community weblog - [ Bring back the snow ]

BY ERIC SHARP
FREE PRESS OUTDOORS WRITER

FREDERIC -- Michigan leads the nation in the number of snowmobiles and miles of snowmobile trails.

But on a day like this, not even the best groomers can do much with snow that has been turned to slush by three days of temperatures in the mid- to high 30s and constant drizzle.

Jim Kostin of Mancelona, a spokesman for the Michigan Snowmobile Association, said a few trails remained ridable through the thaw, but that's not necessarily a good thing.

"What happens is that everybody who wants to ride moves over to those trails, and after a few days they get so rough nobody wants to ride them," Kostin said. "We really need some snow."   more...