Subject: trip report

since an overall trip report has already been submitted by #66 (he has a quick pen!) I thought I would just submit some highlights (and lowlights) from my experience for the page. highlight: wanted to be sure that I was not late for the departure time, so arrived at meeting point 45 minutes early - much to our benefit the other car was already there so we got a half hour jump on our drive. highlight: made good time and drove into falling snow which is always good on a snowmobile trip. highlight: arrived at the cabin and the other members were all there and some were actually riding around. as usual, I did not get much sleep this night. lowlight: I got a top bunk.

monday - lowlight: one of the sleds was not running in the morning (it seems like its always something in the mornings). lowlight: 2 of 3 Jackman groomers were down and the trails showed it, they were in need of attention badly. trails got better towards Greenville. highlight: the Reuben at Kelly's Landing. we didn't make nearly the mileage we thought and had no chance of looping the lake. lowlight: I lowmarked and then pathetically buried my sled when everyone was watching. lowlight/highlight: I drove straight off a culvert into a ravine/but the sled came out easily. bumps were very nasty as we came back into Jackman. passed the only groomer we saw all trip about 2 miles outside of town. low-lowlight: #10's guest sled is [maybe] totalled (highlight: guest was not seriously injured) and #27 and myself spent 2 hours driving to pick our stranded mates up in Greenville at Kelly's (I hope they at least got the Reuben while they waited).

tuesday - lowlight: once again the "one sled not ready" monster shows up again this morning (I'm starting to see a trend in #10's sleds). highlight: a simple fix (by the pres.) saves that members vacation. highlight: the trails are beat going north but when we hit Canada the trails (as adverstised) are groomed to perfection, they are wide flat and straight (some racers say maybe too flat and straight - I'm one of them). as we sped between the border and the warming hut #10 blasts past me on the big triple-triple (I was at full throttle and I mean he blasted past me), I could see the stress and frustration flow out of his fingertips and blow away in his snowwash. luch at the warming hut was sufficient and we begun our maiden voyage into the Great White North. highlight: snowfall picked up considerably during the afternoon. for such a detailed trail map of the area it did not show all the gas locations that were there which impacted our planned loop. I am, however, very grateful that noone listened to me earlier in the day when I suggested that we go further north. I was tired and the trip we took was just the right length. lowlight: bogging problem with half the sleds hinders our ride home. highlight: the "big bowl" of pasta was extremely big. lowlight: (1 hour later) the "big bowl" of pasta was extremely big. hightlight: I chose "Hero" as the movie and I think most members enjoyed it ["you Fletcher?" "no, I'm Smith" "I'm lookin' for Fletcher" "please help me I'm stuck" "fuck this, I'm lookin' for Fletcher!"]

wednesday - highlight: everyone's sled starts up fine and we're off. lowlight: bogging problem persists with several sleds hampering fun. highlight: priceless picture of #27's sled suspended in a tree farm. #27 should be grateful to all those saplings who gave their life so that his machine would live. he should feel compelled to go out plant about 30 trees "in memorium". lowlight: couldn't make it to Eustis due to poor trail conditions. lowlight: #3's rear susp. gave up the ghost. highlight: it gave it up back at the cabin about 30 feet from the trailer. lowlight: the KFC bucket-o-chicken we shared on the way home re-visited me about 5 hours later. pictures will follow (of the trip not the chicken)...

interesting facts about the trip: 5 of 8 sleds hit trees (note: a 5" tree will mash the front of an Indy 500 at 50mph) always avoid trees when possible, 1 member fell into a ravine, 1 rear suspension let go, 70mph is very fast on a trail only 6 feet wide, Canada seems colder than the US, 5 sleds carbs "froze up", got only 60 miles to a tank on Wed., a "big bowl" of pasta is quite big, a dead battery in an EFI sled will cause unusual and inexplicable behavior, groomers work well but only when used, it matters not if you have a 440 or a 700 when in a trail, 700 triples are much faster than 580 twins on a straight wide trail, top bunks suck after a long day of riding, #3 snores (although I never heard it - and I was directly above him), Arctic Cats have major ski lift, KFC chicken tastes marginally better going down versus coming up.

sat. nite - it was good to get out again so quickly after the trip. the bogging problem still present, it looks like this will require actual work to fix. suspect water/ice in the fuel system somewhere. #2's Yamaha still reigns king of the 600's in the straight. standing the ZR on it's tail on the road crossing was interesting, the video says not to land flat but I don't recommend vertical either. we were all pumped for #4 who was departing for ME with #15 in the am. GOOD LUCK TO OUR OTHER MEMBERS - HAVE A SAFE AND FUN TRIP - REPRESENT US WELL !!!

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