Frost Bytes Day 2, 2/17/2023... This Ain't No Holiday Inn Express

Welcome Back Riders,

This morning we awoke to about a 1/4” of ice layered on our road rigs, and a bit of a slippery start to our day. We had an expensive breakfast at the Starbucks in the lobby of the Courtyard by Marriot, before we headed east on the 401. While we were staying warm and getting full, our trucks ran in the parking lot, thawing out until our scheduled 8:30 am departure.

But before we continue on with today, I need to back track a bit for a couple of key details I forgot about in last night’s writings. Our buddy Rimel, part of the Indiana Crew, purchased a bottle of Kaluha at the Duty Free store for a couple of the guys for the trail. And as they say, no kind deed goes unpunished. At one of the On Route fuel stops, Rimel was exiting the back seat of Ski Doo Matt’s Ford, but the brand new, duty free bottle of Kaluha beat him out the door, and shattered in the gas station parking lot! This wouldn’t be so bad, if not for the day before that, he lost his right ear hearing aid while loading his sled for the trip. So now, there’s no Kaluha for the intended recipients and we can only talk to Rimel from the left side.

Moving forward, while the roads were potentially slick, they had no bearing on our winter weather ready rigs. We’ve driven through worse, and as long as they don’t close the highway, we will be fine. We shall see.

My day was a Groundhog Day. I spent the first hour listening to Wingman Rob continue to try and resolve his cell phone issues, and get the requisite international plan. We passed into Quebec with him still doing tech support trying to remedy his problem. To no avail. So if you need to call Rob, don’t. It’s not going to work. And while I was driving, and Wingman was teching, Craig was nodding off in the back seat again. No pictures today, I was sternly warned.

We only had about 320 miles or so, and we made good time, considering the weather conditions. We stopped a couple times to stretch, top off the fuel tanks, and at one stop had an A & W burger, onion rings and a frosty root beer.

The closer we got to Ponte Rouge and Bon Air Motel, the snow along the road continued to mound up and up. With a pretty steady downfall of the nice big snow flakes that will add to the plentiful accumulation.

Stick, Wingman and Craig arrived to the Bon Air around 3:15pm, just after Chip Nasty arrived from Upstate New York. As we parked, Wingman jumped from the truck before coming to a halt in the parking lot and made a mad waddle dash to the lobby restroom. Craig & I greeted Chip Nasty and unloaded our gear. In our haste to get our gear in our room, we paid no attention to the brand new Ski Doo 900 turbo we were walking past, outside Nasty’s room door. When we settled down it dawned on us that Nasty has jumped ship from his well worn Yamaha to the dominate Ski Doo team.

The next exciting part of my day was awaiting Truck Driver Brian’s first impressions of his accomodations at the 2 Star Bon Air Motel. If you didn’t follow the summer edition of Road Apples, I found out that Brian has a particular fondness for Holiday Inn Express. This is no Holiday Inn Express, but for those that pay attention to these writings, will know that this is one of the favorite spots on the Darkside Adventures.

Old Man Ron and Action Dan swung thru the Canadian Tire store to pick up Ron a new belt. Now I would assume a belt for his Ski Doo. But no, a waist belt. Apparently, the Old Man has been losing weight, and as he was stretching his belt to a new notch hole, it broke. I had no idea you could get a new belt for your britches at the Canadian Tire store, but for you following at home, we both just learned some new fashion tricks.

The Indiana crew were wondering aimlessly around Ponte Rouge looking for a dentist that could help Ski Doo Matt put a crown back on a tooth. No such luck, so they stopped at the local pharmacy and got a tube of crazy glue that I get to use, after writing this stupid blog, to put his tooth back on. I am sincerely looking forward to my upcoming task, I’ve never performed a crown replacement, and we are of the opinion “what’s the worse that could happen?” I’ll try to make sure we get some pictures, maybe Craig will run the camera!

Craig and Stick are enjoying a cold blue mountain, we opted for the jumbo 710ml size with a glass. I’m relatively sure the rest of the crew are doing last minute preparations for the ride, that begins at 9am tomorrow.

We are also still awaiting the arrival of Dylan and Rob, from Vermont, and NFG Kelly and his brother Chris and cousin Bill from Kingston Ontario. NFG Kelly is originally from the Kingston area, and he got to visit with his parents for a night or two, on his way to Quebec. This will be all three of their’s first ride thru Quebec with the Darkside, but they have been riders for years, and have been to many of the towns we intend to visit on this trip.

We are hoping Connecticut Jim is able to join up with us early in the ride. He has been riding with the Darkside for over 10 years now, and we are hoping he is able to get whatever is blocking his departure, resolved expeditiously, and on the trail with us!

It’s about 4;45 in the PM, and we are enjoying international happy hour at the bar in the Bon Air. As you should be aware, I am anxiously awaiting dinner time. I have run my mouth so much about the Onion soup here, that if I don’t get my order in first, I am not sure they accomodate 15 orders of Onion soup this evening. I am going to start keeping my inside information inside, until the day after, if these jokers knock me out of getting a crock of my favorite onion soup!

Our destination is Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc in Saint Alexis Des Monts, Quebec. Go ahead, try and enunciate it, I can’t. Supposedly about 150-180 miles tomorrow. Call time is 9am, ski’s up.

We shall see,

Bye for now

Stick

FROST BYTES DAY 1, 2/16/2023... Back On The Trail & Our Long Awaited Return To Great White North

Kevin Brinch, a regular Dark Sider, couldn’t make it this year LOL!

Welcome back riders.

The DarkSide Team has re-grouped for another snow filled adventure for 2023. After 2 long years of being locked out of Canada due to ‘Rona, and we are making our much desired return to our old stomping grounds… QUEBEC!

But first, let’s start at the beginning. If you haven’t already, you can check out our projected path thru the BUSH of Quebec on our homepage. But today, we started from Michigan and Indiana, and made our way to Kingston, Ontario. Another old haunt was awaiting our return as well, the Boston’s Pizza across the parking lot from our old layover location, the Courtyard by Marriott.

Stick, with Fearless Leader Craig, Action Dan, and the Old Man Ron, departed Fenton Michigan around 8:30am this morning. The Indiana Crew, Ski Doo Matt, Hedge Hog, Truck Driver Brian and Rimel left Indiana around 6am. The Michigan crew had to make a quick swing off the highway to pick up Wingman Rob, and back eastbound and down on I-69 to the Canadian Border. By the time we made our swing off/pickup and got back on the highway, the Indiana Crew was only about 15 miles behind us, eastbound and down on I-69. Pretty good timing for this group.

After a quick top off of diesel fuel for the thirsty road rigs, at exit 196/ Wadhams Rd, we headed for the Duty Free Store for liquid provisions, and a quick restroom break before crossing the Sarnia border into Ontario. Another trouble free border crossing, miraculous with this crew, we stopped at the currency exchange for some cash conversion to the funny money of Canada with an about 30% exchange rate.

I guess the only hiccup we had at the border was the Canadian Customs Officer asked if we had any Arctic Cats in the trailer. Next time I will think before I speak, because my reply was “ No, this group doesn’t like breakdowns” Note to self, make sure the Border Agent doesn’t prefer Arctic Cat before spitting out the wise quips.

Our truck had a pretty un-eventful ride to Kingston. The excitement, in order, was the 20 minute On Star phone call to hook up wi-fi in the truck for Wingman Rob and Action Dan. The reason we needed wifi in the truck was because Wingman and Action failed to notify their cell phone carrier they were traveling thru Canada and they needed a way to reach their respective carriers to upgrade their coverage plans to International. So, for the next hour and a half, I got to listen to each of them take their turns, arguing with customer service on how to upgrade their service.

After listening to their pleasant conversations with the “customer service” representatives, my next piece of excitement was watching Fearless Craig nod off in the back seat behind me. There were times I asked Wingman Rob “is he sleeping or dead?” At these guys’ age it’s a legitimate question, these days.

Don’t tell him about this picture!

We arrived in Kingston after about 320 miles, and at around 3:45pm. The roads were dry, traffic wasn’t bad, and we made good time thru Toronto. By 4:20, the international happy hour where I’m from, and we are sitting at the Boston’s enjoying our first of a few adult beverages, and catching up since our last ride.

Hopefully the snow is bountiful in Quebec

Tomorrow, we have another 320 miles to go, and we will be at our launch spot of Pont-Rouge Quebec and the Bon Air Motel. Anybody that has any recollection of our previous visits to the Bon Air will recall that they have the BEST onion soup I have found in Quebec! On a side bar, another recollection of mine from the Bon Air that I can laugh about today, but wasn’t so funny in 2012, is it’s the location of the worst hangover I’ve ever had on the trail. Our old Bullet Catcher Jim Oleander and I got into a fierce game of pool in the bar and multiple shots of tequila. It was in the wee hours of the morning when I made it to bed, and Ole’ never even made it to his room, and slept in the hallway with his back against the wall and legs outstretched into the corridor! And that is but one example of the memories of this annual ride that i carry in my mind.

Hedge Hog and Stick working on this stupid blog at Boston’s

To my seven followers, feel free to leave us a comment or a message, we enjoy reading them at the end of they day ( I hope we still have seven followers, I haven’t read the obituaries in a while). And also, you can follow us live on the Tracking button, we have the Spot transponder tracking us day in and day out.

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 13 02/03/2022... 7am Wicki Leaks On Our Parade

Wingman Rob feeling dejected about the washed out trail

We enjoyed a very good dinner last night, and we were pleasantly surprised to see Dylan had returned via his truck to join us. The Filet with cajun shrimp was delicious. The French Onion soup looked disappointing, I skipped it.

This morning breakfast was at 7am. Good thing Dylan drove his truck back to meet us for the evening. He generously offered to make two trips to the local diner a couple blocks down Main Street to get our group of 8 to breakfast.

The breakfast conversation was basically, we don’t want to ride in the rain. Especially on the trails we rode getting in last night. They will be slushy mud. Dylan, again, generously volunteered to drive 4 of the crew back to our trucks in Rangeley, ME. It was about 70 miles by road, and about 40 via the rough as hell goat path that we brought in many days ago. But first, we have to go to the Ram dealer about 40 miles from Rangeley to pick up NFG Kelley’s truck that had the fuse replaced for his air ride system.

By about 11:30 am we were back at the Saddleback Lodge where our trucks were parked. We dusted off what little melting snow that was on the windshields, gave them a quick warm up, headed to the gas station on the way out of town, topped off the tanks, and headed back down that blessed rough ass goat path back to Colebrook, NH. While we were beating ourselves mercilessly on that effing goat path, the other crew was hanging back relaxing, watching The Price is Right I would imagine, or napping, awaiting our return.

By about 12:50 pm, Dylan had beat us back by about 10 minutes, he had to re-connect his snow plow to his truck and see us off again. The rest of the crew began loading our sleds and gear expediently, as housekeeping was breathing down their necks to get our rooms cleaned for the next tenants.

It was now about 1:45pm, and the trucks were loaded. We decided to have lunch before heading back to Michigan. The usual lunch faire was ordered, burgers, club sandwiches, a bowl of chile, and of course Wingman Rob (He finally got the “W” capitalized in his trail name for some good act he did yesterday but I don’t recall what it was) ordered the poutine.

By 3pm we were on the trail, this time in our trucks and trailers. At least we don’t have to down that g damn goat path again. I’m serious. I have never been on a paved road that is that effing rough. It was just frost heaved, but ridiculously frost heaved.

We have landed in Brattleboro, VT at a Comfort Inn. Well, actually we are currently at the Ninety Nine Bar/Pub out front of the Comfort Inn. It’s been explained to us as an Applebee’s like local/regional chain. Anywho, we are at the horseshoe bar enjoying adult beverages. The roughly 3 hour, 180 mile ride here was a constant light rain with temperatures fluctuating between 36 degree and 39 degrees. Supposedly the winter storm that hit Michigan yesterday is moving in our direction. We shall see.

Not sure what call time will be tomorrow. We are not scheduled to return to Michigan until Saturday. I already missed my wife’s birthday today (that cost me dearly, Happy Birthday to YOU.), so there isn’t really a rush on our part. Safety first.

As I close this season’s Frost Bytes edition out, I want to thank all of the riders that participated and put up with my wise mouth and belittling conversations. I am especially thankful you all followed the golden rule: No Hitting (me). It was truly a pleasure to hang with you all again. Many of us haven’t seen each other since our last Quebec trip, Pre-Rona in 2020. We all clicked, and it was as if we never missed a beat. Lifetime friendships have developed, and I am looking forward to our group texts and continued belittling of each other via text. You all are a great group and I appreciate the fun we have on the trail. I’ll see ya when I see ya.

To my seven followers, hope you enjoyed the ride with us. Some of you are too kind with your words of encouragement. While we didn’t have the best of conditions on the trail, we made it. My conversations with Fearless Craig all along have been, well you can’t plan for the weather when you are scheduling a snowmobile trip in August, you get what the weather gives you. At least we have knocked Maine & New Hampshire off our snowmobile bucket list.

No telling where we will end up next season, but I am sure Fearless has his thinking cap on, and will call us with some hair brained idea in July to share it with us. You can count me in.

If any body has any interest in a saddlebag ride on the Darkside, reach out to Craig at 810-629-1299 or via email craigsrx@live.com to be vetted. This isn’t for everybody, you have to have a sense of humor and thick skin for this group.

See ya when I see ya and… bye for now.

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 12 02/02/2022... LOSERS

Chip Nasty with his diet Pepsi

Last night’s dinner was French Onion soup ( Truck Driver Vinnie: a 2.5 star at best. I have yet to find a French onion soup comparable to our favorite at the Bon Air in Quebec) and bacon wrapped meat loaf. Wingman Rob & I shared the entre, as we hogged out on the appetizers we had before dinner. Dinner was boisterous, per the usual from this group, and after dinner beverages were had before retiring to our cabins, about a mile down the trail.

Some mixers were ordered from the bar before departure, so we could begin thinning out the bar on Fearless Craig’s and Action Dan’s sleds. Ole Man Ron, Chip Nasty, were staying in our cabin last night, so we all enjoyed a couple nightcaps and some more conversation before retiring for the evening.

Call time this morning was 7am when I went to bed. When I woke up, packed my saddlebags, and put on my gear by 6:50am, and everybody in my cabin was still in their camping clothes and drinking coffee, I was informed that breakfast was moved to 7:30am. Anywho, I still headed to the lodge, as I needed my morning Coke Cola. Connecticut & Dylan were already at the long table we occupied the night before at dinner.

The rest of the group filtered in around the proper breakfast time and the snowmobiler breakfasts were ordered, I opted for the oatmeal with blue berries, perhaps it will counter effect last nights meatloaf. We were on our sleds and headed to the trail by 8:45am or so.

The Indiana Loosiers (losers, this is not derogatory, they will understand the loser reference. Ah hell, I’ll fill you in on the reference. If you recall from Day 11, the losers drove their truck & trailer to Northern Outdoors and the Management was less than thrilled with their obnoxious arrival in the parking lot with the horn blaring. He promptly came out the front door, chided them and went back inside after making the comment “Nice way to make a first impression”. I was on the phone with my daughter when they obnoxiously arrived, and I completely missed the owner/manager’s lecture. So when I rode past the group to get fuel I called them effing Losers and they busted up laughing. They thought I was referencing their altercation, when actually I was referencing their departure from the trail. Anyway it was funny to us on both accounts)

The trails today were far and beyond the best we have had on this trip. But it still doesn’t matter how good of trails we give ‘em, they just can’t stay on them. 5 miles down, and our first off the trail and in the trees is happening. Wingman Rob is the victim, and Ole Man Ron and Yamaha Kevin used the Snow Bungee to get him back on trail right and proper. The excuse we were given about his mishap is that after the last 9 days of Ski Doo Matt carrying his life support machine (CPAP for those not familiar with my lingo) on his “big girl” Ski Doo Expedition because he has the equivalent of a $19.99 a day U-Haul for storage capacity, wingman Rob "turned around to look” to be sure he wasn’t losing his cargo system he jerry rigged up for transport.

wingman Rob off trail…again

Actually, wingman is the one and only off trail we had today. If Rimel hadn’t left with the rest of the losers, I’m sure I’d have an off trail story about him, as well.

We stopped at at a small lodge on the trail after about 100 miles, we filled our hungry sleds, and thought we could grab some lunch for ourselves too. But the not so friendly gas attendant quickly informed us that the lodge is only open for lunch Thursday thru Sundays, and basically beat it after fueling. So we munched a few fun size Snickers bars out of Sticks Trail Mix bag, and got back on the trail, headed for New Hampshire.

The grumpy guy lodge/fuel stop

Connecticut Air landed us at the Black Bear Tavern/River Edge Inn & RV Sites, our accommodations for tonight. Because the losers left the trail, we have 2 extra rooms tonight. Fearless offered Stick and wingman to have our own individual rooms tonight but after I looked and saw the rooms we had are “drive ups”, I took one for the team and said let those guys have their own rooms, I wouldn’t want wingman to have separation anxiety issues, not to mention I need him to take the bed closest to the door! (those that know, will understand)

I’d like to give a shout out to Connecticut Jim and Dylan for their expedient trail guidance since they have hooked up with us. Plus it was good to see the boys again. They dropped us off at the door, knuckle punched us their good byes, and down the trail to Vermont they headed. Dylan threatened us that he may come back tonight and spend the night in one of the empty beds if he can’t find any entertainment at his place in Vermont. Safe trails gentlemen, we’ll see you when we see you.

The group is slowly gathering in the bar area after their showers and freshening up in their rooms. A couple appetizers of potato skins and bruschetta have been delivered to hold us over until the dinner hour.

The group will be 8 riders for our final leg back to the trucks/trailers in Rangeley, ME. Supposedly we have about 100-110 miles to go tomorrow. We shall see…

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes day 11 02/01/2022... Welcome Aboard Air Connecticut

The NEOC dining room in the main lodge was quiet last night, except for our group of 14. They seated us at a long table that would accommodate the entire group. Another great dinner was served, I know for a fact there were quite a few New York Strips thrown to us, as well as a superb lobster mac & cheese! The meal was excellent as well as the service. The group didn’t linger in the lodge very long after dinner, and everybody meandered back to their respective cabins ( I have the feeling the Caribou Lodge wore a lot of the group the night before).

However, our particular cabin didn’t go directly to bed. Craig, Action, wingman Rob and Stick shared a cabin and a few after dinner cocktails. Call time for tomorrow is 8:30am departure.

This morning breakfast will be on the trail, as the NEOC does not open for breakfast during the week. Connecticut Jim has a place staked out, and we should be there by 10:30am according to him. We shall see.

We’re on the trail by 8:25am, and it was a brisk start to the day. My Superior Bombardier Product said it’s engine temp was -11 when I fired it up. Brrrr. The trails were freshly groomed and easy riding. We were cutting a good clip for most of the 50 mile ride to the trail side restaurant, gas stop, diner named Kokadjo. And we were there by 10am!!! Air Connecticut has us flying ahead of schedule on the friendly trails.

Kokadjo is quite a quant little place on the trail (I only got an interior shot, my picture taking was lack luster today). I believe the waitress was the owner, and I know she was the cook. She was quite boisterous to say the least. She runs a tight ship. When we inquired if it was a lunch or breakfast menu, she snapped “I don’t care what you order but one orders either/or, your all getting that choice too!” Breakfast menu was chosen so we all ordered off the breakfast menu, no argument. She was quite the hoot and a welcome experience on the trail.

After the quick lunch, she doesn’t let you linger, she needs to clear tables for the next group, Air Connecticut was back in the air. We did have a mid air mishap. Rimel cruising along the snow dusty trail behind Ski Doo Matt wasn’t prepared for an upcoming stop sign. He locked the brakes, darted right off the trail and flipped over in the powder beside the trail. If only this would be his only crash landing. Ole Man Ron gave him an assist and got him back on the trail, track down. Later today he nearly had a mid air collision with oncoming traffic. He was coming in hot to a 90 degree left turn, missed the turn, and shot straight across the paved 2 lane road the trail ran along. He used the snow bank on the other side of the road for traction, and got turned back around, and onto the trail again.

Last night at dinner we got the news that the Indiana crew is going to have to pull off the ride Wednesday morning. Something about business back home that got pushed forward, whatever. Anywho, we were going to be as close to their truck and trailer, that was left back at Rockwood, today, so we rode with them back to The Birches, and we headed off to The Forks and the Northern Outdoors Lodge by trail. They are going to trailer their sleds to Northern Outdoors as well, and spend tonight with us, and head out tomorrow morning.

Air Connecticut landed right at 4pm after a quick 172 trail miles. The Indiana crew arrived around 4:15pm and announced their arrival pulling into the parking lot blowing their horn at us. The group of 14 are split into 2 cabins. Our cabins are about a 1/2 mile down the trail on the Outdoors property. I am disappointed there is only an electric heater on our cabin’s interior wall, I was looking forward to stoking a good old fashioned wood burning stove again (the others were pleasantly relieved).

My cabin mates generously allowed me to shower first, so I could head to the main lodge ( we ride our sleds from the cabin to the lodge for those wondering, me with my pajama bottoms, slippers and a helmet) and begin this effing blog for tonight. Connecticut set up dinner for the group at 7pm, and Craig & I ordered some appetizers of mozzarella sticks and loaded nachos to hold us over.

The group is trickling into the lodge, re-hashing our day, and enjoying the early arrival with a few adult beverages.

Tomorrow we will bounce back into New Hampshire for our last overnight on the trail. Connecticut Jim and Dylan will ride with us tomorrow, but I do not know if they are staying with us there. They have cottages in Vermont, within a short distance from our overnight, and may ride there tomorrow night. We shall see.

That’s about all I got for today.

Bye for now…

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 10 01/31/2022... Give 'Em Snow They Don't Know What To Do

the upside down turtles we found on trail

The recent snow fall has dramatically improved the trails and riding conditions. The problem is the riders haven’t acclimated to how to drive a snowmobile in SNOW.

Last night was a good time in the Caribou Lounge. Matthew Stafford and the LA Rams are going to the Super Bowl, and the crew had a great time. After our pizzas and wings, Action Dan started a little billiards tournament, and quite a few of us had a good time shooting pool and busting chops. Once again, no names mentioned, but a couple were out past curfew, and there was a couple blurry eyed riders this morning.

Launch time was 8:30am this morning, and the restaurant was closed. They offered a deliciously disgusting bagel breakfast sandwich in a vacuum sealed plastic package. One bite and I decided to wait until lunch to eat. Since wingman Rob & I pajamaed our Sunday away, we needed fuel this morning, since everyone else got fuel yesterday after their excursion to the Canadian border. We were fueled and back in the parking lot by 8:25am, and the rest of the crew was waiting with warmed up sleds, gear packed and ready to roll. Right on time.

The trails were freshly groomed from the recent snowfall. Apparently this group can only ride thin rough trails, because by the 20 mile marker we already had one sled off trail and buried about 15 feet off the trail. I pulled up from my last position in the pack with my camera ready, and it is wingman Rob that’s the culprit. Ski Doo Matt jumped to assist and after a little rocking and wiggling, popped the sled out of the snowdrift and back on the trail. If only it would be the last time Ski Doo Matt would have to assist an out of control rider today.

wingman Rob buried off trail… #1 off trail today.

Cruising down the trail, we come across a couple locals out on a morning ride. One is on trail, the other is 20 feet off trail with the hood of his Yamaha buried under the snow in the ditch. A couple of our guys jumped out and helped them get their sled out. It was in there good, too. They would’ve been working pretty hard just the two of them digging that thing out. Any who, back on the trail.

Back on the trail, and another 10-15 miles down the trail, and I round a downhill right hand corner, and now there is another sled off the trail. A Yamaha this time. I get my camera out, move in for the kill and it’s Hedgehog Phil that has missed this turn. Ole Man Ron grabbed his Snow Bungee and Hedgehog gave it some throttle and back on the trail he was.

Hedgehog buried in the turn… Off trail #2

Rolling along, Fearless Craig & Stick are having a nice easy ride in the back of the 14 sled train, and after 5-7 miles… another sled is off trail. I have already moved my camera to an outer pocket now, because I don’t want any of these opportunities to slip away. This time it is Rimel and his Arctic Cat, that has surprising not overheated yet on this ride, that is buried. Ski Doo Matt get’s his “Big Girl” in gear and packs the snow in the path behind the Arctic Cat, then gets on it, and again rocks and wiggles it free, and back on trail. His entry back onto the trail was also par for the course today. Fearless Craig, watching from the trail, thinking he is out of the way, nearly gets lambasted by the approaching machine. Ski Doo Matt jumps off so as not to hit Fearless, and they both end up on their backs in the snow filled ditch. Those two were stuck like upside down turtles, and while I should be helping them up, I’m busy getting pictures of the dynamic duo. Sorry gentlemen, there are priorities on the trail: 1) Pictures, 2) Recovery.

Rimel and his stuck Arctic Cat… Off trail #3. I can’t figure out these guys and their arms in the air like it’s a victory!?!

This is all before lunch mind you. And for lunch we were back to the Homestead Lodge on the trail. Lots of cheeseburgers and onion rings again, but this time Yamaha Kevin skipped the raw chicken tinder’s and opted for the grilled ham and cheese.

Hedgehog and his red hotdog with fake grille marks

We fueled up at the Homestead before going in for lunch, and after the bill was settled we were back on the trail with about 60 +/- miles to go. We are back at the NEOC (New England Outdoor Center) and back in the same cabin we had 2 nights ago.

I think that is all of the excitement for today that I can share. Dinner is at 6:30 in the main lodge. It’s much slower here on a Monday night, fortunately for us.

Kudos to Connecticut Jim for his front of the pack leader skills these last few days. His GPS unit is dialed in and we have been enjoying pretty direct routes to each of our overnight stays. Tomorrow we are headed to Forks, Maine and the Northern Outdoors Lodge. Lets see if he can continue his prior performance.

Bye for now…

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 9 01/30/2022... Lazy Day On The Trail

Last night after dinner, the crew retired to the bar inside the hotel. The wind was howling, the snow was falling, and it was a good night to huddle in the warmth of a friendly bar maid serving cold adult beverages. Lots of world problems were solved in the flowing conversation.

Breakfast was come as you feel. I arrived around 8:30 and a few were already there, a few still sleeping off the prior night. Conversation at the table revolved around a few of the crew was going to go for a local trail ride, perhaps to the Canadian border, a few were going to lounge in their room and do some laundry (it’s always nice to be able to wash your socks mid trip, before they ripen). I was in the later group, I’m a fan of a pajama day mid trip. Wingman Rob and NFG Kelly were the last two stragglers at the bar last night, and while NFG Kelly made it to breakfast, I ordered a breakfast to go for sleeping beauty Rob, and Action Dan volunteered to deliver it to our room.

The Super Blizzard wasn’t nearly as super here in Caribou. Today is sunny skies and about 14 degrees on the positive side. We probably got about 5-6 inches of fresh snow. Reports from the group that did a local ride indicate the trails are now full of snow, as well as freshly groomed. This is great news. There are not many trucks and trailers here in Caribou Resort, so we are anticipating good trails for tomorrow’s ride.

I guess there was one incident on the trail, the versions vary, but apparently Action Dan was doing a turn around look on his sled, a slow speed maneuver, and either he lost his footing according to witnesses or the ski’s “moved” according to Action, and he fell off and got dragged by the heated shield cord attached to his helmet to his moving Ski Doo. Nothing injured but pride. I’m more disappointed nobody thought to get pictures!

The riding group stopped for lunch at a pretty cool place call Outlette’s Trading Post. They apparently all enjoyed it, as each one has told me it was a cool place.

Wingman Rob’s and my day consisted of me doing the washing and drying of our trail clothes, and he did the folding. And taking a nap. I think Ski Doo Matt and NFG Brian were on the same program, but probably a Coors Light was mixed in.

Anywho, the lounge here at the hotel is supposed to be closed today, but the friendly bar maid from last night, Alexis, said she would open up today for us to watch the football playoffs. We are now gathered around the bar and the 4 seat tables enjoying an end of day beverage. The restaurant is also closed on Sundays, but Alexis volunteered her son to Door Dash us some pizzas and wings for dinner.

We are now all gathered in the bar, we have the place to ourselves, the pizzas and wings are on order, we are settled in, and Ole Man Ron is entertaining the NFG’s with his penny game circus act. Tomorrow we will be riding back to NEOC for another night. I am pretty sure we will be taking a different trail back, but it’s not like I really know. You’ll find out tomorrow night, just as I will.

Bye for now…. and GO RAMS!

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 8 01/29/2022...Dooms Day Blizzard Forcast

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

Frost Bytes Day 7, 01/28/2022... Trail Ready And Looking For Those Elusive Smooth Trails

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.

Frost Bytes Day 6 01/27/2022...We Saw Good Trails, Bad Trails And Of Course, Wrong Trails

Today, we had an early call time, and went to the Moose Alley Bowling alley, bar and local restaurant for our snowmobilers breakfast at 7am. Cold, very cold. Like very very cold, -22 degress Fahrenheit cold.

We were on the trail by 9am, and it was now -17 according to the engine temperature on my Ski Doo when I fired it up. By 9:15 we at the IGA for fuel, and by 9:30 on the trail headed North East to Rockwood, ME. Should be about 150 miles according to our leader. Ha.

About 20 miles in, we took a quick break to make sure everybody’s gear was right for the cold temps, as well as quick bladder relief on the side of the trail. Action Dan was walking down the line of sleds and happened to look at Ski Doo Matt’s Expedition and noticed that a hyfax was broken in half. Concerned this was going to lead to bigger issues on the trail, Ski Doo Matt and his wingman NFG Brian headed back to Rangeley to the Ski Doo dealer and fix the problem (they were brand new hyfax put on just before departure for this trip, mind you). The plan was the remaining group of 10 would continue on to the destination, and Ski Doo Matt and NFG Brian would truck and trailer their sleds to Rockwood, and meet up with us there.

While Action Dan was at it, he took a look at everybody’s hyfax to see how everybody else was doing, considering the tough terrain we had covered in the last few days. He then noticed that Stick’s hyfax were dangerously low, but could make the day. Perfect.

The group traveled on, with few rest stops due to the bitter cold. Trails were mixed between good, rough, twisty, straight, and rough again. We had, I think, 3 trail numbers (for newbies, trails are marked like highways with numbers, example I-75, US 23, etc. but just numbers) and while we were traveling “groomed” trails, one of our trails was fresh snow, non-groomed, and we were breaking trail. I thought to myself, great, we just took the wrong trail, why would we be on a non-groomed trail? But alas, it appeared to be correct when we caught the connector trail we needed, that was groomed again, albeit a bit rough for the first mile.

After that first rough mile, the trail smoothed out, and we took a quick break. Action Dan and Leader Craig were perusing the map, double checking our next connector trail to make it in to Rockwood and the Birches Resort. Yamaha Kevin, looking at his GPS unit, came up to Action and Craig and stated “I think we are going the wrong way. My GPS says we are headed South, and it’s always right. ” Well, this now put doubt into Action’s and Craig’s thought process, and after much consideration (we really didn’t want to turn around and ride that rough mile of trail needlessly) the decision was made. Turn around and go back to that last trail head/connector and double check. It was also very cold, and we really didn’t want to take a wrong turn today and add extra miles to the 130 that was booked for the day. Oh, the ways we screw that up.

Back to the connector, and now with doubt cast into Action’s and Craigs heads, we took the groomed trail because it also had the correct trail number, just not marked north or south, and we need north. So onward we go and it is becoming evident that we are going south, and Craig hates technology, and should have followed his original paper map process.

On we go, committed to this direction until we find a north bound trail. The first trail we found going north was again an ungroomed trail, but, hey, it’s going the direction we need. This actually led to us seeing two moose on the trail, that then wandered into the woods right along side the group. That was one thing that worked out today.

The north bound trail did eventually lead us to the correct northbound connector trail that we needed, and onward we rode. We arrived in Rockwood around 5:45, and after 180 miles. We stopped at the local gas station/service mart/bar, and fueled our sleds for the next day. Action Dan, still not absolutely positive about the trail that leads to the Birches Resort, decided to inquire with a couple young buying a case of beer and some chips driving a Polaris side by side with tracks, if they could help with quick directions so we could avoid a wrong turn, being this close. Helpful they were, and they led us across Moosehead Lake to the trail that led directly into our lodging for the night. It was about 6:30pm.

Craig, Stick and Action Dan went in (I went in just to warm up) to get our room assignments when lo and behold, who is at the bar? Connecticut Jim and Dr. Dylan, our Darkside riding members we haven’t seen since February of 2020 on our last Quebec ride. They had kept it a secret that they were going to meet us on the trail, and ride with us for a couple of days. They have cottages in Vermont, and they rode their sleds approximately 250 miles today to catch up with us. Fist bumps and bro hugs were exchanged and it was the uplifting spirit we needed after the cold day on the trail.

Ski Doo Matt and NFG Brian arrived with their truck, trailer and newly serviced sleds early in the afternoon and were well into depleting the bartenders Coors Light by the time we arrived. Ski Doo Matt picked up a set of hyfax for Stick’s machine and generously offer to help install them in the morning, before we head out.

After a quick gear unload and costume change, we were headed to the main lodge for dinner and double doubles’. Our accommodations for the evening were 4 person cabins spread out overlooking Moosehead Lake. A small kitchen, a small living room with a wood burning stove, an ancient, non-working, whirl pool tub in the bathroom, and two bedrooms. Perfect, I love these kinds of places, they’re my favorite on the trail.

Dinner was at 7:30pm and the now group of 14 were seated at a long table along the wall and the revelry began. Excellent dinner, there were many ribeye steaks, pork chops and apple sauce, haddock fish dinners were served. I had the baby back ribs, and they were delicious. The night was early though, the cold temps took it’s toll on us today. A couple double doubles at dinner, the bill was paid, the group retired for the evening. The very kind server ( I forgot her name) offered to come in and serve our group breakfast the next morning, as they are not usually open for breakfast until the weekend. Perfect.

We have breakfast scheduled for 8am. Tomorrow is supposedly about 130 miles and we can start a little later and change Sticks’ hifax after breakfast and head out from there. We shall see.

Bye for now…

Stick

This is the second random penny I have found on this trip… those that know, know.