TOWNSHIP 11 RANGE 10, Maine — Three men attempting a nearly 300-mile snowmobile trip from Piscataquis County to Aroostook on Monday were rescued by the Maine Warden Service after their machines became bogged down in deep snow on unplowed logging roads.
Cpl. John MacDonald of the warden service said Tuesday that the incident took place after the trio set out to ride from Guilford to Fort Kent.
According to MacDonald, Craig Lemieux, 41, of Parkman, Chad Jones, 31, of North Yarmouth and 22-year-old Tobey Cleaves of Sangerville experienced mechanical trouble with one of the sleds near Farrar Pond in remote northern Maine.
They attempted to break a trail out to American Realty Road but failed when the two working machines became stuck in approximately four feet of snow.
The group used a satellite phone to tell a friend that they needed assistance, according to MacDonald.
Warden Sgt. Durward Humphrey and wardens Preston Pomerleau, David Milligan and Andrew Smart located the group.
MacDonald said Tuesday that the men became separated, with Jones and Cleaves traveling together. The pair had some supplies but did not have snowshoes, he said, making trekking through the deep snow difficult. It took Jones and Cleaves five hours to travel approximately half a mile out to American Realty Road, where they were picked up.
Lemieux was found with his disabled snowmobile, according to MacDonald, and was able to start a fire for warmth.
Lt. Tom Ward of the Warden Service said that wardens are seeing more and more people engaging in what he called “extreme types of snowmobiling” in northern Maine.
“Folks make annual treks through the deepest, most remote part of the county and it’s not uncommon to get a couple of these rescue calls each winter,” he said in a written statement. “These men would have definitely had an uncomfortable night as temperatures plunged into the single digits and we received another three inches of snow.
“I want to remind extreme-type snowmobilers to be prepared and demonstrate good, sound judgment before attempting a trip like this as four wardens and a lot of resources were tied up making sure these men were brought out to safety,” he said, “Every time I send wardens out for these calls, there is a risk factor involved due to the harsh conditions.”
He urged sledders to watch the weather forecast, prepare for emergencies and tell someone where they will be sledding.
Hey Craig, you had better stick with *Extreme NASCAR Watching*,,, it’s a little warmer & Safer,,, don’cha Think ?!?! Be Safe Chum !! ;<) "88"
Seriously though, glad you and your friends made it out OK.
To ALL the "EXPERTS" out there, Craig is NO Bushleaguer when it comes to Sledin' !!!
I'm sure he knew what the plan was when they *Started* their trip, "STUFF" just happens, that is ALL……End of Story !!!
Next time any of you *Experts* on this forum.. (and you know Who you are) find yourself in Any kind of *DEEP DOO DOO*…. don't you Dare call for HELP !!!
Be a Real man and get out of it the same way you got into *IT*….. By whinning and crying like you always do on this comment gallery !!!
Thanks to the Warden Service and any others involved in the rescue, without them, alot of other " Outdoor Recreational Fun Seekers" would be up the creek without a paddle.
Peace and Love to ALL !!! 357 magman… Over & Out…..Big Buddy!! ;<)
“stiff just happens” – well, a true sledder is prepared for the potentials. glad they are OK, it need not have happened if they had been better prepared. if they are truly responsible people they will offer to reimberse the wardens for their time & efforts.
Instead of trying to get through on unplowed logging roads, why not use the ITS trails, which are maintained? Not many enough? The idiots ought to reimburse the warden service for the cost of rescue.
If you can’t make it to Fort Kent how you gonna make it in Labrador City??!
send them the bill for the wardens. that will teach them to bring snowshoes next time. and they vote ……
That’s what they do in New Hampshire….if you find yourself stranded at your own fault and unprepared, you get billed for your rescue. I’m not saying that they weren’t prepared…just sayin’.
send you a bill if you get in a car accident an i mean you pay for the fire dept to show up an any thing they use an the same for the rescue that shows up an also for the police to show up. Don’t say well my taxes pay for that other town an cities in the USA are dong that
Disqus generic email templateyes and that is an accident that you didn’t plan for. these guys obviously knew they were going into back country unprepared. no sympathy for them
They did not plan for that accident to happen
Yeah-like everyone plans for an accident? These guys were not prepared or experienced in deep snow sledding.
Hey, Give these guys a break! It’s not like these guys were preparing for a 2,000 mile Cains Quest snowmobile race in Labrador, Canada or something(LOL)
Disqus generic email templatethey planned to go snowmobiling in the deep backwoods snow. they were not properly prepared other than a cell phone and their snowsuits. they did not just fall out of the sky in the deep snow. be real
In Reply To……………. send them the bill for the wardens……………….Don’t the Wardens get paid anyway, whether they are rescuing people or not? Glad everyone is OK. Previous snomobile stories this season haven’t ended as well
Had they made that trip last Thursday they probably would have been all set.
Isn’t everybody in the county stuck there?
By choice!
Great place to be. One of the last places you don’t have to keep up with the Jones’s to enjoy life!
Thats because we want to be, its gods country!
Yes, but every once in a while we get out of Are-you-stuck County…
In Reply To…….Are-you-stuck County…… Hmmm… Aroostook County = Are-you-stuck County. Took Me a Few Reads but I finally got it. : )
proper sled and track, and snowshoes, along with a heavy thumb makes all the difference while boondocking in the woods. the outcome could have been a lot worse-no cell signal……
Boon docking? You have read one two many smowmobile magazines. Guys got home. All that matters. Isn’t this why we pay state taxes? We pay these Wardens to do this. Gives them something to do. Catching people coming off the lake ice fishing and snowmobile speed traps must get boring. No Dunkt dounuts out there. It’s good to see our tax dollars working and these wardens actually working for a change.
Yes-Boondocking-That is what it is called when one goes off trail-doesn’t have to be Cain’s Quest to become a statistic-you can still freeze-All I’m saying is that this could have turned out for the worse. Be prepared!
Glad that all were okay. Good work, wardens.
If you can drive in you should always be able to drive out. All you have to do is turn your sled around and follow the trail you just made back where you came from. A sled is never stranded unless you run it out of fuel.
Stuff like this happen sometimes. They got home in one piece. Better to be out sledding then in sitting on the coach. I myself have been in the same type of a jam. Live and learn. Would have been three guys from Mass, you would be reading a different story. Get out and do it again
I am glad they are alright, but they should pay the expenses incurred to “rescue” them.
No, c’mon. Those 4 Wardens were just going to waste the same exact resources driving around hassling people about fishing licenses if they didn’t have anything better to do.
This charging people for emergency services is BS in most cases. Exceptions could be made for things like the nut a few years ago that claimed his kid was in the flyaway homemade balloon UFO.
But otherwise…what if it was you or your kid? What if your kid or elderly parent thinks they can’t afford to call for help and they die? Then what?
ITS Trails are there for a reason.
They are training for Cains Quest 2012, look it up on your computer.
Yet another reason to start billing these folks. Bad choices lead to this every year. I live up here close to Calais. We know where not to go and what our machines can and can not do. I am not a sled person myself but know many who are. This is poor decision making on the riders part they should have to foot he bill.
Some of you guys gotta get out more. I mean I know it’s cold out but you’re just sitting there in your warm, cozy room in front of your computer criticizing and berating others who are in fact “Real Men” who like to adventurer and live life. Some of you go on about explorers, outdoorsmen, Wardens and everyone else you can think of for the way that they go about their lives. Well, Life is sometimes risky and alls well that ends well. Go take a Hike.
OK guys and gals against my better judgement and the wishes of those that were there I will say the following.
1. They didn’t call the wardens or ask to have them called, some else
made that judgement based on what he belived was taking place at that
time. A case of too much info at one point and not enough at another
point.
2. The boys were prepared how do you think they were
able to start a fire, and call out to start with. How many of us carry a
SAT phone? not many but they did.
3. Two of the guys were at the rode waiting for the ride they called for from a friend for when the Wardens showed up.
4. They went back with the very same gear they had the day before and rode and towed the sleds out.
Couldn’t they have followed the empties back to safety?
They were training for a cross country snowmobile race. I believe one of them is the local snowmobile club president. What did you do last weekend to make your life better?
My wife and I along with hundreds of other volunteers packed about 32,000 meals for the refugees in Kenya. Added total from 10 local church volunteers for the entire day, 1.5 million meals were packed to feed starving children in the impoverished areas of Africa(Kenya). You asked.
The sat phone was in case they ran out of beer. Glad they got out ok–i have been stranded near there before–its very isolated.