Mayor of Uxbridge Dave Barton clears a path on his way to the trails in Durham Regional Forest, on Jan. 30.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
When the sun begins to set and the temperature drops, the Snowdogs of Durham Regional Forest emerge. Darting between trees, their headlights mimic the eyes of nocturnal creatures and the steady hum of their motors pierces the stillness.
The machines, a compact snowmobile alternative that resembles a lawn mower, are manned by volunteers from the Durham Mountain Biking Association (DMBA) who venture out in packs of two to roam the forests’ extensive network of paths, grooming the trails as they go. Their drivers, clad in coveralls, balaclavas, thick gloves and overcoats, appear so bundled they’re barely distinguishable as human forms, save for the fluorescent safety vests and bright white lights attached to their helmets that follow their gaze every time they turn their heads.
The Snowdogs are a compact snowmobile alternative that resembles a lawnmower.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
By day, the forest, just south of Canada’s trail capital of Uxbridge, Ont., is a community hub for hundreds of fat bikers – a type of mountain bike that’s built for winter riding with its signature wide tires. But by night, the trails are often in need of repair. So, whenever a fresh coat of snow falls, the Snowdogs return under the cover of darkness.
Originally manufactured in Russia as a towing device for trappers and ice fishermen, Snowdogs have become widely embraced by a growing international fat-biking community as the perfect vehicle to groom single-track trails, ideal for winter biking. However, to do so, they require heavy modification.
Brian Earley, the DMBA’s resident mechanic and a team lead for its grooming crew, said he has traded tips and tricks with fat bikers all over the world, from Norway to the U.S., looking to modify Snowdogs to suit their region’s trail-making conditions.
“They weren’t designed for it. Together, all of us are trying to make something,” he said.
Towing apparatuses, additional lighting, handlebar bash guards to protect from tree trunk collisions and custom-built grooming equipment are among the retrofits that make the DMBA’s Snowdogs unique.
Brian Earley is the DMBA’s resident mechanic and a team lead for its grooming crew.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
The design is still a work in progress and constantly undergoing tweaks to accommodate changes in weather and trail usage, but it’s a major upgrade from the human-powered techniques of the past, Mr. Earley said.
After seeing an uptick in the mass manufacturing of fat bikes around 2013, a group of enthusiasts began gathering in Durham Forest, about an hour northeast of Toronto (without traffic), to pack down the snowy trails by foot. By 2015, a conga line of up to 20 snowshoers was regularly showing up in the evenings to march through the woods and compact the snow, guided only by each other and the halogen lamps attached to their heads.
By 2016, this method had improved – sort of – to feature the last snowshoer in the group wearing a harness and dragging stacked car tires.
“We actually pulled eight kilometres one day with two tires. I got home and I lost four pounds in sweat. My underwear, socks, everything was soaked,” said Paul Borkwood, a volunteer who has been riding mountain bikes since the 1990s.
Volunteer Paul Borkwood, 76, prepares to head out with the Snowdog machines to clear the trails in Durham Regional Forest.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Luckily, in 2016, members of the DMBA met with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority to propose mechanized grooming in the forest – a greatly anticipated concept by the dwindling number of volunteers willing to participate in tire pulls.
Snowdogs first popped up in the association’s research for their proposal – and they never looked back. In 2017, the DMBA bought its first Snowdog. They currently retail for $6,799 from Snowdog LLC, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Russian motor vehicles manufacturer Baltmotors.
After a successful pilot grooming program, the DMBA had amassed two Snowdogs by 2018. Today, they own four total, with two operating in Durham Forest, a new electric one in Jefferson Forest near Richmond Hill, Ont., and another in the Uxbridge Countryside Preserve, where the trails it grooms are used more by hikers and dog walkers than bikers.
Around 4 p.m. on a Thursday night, Philip Humphrey and Mr. Earley arrive at a maintenance shed near the main parking lot for the Durham Forest trails. There are only a few cars left in the lot (one has a bike rack on its roof with noticeably wide tire holders).
As the two dispatchers for the crew that night, they show up early to prep the Snowdogs and make sure the machines are fuelled for the evening ahead. A little later, Mr. Borkwood and Dave Barton, an avid cyclist who also happens to be the mayor of Uxbridge, arrive to tackle the first round of grooming.
With engines revving, Mr. Barton hops on the Snowdog towing the plow attachment. It will go first to cut through the snow that has fallen over the past few days. Mr. Borkwood will follow on the second Snowdog, dragging a tire – an homage to their roots – that will compact the trails and help cut them even closer to the frozen ground.
Volunteers Philip Humphrey, Borkwood and Earley prepare the Snowdog machines. The DMBA own four total, with two operating in Durham Forest.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Heading out around 5 p.m., the pair will be on the trails for a couple of hours, largely alone save for a couple of keen fat bikers who show up to tail them and ride the fresh tracks.
“We appreciate you guys,” a pair of cyclists yell to Mr. Humphrey and Mr. Earley in the parking lot as they head out to chase the Snowdogs.
The second pair of volunteers will arrive later, tackling another batch of trails until late into the evening. Altogether, they’ll groom around 15 kilometres of the winter wonderland that night. Mr. Earley said he expects to leave the forest around 10 p.m. after all the gear is locked away.
He recalls heading home once around 12:30 a.m. after a Snowdog broke down in the depths of the woods and he had to co-ordinate its retrieval. Luckily, the machines can tow each other.
“We had to go out into the middle of the damn forest and fix it and get it back,” he said.
A trail map of Durham Regional Forest.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
On any given evening, Mr. Humphrey has a list of about 20 volunteers he can call upon. If anyone new wants to join the ranks, they have to undergo training, designed by the DMBA, to make sure they can safely operate the machines. It can take a couple of years to reach “veteran” status within the crew, Mr. Earley said.
About eight years on from buying its first Snowdog, the association remains committed to expanding its trail-building and grooming programs. And with the recent establishment of the Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park, Mr. Earley said the DMBA wants to make sure its presence and input are valued in discussions about the park’s long-term management. “We’re trying to figure out how to get our voice bigger,” he said.
The following night, the Snowdogs will return for their second go at the trails that week. With a charity event taking place in the forest on the weekend, Mr. Humphrey said the team is determined to establish the trails’ signature, smooth “Durham luge” feel.
“We are the trail capital of Canada, and this is one way to make the trails accessible longer,” Mr. Barton said.
