Before last weekend, I had never snowmobiled. I had never felt the cool rush of the wind against my cheek, nor had I ever heard the rev of the sled engine or had muscle aches after a hard day of snowmobiling. But on February 27th, the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club hosted its annual poker rally and I can now say that I have snowmobiled—and I loved it.
Have I ever mentioned by friends Cori and Sean McIver? Well, they are avid sledders who are both members of the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club and were more than happy to invite me to ride double with them on the poker rally.
We set out early on Saturday to beat the traffic, and drove up to Lumberton. We arrived at 8:30 a.m. and had to park on the side of the road as the parking lot was already full. In total, about 200 people were present at the poker rally. Sean, a talented sledder, took it easy on me during the ride up to the cabin, which was check point two. Numerous people were coming and going, drinking hot chocolate and eating hotdogs. Cori decided to double me from the cabin to Helen’s Lake. Cori is also a skilled rider but as she is shorter than me, I was quite hunched and cramped for the duration of the ride, but still had fun experiencing every aspect of sledding—cramped or not.
Tricks of the trade
Helen’s Lake, check point three, turned out to be the social meeting point of the poker rally and the next four hours were spent socializing and watching better sledders than I catch tricks and highmark a particular rocky mountain face. The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly and I had the opportunity to speak with many sledders—some who were diehards and others who participated in club rides once in a while.
By the late afternoon most people had made their way back to the parking lot, and Sean, Cori and I decided it was time to go back as well. For an unforgettable experience, Sean and Cori said it would be fun if I rode with Darren Pickering, the owner of All Seasons Motor Sports. Just a side note, I had heard from four individual people that day that Darren was the best rider in Cranbrook. Now, I have no basis for comparison, but wow. Pickering took me easily through treed areas I thought we would get stuck in, and maneouvered his sled like he had been riding forever. There were moments when I felt like I was hanging on for dear life and others when the grin on my face was so big that it hurt, but I couldn’t stop.
I’d like to thank Cori, Sean, Darren and the other great people I met out on the Lumberton trail. Now, for the first time ever, I finally get what so many riders have been telling me about snowmobiling. You do it because you love it—and now I can say that I love it too.
