Riding with Dan & Dylan, Weekend of January 19, 2008

Saturday, January 19, 2008. Temperature was minus 6 at 9:30 am.

We met Dave & Mary at 9:30 am on the Pond, and left onto the 7 N railroad grade from Bonita Creek. We stopped for gas at Parkside, then continued north to Rawhide. New owners Bart & Chris made us feel very welcome when we stopped there. We warmed up a while, then continued north to the Crooked Lake trail just south of Lakewood. The railroad grade was in very good condition, as was the Paul Bunyan & Iron Snowshoe trail to Crooked Lake. We went around town and picked up the 18 E trail along the high power lines towards Crivitz. We stopped at the Wheel Inn to warm up again, then headed into the Peshtigo River State Park area. This was a very scenic trail along the river below the dam of High Falls Flowage, and it was in excellent condition, with river overlook views to match. We made a big loop around, and ended up at the BP on Hwy W, where we got gas, and stopped to warm up at the Crossroads Bar across the street. We then headed south into the Bagley-Brazeau trails, and hit the pipeline just north of Suring. We went north on the pipeline to the entrance of the Chute Pond trails, and headed west towards the old Junction. We ditched from South Shore Dr to Anderson Lake, then ended up at Soletske's Water's Edge. We rode 109 miles today, and most trails were in very good to excellent condition. The cold weather caused only minor problems- cold hands and frosted shields, but the traffic on the trails was very light, and we had a great ride.

Sunday, January 20, 2008. Temperature was minus 12 at 8:00 am.

We met Don & Sher at 8:00 am on the Pond, and took the trail off the lake at Bonita to the 7 N railroad grade. We stopped at Parkside for gas, then went to Rawhide for a very nice breakfast. The railroad grade was in good condition, but starting to show some rocks and gravel in places. We doubled back south a little to the trail towards Maiden Lake, then south on the trail towards Mountain Lakes Rd to 4 corners. The Paul Bunyan trail south was very bumpy- in need of grooming. We took the 18 W trail to Boulder Lake, then went into the Boulder Lakes Snow Goers trails in Langlade county. We took a small loop west and north, then doubled back into Paul Bunyan trails south to Animal's Bear Trail for a warm up stop. We then headed south to the tunnel trail to 2112 and back to Chute Pond. We rode 65 miles this morning, and most trails were in very good or better condition. We had similar problems as yesterday due to the cold weather, but when the sun came out, we noticed a big difference, which helped a lot. Again, traffic on the trails was very light, we really enjoyed the ride.

Monday, January 21, 2008. Temperature at 9:00 am was minus 5.

We stayed overnight Sunday at the Pond after going to Lambeau to watch the Packer game Sunday afternoon. We left the lake at 8:00 am on the Everbreeze trail, then went on 18 E trail to the pipeline. We headed south into the Bagley-Brazeau trails all the way into Suring. The corn fields were a little thin on snow, but still ok to ride on. We got gas in Suring, then went back north on the pipeline to intersection 69, where we turned east and made a big loop east and north until we rejoined the pipeline just south of Crooked Lake. We went around town, then took the Pines shortcut across Crooked Lake, and took the 18 W trail back towards Chute Pond. The winding trail through the Boy Scout camp has always been one of my favorites, and it was in good to very good condition today. We took the 18 W trail all the way back to Chute Pond, and called it a day. We rode 77 miles today, and most trails were in good to very good condition. The groomers had been out in most areas, and in some places we need more snow cover to help keep the trails white and smooth. We saw only two other sleds today, and had a great ride.