The Southeast SnoRiders have been busy rebuilding one of their key snowmobile shelters after losing it to the Carrick Badger forest fire earlier this year. Club president Mitch Gobeil says the Tomahawk Shelter, along with its firewood shelter and outdoor bathroom, were completely destroyed in the spring. “It took out the shelter that we had, and the firewood shelter and the bathroom, all in one fell swoop,” he says. Rebuilding the Tomahawk Shelter Gobeil says they worked hard to replace what was lost. “We bought a prefab building from Premier Building and had them deliver it on site last Friday,” he says. “We have to finish off the interior, which is what we're working on right now.” A crew of nine volunteers was on site last week, completing interior work and adding finishing touches to a new firewood shelter and bathroom. Gobeil says the good weather has helped their progress. Adding a new shelter near Marchand In addition to the Tomahawk rebuild, the club is also preparing to install a new structure between Woodridge and Marchand. “We’re putting in a new shelter in the valley along the hydro line where we used to have one about 10 years ago called the Voyager Shelter,” Gobeil explains. “We’ve been working for the last year getting permits to get that back in there, and we’ll probably be doing that during the winter once there’s enough snow to get it in place.” Volunteers have been hard at work every weekend since early September, balancing shelter projects with routine trail maintenance. Trail repair work following firefighting efforts While rebuilding, members have also been busy repairing sections of the trail that were impacted during wildfires earlier this year. “When the fire crews were here, they made fire guards,” Gobeil says. “Of course, they’re not worried about leaving a hump of dirt out on the road or on the snowmobile trail, so we’ve had to go and push those down and level things out.” He says volunteer Gilbert has spent many hours working with the club’s tractor to smooth and restore the trails. Fundraiser to cover rebuilding costs The SnoRiders held a Halloween fundraiser to help pay for the new Tomahawk Shelter. “We didn’t have enough insurance on the shelter that we lost,” Gobeil says. “We only got $5,000 worth of insurance, and this is going to cost us probably about $25,000 to $30,000 by the time we’re done.” The organization held a fundraiser last Saturday, October 25, where Gobeil says about 300 people attended and together raised approximately $10,000. Looking ahead to the snow season The club hopes to have signs and trail markers installed soon, depending on volunteer availability. “It’s the same nucleus of about 10 or 12 people doing 80 or 90 percent of the work,” Gobeil notes. “Once we’re done with the shelters, we’ll get out there as quickly as we can.” He encourages snowmobilers and community members to visit the club’s website at sesr.ca for updates, volunteer opportunities, and donation information. “We’re always looking for volunteers and still accepting donations to help pay for this building,” he adds. *Photos in the gallery below are courtesy of the Southeast SnoRiders Club / Mitch Gobeil. -With files from Adi Loewen.