Riding with Dan & Dylan, Weekend of January 23, 2010

Friday, January 22, 2010. Temperature was 34 degrees at 2:30 pm, skies turning disgustingly sunny.

We checked the weather forecast several hundred times this past week, with our emotions running from a high early in the week when the weatherman said 4-8" of snow this weekend to a medium-low when those desperately needed inches of forecasted snow disappeared and turned into a possibility of rain Saturday.

We unpacked quickly, got a few chores out of the way and hit the trails at 2:30 pm. The dreaded sun was just beginning to come out as we started our ride. We headed off the lake at Bonita Creek and headed south on the 7S RR grade. We turned east on Bonita Rd (2112) and continued on to Water's Edge on Anderson Lake. All trails were freshly groomed, flat, hard and fast. We crossed the lake and ditched to Rhode's Junction and headed east into the woods.

The wooded trails (above- click to enlarge) were also freshly groomed, and a very nice ride in spite of the few bare spots along the way. We wound our way east to where this trail goes onto Jack Pine Rd.

We had to stop and take a couple pictures (above- click to enlarge) along Jack Pine where a fox recently had dug out a den. There were actually two separate dens, and while we were taking pictures, an owl flew out of a tree and over our heads back into the woods. There's a lot of wildlife moving around along the trails. If you stop, take a look and you'll see lots of animal tracks in the snow. We got to the end of Chute Pond's trail at the Pipeline, and stopped to put up the sign that someone seems to steal every year at the entrance to our trail system.

We turned onto the Bag & Bra Pipeline and headed south. This is a favorite run of ours because it leads into a loop of trails east of the Pipeline that are mostly road trails, which are usually flat and smooth. The photos above (click to enlarge) show some of these trails as we wound our way east, then north. All trails were freshly groomed, and there were some really nice stretches of pure white riding along the way. The middle photo shows the down side- an intersection of the trail with a logging road, which we road for a 1/4 mile before turning back onto a nicer trail. This loops works it's way like a big "D" away from, and back towards the Pipeline, going through a cedar swamp along the way.

There were good and bad miles of riding as you can see in the above photos (click to enlarge). There were plenty of brown turns and bare spots to go along with the nice sections of trail. I don't think we'll ride this way again until there is more snow.

We were disappointed as we pulled up to intersection 51, where the Bag & Bra trail ends at the Chute Pond section of the Pipeline. The Groomer Boys worked so hard to get the Pipeline trail back in shape, only to have the warm weather and sun beat the crap out of it this past week. The above photos (click to enlarge) show a representative view of what a lot of the Pipeline trail looks like. If you look closely at the right hand photo, you'll see Dylan down beside his sled checking his slides. We rode along the side of the trail north to Crooked Lake, trying desperately to kick up a little snow for lubrication. The trail will be great once it snows again. There's still a solid ice base, and it is smoothed out pretty well- there's just not very much snow left right now. This trail is in poor condition- we would not recommend riding here until there's more snow.

We scratched our way north to the Highline trail, which was decent, and hit the Iron Snowshoe "F" trail towards Crooked Lake. The trail between the Highline and Crooked Lake is pretty brown, and it was not very smooth, either. We took the shortcut across the lake and stopped in for a visit with Tim & Jackie at Randall's Resort. We were surprised to see a "For Sale" sign out front. Tim said that they are looking forward to retiring completely, and that their plan all along was to have it for 5 years, then sell it. We were happy to hear that they would still be living in the area after they sell.

When we left Randall's, we took the 18W trail through the woods back towards Chute Pond. This trail was freshly groomed, flat, and a very nice ride. The trail is thin, and there were a few bare spots, but overall in nice shape. We went past the Junction, ditched to Anderson Lake, to 2112, and turned onto the trail leading to Doze Inn. We stopped and visited with Della, and got the final arrangements made for Dylan's 21st birthday party, which is on Friday, February 5th at Doze. We left Doze and headed home across the lake to meet up with Sablu for some burgers on the grill.

We rode 68 miles today on some very "March-like" trails. We need more snow to improve the following grades:

Chute Pond trails- poor to good

Bag & Bra trails- poor to good

Iron Snowshoe trails- poor to fair

We are looking forward to the CPSC Vintage Riders 2nd Annual Ride & Show (open to the public), our Club Ride and Beer Barrel Cookout at Kitty's Grill and Bar (for CPSC members only) tomorrow and Dylan's MS Ride next weekend, which he has raised over $1,000.00 in pledges for (to donate, please click his link). We hope to see you at some of these events. Let's hope for more snow.

Saturday, January 23, 2010. Weather was a hazy, misty 31 degrees and rising.

Our first Club Breakfast and Ride of the season- we met at Kitty's Grill & Bar on Chute Pond for a tasty breakfast cooked up by Tammy and her crew. We left about 9:15 am, took a head count, and got organized. Dylan took the lead, and in our group we also had Bear, Jeff & Jean, Mark & Barb, Floyd, Keith & Deb, and I was the tail gunner. We headed off the lake on Bonita Creek and headed north to Parkside BP to fuel up.

Just before we left the gas station, Floyd decided to follow another group of sledders. When we did our head count, we came up one short. We looked at each other, scratched our heads, then decided to stick with our plan and we headed north on the 7N RR grade, which was freshly groomed and in decent shape. We turned east off the grade near Halfway Bar and headed into Paul Bunyan trails. This trail had plenty of snow on it, but was very rough and in need of grooming. We bumped and banged our way to the next intersection, where we stopped to catch our breath and complain to each other about the trail. Magically, when we stopped, Floyd was back with the group.

Thankfully, when we took a left turn after our break, the trail was freshly groomed and we cruised back west towards Lakewood. We checked out the new Nicolet State Trailhead parking area and facility. It's a brand new heated building with restrooms, but we couldn't figure out why it was locked. We walked across the street to the Firelite Lounge for a short break before heading down the street to Ed & Betsy's Pour Haus. We visited with Ed and Andy for a bit, then saddled up and headed down the 7S RR grade to Schoolhouse Bar, where the Chute Pond Vintage Riders were meeting on their 2nd Annual Ride & Show. We took a few photos of some of the more than 50 vintage sleds that were gathered in front of the Schoolhouse.

When we left Schoolhouse, Jean headed back, and we headed north on the 7N RR grade to the 18W trail towards Boulder Lake. The trail through the woods was freshly groomed and in nice shape as we cut south at the "Big Y" intersection and stopped in at Pine Grove for lunch. As always, the food was great, and Rocky and Sally took really good care of us. We met up with Tim & Stephanie, and they joined our group when we left. We headed north, then west on the 18W trail. This trail was also freshly groomed and in good condition as we cruised out to Boulder Lake Lodge for a pit stop. Jack and Jerry were glad to see us, and we visited for a while before getting back on the trail again. We headed west into Boulder Lake Sno-Goers trails, and made a loop through Langlade County, coming back into Red Arrow trails and going south to Animal's Bear Trail. We talked smart with Mike (Animal) for a bit, then got ready for our final leg of the journey. We headed south through the tornado zone back to 4 Corners, then south past Pine Grove to the tunnel trail to 2112 and the RR grade to Bonita Creek and over to Kitty's Grill & Bar for the beer barrel cookout.

Norb prepared the meal in the authentic cooker, actually made from a beer barrel, and it was very tasty. Tony & Lee and a few of the other vintage rider crew were there, and although the crowd was smaller than usual for this annual club event, we had a great time. Big Al fired up the karaoke, and we took turns belting out our favorite tunes. Special thanks to Tammy and Kitty's Grill & Bar on Chute Pond for hosting this event.

We rode 93 miles today on mostly good trails. There's no point in giving grades to the trails, because I'm sure the overnight weather has changed what we rode on yesterday. It misted most of the day, and at times it was a little more than just a mist. Overall, the trails and conditions were way better than we had expected, and we had a great time. The problem is now that it's been warm and wet for over a day, we don't know what shape the trails will be in once this weather passes and it gets colder again mid-week.

As I type this report, the rain is pounding off the windows here at Chute Pond. We need that rain to turn into snow. I talked to Keith, our Groomer Boss and Dan, our Club President, and they both said we will start grooming again once it snows. There really is not enough snow left on the trails to do anything else. Let's hope this rain changes over like the weatherman promised. Some fresh snow and nice trails sure would help for Dylan's MS Ride next weekend, which he has raised over $1,300.00 in pledges for (to donate, please click his link). Hundreds of riders from around the state are gathering in Carter for this ride, which raises a ton of money for a great cause.

Be smart. Drive safe, ride sober. Don't become a statistic.

See you on the trails,

Dan & Dylan

Comments and questions welcome at info@chutepondsnowmobileclub.com