The steady dripping sound of water falling from a tree along the Wiouwash State Recreation Trail was obscured only by the cackling of a pair of crows.
Other than the soft whooshing of a cool breeze carrying a hint of warmth, the dripping and crow calls were the only sounds breaking the winter solitude of the countryside 10 miles west of Neenah.
For nature lovers, the quiet is welcome, but for Dennis Catlin, the warmth and relative silence are not bearers of good news.
Catlin, sales manager for Appleton Powersports, would rather hear the buzz of snowmobiles traveling the Wiouwash and nearly 1,000 miles of snowmobile trails in the four counties comprising the Fox Cities.
After a mid-December blizzard that dumped up to a foot or more of snow on the area, the subsequent lack of snow — coupled with an approaching warm front promising temperatures well above freezing — could bring an end to snowmobiling locally for some time.
“It’s going to be real harmful for us,” Catlin said. “December was a real good month for us. It’s going to take another snowstorm to bring business back. Our business had been on fire. If all the snowmobile trails were open, our business would still be buzzing.”
Catlin said snowmobile enthusiasts have money in their pockets to purchase new and used snowmobiles, as well as accessories like helmets and clothes, but with nowhere to go, that money will stay in their wallets.
“Sales of new and used snowmobiles had been up and so had sales of accessories,” Catlin said.
Most snowmobile trails in the four-county area are in poor to fair condition at best, even before the rain anticipated on New Year’s Eve.
For nature lovers, the quiet is welcome, but for Dennis Catlin, the warmth and relative silence are not bearers of good news.
Catlin, sales manager for Appleton Powersports, would rather hear the buzz of snowmobiles traveling the Wiouwash and nearly 1,000 miles of snowmobile trails in the four counties comprising the Fox Cities.
After a mid-December blizzard that dumped up to a foot or more of snow on the area, the subsequent lack of snow — coupled with an approaching warm front promising temperatures well above freezing — could bring an end to snowmobiling locally for some time.
“It’s going to be real harmful for us,” Catlin said. “December was a real good month for us. It’s going to take another snowstorm to bring business back. Our business had been on fire. If all the snowmobile trails were open, our business would still be buzzing.”
Catlin said snowmobile enthusiasts have money in their pockets to purchase new and used snowmobiles, as well as accessories like helmets and clothes, but with nowhere to go, that money will stay in their wallets.
“Sales of new and used snowmobiles had been up and so had sales of accessories,” Catlin said.
Most snowmobile trails in the four-county area are in poor to fair condition at best, even before the rain anticipated on New Year’s Eve.
