Snowmobilers hope for winter whiteness

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Fact Box

For more information:

Call Barb Scheifley

at 321-5607.

Call the lodge at 769-7648.

E-mail Barb at scheifley@dishmail.net.

HANEYVILLE - Winter sends chills up the spines of plenty of people, but not for those who love snowmobiling. Heavy gray clouds full of snowflakes instead give them thrills.

"Snowmobiling can be a wonderful family sport, enabling you to get out and see scenery and enjoy winter like never before," said Barb Scheifley, secretary of the Hyner Snowmobile Club Inc.

Originally called the Elimsport Snowmobile Club, the organization was established in the 1970s.

Thirty years later, it has a new name and location. A few original members still are there, and new ones have joined.

A move for the better

Now know as Hyner Snowmobile Club Inc., the group moved to the mountains of northcentral Pennsylvania and owns land six miles north of Haneyville on Route 44-North.

The move took the club 40 miles from Elimsport in order to be able to improve opportunities for snowmobile experiences and socialization.

"The Elimsport Club was a few miles outside of Elimsport and at a lower elevation than the current lodge," Scheifley said. "After several years of sparse or no snow at the old club, the membership voted to look for some land to build a new facility where hopefully the snowmobiling would be better, with more snow and longer lasting snow and access to more trails."

It's been a good move.

The lodge Scheifley mentions was built entirely by club members.

"The summer of 1990, many members spent every available hour, including camping there every weekend, to clear trees and brush, prepare the site, concrete a foundation and, finally, build the beautiful two-story structure we currently have, which we call Hyner Mountain Lodge," she said. "We were fortunate to have skilled builders, electricians (and) plumbers amongst our membership."

Scheifley gave a Sun-Gazette reporter and photographer a tour of the retreat in November, when the club hosted a snowmobile training seminar.

The well-built rustic building features a spacious living room with a large mountain stone fireplace.

A "snow room" provides a place for riders to store their snowmobile suits, boots, helmets and all the rest of their gear. Scheifley said members of the lodge who stay there can use the snow room to easily prepare for a ride, because all their gear is in one location and dry from the day before.

The kitchen and dining area seat about 26 and sport a commercial-size stove, with two sinks, food preparation counters and a wood stove. Two bathrooms downstairs and two upstairs give the club three showers.

The lodge can accommodate 46 people, though bedroom size varies along with number and size of beds.

Scheifley said the club is different from others of its kind in the state because it offers sleeping facilities and "all the comforts of home."

"We aren't just a place to come in and get warm after a ride, but a place to come to for a long weekend or a week or more at a time, without the need to load and unload your sleds at the beginning and end of each day of riding like most clubs," she said. "With the high price of gas and lodgings making a lot of snowmobilers 'think twice' about getting away for days at a time, we offer a local alternative that each member can make their own and have friendships and enjoyment of the facility all snowmobile season and every other season."

Time to ride

Practically right outside the lodge's door, state forest and snowmobile trails lead away into the wilderness. This enables riders to take off right from the lodge, instead of finding a place to park, unload and reload to go home. One particular trail is just a minute's ride away, according to Scheifley.

Pennsylvania offers many miles of snowmobile trails and joint-use roads for snowmobiling. Most are groomed in the winter.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources "recently reworked miles of the Coudy Pike Trail, which runs alongside of Route 44, putting in drainage pipes, smoothing out irregularities in the trail and expanding parking facilities along Route 44. We are all really looking forward to riding this improved trail system," Scheifley said.

DCNR promotes safety as they patrol trails during the riding season. They make sure riders are on registered sleds and not riding reckless or illegally.

The Hyner club also helps DCNR promote safety in the sport. Annually, the club offers the state-certified safety course at the lodge.

"The snowmobile safety course is offered to anyone one who is new to the sport or who wants to improve their knowledge and skill for snowmobiling. It is especially focused on young folks ages 10 to 15," Scheifley said.

This course is mandatory for all youth, ages 10 to 15, who are planning to use their snowmobile off of their parent or guardian's property, according to DCNR.

"The course we give is the approved DCNR course, given by certified snowmobile safety course instructors. This gets young people into the sport safely and is also a way our club can help improve the sport," Scheifley said.

Course overview includes teaching safe operation of a snowmobile, snowmobile laws, clothing, signaling, body positions for riding, and snowmobile parts and their functions. After course completion, a certificate is given, which must be carried with the rider when he or she is snowmobiling. The certificate is needed until the rider turns 16.

It is very important to the club that members do all they can to promote the sport in a positive manner.

"The more safe snowmobilers who are out enjoying the sport, the more state and local funds and attention to the needs of snowmobilers there will be," Scheifley said. "Also, we want to keep it a sport without reckless, speeding snowmobilers in the northcentral area, so education is important."

Club members stay close to the community, too, participating in everything from constructing trail connections and making trail improvements, picking up litter, holding charity snowmobile rides and manning a booth at the annual Black Forest Chili Cook Off to sorting and packing toys for the Salvation Army and "adopting" a needy family during the holidays. They also work with local businesses and publish a North Central Snowmobile map every couple of years.

"The map is then given free of charge to snowmobilers at the many advertised businesses. This is a big help to 'out of the area' snowmobilers to help find their way around and find food and gas facilities, too," Scheifley said. "The northcentral area in which we ride (northern Lycoming, northern Clinton, Potter and Tioga counties) has many businesses such as restaurants, gas stations, general stores and motels, that depend on snowmobilers for much of their wintertime business. They are supportive of our safety classes, our map project, our access to their facilities in winter and are friendly and welcoming to us."

Social escape

Membership in the club means more than just a system of trails to use. The Hyner Snowmobile Club provides a social network centering around snowmobile riding. Members can connect with other enthusiasts through meetings and social- or community-oriented events all year round.

"(It's) a warm and welcoming place to 'come home to' after a long day of snowmobiling, with your own designated bed and access to hundreds of miles of snowmobile-designated trails and roads right from our door," Scheifley said.

"Since we have been at our current site for 18 years, some of our members have retired from snowmobiling and have left the club. We limit our number of full members to the number of beds available, as that is how our club was planned - as a facility where each member has their own designated sleeping facilities," she added.

Members come from all over the state including local towns such as McEllhattan, Williamsport and Jersey Shore, but also spanning to Palmyra, Ashland and Virginia.

Dan Casey of Columbia County is a new member.

"I have been coming up here to a cabin-hunting camp and heard about it from a friend. It took me two years to find the place," Casey said. "I love the area, and the people who are in the lodge are great. It's so beautiful up here and nice to ride."

Tom and Louise Davidson of Montoursville have been members since 1973.

"It gets you out in the weather and gets you places you can never get to any other way. You see a lot of things," Louise said. "Our best riding is riding around here. When you get a good snow, you can't beat the riding around here."

So, while other commuters are knashing their teeth upon hearing forecasts full of snow, those at the lodge are gassing up their vehicles and tugging on boots and gloves.

"The sport of snowmobiling makes winter the time of year we all look forward to - the camaraderie, the beautiful scenery, the exhilaration of traveling along snow-covered trails can't be matched by any other sport," Scheifley said.

"We have enjoyed so many things," she said, "from hot dog roasts with 20 or so of our fellow snowmobilers, going to a state park to roast doggies, to riding to and viewing the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in winter, to seeing deer and turkey in their winter habitats. It is all very special."