Today was a casual start. Breakfast at 8am, and repairs to follow. We all gathered again at “our” long table for 14, and the snowmobiler breakfast was delivered. Not much to talk about in that regards, not much happened after dinner, the in between hours.
Well, I did have a little entertainment of my own. I got back to the cabin I was sharing with Fearless Leader Craig, Action Dan, and wingman Rob last evening. The wood burning stove had died down to embers, so I decided to throw some kindling and a “couple” logs on to roar it back up. According to my roommates, I over did it (as I tend to do) and wingman Rob had to open the front door of the cabin for about an hour to let some heat out, or cool air in, however you want to look at it. I chuckled myself to sleep, outside the covers of my bed.
After breakfast, Ski Doo Matt had talked to one of the lodge’s handy men, and found out they have a heated shop on the premises, and we can use it to change the hyfax on my Ski Doo. Perfect. Ski Doo Matt said he can change hyfax in about 20 minutes. Perfect. He got it done in 19. And he works for cold Coors Light. Perfect. Thank you to Action Dan as well, they worked in harmony and solved the problem.
The Indiana crew now has their truck and trailer in Rockwood, and we will find a way to get them back to it somewhere along the trip. Big THANK YOU to the staff at The Birches Lodge for letting them keep their vehicle there for the next couple days, now we can all continue on with our ride.
By 10am we were trail ready and sitting/standing around our sleds waiting for the Indiana Crew to park their truck. We knew we were making a late start when Yamaha Kevin was on his sled and waiting for us today. Change of pace for sure. I think we hit the trail by 10:30, and the temps were much more favorable, I’m estimating around 9 degrees on the positive side.
Same kind of trails we’ve had to start with, some good, some bad, some wrong. Connecticut Jim and Dr. Dylan took the lead this morning, as this is their “home turf”. Should be a smooth run, right? Right out the gate we go 3 miles in the wrong direction. Doesn’t matter who the leader is on the Darkside.
Anywho, going the right direction now, we have about 130 miles to Millinocket, ME and the NEOC lodge. Oh yea, and Fearless Leader Craig decided to join me in the back of the train. I’m loving this, I’ve rode with Craig for 15 years, and I have never seen him anywhere but the front. I told him he could move to the back, but he’d have to be in front of me, nobody rides behind me anymore. This drew a chuckle between him & I.
We crossed Moosehead Lake again this afternoon to get to our lunch destination. You should google Moosehead Lake, it is LARGE. Lunch was at the Dockside on Moosehead Lake. Kinda nice having time in the day on the trail to stop and have lunch, even with the late start, in the wrong direction.
After lunch, back on the trail, and we made a special trip to the B-52 Memorial site. This is a preserved site where a Military B-52 crashed in 1963 doing low altitude reconnaissance. The debris field has been left untouched and is now a remembrance. It was a very somber moment, and special side stop on our trip.
The ride continued on more rough trails, and we still had about 40 miles to go. With about 30 miles to go, we finally caught a break. We were on what we think is a fire lane, and it was smooth and fast. We stretched our thumbs and found some throttle we haven’t seen on this ride yet. The crew ran hot as the sun set and darkness set in. These new high tech helmets the guys in front of me wear have these LED lights in the back, and it’s pretty cool at night to be at the back and follow the line of red lights twisting and running threw the night trail.
We arrived around 5:20pm, and the lit up lodge was bustling with sleds and weekend visitors. I was bouncing around with joy. Dylan made the comment, “Stick, you’re pretty stoked”. Eff yes, we made it in on time and we had a fun last 20 mile run.
Again, we are in cabins spread out across the lodge’s property. Action Dan and wingman Rob have gone to the main lodge to get adult beverages and ingredients for White Russians, and I’m writing this blog to catch up for the last 2 days. Dinner is at 7:45. I’m sure Ski Doo Matt is awaiting my arrival, as I have several cold Coors Lights to put in front of him.
The weather forecast is calling for blizzard conditions starting at 10am tomorrow. Decisions need to be made… start early, beat the storm, ride threw the eye of the storm, or hunker in (nah) . We shall see.
bye for now…
Stick.
