HARDWICK – Ross Gouin, trailmaster with the Hardwick Sno-Flake Ridgerunners received an unexpected call from Hardwick Town Manager David Upson late Friday afternoon when Upson called to tell him a vehicle was stuck on a VAST Trail and needed to be pulling out.
courtesy photo
After confirming the location with the Hardwick Police Department, they headed to the site of the stuck vehicle where they met trail director Chad Trudeau, who had reached it by snowmobile.
Upson and Trudeau rigged a tow line to the stuck Toyota Camry in temperatures falling from 12 degrees Fahrenheit as night came on.
The Uber driver in the Camry was .8 mile up Wright Farm Road, having driven in from West Woodbury, according to Uposon. In a video Gouin recorded while pulling the vehicle out and later posted to Facebook, he said he had no idea how the car had gotten so far in, but was certain it wouldn’t have gotten out without the Ridgerunners tow.
Upson, who once served as a Vermont State Trooper, said stuck vehicles on trails had been a common occurrence and trail grooming equipment was usually the only way to remove them, or they’d be stuck until after a spring thaw.
The vehicle’s driver spoke no English, so conversation was assisted with a translator reached by smartphone, said Upson..
In a social media post, the Ridgerunners said of the driver, “you can imagine his excitement to get a tow back to the pavement!”
After dragging the Camry out, Gouin went back to the site, where he picked up the grooming drag, which had been left behind when the car was hooked up.
See a video of the extraction in progress at facebook.com/share/v/1FrJqwkUVv/
In a Sunday evening trail update, the Ridgerunners said, “Both 15A & 15B were groomed this afternoon after the weekend traffic. Tonight, we did 14 S through the village to 15 east and 156 to Walden and Cabot.
“Trails are shaping up nicely and it’s nice to see folks out enjoying them. Ride right, ride safe and think Snow!”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
