1 January, 2016

A Great Canadian Volunteer Clears the Trail!

For Trans Canada Trail volunteer and Trail user Harris Cox, grooming the local snowmobile trails in and around Whitehorse every winter is about caring for his community.

“The Trail is multi-use, you can walk it, ski it, jog it, and I see parents with strollers, too. It’s got something for everyone,” Harris says.

Harris tends to roughly 200 kilometres of the TCT every winter, ensuring the Trail is clear of snow and ice by using a groomer hitched to his snowmobile. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, winter daylight can last as little as 6.5 hours, and temperatures can drop as low as -37 Celsius, but Harris is unfazed: “I love grooming the Trail in the winter, and I’ll do it until I can’t drive anymore. It can get a little cold, but I can’t complain.”For Trans Canada Trail volunteer and Trail user Harris Cox, grooming the local snowmobile trails in and around Whitehorse every winter is about caring for his community.

Harris moved to the Whitehorse area from Nova Scotia when his father was transferred to the Yukon in 1958 for his work with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Harris has been a passionate Yukoner ever since. “I call it my backyard,” says Harris of the Yukon, home to the Whitehorse Copper Trail that serves snowmobilers, skiers and dogsledders in the winter, and hikers and cyclists in the summer.

The Trail is multi-use, you can walk it, ski it, jog it, and I see parents with strollers, too. It’s got something for everyone,” Harris says.

Harris tends to roughly 200 kilometres of the TCT every winter, ensuring the Trail is clear of snow and ice by using a groomer hitched to his snowmobile. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, winter daylight can last as little as 6.5 hours, and temperatures can drop as low as -37 Celsius, but Harris is unfazed: “I love grooming the Trail in the winter, and I’ll do it until I can’t drive anymore. It can get a little cold, but I can’t complain.”