Riders brave cold weather

Even with the weather in single digits, at least 180 riders showed up last Saturday to participate in the Cabinet Ridge Riders (CRR) annual snowmobile fun run. According to Alexis Dean, secretary for CRR, they may have lost a few people to the cold, but it was still an impressive turnout. She said that generally the event attracts anywhere from 150 to well over 200 people. This was CRR's 30th year holding this event.

The Poker Run was hosted at the Lakeside Motel, where participants showed up Friday night to sign up to ride. Participants could also participate in the raffles and buy poker hands for the run itself that night. According to Dean, CRR sold 513 poker hands this year. The four raffles were for a Henry .410, a Glock 43 9mm, a Smith and Wesson M&P in .22, and the famous cooler of joy, stuffed to the brim with alcohol. Dean said that the cooler of joy used to be the wheelbarrow of joy, but it changed because filling a cooler was easier.

Riders started the run at 9 a.m. Saturday morning and were expected to return at 5 p.m. do draw their last hand. The cards were marked ping pong balls drawn from a bucket and printed onto each player's scorecard. Because of COVID-19, volunteers who worked at draw stations drew for participants. That way as few hands as possible reached into the buckets. Players could buy as many hands as they wanted for $5 each.

Riders drew their first hands at the Lakeside and then went through three more stations along the trail and finished back at the Lakeside. At the fourth draw station, near Gem Peak Lookout, where CRR has a warming hut set up, CRR served chili dogs, hot chocolates and more.

At 7 p.m. CRR announced winners and then started the live auction, which alone raised over $12,000. That live auction was held at the Lakeside and had Kevin Hill as the auctioneer. The raffle tickets brought in $2,900, which was an all-time high, according to Dean. The 50/50 raffle earned $505, and the overall total raised was $27,000.

CRR started advertising and getting word out for the fun run in early December, according to Dean. The event is one of the group's biggest fundraisers, and they donate money earned to numerous charities, including a scholarship of $1,000 for a graduating senior in each of the four schools in the county. They also donate to both food banks and ambulances in Thompson Falls and Noxon. Dean said that some funds find their way into the Trout Creek School and help locals in the community with medical and funeral expenses.

The group can be followed on their Facebook page, Cabinet Ridge Riders, or contacted by calling the Lakeside Motel at 827-4458.