Randy Kirk, a long-time sledder from Watrous, shared his experiences in a one-on-one interview.
How long have you lived in the area?
My whole life—47 years.
And how long have you been sledding?
Forty-seven years. No, not quite that long. Probably since I was about six.
What was your first sled?
A 1970 Ski-Doo Nordic. I had that until about 1980. We used that on the farm until it finally gave up the ghost. There were better and newer ones available, but I couldn’t convince Dad to get one.
How much sledding do you do?
Oh, I put on a minimum of 6,000 kilometres. We usually go to the groomed trails—Greenwater; Duck Mountain Provincial Park; up along the border to a place called Moose Range Lodge (and) the Hudson Bay area. There are thousands of miles of trails here and they all link up eventually.
Is the trail system in Saskatchewan that good?
It’s just amazing. When they’re all grooming, you can literally drive across the province. It’s quite a thing.