails,
Where the only green is pine-tree and white prevails!
2024-2025 Trail Information
This area is set up in preparation for some snowy and cold-looking photographs, as well as reports of good trail conditions for the upcoming season! Please think "cold and snow" so we can fill up this "Trail Information" section!
October 2024 Trail Work: New Q Trail and Important 2024 Notices!
RINGLE SWAMP REROUTE:
During a club meeting last Spring, Jason and Brian Witzeling suggested a big trail project to reroute around the Ringle swamp. They followed through with the planning for this 3.5-4 miles of trail, which runs from Timer Ridge Road to Weston Ave/Hwy Q. Early October club members were able to complete the brushing planned for this new section of trail, which is now known as the “Q Trail”. Thank you to Jason and Brian as well as the other club members that assisted in making this happen. They hit the trail with chain saws, pole saws, ATVs, etc. to complete the brushing in the wooded sections and clear the edges of the main logging road. Signing for the Q Trail is about 1/3 done and will be finished after the upcoming excavation work is completed to clear portions of the trail, fill drainage areas (caused by the rain this year), as well as remove a large tree, 39 stumps, and several rocks.
I’m quite certain there isn’t a snowmobiler who has ridden our trail system that will miss riding that swamp, especially during those times where lack of cold weather wouldn’t allow our groomer to safely travel through that area. No grooming caused some seriously slow riding over those huge speed bumps! I will be a pleasure to ride our brand-new Q Trail so thank you to all for your hard work!
Please see the pics below from this new section of trail, including a map showing where the old trail was and where the new trail is now located. The Q Trail runs from Intersection 405, now at the end of Timber Ridge to Intersection 406, now at Weston Ave and Hwy Q.
Important notes regarding the Kelly Snowshoes Trail System:
-
The Bevent Store is closed with no gas being offered so until it reopens (if ever), please plan your ride.
-
Our section of trail from Intersection 419 to I-420 is temporarily closed.
Trail work January 20, 2024!
It's amazing what a week of subzero temperatures can do for the problem areas of our trails. Our Little Eau Claire River crossings by Bevent Drive and west of intersection 419 are both solid ice now so Dennis is glad he waited a week to groom them. He took the Sur-Trac out today, which he said still does a great job (especially after Marv & Dave did some work on the pan this fall) and it lays down beautiful ribbon. Please see the trail photographs below as proof of the newly frozen areas and the beautiful ribbon! Dennis remembers when Kelly Snowshoes bought the Sur-Trac new in 2001 and he commented that it's just a reliable old groomer.
Think cold and snow to see if we can change Mother Nature's mind about the upcoming warm weather because, per Dennis, "3-4 inches or more of snow would do wonders" for the Kelly Snowshoes trails!!
Trail work January 13-14, 2024!
We finally received some snow so there was grooming taking place over the weekend!! Dennis Kleman took the Tucker and double groomed the South Loop on Sat, Jan 13 as well as from Intersection 416 to 450. On 1/14/2023 Dennis groomed the trail from the Club Shed at Intersection 451 to Intersection 419. On Saturday Matt Hable took the Sur-Trac north from the Club Shed to the Mountain Bay and to Yellow Banks Golf Disc Park then left the groomer with Caleb & Lindsey Loveless. On Sunday (1/14) Caleb groomed to the end of Misquote Road then back on the west loop to the Club Shed.
On Jan 12, Dennis asked Sid King of the Hatley Snowmobile Club to go through "Josh's Swamp" from Intersection 406 to Misquote Rd. After a board vote, they assisted us by packing down the trail. In return they will log those hours for doing our trail work. Thank you to the Hatley Snowmobile Club!
Included below are some pictures/video from this weekend.
Videos from Trail work Jan 13-14, 2024!
Above are a couple videos from the weekend grooming with the Tucker. One shows how slow going the first time out with the groomers can be (less than 5 mph).