Northwoods Law found us
Dinner last night was one of the best on the trail yet. Ribeye steaks were perfect paired with green beans and mashed potatoes, Haddock for fish entree’s, and that’s all I recall at the moment. The NEOC (New England Outdoor Center) was packed. Lots of Ski-Dooer’s, skiers and mixed between groups of riders and family excursions. It was a nice evening.
The dinner conversation ranged from catching up with Dylan and Connecticut Jim, to the imposing blizzard that was forecast to begin this morning at 10am. I think even the Governor of Maine came on the tv to implore the people to just stay home today. Staying “home” is not an option for this traveling trail show.
A decision was made. Breakfast was at 7am this morning with a planned departure time of 8:30am. This should allow us to get out in front the imposing Super Blizzard coming our way, that is expected to dump between 12 and 24 inches of snow in our area.
Surprisingly, everybody was at the main lodge for breakfast on time, except for Yamaha Kevin who apparently has some stomach issues from his clam chowder at lunch yesterday. Hopefully he is able to be ready for trail time. After ordering breakfast, and waiting for the kitchen to prepare it, the riders took turns feeding their sleds fuel tanks at the resort provided gas pump (provided, not included, fuel here is $4.75 per gallon) right outside the main lodge.
Trail time came, the group was ready, including Yamaha Kevin, and the temps were a falling. Somewhere around the zero marker on the Fahrenheit scale, and I am pretty sure it dipped lower as the day went on, but I don’t have specifics for you… just my toe thermometer to go by. My toes were cold most of the day.
Looks like Chip Nasty is going to lose his over-under bet with Connecticut and Dylan. They had a wager whether the group would leave on time at 8:30. Nasty had the under, Connecticut and Dylan with the over. Nasty was feeling confident when all 14 sleds were gathered, loaded and running at 8:23am. But wait, this is the Darkside.
We are all sitting patiently on our sleds, waiting for Connecticut Jim to lead us on our merry way thru his home turf. But Connecticut is pulling the hood off his Yamaha! Oh, the flashbacks this is giving me. I dispatch wingman Rob to get photos for the record, and Action Dan heads over for an actual assist. Just the fuel relay was frozen… again. But this is a “known problem” and Connecticut reaches into his saddle bag and pulls out one of the several spares he carries. At least he is proficient at this. Insult to injury, he just cost himself and Dylan a Diet Pepsi at the bar for Nasty when we get in.
Anywho, we were on the trail by 8:35am. We have “about” 130 miles to go according to Connecticut. The first 15-20 miles are freshly groomed and twisty thru the woods. Then it opens up to many miles of fire lane that was fast, and dusty. The group was spread out and we were making good time.
We plowed down about 80 miles when we came across the Homestead Lodge right on the trail. And it’s only 11:45am. May as well go in, grab a burger and warm up. Several other Ski-Dooer’s also had the same idea, but there was just enough tables/seats to accommodate our group of 14.
Yamaha Kevin sat next to me. I inquired how he was feeling, as he skipped breakfast. He was contemplating what to order, and I offhand made the comment that chicken fingers are good for an upset stomach (he ordered the 4 piece). While everybody’s burgers with fries/onion rings were being set in front of them, Yamaha sat patiently, watching everybody else eat. While everybody was putting their gear back on, his chicken tenders finally showed up. After eating 3 of 4 tenders, he looks a little closer and he thinks they were not cooked all the way. Now he is upset with me for recommending the chicken tenders, I say if it doesn’t kill you, it’ll make you stronger. As of this writing time, he appears fine.
The warm up felt good, having lunch was a surprise, and off we went again. It’s still butt cold. But only like 45-50 miles to go.
Good trails today, all of them were groomed and had plenty of snow. The best day yet trail wise. We arrived in Caribou, at the Caribou Hotel and Convention Center around 4pm. The snow was falling and blowing, the open fields on the trail were starting to drift over, but not enough to slow us down. Miles today were about 170 Ski Doo miles, a bit more than expressed, but we did a direct and express ride in, not even a turn around that I recall.
I almost forgot, we did have a visit on the trail with Northwoods Law on the trail. Apparently a Maine Conservation Office was in the area and had noticed us not exactly coming to a complete stop at a few rural intersections. He headed us off on the trail for permit inspection, and wound up taking a few pictures with the group once he discovered we were on multi day saddle bag ride thru Maine. He was satisfied that we all had Maine trail permits, and said have a nice day and work on those stops.
Dinner is at 7pm. We are here for two nights. There will probably be a local ride in the area among the riders that choose to participate. Myself, Dylan, Ski Doo Matt and NFG Brian plan on tomorrow, Sunday, being a pajama day. Our goal is to sleep in, wake up, eat hot wings, drink beer and watch Matthew Stafford win. Go Rams!!
Wish us well…
Bye for now
Stick
