Smooth sledding

About 11 miles northeast of Coeur d'Alene, up the narrow, switchbacking road that curves toward the mountains, four snowmobiles roared into the wide clearing at Fernan Saddle.

The group had just finished a smooth ride on a very chilly day.

"Lots of snow. Plenty of snow," said Dave Vegele of Spokane, stowing his gear in the back of a truck. "Good, fluffy, cold, crisp snow."

Vegele and a few buddies drove to North Idaho on Friday, in the midst of a bitter Inland Northwest cold snap. Even at mid-afternoon, the warmest part of the day, temperatures were still in the low teens.

"Layers. Lots of layers," Vegele said. "Hands get coldest, I think, for me anyway. Need to invest in better gloves."

Trail conditions, though, were perfect for sledding.

"There's probably about 3 to 4 feet of powder up on the trails, up on top, on the ridges," said Chris Neumann, a firefighter from Spokane Valley. "(This is) one of a variety of places to go, so we just rotate around. We knew that there would be a lot of good snow after the last couple days, so we just decided, 'Why travel too far when you've got this?'"

A popular spot for year-round recreation, Fernan Saddle is a gateway to the vast network of Forest Service and logging roads that crisscrosses the Panhandle. Many of those curvy roads are groomed for snowmobile and ATV use during the winter.

Throughout the region, riders can access roughly 350 miles of scenic trails, according to Dale Adickes, chairman of the Kootenai County grooming board.

"The trails are excellent. Probably the best there's been all year - in the past few years, actually," Adickes said Monday. "Very good trail riding. Warming huts are all functional, and have firewood in them."

The saddle, on the western edge of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, is one of several entry points. It's convenient for Coeur d'Alene-area riders, and there's plenty of space for parking. Farther east, snowmobilers can trailer off at Fourth of July Pass, trailheads along the Coeur d'Alene River, Mullan and Lookout Pass.

Kootenai County's warming huts are maintained by the Coeur d'Alene Snowmobile Club. If a storm blows in, riders can take refuge at Magee - along Tepee Creek, at the junction of F.S. roads 6310 and 534 - Hudlow Meadows or Skitwish, at the Skitwish Peak Saddle, according to the club's website.

Three Kootenai County groomers are running every day, Adickes said, laying down a corduroy track about 15 feet wide. Two operate in the Fernan area, while another patrols the Fourth of July routes. Just like the big machines that smooth out downhill ski runs, the trail groomers chug along on cat tracks, pulling a tiller behind them.

Vegele and Neumann were happy to find a freshly-laid track on Friday morning.

"It was beautiful," Vegele said. "It's groomed, it's all groomed back in there. Good stuff."

The state owns the groomers, but county employees operate the machines, Adickes said. They wake up before dawn, drive all day on remote back roads and return long after sunset.

"You leave in the wee hours of the morning, and sometimes you don't get back until 10 at night," Adickes said.

It's not all drudgery - the groomers often spot wildlife on the trails, especially moose, and the mountain scenery is beautiful.

"If it snows," Adickes said, "and tomorrow is a sunny day... when the sun comes up, that is the best time in the world to be out in the groomer."

The cost of grooming Kootenai County trails is roughly $7.50 per mile, he added. Before heading into the woods, snowmobilers are required to pay $32.50 for a state sticker. Eighty-five percent of that money goes back to the county to help fund the grooming program, Adickes said.

Riders in Kootenai or Shoshone counties must also purchase a grooming sticker. Some of the $15 fee goes to the program; the sheriff's department - the agency that responds when snowmobilers get into trouble - also receives a percentage.

The general public does not pay for the grooming services, Adickes explained.

"A lot of people don't understand that we are self-funded," he said. "I'm a firm believer: If you play, you pay."

When snowmobilers buy a state sticker, they can designate which groomer program will receive a portion of the money. Kootenai County's program received 2,052 designations this year, according to Marc Hildesheim, trails specialist for Idaho Parks and Recreation.

"This year, (the groomers) have had to fight with the crazy weather we've had," he said. "They always do a good job in the Kootenai County area."

State, county and Forest Service regulations are enforced on snowmobile routes. The laws differ slightly from agency to agency, but according to state rules, a snowmobile cannot weigh more than 1,000 pounds and measure wider than 50 inches, Hildesheim said.

The machine must also have handlebar steering and a seat that is straddled. A wheeled ATV is allowed on snowmobile trails if the vehicle complies with regulations.

"Once they've laid down a groomed track on the roads, the roads are closed to everything but snowmobiles and (compliant ATVs)," said Forest Service Recreation Trails Manager Andy Boggs. "If you go up to a trailhead, we've got barricades with big black and white signs."

Large off-high vehicles with side-by-side seating and steering wheels are illegal on the trails. For safety, the Forest Service only wants smaller vehicles on the narrow winter roads, Boggs said.

Occasionally, Adickes said, someone will toss aside the barricades and drive a full-size truck on the groomed paths. It's illegal, and carries a $200 fine.

The latest groomer reports and other trail information is available at www.cdasnowmobileclub.com. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests website is also a good source.

Groomers will be laying trail until the snow melts, and the public is welcome to ride along. Call Adickes at 661-4718 to set up a trip.