8200 Road Loop Ride

A perfect sledding temperature of about -5 C encouraged 14 sledders to meet at the 8200 Road junction on Sunday, Feb. 3rd.

The ride was perfect for big sleds, small sleds, old sleds and new sleds.
Norm (who knows the back country so well) led our group on a big loop.  First stop was Cougar Lake.  No one ventured onto it due to the wet conditions.

We continued on the unplowed logging roads with great snow conditions.

 

This beautiful view was looking down towards Taweel Lake.

We backtracked a little, and then made our way to Hager Mountain for lunch.

  

Don't let this photo fool you - normally Greg's skis are not on the ground!

Hennie & Ken had a hot pot so enjoyed hot sausage rolls for lunch (without sharing)!!

After lunch, we made our way to the "burn" area.  We had to cross a slushy swamp but lucky everyone kept the power on and made it through.

Break time at the top of "the burn".

Paul helps to get his new Cat unstuck , even if he didn't get to ride it.

We went part way up the Windy Mountain trail joining back onto the 8200 Road and then out to where we started the day.  Just over 100 kilometres of riding....a little shorter than anticipated.  As usual, an excellent ride.

 

Friendly Lake Ride

The club started off the month of January with a ride and we ended the month the same way!  On Thursday, January 31st, we met at the Opax parking lot with the snow falling around us.  It was a rough start on the trails with all of the moguls but it soon smoothed out.  Our first stop was "Cow Camp".

By then, the snow had quit and the sun was out.  We continued on to Friendly Lake, which we hear does not have a friendly access at other times of year.  It's a large lake we so we had fun playing around on it and then stopping for lunch in the sun.

From there, No Name Lake is accessed by a short trail.  It's also a large lake but we only rode the perimeter since it had a lot of slushy spots.  Lucky, there was no swamp diving on this ride!

We didn't have to backtrack since there was yet another trail out from Friendly Lake.  We then detoured up a logging road overlooking the area.

We stopped a few times on the road out since those ditches kept getting in the way.  Turns out that Syd had bent the A-arm on his sled, so it kept pulling him to the right.

Looks like a deep hole - only Norm's head is showing!

We quit riding earlier than usual for an early dinner at the Opax Mountain Cafe.  Kurt and Karen did a great job of providing us with a hearty soup, salad and buns.  This was Harry's idea, but unfortunately he had work commitments and couldn't join us. 

We'll have to do this again.....with Harry.

Skandic has Sold

Our club's Skidoo Skandic has now sold and was picked up earlier this week by the new owner from Alberta.

Rumour has it that Marcel and Norm are off on a research project to check out the snow conditions at Mount Kilimanjaro.

Smith Lake Ride

Our club's dedicated group of mid-week riders met at the Opax parking lot on Wed. Jan. 23rd.  We set off on the south side of the highway and within the first 15 minutes, we already spied 4 moose.  We were able to have a good look at them since they were in no hurry to leave their feeding area.

There was enough snow this year to be able to climb over "the hump" to access the logging roads and lakes to the south.  The guys had marked the route in the fall to make it easier to access.

The snow conditions were good since no one had been in that area.  Lots of different and interesting animal tracks.  We stopped for lunch at Smith Lake at an old log cabin that had a sign on the door inviting people to use it.  Unfortunately, a pack rat had decided to use it before us so we opted to have lunch outdoors.

We had the afternoon ahead of us so decided to check out the "taj mahal" of tree forts.

The access had a few challenges and obstacles.

Fearless Jeanne wasn't letting a few trees get in her way.

The visibility was poor but we had come this far and a few challenges weren't about to stop us.  Some of us hadn't made it to the tree fort on a previous year's ride.

If you're not looking up, you can almost miss it especially in the snow and fog.

The visibility improved and we stopped to play on a few different lakes on the way out. including Thuya Lakes.

On the way back to the parking lot, we decided to go up just one more road since it looked like good snow conditions.  What an active area for moose.  They had our road all tracked out!!

We rode back to the parking lot with the snow coming down around us.  As always, an awesome day of riding with about 110 kilometres of exploring.

Windy Mountain Ride

On. Wed. Jan. 16th, the weather cooperated for a ride up to Windy Mountain.  Jim led our group of 7 lucky riders that didn't have work commitments so got to enjoy the beautiful weather.  We left from the 8200 Road.

 The trail up to Windy looked like it was living up to its name.  Lots of debris and needles in the snow and evidence of a lot of wind.  It's a good thing  that Norm always has his chainsaw on board.

That was a huge tree!

The guys had to work hard both on and off the trail.  The ladies learned what "not" to do and weren't the cause of the guy's work on this ride!!

  

 It was actually warm enough to be able to eat lunch at the top and enjoy the view from all angles.

We headed down the mountain and continued on to Lorin Lake.  It's sure a lot quicker to get there on a sled then the drive.  From there, a quick stop at Boundary Lake and on to a logging road beyond.  We were looking for a potential new route.  We didn't find the road but found some good snow conditions!  Should be good for our future ride out that way in February.   

More New Years Day Pics

Click to enlarge....if desired.

Photos by Jeanne McCartney

If we're not riding.....then we're socializing and eating!!

Hager Mountain Ride

On Sunday, January 6th, Earl and Michelle led the ride of 15 sleds on a loop starting out at the Opax parking lot.

Greg had some great energy and was anxious to get riding on his "modified" sled.

Never mind the modified sled, I think some of us could use a modified body
 to perform this well.

The snow conditions were pretty good even after the holiday traffic on the trails.

Always a great view.

Looks like Jeanne is throwing snowballs!

Proud Skidoo E-tec owners

Bring on the snow.

We decided to head on to Hager Mountain via Deer Lake with a few kilometres of riding on plowed logging roads (groan), but at least those of us riding at the back were entertained by Greg's riding abilities.  You learn not to follow Greg's tracks, especially when you see him airborne!!

We had a quick lunch break at Hager Mountain since it was snowing like mad.  The visibility was terrible so most of us didn't venture too far.  We then took a different trail back to cow camp with only a few mishaps.  We discovered the importance of a tool kit and an emergency starting strap in case of a broken starter cord.  Another good reason to be riding in a group.  Then it was onto the Wavey Lake Road and back to the Opax parking lot.  As always, its great to be "out and about" on the sleds.