Category Archives: Club Posts

We needed to replace some pins on the “Sousy” tracks so they had to be taken off…..Doug and Gerrit took on the project and now we are “on wheels” for the summer….big job… Well done! Thanks guys!

Saturday Feb 28th from Uncle Mikes Bar & Grill, Trego WI

• 11am Start
• 55 Miles Pair O Lakes to Twin Oaks to Tonys to Bass Hunters Saloon and back to Uncle Mikes
• Prizes: Best of Show, Best Vintage Dress

Fire Up the old stuff !!

For more information: 715-623-9042

January 2015 Newsletter

December 2014 Newsletter

Rolling Hills 40^th Anniversary Celebration… November 5th, Lakeview Bar & Grill in Shell Lake, 5:30 pm Social time, 6:30 Dinner, followed by a fun filled tribute to the past 40 years. Join us in reliving the history of where the club started to where we are today!

December Regular Meeting…Rolling Hills Snowmobile/ATV Club will hold its annual holiday get-together Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at Tracks west of Spooner on Highway 70.  Social at 5:30, Meal at 6:30.  Again we will be having our traditional raffle – prize swap.  Monetary donations will be collected for the Washburn County Food Pantry and the Lions Christmas Fund.  A good way to kick off the holiday season and put the woes of the hunting season behind us.  See you there.

Trail update… The ATV trails are in good shape and ready for that last color tour of the fall.  We are starting inspections of the snowmobile trail system to remove brush, trees and replace signs where needed.  The below listed individuals have volunteered for trail segments and if you can help please call them at the appropriate number.

Trail 7A & 140W     Jim Becker     715-416-3748

Trail 7 & 7B            Jim Dienstl     715-635-8661

Trail 39S & 239       Paul Johnson 715-416-2842

Trail 4 & 6               Phil Soltis     715-468-7695

50% IS BETTER THAN NOTHING

Dean Patrick has graciously consented to allow Trail 7A to stay open across his property. The segment between Burnett County and the Wild River Trail can be run as usual.

The Cargill land east of Spooner will remain closed.  We are removing this trail from our new maps as the land use agreement has been cancelled.

Shriners Ride Update…Club members mark your calendars’ for 2015. on Sept 12th of 2015 is the Shriners Ride, everything will stay the same, lunch at the groomer shed(OASIS) lunch will be served there. $4500.00 was sent to Shriners Hospital in Sioux Falls SD.  Thanks Gerrit

ALERT———ALERT——–ALERT

POSSIBLE TRAIL CLOSURES – Spooner Area

 At this time we have a very definite possibility of losing (2) of our snowmobile trail segments for the upcoming winter season.

1. The “Cargill Corporation” has chosen to close the trail on their land that is on the north side of Highway 70 east of Spooner.  If an adequate reroute cannot be found it will necessitate the closure of the trail from its connection to Trail 4 in Beaver Brook north to the junction with the Wild River Trail.

2. Dean Patrick, of Patrick Realty, has indicated he will close the trail on his property north of Spooner High School due to vandalism.  Again, if an adequate reroute cannot be found it will necessitate the closure of Trail 140 from its intersection with Trail 7A, just east of County Highway “A,” east to the Wild River Trail.

We are asking anyone that can offer assistance across other private land on either of these trails to give Jim Dienstl a call at 715-635-8661.

TRAIL REPORT: Trails are doing ok….rather dusty…we hope to have the grader back in business soon.  We are needing helpers to use our small brushers and continue up and down all trails to clear “stop ahead” and “stop” signs.  If you have a couple or three hours to spare, call me and I’ll update on where to go next. 

Also, in Sept. we need a crew to do the new approach at SPRING CREEK bridge.  As always, keep an eye on trails so we keep them safe.  Thank you to Trail Patrol guys for helping.  I know George Frendt was a busy guy with signing and picking brush from the last storm!  Good job!     Thanks……Fitz

Equipment Report: Some much needed maintenance has been completed on the grader, broken frame rail, broken spring in the tongue and new rudders on the rear. Also, adjusted the tracks on the tractor. Making some small progress on the brusher. Have not had a lot of time to work on it. Looks like that may improve in the near future.                                          Floyd

5th Annual Shriner’s ATV/UTV Rally – Sept. 13, 2014

Open to all ATV/UTV riders ~ $20.00 per machine

Includes Lunch on trail & food at Wolf Point after ride.

Start/Finish at Wolf Point Bar & Grill, W4186 Cty Hwy F, Springbrook, WI (Trail 39 Stop #18) Registration is 8:30 am ~ Ride starts at 9:30 am

Poker Run ~ Food ~ Raffles ~ Paddle Party

~ COME JOIN THE FUN ~

Winter Club Trip Plans – Since we do not have an event committee… bring your ideas for the annual winter club trip to the meeting and we will decide from those presented on where we will go this year.

Bring your ideas!

Membership Renewal – It’s that time of year again! Fill out the form and bring it to the meeting or drop it in the mail. Diane will be collecting dues or they can be mailed to: PO Box 91, Spooner WI 54801.

Trail update… things are happening … culverts plugging… trees falling… trying to get caught up on replacing a couple gates… signs are always a problem in a couple areas… I wish we could catch them in the act!

Thanks for helping us catch up you good trail patrollers!!   Grader is sporting new heavy-duty rear tires…I dare them to blow out!!                                                                  Fitz

Equipment update… The ATV trail grader has new grader blades, wear pads, rudders and heavy duty tires installed for the summer and fall grading. Some welding of cracks in the frame also completed. Hopefully it will not give us any problems.                                                                                                        Floyd

Summer ATV Overnight Trip… ride to Barnes WI, July 15, 9 a.m. meet at Trego Parking Lot. Ride to Barnes Trading Post & Wilderness Inn. 8 rooms are available, make your own reservations 715-795-2320. Cost $84.30, tax inc. If you don’t have an ATV come by car or Motorcycle. Snowmobile not recommended at this time. For questions call Gerrit 715-635-4188.

Fall ATV Ride… I have reserved 5 rooms in Clam Lake for Saturday, September 20^th. This was all they had available. Price is $69 plus tax. We will make final arrangements later, but we will need to leave Spooner by 8 on the 20^th, we’ll leave our vehicles in the parking area north of Loretta and make the trek towards Clam Lake, roughly 40 miles. We will plan to eat at the Elk Horn across the street from the hotel. Make our way back down on Sunday.  At one time, the Dead Horse was rated the #3 trail in the nation. It has been “tamed” considerably since then, but it still has its spots!4 rooms have 2 queen beds and 1 room has a double bed with a futon. The $69 is for two people in the room. Each extra person adds $5. There is a 48hr cancelation notice.Here is the link to the website: http://clamlakejunction.com/

I won’t be at the July 2^nd meeting so look for the sign up sheet going around and we’ll figure out room arrangements.                                    Craig

President’s Message: 

Hi Members,

I was looking at the last two newsletters and both referred to the long winter finally coming to an end.  At the same time I looked outside at the 12+ inches of snow from our recent storm.  Oh well!We will be having our May Club Meeting at the Groomer Shed in Trego.  We are planning to highlight the recent “Discover Wisconsin” showing of “Four Wheels, Four Counties”, that debuted on March 29th.  We also will view a short video on Washburn County, put together by Mike Peterson of the County Forestry Department.Our annual election for club officers and board members will also take place at this meeting.  Please plan to attend, it is your club.

Dave Johnson

TRAIL REPORT: Great snowfall, great trails, but only the Wild River Trail is open if you are so inclined.  Beware of a 2′ x 3′ x 2′ deep sink hole in the middle of the Wild River Trail just north of the intersection that turns to “Wild River Sports.”  It is marked and will be repaired as soon as the snow is gone and the source of the problem can be determined.  Upper brushing and pick up of brush on the ATV trails will take place in the next few weeks.

If you have some time to help on the trails or see a problem, please call Jim at 715-635-8661.

CLUB ELECTIONS: Club members we have positions open, if interested in running for a position please call Gerrit  at 715-635-4188, voting will be in May.

Currently holding positions… President – Open, Vice President – Dave Johnson, Secretary – Rob Alder, Treasurer – John Patrick, Board seats – Dagny Johnson, Harry Durand & Craig Hanson

Club Rides and Events:

I would like all members to get involved in these events that we schedule. Even if you don’t have an ATV or Snowmobile you can still follow us by car boat, motorcycle or walk. We are still looking for more places to go. Do you want to go more than one night? Let Gerrit  know at 715-635-4188.

Groomer Operators

A big THANK YOU to Roger Lundeen, Lundeen Farm Automation for recently treating the groomer operators and their spouses to a “night out”.  Roger showed his appreciation to the operators for the hundreds of donated hours spent grooming.  He stated that “the Rolling Hills Trails were awesome all winter.”

Letter of Appreciation:                            April 6th

Good Morning Jim,

It is 48 degrees in Oconomowoc (Waukesha County) with a high of almost 60 and I can’t believe that my son and I had a great time riding in your county yesterday!

Just a quick thank you for having trail maps on the tourism building (Kwik Trip didn’t have any, sent us over). We unloaded and went around the loop and back to the trailer. This was a great way to try out my son’s 2012 Polaris Assault that we had purchased from a private party in NW Minneapolis.

We left Oconomowoc at 7:30 am. and bought the sled at noon. Knowing your county was on Travel Wisconsin and the voice mail was updated Friday and Saturday when we checked again as Minnesota had no snow… We headed over and found great trail conditions, a nice place to unload and ride, and I discovered a big train museum that I’ll be back in summer to see!

We put on 330 miles to get the sled, 50 miles riding and a total 430 miles back home by 11:30 pm!! Great day for sure!

Thanks for having trail maps outside for us! Had we been able to stay for more than two hours we would have stopped in at the local supporters on the map and also told them thanks. We will be back!

Robb & Mike Brinkmann

Members Oconomowoc Throttle Jockies

AWSC Cap/Step Update:

What You Need to Know About the New WI Trail Pass under WI Act 142 (CAP – Club Assistance Program)

1. When does this new law go into effect? July 1, 2015. Act 142 requires each sled operating on trails to display a WI Trail Pass to be purchased annually. This is separate from the WI snowmobile registration.

2. What is the cost of the trail pass? Once Act 142 is implemented, if your membership dues with one of the nearly 600 AWSC snowmobile clubs statewide are up to date and the club has paid your AWSC dues, the cost of the Trail Pass will be $10. If you are purchasing the new Trail Pass and are NOT an AWSC and snowmobile club member the cost will be $30 per snowmobile.

3. Do I have to join a club? No – It will be your choice to join one of the nearly 600 AWSC snowmobile clubs statewide. Please remember that without the clubs and volunteers there would be NO TRAILS! It is the club volunteers that provide and maintain the WI Snowmobile Trail System.

4. Where do the funds from the trail pass go? The revenue generated from the sale of snowmobile registrations and Trail Passes will go into the state snowmobile program’s segregated fund.

5. How do I obtain my trail pass? Those details and processes have yet to be determined by the State along with the AWSC.

6. Do I still have to register my snowmobile with the State of WI? Yes – However the registration fee structure will change to a $30/3 year registration. Currently it is $30/2 years.

7. Is the Out of State (Non-Resident) trail pass going to increase in cost? Yes – It will increase to $50 from $35 (current).

8. My snowmobile is 30 years (or older.) Do I still need a trail pass? The new law provides a free annual (yearly) Trail Pass sticker to be displayed on sleds 30 years and older. However, snowmobiles still need to be registered. Note: Change in registration fee $30/3 year registration.

9. If I don’t live in WI can I still register my snowmobile(s) in WI? Yes – If you reside in another State you can still register your snowmobiles in WI. If you chose to belong to one of the nearly 600 AWSC snowmobile clubs statewide and are up to date with membership dues and the club has paid your AWSC dues, the cost of the Trail Pass will be $10. If you do not belong to a club in WI your trail pass will cost $30. Otherwise you will have to purchase the Out of State trail pass for $50 if your snowmobile is registered in another state.

March 19, 2014

This afternoon, Governor Walker added his signature to Assembly Bill 407. The CAP/STEP initiative is now officially 2013 Wisconsin Act 142. This new law will go into effect on July 1, 2015.

The AWSC website will soon include links to the Assembly and Senate roll call votes on AB-407. You will be able to determine how your respective Representative and Senator voted on the CAP/STEP measure. Be certain to send a note to your local legislators thanking those who supported this vital piece of legislation. We also encourage you to contact Governor Walker to express your gratitude.

2013 Wisconsin Act 142 provides for the following:

 A two-tiered trail pass requirement at an annual cost of $30/non-member and $10/club & AWSC member 

 Provides a free annual trail pass sticker to be displayed on sleds 30 years and older.

 Increases the non-resident trail pass fee from current $35/year to $50/year. 

 Moves to a $30/3 year registration fee structure.

 Includes a 4-year sunset clause which requires evaluation prior to renewal of CAP/STEP.

 An effective date of July 1, 2015.

In the coming days and months we will have much to do as we prepare for the implementation of CAP/STEP and we will face challenges. For now, let’s all celebrate this monumental achievement.