skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 left weds afternoon from home in central michigan with Grapeape, headed for manitouwadge to stay with Dan and Carole of Sled North vacation home rentals, overnighting in white river before heading up to ride thursday am. encountered nasty snowsqualls and ugly road conditions from heyden to just north of wawa. took 10 hours to get to white river. mook and the snomole left the metro (north of detroit) area about 500pm weds, they didnt get in till 330 thursday am. up thursday to bluebird skies, and dry roads in white river, made it to the riding area north of mani about 100pm. rode till 5-6pm, clocked 36 miles and a tank of fuel. bush riding, tearing up pits, and generally having a great time. the powder was deep, stable, consistant, did i mention deep? headed back to town, pick up some fuel, and groceries, ate dinner, watched a few movies, had lots of laughs, and replayed the day with pics and stories, with great expectations of tomorrow. more to follow..... ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 more from day one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 few more day one.... grapeape on the left, the snomole on the right, both itchin to carve it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 day two, friday found another bluebird clear day even though the weather forcast was for overcast, clouds and possible snow. we trailered back out of town to another area of untouched powder, bush roads and no groomed trails.... just what the doctor ordered. we were attempting a larger loop that we had found a few years ago but, never connected them due to fuel consumption issues. a few large pits needed tearing up, we ablidged... utilizing every square inch we could find. our motto.... tear it up so no one else wants to go in there. LOL! we stopped for lunch about half way for the mileage, and we all knew fuel was going to be an issue but, we pressed on. we saw a few grouse, grapeape had a nice encounter with a very large Lynx. we made our final turns heading back to the trucks, and re-covered a few miles of what we hit the day before as a short cut, and man had it set up and made for some interesting riding. i was caught cross rutted, and the sled spit me off at a significant rate of speed. i thought i had hurt my knee pretty good, but after some meds, and a smirnoff ice later at the house i was all better the fuel mileage became an issue for the mole about 1.5 miles from the truck, he threw in a splash to get him to the trailer from his xtra can, a few hundred feet later Mook's 4 stroke attack, ceased to have enough petroleum to get him back so, again, they threw a splash in to finish the day right at 60 miles. both went through over 12 gallons of fuel. for those doing the math at home that is less than 5 miles to the gallon. LOL! cant put a price on fun can ya? back to sled north vacation home rentals, for more laughs, good food, and relaxing, one more day to go.... more to follow. ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 day two pics, pristine, bush roads and a lunch break in the sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 more day 2 pics, just our tracks, and me getting out front, trying not to molest the snow, so i can video the onslought to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 saturday, the last day blues usually sets in but, this day as before, was supposed to be cloudy and AGAIN the sun shows up to suprize us! we couldnt have asked for better riding weather, highs in the mid twenties, lows in the single digits ALL THREE DAYS! on this day Dan Kelly of sled north would be riding with us. he came over friday night, we scoured maps, had a few options and figured we would finalize as we trailered out of town. we decided on a plan, and went out mid morning saturday in search of a new loop. Dan guided us a bit, we guided him a bit. right off the bat, only a few miles into the day Grapeape gets out front, and bingo! he finds his second moose antler ever while riding. this was our groups first, in the Manitouwadge area. high fives, and hollarin could be heard and seen for miles. a few hundred feet later, i thought i saw a flash in the snow, i jumped off the sled only to find some fox poop in a hole frozen solid. so, i flipped it over to the snomole for further research, and it was decided it wasnt an antler. LOL! a bunch more miles, pits, lots of elevation changes, and lunch to regroup and recharge, had us all in a offtrail riders vahalla. after lunch we were trying to make it from one cutting limit to another but, were just missing by half a klick or so. Dan, and the Ape went on a scouting mission, mook, the mole and I sat and waited a bit hoping for good news. while waiting, i decided to go ahead a bit to see if the next road would hook us over to the other side. i went about a mile, and decided to go back to the group, and then bingo! i found my first manitouwdge moose antler, our second of the day! i actually turned it over when i went out, and on my way back, i saw it barely poking through the track marks in the snow. i feel pretty guilty, as i have found quite a few over the years, and if we would have been ridng in line like usual, i would have ran it over and either the second, or third rider would have found it. the group made it to me as i was loading it on the back pack, and again, smiles, and high fives were the order of the day. then things got very interesting, we found a lake, on the map, and the gps, and some linking roads that may or may not be usable to get us to the other side of the cut where we were looking to go. we tried a few dead ends on the lake, with the beavers giving us fits with their dams plugging the creeks, and then choking the access points. we found what looked like an un-natural ridge that could have been a graded roadbed at some point in it's life. i walked up a few hundred feet to the ridge becuase i didnt know if we could get turned around if a sled made it to the top of the ridge. i cut my way wide enough, so if it was the road we could get the sleds up off the water, with minimal effort. as i crested the ridge, i did indeed find the road we were looking at on our maps. then the work began.... the portion i could see was nice and open, the further we went in the more brush we encountered, and at some points it was choked closed. grapeape led the charge with his sandvik in hand, and at one point, some branches removed his key, and flung it into the snow. now we had to find the key, or disable the ingnition system. well he disabled the system, then Dan found the key. bonus all around, on we went! we managed to make our way from one cutting area to another by the grace of god, gps and a topo map through some of the thickest bush you would want to ride through LOL! but, we connected another loop to extend our riding areas, and add to the arsenal of day riding loops we have found together. at the connection, we rested and made a plan for our fuel we had left, to get us to the trucks before dark. mook took some pics with us after the last days ride, all loaded up, drinking glass bottle coca cola's to celebrate a great trip, and enjoy one last sunset in the north of superior region. (hopefully he will post his pics) there was a frost sabre, and rainbow at sunset. and for those that know.... it was going to be a cccccccold night. we woke up this am, to a brutally cold -20 faranheight.... our coldest morning of the year. we finished packing, and headed home. by the end of the day we had traveled 500 miles in the truck, and saw a 60 degree total temperature swing in less than 9 hours. when i arrived at home it was 40 faranheight. we all want to thank Dan and Carole at Sled North for again, hosting us, and allowing us into their homes as they have for several years. their friendship, and zest for life keeps us returning for their hospitality, and friendly community. the many people that we have met in several northern ontario communities, make this region a very special place for our group. these people are more like family than friends. the northern communities are struggling right now but, their people are proud, and strong, and will survive these tough times as they have done before. our hats are off to all of you that try to make a better life for everyone up there. ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Grape's find, and more untracked snow to be tackled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 the snomole left, mookster right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 the boys with their finds. and the cold temps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Ski As I sit in my Motel room in chicago reading your reports and great pics reminds me that I wish I was back up riding thanks for sharing your trip and great pictures thanks zrtkat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapeape Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The best part is we can look up this thread on a crappy hot summer day and smile. Once again you did an excellent job putting the trip in words. THANK YOU , YES, and "Allentown" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 When we were eating supper @ Cedar Meadows in Timmins, some riders arrived & 1 of them had a "shed" bungeed to his tunnel bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mookster Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Yeah, the riding was allright, definitely some of the best snow we've had the pleasure of tearing up... My sled has never worked so hard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Louis Dave Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Awesome write up Eric. Nice find on the paddles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 MORE PICS FROM MOOK! it was deep in some of the areas, yes.... i am standing in the white jammies. the pic in the red jammies the snow was set up a bit. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 few more, ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 few more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledhead48 Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 looks like a great trip Eric. Ilove riding in that area aswell. I just want to let you know that i put tours on and this year were going to the mountains in Quebec were even last year with all the warm temps. There was still 16 feet of snow. My trip is called n.o.s. 1000 snowrun and is in the want adds on the ontarioconditions.com. I loved your pics from your trip and we'll see you on the trails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Doo Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Those pics are heaven... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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