Highway 24 South - Jan 30th

Our last ride of January started out at minus 12.  It felt colder since January has been such a warm month.  It didn't take long to forget about the cold as we rode out on the logging roads and up and over our "secret access" to reach some prime riding area. 

Views from the top

Marcel and Norm (the workers) always have at least one tree to cut.

Here comes the sun.

Where's my sled?

The "Taj Mahal"

Lunch in the sun - camo sunglasses to keep in theme with the tree stand.

After lunch we found all kinds of amazing places to ride.  Blue skies, wide open spaces with perfect powder to either learn, practice or perfect our carving skills.  We all had smiles on our faces!!



Perfect day :)

Wow!

The conditions were so amazing that we carved up all of that perfection.

 

We played in the logging slashes on the way out.

We had such a fun day that no one wanted to head back to the parking lot but... the sun was going down and the cold was returning.
Until the next ride ...

Drewry Ride - Jan 26th

The Club decided to check out the trails around West Drewry Lake yesterday, since we hadn't been in that area for some time.  We had some challenges such as poor visibility, logging and interesting snow conditions.  Some areas had absolutely no base so you know what happens then.  Couldn't get to our look-out due to tremendous tree growth, but wouldn't have seen much through the fog.

Dreary at Drewry (the weather that is)

The "Unstuck Crew" having some social time

Pretty good technical riding skills for a new rider with a small trail machine!!



Help getting out of the deep snow :)



It might have been easier to walk!

Cross ditching or ditch crossing...

One of those instances when the road isn't where it should be.

Always good to get out riding, despite the conditions.  Now if only we could have snow at night and sunny days!! 

HIghway 24 North

On Tues. Jan. 21st, we met at Opax to explore trails and clearcuts on the north side of Hwy 24.  We had good weather and to our surprise, really good snow conditions.

4 polaris, 6 doos and 2 cats are ready for some fun.
 

Logging is providing more and more clearcuts to play in!

 

A new doo is certainly something to smile about!



Beautiful views



We explored a lot of back roads, lakes and clearcuts, with the lakes being in good shape.  I'd be more specific about where we went, but I wasn't riding near Norm to get an overview of where we were!!!  Great day, as always but hopefully more snow is coming for future rides.

Big Timothy - Hendrix

Saturday, Jan. 18th
Rode to Big Timothy out of Hendrix Lake. Found the top very wind blown, hard thin snow pack, large rock formations showing. Not a good place to be. Dropped down toward Hendrix, playing in the trees, found some large open meadows with really good snow. Met a couple of riders from 150 Mile, they passed on more information on the area. Tried for other meadows, but the trees got in the way.  Very good day in the end, the ditch play was great.

 

 

 

 

                                                                     Meadow

                                                           Big Timothy near summit

Big Timothy in the background

Granite Mtn. Ride - Jan 15

Rode to Granite Mountain, Clearwater yesterday.  First time riding there for the Blog Editor.
To sum up the day - Wow!  Outstanding views, great riding, lots of play areas and good company.  An all around spectacular day and to top if off - perfect weather.  Definitely one of my top 10 riding days.  Okay, enough gushing.  Check it out for yourself in the following pics:

Blue skies to start and end the day. 

Fantastic views (behind the sleds)

More fantastic views ...

 

Checking out the rock formations

 

What a life!

 

It's not all work for the Prez

  

What's that hole doing there?



 

Giving you a better view of the track on my new cat.

And to end off the day, some of us stopped at the High Five Diner on our way home.  Did I already say it was a great day :)
Check out Facebook for more photos to smile about.

G Trail is open

Thursday Jan. 9th, six riders struck out from Womack Rd and cleared G Trail to Interlakes corner, led by Dave and Norm. With chain saws in hand, more than several downed trees removed.
The trail is now open. We were joined by Ken and Henny shortly after, (good timing) who then shared their knowledge of local trails in the area. Found a clear cut over looking Needa Lk and beyond. Nice ride.

King Lakes and Area Ride - Sun. Jan 12th

Due to all the active logging in the area, we spent the day scoping out some alternate riding areas for the club.  We met on Grossett Road with the idea of finding an alternate route to Hager Mountain.

We were only 1 minute onto the trail when the work began.

Same scene, different day. 

 

At least we started the day with good visibility!!
 

After lots of cutting stops, we finally made it to West King Lake. We were actually here a few times during the day ...haha, due to detours, inpassable trails and circular routes.

With some huge buried trees down, blocking our route, our only option was to cross both West and East King Lakes.  There were old tracks on the lake from other snowmobilers so a couple riders checked it out first.  It was a slushy crossing but we all knew to keep it moving. 

Great snow conditions on untracked logging roads.

Try this while riding!!

Sometimes the road just disappears from under you :)

 

The sweep looking like he needs a sweep.

End of the day - tearing up Earl and Michelle's meadow.

 

Check out the timeline of our Facebook page, for a few more pics of the day  www.Facebook.com/ilsnowmobileclub .

 

Notice there are no pictures of stuck "doos" :)

 

Windy Mountain Ride

Saturday Jan 4th ride to Windy.

Good snow on the trail up. The mountain lived up to it's name, awesome views regardless.
Rode further east on Camp 2 Rd to Taweel Rd. Again, good snow off several logging roads.
Only 5 riders, with Jan representing the better half (so to speak) side.

Perfection ...blue sky and powder.

Enjoying the views.

Happy New Year!

Getting back on the sleds is always the best way to start the new year, especially with all of the snow out there.
12 eager sleds (and riders) met at Opax for a ride to Hager Mountain.  Good snow conditions with only a few kilometres of plowed road to deal with.  Lots of trees down this year so the front riders had there work "cut out" for them.

Here's a few pics of our day:

First stuck of the day and the year!!  Someone has to be first.

Let it snow!

Freedom.

Check out the new sled!!

The front riders working hard for those of us relaxing at the back :)

No trouble spotting those new shiny orange "twin" cats.