Mushers and Snowmobilers: Working Together to Keep the Trails Safe

“I sadly can’t do it anymore. I am retiring from dogsled racing. Ever since the accident I’ve lost my nerve. I am in fear. I don’t have it anymore…”

These are the sad words that longtime Maine musher, Jeffrey McRobbie, posted on social media in late March.

I have been mushing the winter trails in Maine for about 20 years. I’d say 99 percent of snowmobilers are glad to see a dogsled team. They slow down, give a thumbs up, or stop for pictures. Mushers love snowmobile clubs and their groomers; without them, it would be much more difficult to get training miles in.

However, there is still the 1 percent who cause problems. These are the ones who fly by within a foot of our teams at full throttle because they believe we shouldn’t be on “their” trails. This ignorance keeps mushers in fear—not just for ourselves, but for our dogs.

The Rules of the Trail

Legally, snowmobilers must yield the right of way to other trail users, including dog teams. This is because a motorized vehicle is presumed to have more control than animal transportation. Despite this, mushers assume every snowmobile is part of that dangerous 1 percent until proven otherwise.

I’ve had five true near misses. Once, in a twisty section of woods between Cross and Mud lakes, I heard a sled coming wide open. I pulled over as far as possible. The snowmobiler locked his tracks, but he was going to hit my team. In a miracle, my first four dogs sprung off the trail into the trees at the last second. The sled stopped exactly where they had been standing.

Tragedies on the Trail

• 2003: Stephen Hessert was struck from behind by a drunk snowmobiler and left for dead with two broken legs.
• Iditarod: A drunken snowmobiler repeatedly attacked veterans Jeff King and Aliy Zirkle.
• 2016: Jeffrey McRobbie was struck during the Can Am Crown by a speeding snowmobiler on “the railroad bed.” Though he tried to return to racing, the trauma eventually forced his retirement.

How We Can Improve

Mushers: Get involved with your local snowmobile club. Become a dues-paying member. Your support at events helps keep our presence in their minds.

Snowmobilers: We appreciate you and the trails you provide. Please, when you open up the throttle, do so only where it is safe. Around the next corner could be a dog team, another sled, a moose, or a child.