sledjunk Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I am kind of late in posting this but better late than never, I hope. Moosifer, Noisy1eh, and I were planning on returning to Kearney for the weekend of January 21 - 22, but there were no rooms available at Edgewater or any other places close by. So, we changed our plans and decided to stay at the Caswell Resort in Sundridge. After posting my intentions on here, I was approached by tedcuthbert by PM, and by IrREVerent. Ted has a cottage on Lake Bernard and was available to ride Friday and Saturday. Noisy1eh was heading up earlier on Friday so contact information was passed along. They met Friday for an afternoon ride and then we met with them at the Cas-Bar. (No, really! That is the name!) The plan was that the irREVerent's would drop in Kearney Saturday morning and the four of us would head down to meet them at the Edgewater. Ted arrived Saturday morning and joined us for breakfast and then we headed off across the lake. The trails on the lake were not staked but Ted was familiar with the lake so we followed. The lake was a combination of slushy spots intermixed with spots where the slush had been exposed earlier and froze. The crossing was quite rough because of this. To top it off, the section of AL306 from the lake to D123 crossed a swamp that the groomer could not get through yet. This made the next section of trail brutal until we got to the groomed section. We rode down D and 301 to get to Edgewater. After a nice lunch with the IrREVerent's, Ted had to depart for prior commitments, and the rest of us did a trip to the Ice Caves. With the mild winter so far, the Ice Caves were not very impressive. We then headed off to do a loop. However, by this point the trails were getting a little tired and the traffic was very heavy. Part way around the loop, the IrREVerent's headed off back to Kearney and we continued back up to Sundridge. By the end of the day, we were quite tired, especially considering that the last part of our trip involved backtracking along 306 and crossing the lake. Neither section had become any smoother! After a dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, we retired for the night. As for the dinner, while the menu is pretty impressive, we found that they did not have the "Catch of the Day" ( I guess they didn't catch anything) or one of the "Chef's Specials" The food was just OK - the vegetables were obviously the frozen bag variety and the mashed potatoes tasted like they came from a box. Sunday morning after breakfast, we packed up our stuff to be out of the room and headed off toward North Bay. The trails out of Sundridge had not been groomed overnight so it was kind of slow going until we got to C105D which was a little better. As it turned out, we only got as far as Powassan when we stopped for lunch. We stopped at a little restaurant right on the trail called Kudos. I think the sign for Jumbo Chocolate Chip Butter Tarts caught Moosifer's eye! The food was excellent as was the service! However, they were out of the butter tarts, which were apparently about 8 oz each! Instead, the waitress brought the 'sweets' tray and Moosifer and Noisy1eh, decided to split a huge slice of carrot cake! This, too, was excellent. We backtracked down to Sundridge, and I think the sugar rush kicked in! I could hardly keep up with these guys before, now it was impossible! However, once the sun set, I found that I could travel a little quicker. It is much easier to see oncoming traffic and that gives me a higher comfort level. We met a couple of other fellows at one of our rest stops who were headed back to Sundridge as well, and were intending on a different route which involved 306. We suggested that they go the way that we were going as it was a little better. They decided to join our little group and we headed off. Once we reached the Caswell, we said goodbye to our new friends and loaded up. We stopped on the way out of town for dinner at Mark Anthony's. The food and service was excellent and this was a fitting close to a great weekend of sledding and meeting new friends. As for the Caswell, I was quite disappointed with the place. I had reserved a ground floor access room. so that put us in the Lakeside Motel units. The room was quite small, with a bathroom that had a door that hit the toilet and wouldn't open all the way! This room had certainly passed its prime but it was still priced at $139 per night. After our experience, I would not recommend the Caswell as a place to stay. I would like to note an observation about the trails in the area. The trails seem to have a fair bit of road running involved, and, while we had good snow conditions, I can see that this area could be difficult after a thaw or in the spring. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Sunrise as seen from our window Sunday Morning Trails on the way to Powassan A beautiful sunset as seen from the trail on the way home Saturday’s Route Sunday’s Route Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white dragon Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 great pics & report sj....must be use to the new sled by now...how is it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannago Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Great report as always! With all the snow that fell this past weekend those trails will hopefully be in better shape now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 great pics & report sj....must be use to the new sled by now...how is it Actually OF7's sled and mine are similar chassis so we got to switch sleds on the twisty trail out of Spectacle Lake Lodge. The difference in steering effort and ride was incredible. I really noticed the lack of power steering when it wasn't there! I am finally getting the suspension dialed in (particularly preload) and it is working great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white dragon Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Actually OF7's sled and mine are similar chassis so we got to switch sleds on the twisty trail out of Spectacle Lake Lodge. The difference in steering effort and ride was incredible. I really noticed the lack of power steering when it wasn't there! I am finally getting the suspension dialed in (particularly preload) and it is working great! nice to know the power steerin works well...would be handy at the end of day & tired... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowTouringGuy Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks for the info SJ. I'm looking at that area as an alternative to some others for Family Day Weekend - every tidbit helps ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannago Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thanks for the info SJ. I'm looking at that area as an alternative to some others for Family Day Weekend - every tidbit helps ! Uh oh, there goes the neighborhood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomo Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I really noticed the lack of power steering when it wasn't there! I am finally getting the suspension dialed in (particularly preload) and it is working great! Dang....sorry I didn't get the power steering option on my new sled, but the 'one touch' parallel parking feature works quite well. Being completely facetious of course...... Thanks for the excellent trip report. Heading up to Port Loring this weekend, so veering east of there into some of the routes you rode isn't out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Dang....sorry I didn't get the power steering option on my new sled, but the 'one touch' parallel parking feature works quite well. Being completely facetious of course...... Thanks for the excellent trip report. Heading up to Port Loring this weekend, so veering east of there into some of the routes you rode isn't out of the question. Glad to hear that you are getting some good use from the new sled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedcuthbert Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Great report SJ. It was good to meet you, Moosifer, Noisey1eh, and the iREVerent's. Neat how you keep the GPS map of your routes, it' a great souvenir. Yes, it's too bad there is so much road running through Sundridge & South River, it makes for painful late season riding, that said, the trails east of Sundridge and around Kearney hold their snow well late in the season. They can offer great mid-late March riding when there is grass showing in Burks falls & Huntsville (sorry for letting that secret out) you just need to avoid the trails that run roads. As to your comments on the Caswell's, I cant argue, although the Cas-bar is an old hang out of mine, and I’ve been known to sneak an occasional soak in their Hot tub, I've not stayed overnight there in a long time, and I know it's a been a struggle for them to keep the place updated. However, it is right in "town" and close to other Restaurants and amenities. Next time you are up in the area, try the Northridge Inn across the lake, its more remote, but it is comfortable, and has a homey feel to it, plus Mike & Brenda are great hosts. I won’t be back up there till the weekend of Feb 25th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowTouringGuy Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I agree. Northridge Inn is a fine place to stay. Excellent food, too ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Quimby Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Great report and nice pics, thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viperules700 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I found those mono shocks really need to be calibrated for your weight. It will make a huge difference for the 75 bucks it costs to revalve it. Then you can tune it abit from there and the ride will be a night and day difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teener Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 This room had certainly passed its prime but it was still priced at $139 per night. Wow, didn't take long to go for crap. Rooms were re-done 3 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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