Dale Charabin of North Battleford in Saskatchewan remembers taking long sled trips in the area before there was even a trail system to ride on. Now he laughingly says he’s the trail master with local club, the Battlefords Trail Breakers.
“We’ve got quite a variation from flat to rolling to windy along with creek crossings,” said Charabin of the riding in the Battleford area. “There’s a lot of different variation of terrain. If you’re a flatlander there’s some flat riding and if you like the winding trails there are lots of winding trails. We’ve got some bush trails—we’ve got a little variety of everything.”
Currently the club grooms 450 kilometres of trail that also links into the networks of surrounding clubs. They also maintain 10 warm-up shacks with unique names such as Barley Bin and The Boar’s Nest. A ride along the trail that winds along the river valley is an especially beautiful route. A good, but long, trip is north to Turtle Lake. Charabin particularly enjoys his old haunt in the hills near Whitkow, about 30 kilometres to the northeast of North Battleford. This area provides some fun, rough and rolling terrain.
As with most of the Prairies, North Battleford experienced exceptional snow conditions for the 2012/2013 season and sledding started in October. December is a more common season start for the area, however, and the Battlefords Trail Breakers are getting signage and cabins ready for the snow to fly. The club has also ordered a second grooming machine that they look forward to using.
Charabin said he’s looking forward to another season with lots of snow. Last season he enjoyed the huge drifts caused by snow blowing across the Prairies. The most memorable rides he’s been on, however, have involved introducing newbies to the sport and giving them a glimpse of what local riders get to experience.
“We’ve done some media rides for provincial festivals and that’s been a bit of a highlight,” said Charabin. “(It was exciting) just to show the area to them and see their faces. They just can’t believe what they’re seeing—just the terrain and the view from lots of these big hills and the river valley.”
