CHILTON, Wis. — The mercury drops down and the engines heat up, as snowmobilers embrace the the winter weather.
"This is definitely my favorite time of the year to be out playing in the snow," said James Degeneffe, a trail boss with Calumet Sno-Trails.
He said he's been riding for nearly 15 years.
"My parents grew up with snowmobiles, so my whole life has been out in the winter. That's what we did as a family," said Degeneffe.
He told us they begin preparing for the winter in the fall when farmers finish working the land, so it was disappointing in past years when they couldn't open the trails.
"When you put all the work in it and you don't get to use them, it becomes kind of depressing," said Degeneffe.
Last year, they didn't open the trails at all.
The year before, they were open for no more than 24 hours.
So when the trails opened Friday at noon, many were happy.
"It's exciting for everybody in the snowmobiling world because they get to go enjoy the money and time spent on the trails," added Degeneffe.
Of course, the cold couldn't stop the snowmobilers from hitting the trails today.
"People are braving the cold because they just love to do it. You know, they got the time in. Now, they can go out and enjoy it," said Degeneffe.
Degeneffe added, typically, people are out in any temperature including the frigid wind chills this weekend.
