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OK - OK - So I haven't been keeping this up to date. I got yelled at by DickH. So here goes .......

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RogerB 4/6

I left with my son and his friend and father and we parked right at the Hebron store. Good spot because you are right on the trail. Go right behind the store through a few fields and you can be on a trail right to the power line. We did loops in Hardy country, down the power lines, up to the Lyme trails and then Baker river trails. All good riding except the lower trails going to the clubhouse. I wouldn't go back on them. I bragged to our friends about how good the cheeseburgers are at the clubhouse so we got there with a little difficulty and they were closed. I said SHI!!!. Oh well went back to the Hebron Store by the power lines and then Trail 11 and had lunch. 80 miles for the day and I am done for the year. Like George said it was a great year.

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George 4/6

Baker River trip report:

Can you say S-M-O-O-O-O-O-T-H?

As planned this morning, Marc, Paul, John and I met at DD/Mobil on Rte. 101 a bit before 6:30, had coffee (and perhaps 2 donuts), filled with gas and with the light drizzle, proceeded to Bedford to meet Sheldon.

Within a few feet of the turn to Macy's and at exactly 6:45, I get a call from Sheldon: "Hey, where the he## are you? It's 6:45, and I'm the only one here!" I replied: "Look over at the bridge!" just as we rounded the corner.

With the light rain at Macy's, the light rain in Rumney and the fact it was freezing rain on the top of Mt. Washington, we did the safe thing.... and connected someone's safety chains...

And the same someone blamed his wife for somehow re-locating (bending) his trailer wiring bracket under the rear bumper. A report of his wife saying: "I didn't do it!"

So after several banterings and one picture of a slightly ripped seat (and John asking why the seat was displaced about 1" to the right), we did the only thing a hard core, well seasoned snowmobiler would do..... went to breakfast, went to Tractor Supply Co. and called it a day. Home at 9:30.

But the good news is the Ski-Doo is fogged, fuel is Sta-Bilized, and the suspension is greased and sprayed with WD40. Now it will probably snow all month. Oh well. It was a very good year.

Happy trails!
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RickD 4/5

Myself & Nick hooked up with Joe C at the SNHSS club house at 8:30 AM. All three of us headed south pulling a trailer loaned by JJ. 2.1 miles down the trail we removed what was left of a snow machine (not much at all). We loaded the trailer and headed north back to the dumpster at the club house.

Next we headed north towards Bear Brook. Up past Doobie's to lock the last 2 gates. Joe lubed all the locks with 3 in 1 oil, Nick dug out all gates and I helped carry them closed.
All and all 17 plus miles of rather smooth trails. I can not wait to go back out and ride my four wheeler again. Best part NO BUGS or DUST.
Rick
Thanks JJ for the use of the trailer.
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MarcB 4/1

Since the author had other important duties to attend to in this "taxing" time of the year....here is the skinny on Saturday's trip to Baker River:

Some of us met at Mobil/DD in Bedford near the Amherst town line and after coffee, gas and food departed for BRVSC clubhouse parking lot. Others chose to meet directly there. As you can see from some of the pictures, there IS a HUGE waterbar in the parking lot. Thank God the groomer appeared just in time to lead the snowmobile horse FROM water !!! Damn....I missed that picture.....

The Snowly Crew consisted of John L., chief comedian Bob S., Chris Z., Roger B., (yes on a snowmobile, not an ATV) The Infamous Saluting Colonel and your humble author departed for the high ground (since this was so perfect last week) under the sketchy guidance of Bob S. with the Master Sentinel (I don't need no GPS) providing the absolute guidance getting us up to Ten Mile Rd. with some very nice side trips along the way. Powerlines were sweet along with Pickerel Pond detour to view the STILL buried picnic table that was used in Spring Fling pasts.

After several loops which included Rocky loop we decided to meander our way back towards the clubhouse for a later lunch. We were working on John L's clock which was still on standard time so it will be all set next winter when riding will resume. This is when we "ran into" a little problem. As our comedian leader was finding his way back to the clubhouse he took a SHARP left at a trail and several who were following didn't quite make the turn. At the gung ho pace that was set earlier in the day with these pristene trails, 2 of us had an unplanned meeting of the machines...so to speak. Needless to say, someone is without a tail light bezel and someone else has a christened no longer new sled....left side torn seat ;-( DAMN....missed that picture too.

Oh yes, the crew comedian pointed out the trailside sign known by all indicating "seat cover repair" on the way back to the BRVSC clubhouse. At least no one was hurt.....except for the author's new sled pride.

Afternoon safety note: allow more spacing between moving sleds !

Once we arrived back to the clubhouse (with 61 miles already) around 12:50 PM EDT (11:50 AM EST you reading this Newt) we enjoyed the usual lunch fare provided by the overly cordial staff on site.

After lunch, 2 of the crew needed to head back which left 4 of us to head back out. This time we decided to head towards Hardy country. After leading for a while, I decided to hand the leading reins over to Roger as he has much better knowledge of this trail system. (Where was Chuck today ?) Roger took us up a road being developed out past the Hobart Hill Trail where a beautiful view of Newfound Lake can be had. See the pictures. In this afternoon jaunt we ran into 2 groomers both going in the desireable opposite direction.

Just before leaving for the ride home, the Colonel and I went inside the clubhouse to grab a coffee. The staff told us we could have the rest as they were gonna dump it anyway. Since they didn't want to take any money from us for the coffee, I decided to make a groomer donation for leading my trailer from water ;-)

All in all 98.5 miles of near perfect conditions. Who would have thought that late March or early April trails could be so good !!!

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DougA 3/27

my mom, our friend steve and myself all took a day off yesterday and went to do some sledding. and it was between baker river and twin mtn. mom insisted on BR so there we went. right off the bat things didnt go so well, corridor 8N is pure mud leaving the clubhouse, no good we head back. the tenioner bolt on my chiancase decided to loosen it self (i guess i didnt tighten the lock bolt tight enough) didnt even get back to the clubhouse before my hood was up (mom was almost as quick to whip out the camera as sheldon). once we get back to the club house we head down Corridor 8S excellent trails freshly groomed!!! from there we hit the power lines, once again absolutely beautiful trails. we then did diamond lookout i think it is and hog hill loop, flawless trails again. then mother dearest gets a "brilliant" idea... lets go to Lyme.. revisit the scene of our first snobuds trip when she exploded her knee. well im going to say right now Lyme is not the place for her. its been all rainbows and butterflies up until now so why not. one problem with this idea is we dont have a map but whatever theres signs right... NOT... i cant explain where we were or how we got anywhere, but instead of turning around and heading back to where our map covers we just keep going. somehow we managed to get to the Skiway. now we need gas and we dont know where to go to get it. ask people in the skiway.. usless they ski not snowmobile. but one lady says well its just 3 miles down the road and points to the left (if your looking at the building) so we head out down the trails in that direction back tracking quite some way and then getting somewhat lost again. managed to get back to the skiway and went the other direction but went 6 miles and said this doesnt feel right for what the lady told us. so we went back to teh skiway yet again. now at this time is 4:00 and thier closing. we called the Country Store and they told us to go right from the ski way and its like 14 miles by trail. ok sweet deal we head out again. we get 10 miles down and guess what we see. a chain across the trail with a sign that says "trail closed for rest of season" ::jawdrop:: no f#$^@ing way.. at this point were all hovering at 1/4 of a tank and were desperate so we do a bad thing and say we dont have a choice. other than big ruts and one minor water crossing the trail was actually not too bad. until.... LOGGING is blocking the trail i look for a way around. none. cant go thru cuz i walked in a little and sank up to my shins in mud. at this point im loosing my cool so we turn aournd and stop at a house that was trailside. they offered to drive us to town to go get gas in a couple of gas cans. come back we each have 3/4 tanks now and its about 6:30 7:00 with the sky starting to turn those awesome colors when you know where you are, but when your pretty lost they are menacing and scary. halfway back i came around a turn and at the last minute saw a huge rut from a crossing stream, swerve to avoid it, got the opposite ski off the trail hit a another rut and i was airborn sideways, landed off the trail down an embankment. (but a captain always goes down with the ship so i rode it to the end and ended up tweaking my ankle) and once again mom whipped out teh camera w.o hesitation. now somehow we got to corridor 5 at junction 10, i dont know how but we werent complaining at least we knew where we were. at this point my sleds TEMP light keeps coming on so i havta find places to kick up snow to cool it so it shuts off. headed to green camp to go down corridor 8 figuring we can ride thru some mud to get back to the cars. NOPE corridor 8 is closed due to flooding from that end.. a sign on the other side would be helpful. at this point im RIPSH*T its now about 10:45 and we havta go all the way back down corridor 5 and work our way to the dam and get back that way. managed to keep my sled from fully overheating but she was not a happy camper. all in all we headed out at about 10:30 in the morning and didnt get back to the trailers till 11:30-11:45ish.

sorry about writing a book but i felt a day that stressful was worth writing about and its probably a good excuse to take a couple minute break from work before lunch haha.

-Doug
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Gloria 3/17/08

On Saturday we headed to Enfield and rode 40 plus miles of the Rail trail. Trails were anywhere from okay to marginal.  Where they were in the shade they were good - however those area with full sun were quite bare. 

On Sunday we headed to Pillsbury State Park and rode their trails up to Sunapee. All the trails had great snow cover but some were in serious need of grooming.  Had a great time other than on the roads getting to the park.  Those roads had the worst frost heaves I've ever seen. Will definitely put that area on our riding list for next year. Hope they fix their roads before then.

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George 3/15/08 Rite of Spring

Excellent day today at Chuck's in Groton and another Sno-Buds Rite to Spring BBQ and toast. Excellent trails before lunch; we did a loop to Hebron and Sculptured Rocks, stopped to recall those that made the near-vertical headwall a few years ago in the box canyon off the powerline (no comment who), then an excellent BBQ in Chuck's yard - and the sun popped out! And after burgers, hot dogs, chicken, Kielbasa, sausages, huge pickles and a toast to spring, Chuck lead us to Bryant Pond on more excellent trails, quite unreal, very few people and over 50 miles total for the day. And Don made it from Keene!

(Don, Sheldon, you both missed the ramp shredding demonstration on Marc's ramp by Colonel One Finger. I heard Bill say: "Do you need MORE kindling?" So someone did it a second time! Now Marc has two ramps :)

Thank you, Chuck! Great day and excellent trails.
George

________________________________

Rick 3/9/08

Can you say smooth hard icey trails. 50 plus miles.

George L, Rick D., Nick D, Gloria A, Grath A, Marc B, John L, & Chris C, all met Chuck at his house. Off we went until I started to overheat (many times during the day), but all in all a great day. A good but late lunch (Good thing JJ wasn't with us) at Baker River Club house (Thanks to the cooks).Thank you very much Chuck for the tour and parking place.
Rick

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George Canada 3/4/08

(Marc, 2 coffees and danish...)

Snowmobile trip report, Friday-Sunday, 2/29-3/2/08

Ten Sno-Buds gathered between Macy’s and Concord for the Quebec-bound trip last Friday, Newt, $heldon, Bob Scarchilli, Denny Townson, Marc Belland, Ed Dockham, Rick DiOrio, Don Lee, Andrew and myself.

First stop, Ashland for a pit stop, 2nd stop Lancaster for gas, then followed smooth, frost-free roads through Pittsburg (!), through Canadian Customs, down the steep hill to Charterville and to La Patrie. Arrived about 11:30, plenty of parking for five trucks and trailers as planned, walked to the Bombardier dealer for several to register and joke with the good natured mechanic that repaired my sled last year (didn’t tell him I’d traded for a Yamaha), then down the street for lunch, back to the trailers, unloaded, suited, (turned gas on!), rode down the street, across the field and onto the Provincial trail heading east, an easy ride of 46 miles to Lac Megantic and checked into the Motel Sur Le Lac.

Then a quick spin around town to see the powerline trails, but we were slowed down by meeting TWO huge groomers making the already excellent powerline trail mint. Denny commented he thought we might never stop with the excellent trails.

Sorry Boys, but we need to ride these wide, pristine, powerline trails tomorrow too.

Back to the motel, ~20 miles total, excellent dinner of salmon or steak or chicken, pie (no ala-mode), a bit of TV and early to bed.

Saturday: breakfast at 7:30 , left about 8:30 following a local trail to Audet hoping there was gas in Audet. NO problem as long as you had a Visa (no Mastercard or any other credit card) AND could speak French (or write the amount on a piece of paper). We gassed and continued towards a mountain you could see with the trail going up through a narrow notch.

I (purposely?) stopped for a rest in a field AND by a house, not deep in the woods and was chastised by our Pre$ident for my stopping location… (again :) Up through the notch, great trail, through several sugaring operations with miles of tubes, then briefly east and northwest again on a local trail past Lac Drulet and to Trans-Quebec trail #65 (or was it 55). We decided to do a 180 and go a bit further on the Trans-Quebec and take another local loop before returning on Trans-Quebec trails on ‘brisk’, flat powerlines and back to Lac Megantic (some reportedly resting their chin on the handlebar, it was so smooth) and to a dessert and deli bar downtown that I was forced to find. I was instructed: "There better be pie there!" Fortunately, they were open, and we enjoyed soup and/or sandwiches and/or desserts (plural) only, although I don’t recall who had two desserts…

Back to the motel about 3ish , 103 easy miles, and Captain Morgan met us on the piazza outside. One rider stopped over for refreshments, but apparently forgot his pants – shorts and slippers were the fashion AND his snowmobile jacket. The appropriate jokes and pictures, more stories, some true, then everyone rested from 4ish ‘til dinner, another great meal, this time roast pork, ‘refreshments’, jokes and desserts yet again (still no ala-mode).

Early to bed.

Sunday: breakfast at 7:30 , and with the overnight 5-6" of fluffy snow, we discussed the originally planned 130-mile loop to the trucks – OR- returning to the trucks the shorter way, ~45 miles.

With the recent snow, I ignored the President’s request for 130 miles (I still can’t get fired!), and Plan B was implemented, approx 45 miles back to the trailers on the same trail as Friday.

And although the sometimes not-too-observant leader checked the President’s sled for gas or the lack thereof, he apparently ignored another near-empty rider, and led everyone south knowing the first fuel was ~25 miles (and that he carries a Super-Siphon if things didn’t work out...)

25 miles later in Woburn and when finally reaching the gas station, surprise! Can you spell C-L-O-S-E-D?

Wonderful (or alternate thoughts, 'S' being the key letter).

As we’re sitting at the closed gas station in 6” of fresh unplowed snow, one rider stated: “Hey George, this station is CLOSED”. Dick Tracy there (aka Ball Buster #9), but of course, I just smiled...

Fortunately, an ATV rider came down the road and motioned UP the road. I walked over not understanding a word he said.

He said: “Speak French?”
I replied: “No”

I said: “Speak English?”
He replied: “No”
(and alternate thoughts, 'S' being the key letter).

Wonderful #2.

Fortunately again, Marc came over, our interpreter, and it was determined there was an open gas station just around the corner.

Ten sleds up the street and into the pumps.

Phew!

And more friendly bantering was offered from another rider (Mr. JJ): “Hey George, thanks for determining I can go 122 miles on fumes!”

No problem, Bro!

(And his later admittance that he, also, carries a Super-Siphon)

All gassed and we continued east until…

On one corner in the deep and fresh snow, the one and only track ahead had gone OFF-trail and then back on-trail. Andrew was leading and successfully made the corner, but with his 1 ¼” lug track, dug a still-deeper trench off-trail. I somehow avoided the now super-deep hole and returned back on-trail.

Unfortunately the next rider was not so lucky and decided to lay his snowmobile on its side in the deep snow.

Of course, everyone being safety conscious got out their cameras and took several pictures, and AFTER the appropriate documentation was obtained, I heard “Are you okay?”

Nice guys.

A rope was extracted from his left, above snowline saddlebag, and with six guys pulling, the sled and rider were extracted from the powder and returned to the trail.

It was later determined the rider keeps a rope in BOTH saddlebags for those rests in the deep snow on the OTHER side. Good planning (and note to self to implement same)!

Soon afterward and we came to a ‘V’ in the trail, but no tracks to the left on the apparent main trail.

A quick hand sign from Denny (not the kind of sign I often receive from Captain One-Finger), and Denny’s GPS confirmed we needed to go left in the un-ridden new powder.

(Note #2 to self: keep your GPS on at ALL times including the first day. Although you may THINK you know the trail and although your plans are not to return this way, plans do change and you may return on this trail…)

Thanks, Denny!

We took a short rest and continued left now breaking trail in the 6” of fresh powder. It was a tough job, and Andrew enjoyed every mile.

Back to La Patrie, across the field, up the street and back at the trailers, and our lunch-challenged friend (JJ) was appropriately updated on the time – 11:45 AM .

A discussion of a late lunch was agreed on to hopefully beat the 5 PM Sunday Concord traffic (didn’t work), we loaded, headed south to Charterville and up the VERY STEEP mostly snow-covered hill to the border.

5th gear, 4th gear, 3rd, 2nd...pedal down more... Sniff, Sniff and my passenger mentions: "Are we going to make it!?".

The V6 AWD Toyota didn’t care for the 2nd gear pedal-near-the-floor hill, and its catalytic converter smelled H-O-T!

Through US Customs, some easier than others, down the still smooth road through Pittsburg (!), a stop in Lancaster at Mickey Dee’s, (for all those except the per$on that suggested Mickey Dee's), gas in Ashland and back home about 6.

Great weekend, lots of smooth Canadian trails, our 3rd trip to Quebec this season, over 200 easy miles, good laughs as always, great food and home safely. One rider later replied: "Sign me up for TWO trips next year."

Hope all enjoyed.
Next year, Vermont!
George

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Gloria 3/3/08

We headed to Bear Brook on Sunday. The parking lot was fairly full before 9 am with lots of ATVs being unloaded. Took 360 north on very nice trails. Met the groomer about 9 miles up the trail - a very nice man and his wife. Continued on to 15 and took that south. About 5 miles south came upon a disabled groomer. Poor guy was crossing a bridge when part of the bridge gave out - had one track that was hanging way down in the gully and the track was off. It is going to be a big production to get that moved and out of there. Meantime we found a detour around the groomer. Continued back down 15 to Bear Brook. By the time we got back the parking lot was horrible - trucks and trailers parked everywhere. Decided to head to the clubhouse for lunch. The trails were very soft and covered with loose snow. Met a couple groups of real stupid riders - speeding down the trails and going around curves on the wrong side. Took what we hoped was a side road only to discover it was a non-maintained trail with 3 big washouts. Not smart on our part. Finally made it tp the clubhouse to find out that the SNHSS groomer was also out of service. Had a BUMPY ride all the way back to the car. In total did about 70 miles.

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Scott 3/3/08

Sandy and I did 105 miles of great trails on Sunday. We postponed our scheduled trip for Saturday to Sunday due to the storm on Saturday.
Well the storm did not make it up to the Littleton area as the news said it would. There was only about 2 inches of new snow but the trails still had plenty of snow from the last storms.

We arrived at the dam parking area and I had to do my normal shoveling of the snow bank to a manageable size to drive over to get to the trail. We headed out towards the Dalton Ridge area. We took the Moore Dam trail up along the Conn river. Then took the Honeymoon trail towards Dalton and picked up 5. Then in Whitefield took trail 100, that is a super straight trail lined with big pines. Once in Lancaster , went by the club house and up the Prospect trail to the top of Mt Prospect at Weeks State Park . The views were terrific. You will have to ask Sandy about the people in the Fire Tower! Then bac k down past the clubhouse and into town for gas and food at Munce’s store right on the NH/VT border.
After lunch we took 5 back past the club house into Jefferson and spend a few minutes at the Joslin Farm watching the Caribou. We looped around Jefferson past Cherry pond and back towards Whitefield. A short stop at the RR tracks and we decided to pass on that way back as we heard stories from a couple of guys about getting wedged in the tracks. I asked them if they were related to George and they said they did not think so! Back to the dam and all loaded up by 5. All in all a great trip and out of 105 miles, maybe only 6 miles of bad roller coaster trail.

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ChrisW 2/27/08

Day 1:
Arrived Sunday morning around 8:30am at White Lake State Parking area, meeting up with a couple of friends only up for the day. No clue where I am, never ridden the trails, no gps, and no maps (except a Brookline one in my pocket) I was choosen trail lead of the group. Ok, destination Castle in the Clouds....follow the signs. Well.... very well signed, we ride about 20 or so miles, up to Mt. Shaw for a great view on a beautiful sunny day...temps about 30.... off to the next junction, read the sign and it points back to where we came from, saying Castle Trail. I decided to ask a few guys stopped at the intersection, they said the Castle Trail has been closed for a few years, no way to reach the castle by trail, but you can go back that way and see it up on the mountain. Well that sucks. Oh well, so I asked them whats the best way to loop back to White Lake and get a days worth of riding in..... well they said it was really confusing...grab a map at this local store. Off to the store, gas up (cause I have no clue where we are or going), purchase a map and off we go. After a few interesection signs where no longer an option.... junction numbers suck. Who wants to pull out a map every couple of miles. Anyway...still have no clue what trails we road or were on but we found lunch soon after...11:30....only 40 miles. Eat a quick lunch...and head back on the trails. After riding around in circles we find ourselves back to where we started before lunch....hmmmm....I think I know where to turn right instead of left and we could have cut off a lot of mileage and not completed a circle. Well guess up just incase I am wrong. So we headed back out and finally I figured out where we were...and it was the right way! Up through Sandwich.... passing a sled groomer (not doing a thing) and another sled groomer broken down with no one around. Continued on some horrible inter lake trails, never again! On a mission we finally come to a nice groomed trail.... but finding no signs to say where we are. After passing an intersection and deciding to read it then stay straight we come to another intersection shortly after, I then decided to whip out the map. Hey what do you know... that trail has a name, not a number....we should have took that! Only a 1/4 mile back we take the "named" trail and continue on... following signs for white lake and then back to the trucks. Oh... someone lost a tail light because someone was driving to close to thier father. Back about 4pm, 100.5 miles later. My buddies father glad to see the truck as he raced into the trailer almost going through the front! My buddy and me off to the Holiday Inn... night in the hot tub and 99 for dinner.

Day 2:
Left Holiday in with another set of buddies, who arrived on Sunday night. Plan was to ride around the White Mountains.... no guarentee ride.... expected milelage 200 miles.... plan for lunch in Lincoln. Out by about 7:30.... gas up and on perfectly groomed trails for awhile. Everyone holding a good pace, allowing a buddy to lead he decided to go through a junction following the groomed trail. No.... wrong way, we need to hit the less recently groomed trail. So I let him lead again... coming to the next intersection..... I tell him to go right... then I confuse myself looking at the signs, we need to go left. Waited for them to return and decided  I would lead since I think I know where to go (not really). From there headed towards Plymouth... hitting a real nice powerline... .riding off trail, powerder hills, no rocks, unbelieveable...could have stayed there all day! Finally make it to Plymouth....not so well groomed...all the way until Lincoln... finally freshly groomed!! Off to lunch 11:45...nice!! Eat lunch, gas up and north we go.... beautiful trials up through the notch until after the old highway bridge.... from plenty of snow, to dirt and patches of snow. A few miles of that, then off to Twin.... snow finally returning (little thin) returning to flat trails. Over Jefferson Notch road.... all perfect until the 25 cent trail... horrible... no snow...dirt, bumpy, ouch. Finally onto 12N.... plenty of snow.... perfectly groomed...moving along at 85 and my buddy in front of me stops....sled just stopped. No spare plugs, mine don't look like they fit an artic cat....we head back to Lowes gas station on a mile or 2 back.... lucky... babied it back. Not sure if he blew the top end or the spark plugs, he buys new ones and tries them. Presto... all fixed... he purchases a spare set..... gassing up back on the trail..... 85 all the way to gorham (oh reason why the plugs blew is they were a B4 (meant for lower speeds, back in brookline). Through Gorham and over 2 suspension bridges into Maine....perfectly groomed until we hit Maine. For the ME/NH Cooperative trail, they should work on cooperating to groom this section..... could have been nice (it was a road most of the way...RT113). Finally back into NH thinking N. conway is right around the corner.... nope... riding... riding... one guys oil light is on and he is nervous(oh yea.... his cap poped off somewhere along the trip setting his light on as we left lunch.... causing him to buy oil and add).... Some recently groomed and some washboard (all on the same trail 19N) we finally get back to the Hotel...7PM and 225 miles later. Off to Applebees for a nice dinner.. .then a few beers and the hot tub! Oh yea...sunny day all day!! 30 degrees or so!

Day 3:
Up a little later, we all decided we needed to sleep until 8 and leave about 9 for a ride on only groomed trails to finish off the trip! With the snowstorm on the way we decided to plan for a 1pm return. Off to get gas, they off to an unmarked trail that was groomed and I think is the trail we want to take. Ride perfectly groomed trails at a nice pace up into the woods..... .trail stops... .Trail closed, rough trail.. .etc.. .I decided with the amount of tracks, we should try it... .it should pay off, it says catherdral ledge. So a mile though the woods on pure hell... going down hill... .hmmm shouldn't we be going up. Well at the end we found a round...ungroomed also... .comments from the group on how we are riding "only" groomed trails today. So I decided to head up the road....not too far revealing catherdral ledge (again no signs)... a beautiful view (clear but not sunny). Another funny item it had a sign saying fenced viewing area.....we got up there and no fence....must be buried underneather all the snow!  So we decided from there to head back the same trail as we could guarentee great groomed conditions in about a mile or so. Headed back and decided to head north and complete a loop on the map. Suddenly along the way I felt a vibration at low speeds... hmmm., track? started to get worse, opened the hood to find a chunk missing from my belt....just about 1500 miles on the belt...time to change it. Replace and running better than ever.....freshly groomed...following the planned path and the groomed portion ends...sign... unmaintained... .turn around! Head back out and try to see if we loop into ME and hit the rail bed in Frybuerg. We take one freshly groomed trail... no signs... take a right and make a loop right back to where we started. Tried the other direction..... into ME.... over a covered bridge, followed signs for NH and back to 19 making another loop. Ok... lets head back to the rail bed see if we can get to Fryburg with a NH registration.... nope.. .turned around.. .no "groomed" way to loop back... .so we headed back. Back to the trucks, just before 1! 65 miles.... just started snowing! After gasing up, lunch and driving, got back just before the snow started to affect the roads!!

10 miles shy of 400 miles..... I was tempted to run the rail bed a couple of times. Overall not a bad time....real disappointed with the lack of grooming in lots of sections, especially being the start of school vacation week. Not to impressed with the lakes region... .lots of lake hoping.. .with ungroomed trails between.
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Sheldon 2/17/08

So Josh and I got brave and headed up to Massabesic Lake Sunday. We unloaded and before we left the parking lot Josh managed to flip his machine on its side and break the mirror. Not a great start, but ....

We headed to the Snowmobile museum with a few side trips on the way. We met JohnL there just driving his machine in. The Raider of course, seems like the Roamer did not manage to start. Hung around there admiring all the old iron (and aluminum) then headed back down. The trails were is really great shape.

Took some side trails and then headed toward Raymond on the rail bed hoping that it would be as great after the second tunnel. Well it wasn't so we turned around and headed home. Did about 75 miles and was heading home at noon time.

S

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MarcB 2/18/08 Littleton

3 Sno-Buds (Denny, Bob S and the author) left Macy's about 6:30 AM and headed north to Moore Dam Rest Area parking lot to meet up with Scott Simons and his lovely wife in order for them to "show us around town" so to speak.

Scott knows this area well and we were treated to some excellent hard packed trails as when we arrived to the Moore Dam area it was a frosty 4 degrees. We weaved by Scott's newly acquired property, right on the trail of course, and then proceeded to connect up to the corridor 5 railbed towards Lisbon where everyone got to "open it up" for a while.

Just before reaching the Bath covered bridge we took the trail that head to POULSENS general store in Monroe, what looks to be trail 103 on the NH corridor map but was not marked too well. It was duly and correctly noted by Scott's wife that this trail  "was not as good as yesterday's". Everyone in the group agreed even though we weren't around yesterday ;-)

We did reach the store by 12:45 which was 45 mins. later than our usual guaranteed lunch arrival time but was well ahead of our leader's anticipated arrival of 1:30.

After the usual filling of both sandwiches and gasoline, we headed back to the Moore Dam site via the powerline route. Needless to say, this was the best trail condition we had all day. Upon arriving to the rest area, it was still too early for Denny to head home so we decided to head towards Whitefield/Dalton area. After about a half hour or so, we stopped at a rest spot and Denny decided to head back for his return trip home. Bob and I were staying at the Eastgate and planning on a Monday ride..... NOT.

After Denny left the rest headed towards Lancaster where we encountered some rather large hoof tracks in the snow whereupon Scott decided to shoot the sh!t so to speak. See evidence at:

http://mpbsnobuds.shutterfly.com/

We turned around and returned using a slightly alternate route while trying to avoid the impending rain.

All in all we managed 125 miles of spectacular trails (except for that 20 miles or so that Scott forced us to take)

As far as Monday was concerned, both Bob and I figured we did not want to ride in the rain, so we headed home ;-(

We should plan another overniter in this area before the end of season provided the trails don't get to washed out. I'm sure Scott will keep us informed. Actually, come to think of it, maybe we should rely on his wife to keep us informed ;-)

Marc

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GeorgeL 2/16/08

Just got back from riding from Massabesic traffic circle up the railbed, over Tower Hill to the SNHSS clubhouse, then to Bear Brook State Park and on to the Mobil station in Chichester on Rte. 9, 75 miles round trip.

Trails from the traffic circle up the railbed and through Tower Hill were all excellent. Trails north to Bear Brook and to Chichester were very good. Also did the Bear Brook loop, all very good. Met the groomer from Tower Hill on the way back. Woow! Surprise!

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GeorgeL 2/15/08

Quebec snowmobile trip report, 2/11-2/14/08.

Four Sno-Buds, Don Lee, Tom (We'll Save the Day Over and Over Again) McKee, Ed Dockham, GL and three guests drove to Shawinigan, Quebec, just north of Trois-Riviere over the St. Lawrence seaway on Monday, arrived at the Motel Safari and were greeted by Bernard, the owner. With temps sometimes near zero and snowbanks taller than the trailers, no exageration, I never realized there was mud in Quebec this time of year; Mudder-f## this and Mudder-f## that. Very colorful gentleman, a sore leg from falling off his ice racing motorcycle at 130, and one demo on how to open your car door with a crowbar. Fortunately, Tom the Tool Man saved the day that time with his handy, GE-inspired locksmith 'accessories'. Details at 11.

After unpacking, we decided to ride as a group of seven to dinner about 35 miles away, a not-so-good idea with no pre-discussed riding guidelines. A few lost riders (and flared tempers), but everyone survived. One stuck sled after dark too; the sled's owner took pictures as the others dug it out. Nice guy, must have been inspired by $heldon. Arrived at the restaurant about 7:15 PM and found they stopped serving at 7. However, they did accommodate us, and great club sandwiches were enjoyed by all. On the way back, more good trails, but more lost riders. Who needs mirrors?!?!

Plan B - ride as two groups.

Day 2, Bernard taxied us to a restaurant for breakfast. One rider almost lost his lunch with the fragrance of smoke in a confined car. After arriving back at the motel, Group A left and did 240 miles. Group B, the older (and senile?) Smell the Roses Crew, decided to take a more leisurely pace, and some seriously excellent trails were discovered. No mention of speeds, but one normally aspirated member contacted the Guinness Book of Records for his best cruising speeds ever. And confirmed on his GPS! And one seriously close call with radar by a Rage rider... No details. One minute different would have been a completely different story.

We helped a rider from PA with a Cat clutch problem (surprise!), and removed his belt so he could be towed and later found excellent food and SUPER-wide, super-flat power-lines for more cruising before lunch. After lunch, a splash of gas and more cruising on the power-lines, and after a few confirmations with the GPS, back at the motel with an easy 130 miles.

Day 3, snowstorm and Bernard, after attempting to open his door with crowbar (or was that day 2?) again taxied some of us to a restaurant for breakfast. And after breakfast, Tom saved the day yet again with his mechanical abilities to diagnose and fix a non-working defroster fan. "Well, I guess I need to spring into action" was heard from the back seat. Two minutes later: "Fixed!"

Back at the motel and with the snow, everyone relaxed. About 2 PM when the snow quit, again, two groups. Group A, Four Fast and Furious, announced their intentions for a "two hour blast". Group B suited up and returned to the trail where they were yesterday (Read: couldn't find the trail they wanted back to the motel), and continued to the other side of the river trying for a loop ride back to the motel. Mostly great trails, and two GPS's confirmed only 5 miles remaining (as the crow flies) to the motel (just like the night before - 5 miles by crow to the motel). Unfortunately, the trail on the map to continue the loop was NOT there. We followed an ATV trail by accident and were scolded by a logger in French - always exciting when you can't understand the 'directions' (or insults).

Several attempts to find the snowmobile trail (once down a road), but darkness soon set in. A vote was taken and all three riders agreed to backtrack the 40 (or so) miles. Good riding across huge, flat fields (some with a particular cow fragrance) and several power-lines although after dark. No wind, fresh snow, clear sky, good trails, nice ride! Back about 7 PM.

Don mysteriously circled the parking lot when we returned, and we thought that strange. As he backed into the heated garage for the night, he announced: "Look at my odometer!" Exactly 100.0 miles. Cool!

The "Let's Go out for a two Hour Blast" crew arrived (on schedule?) eight hours later promptly at 11 PM although I don't recall their mileage. Not-so-good trails were reported and 2 large pizzas were delivered and devoured (I may have had a slice, okay, three).

Day 3, Thursday. After breakfast across the street, although sunny then, with reported incoming weather and a local groomer broken down, it was decided to call the trip a day short and head home. Packed up, checked out and left about 10 AM. Some lane-changing excitement and one trailer tire blowout and Tom saves the day again on a guest trailer. Although the Hemi-powered Dodge driver suggested to the US Border agents the third vehicle may need cavity searches, we were all welcomed back to the US without incident and without searches. Visits at the Derby Line, Vt, Ski-Doo and Yamaha dealers, fillups at Big Macs and everyone headed south, Ed to Pittsburg to deliver a sled, some to Keene and some to Mass.

Mostly excellent trails, some unbelievably wide and flat and 303 miles by sled in 2 1/2 days. Overall, a very nice trip.

Keep thinking Snow!
George

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MarcB 2/16/08

"Pay Back's a Bitch"

Four of us ( Denny, Bob S., Paul M and the author) left Macy's at promptly 7 AM, however, only 3 of us arrived at the BRVSC clubhouse at the usual 8:30ish time frame.

Seems like one of us (Colonel One Finger Salute) was having a problem remembering where he had left his snowmobile key. After reaching Concord, this poor forgetful soul called the "author" and explained the situation believing he had left his key on the key rack at home. We stopped briefly to explain to the group and the "key situation" was under control. The Colonel would return home to get it and we would proceed to BRVSC and do a 2 hour tour (sorry Gilligan) and meet the keyless chap back at the clubhouse around 10:30 AM.

The 3 of us continued on and enjoyed a 2 plus hour loop by starting to head up to green camp. Needless to
say that the road to green camp was a hifax reducing endeavor and once reaching green camp, decided to use the southern approach to get back to the clubhouse.

Upon returning to the clubhouse we found our long lost soul looking at his watch as we had not gotten back at exactly the 10:30 time tick. So to make matters worse, we had to inquire as to the discovery of the key. Seems like upon reaching the key rack at his home, the Colonel discovered that the key was NOT THERE !!!! Could it be that senility was finally setting in ??? At this point he was frantic and started tearing everything apart.....including the trunk portion of the vehicle...... yes, the vehicle that was driven back to get the key. We all had a good laugh and said that this would be good trip report mat'l. I guess this was the author's payback for the "mud" episode.... ;-) Besides, I think the Colonel would much rather have spent a day doing what he did than going to work.....

Once we regrouped, it was decided to head over to the Lyme ski-way for lunch with a return trip using a different route. Please note that if anyone decides to go there for lunch in the future, you may need a small loan to finance it.

Trails were mostly had packed and flat. If this area gets a good snow dump soon, these trail could last for more than a month.

We returned back to the BRVSC clubhouse around 3:30 with about 79 miles on 2 of the machines. One of us had something over 80 due to some spinning track mechanical anomaly and one had SIGNIFICANTLY less than 79, although he may tell you that his mileage was "key" to the pleasure had by the rest of us.

Marc

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DaveC 2/14/08

We had a terrific day snowmobiling today!!!

    About 8:15 our son Patrick, Colette and I  left for Baker River SC, stopping in Tilton at HK for a gallon of Ski-Doo injection (can't buy it around here) and the Irving station to fill up the Tahoe at $2.83/gal. We arrived about 10:15 at the Baker River Club House. That E. Dorchester road is terribly rutted. The club parking lot is glare ice. The groomer was there and he let us use the facilities in the new club house. Nice Setup! He said all the trails were groomed.

We took Trail #5 to Warren stopping many times as the sleds were heating up because of the hard surface. Never the less they were smooth. At the missile we looked at the map and decided to try the new trail to Woodstock. As Newt said at last night's meeting, it is marked 153 on the map but the actual trail sign says it is #14. It was also smooth and well groomed though it really needs to be brushed out better. It's a beautiful ride over several
mountains with ever changing terrain. We stopped and had a nice picnic lunch that Colette had prepared. We traveled a bit further and met the groomer ahead of us (the reason it was so smooth) at a road crossing just short of Woodstock. We knew he was making his first pass, as he was busy knocking down the snow banks the plows had put up. At that point we decided to return via the way we came with a side trip to Green Camp.

To the group going there tomorrow- Have a great time!
Dave C.

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GloriaA 2/10/08

We had a couple great days of riding in Colebrook. Drove up Friday night and hit trails that were is very good shape Saturday morning. Rode 7 south thru Nash Stream, stopped and got gas, then headed east on 117. Trails were in very good shape. Stopped at a new snack shop off 117 for a quick hot dog, bathroom break and a nice chat with the gentleman that just opened it. The trail from 117 to the snack shop was pristine!!!. Continued on 117 to 19 North. Never saw another sled the whole time we were on 117. (Couldn’t believe it was Saturday). 19 was great, and only saw a few sleds on it. Then took 28 back to 7 and back to hotel. In all a wonderful 114 miles or good to great trails. Headed out Sunday morning towards the Balsams and rode around on 134 and 18. Needed to head back early because of the storm, so only did 50+ miles on great trails. Except for a couple miles of bumpy trails going into Colebrook it was some of the best trail conditions we’ve ever seen in Colebrook.

Driving back we were caught in 2 complete whiteouts. Just thankful we made it back safely.

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George 2/10/08

Yes, great time and nice report, Rick - good details.

And a big 'Thank you' again to the Hollis Nor'Easters for a nice time! Burgers, kielbasa, soda, chips, cookies (plural - the stuck together), birthday cake with candles, all great! Certainly a variety of weather too - snow, sleet, sprinkles, REAL fast moving snow squall. And nice trails groomed just this morning.

I did hear one report from an always smiling member and our host (CH) discussing water displacement in a hot tub. No further details or pictures from Sheldon and his new camera (yet).

And our Treasurer was seen, again, riding a Cat with his Ski-Doo suit! Even our VP got in on the Cat fun after his three bowls of kielbasa. He was seen screeching across the field - not sure on the 'gas' though - we stayed clear and avoided matches. And we proved that helping a friend with a stuck ski under the ice may lead to a mud-drenched leg. And his brandy-new, 1-day old 4-stroke AdVenture looked nice!

Good day!
George

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RickD 2/10/08

Well started rocky, not knowing where to meet and ride from. But. Some showed up at Silver Lake early & late (gl), others went to farm. Nick and myself hooked up with Newt at the farm, then joined by Paul M & Mark B. Newt then called George, who was waiting at Silver Lake. So we headed for George and we rode the trails, some two & three times, because the leader was lost (HH). George took over and got us to lunch a little late. (not GL doing, PM got stuck in a water bar for some time. Thanks to MUDMAN (MB) they soon caught up.)
Food & time was great. We had a good showing of SnoBuds.
Rick

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Phil 2/10/08

I did BRVSC – Hebron – Bristol – Hebron - ? – Hebron ?!?! - ?????
Route 118 – BRVSC.
A friend was riding out of Meredith and meeting me at another friends in Hebron . While I was waiting I finally got the chance to ride down to Bristol and see an old friend who has been the Bristol Fire Chief for a decade. Hadn’t seen him in 2 decades. The look on his face when he pulled in was classic. Got the tour and shot the breeze for a while. So long that the only way for me to get back to Hebron in time was to hit the lake. I’m nervous as usual on frozen water, but a few people had told me it was plenty safe and there were lots of tracks, fish houses, atv’s etc. But I’m ½ way up and I see people waving at me. I thought maybe I was in a bad place so I rode up to find out exactly what they were trying to tell me. Turned out that they needed help. Nice couple. They said it’s out of oil. So I give the guy a ride back and we pop open the pretty new ski-doo. Not oil – ANTIFREEZE.

Poor guy thought oil went there too! Took me a long time to convince him. So I give him a ride back to his camp ½ mile and get antifreeze. Good thing I had a good deed in the bank I guess. Matt never shows up and Jim never comes home, so I head back towards BRVSC about 2:30.

I guess it’s 151 or 153 that I took down. Mean while a logger had completely changed the terrain. I’m totally confused, but I kept coming out back at The powerlines in Hebon!!! It was like the Twilight zone. Then I tried something different and got completely lost. Let me take time out here to say that the trail signage down there SUCK SUCK SUCK!!!!!!! Next time I ride down there, I’m going to rip down every one of those Orange signs and corridor signs that have had the ink where off. PMO!!!! Finally I see a sign that I’m in Groton , but I’m screwed. Running on fumes.

Out. I take my soda and ½ sandwich and start walking. Walked a good mile before my saviors came. They had a camp not 2 miles back! I gave them the $28 I had for 5 gallons. But I was more lost than I thought and they said my best bet was to hit Route 118 north for 3 miles and pick the trail back up. The road was not bad and I saved myself a lot of miles.

All in all, other than having to walk a mile, it was a great.day.

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RickD 2/10/08

Well started rocky, not knowing where to meet and ride from. But. Some showed up at Silver Lake early & late (gl), others went to farm. Nick and myself hooked up with Newt at the farm, then joined by Paul M & Mark B. Newt then called George, who was waiting at Silver Lake. So we headed for George and we rode the trails, some two & three times,because the leader was lost (HH). George took over and got us to lunch a little late. (not GL doing, PM got stuck in a water bar for some time. Thanks to MUDMAN (MB) they soon caught up.) Food & time was great. We had a good showing of SnoBuds.

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DaveB 2/10/08

Turbo Scott, Bob S. Denny, Paul and I started from BRVSC parking lot in Wentworth and rode Corridor 14 "Warren to Woodstock Trail". Had lunch at the Mc D's in Lincoln, at 11:45.

Next a trip down Corridor 11 and across those mostly snow covered rail bridges to Campton. We turn off taking Central SC trail 154 west through Campton Bog and back west on Corridor 11 returning to BRVSC parking lot about 3pm as the snow had started to fall.

No mechanical problems, off-trail adventures or misfortunes. Just about 80 miles of good or excellent groomed trails. Lots of picturesque trails!

It was a pleasure to ride with the group.
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Scott S 1/28/08

Sunday Baker River Trip Report

7 SnoBuds met at Macy’s at 7, OK 6 were there at 7 and one ($heldon) 5 minutes later. The trip up to Baker was a little greasy as a few of us found out as we passed a snowplow and tried to pull back into the slow lane. It is amazing how fast the back end will brake loose when hauling a trailer.

After unloading the 4 cats (which all started!) the 2 Yamahas and a lonely Skidoo, Dave led up on a series of really smooth trails. The “quick snow shower” that lasted all day put just enough snow on the ground to cover up any bare spots. We made a loop and had lunch at the new club house just after noon.

We lost 2 riders as they had to head back home for some troubleshooting on a machine that was left home for the day.

After lunch, my old cat had the opposite type of starting problem that has been documented many times. The started did not want to shut off! So back the manual pull for the rest of the day. We took off heading towards “Chuck’s place” and the trails were not as smooth as the morning ride but were not all that bad. After about 10 miles one machine was experiencing some “electrical/mechanical” problems with the kill switch built into the throttle (we think that may be the issue). The rider (Paul), thumb would not be able to “play” with the throttle for the rest of the trip. So we turned around and headed back to the trailers. The last few miles back to the club house were smooth as the groomer must have just gone by. We all made it back save and sound. 7 riders and sleds arrived, 7 riders and sleds made it back in one piece.

Thanks Dave for leading a great ride!

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MarcB 1/21

One story as to never snowmobile alone.....sometimes....

While recently enjoying a leisurely cavort through the Brookline NH trail system on a recent middle of January holiday (that not all employers see fit to bestow on their employees), I decided to take a trail that I knew existed to get back to my home trail for what our current secretary calls a "scenic short cut".

Thinking that this trail would get me back home in time for our usual cocktail hour, I took the trail and followed it through the usual swamp/bog area. In proceeding down the trail from out of the woods, I noticed that 1 or 2 other sleds had taken a quick right turn.

As usual, I decided to follow the more well travelled trail, which in this instance turned out to be the WRONG decision. As I continued down the trail, it takes it's usual hairpin turn at which point one normally starts to look for the left turn that takes you to the entrance back into the woods. As I am scanning the area for the turn, I notice that the trail has turned from snow covered swamp/bog to PURE ICE. At that instant I see the trail and attempt to turn, but as we all know, turning a sled on PURE ICE does not work well. Needless to say, the rear portion of the sled got ahead of me and decided that it was a good time to take a drink of water since the weather was cold and DRY.

Since I was about a half mile from my house, and the sun was setting fast, I decided to walk back and get HELP!!! I got back home, called a friend, unloaded the 2 up sled, grabbed the tow rope, come-along and chain and headed back to rescue my "dunkin" sled. Luckily there was a tree stump not far from the scene and we were able to use the tow rope, chain and come-along successfully.

It only delayed the cocktail hour by 90 mins, which wasn't all that bad........If this had happened on a normal Sno-Buds trip before lunch, I don't know how one certain member would have reacted...... ;-)

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GeorgeL 1/7/08
Littleton Trip report with pictures:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=9598

Riders were:
Ed Dockham
John Livingston
Sheldon 'Made Us late to Start' Kolan$ki
Brian and Kim Kellam
Garth and Gloria Adams
Tom the Tool Man (and Oil Supply Guy) McKee
Rick DiOrio
Chuck 'Turbo Man' Stata

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MarcB 1/7/08

Sat. 1-5-2008:

Colonel 1-finger salute, AKA Paul "I wish I had electric start at my age" M. and I headed out from my house in Brookline to check out the local trails after briefly inspecting the turkey tracks in my yard. There have been recent sightings of 8-10 turkeys (none of the Sno-Buds variety) in the neighborhood feasting on the local bird feeders. It's pretty funny watching them eat out of the feeders.

Shortly after 9 AM, we decided early to head towards Wilton not wanting to deal with any possible slush or open water on Lake Potanipo. After inspecting a recent re-route of some trails in the area, we headed past Burbee's sand pit towards Wilton's trails. Since we left at an early time and the local trails had been drag groomed, they had set up quite nicely and in the words of Mr. No Electric-start "better than expected..... at least an 85 to 87" to compare to the recent Baker River excursion the Colonel experienced recently with our illustrious Safety Officer and current secretary. I did see 2 deer in the trail at one point, but they scurried off into the woods before the Colonel had a chance to see them.......

We found that since we hadn't ridden these trails since about 2004 (I think) that some trails in the Wilton/Lyndeboro system have since closed and some others have changed or opened up making our trek to Jon's Cycle Barn seem much easier than the past. Once reaching this area, we decided to try to make Greenfield to get lunch at the Side Trax Cafe (former owners that used to run Riverside in Brookline).

After a seemingly short wait to cross Rt. 101 (typically a long wait due to the traffic in this area) we proceeded to the Goss Park area where we picked up our Safety Officer's favorite type of trail. Read: railroad bed WITH rail. Even he would have enjoyed this trail as the snow pack was perfect and no visible rails were present. It felt like riding the NO RAIL railbed in the Littleton area.......SWEET. After the series of stop and go area in Lyndeboro by the general store we had a chance to open it up on the trek to Greenfield. Needless to say, as noted by the Colonel, the time spent making it to Greenfield once we reached the railbed was a quarter of the time needed to get to the railbed. We arrived at the Side Trax Cafe in plenty of time to make Newt smile; Read 11:35 AM.......

After a brief discussion with Linda (the owner, who also rode the railbed on New Years during the snowstorm) and lunch, or should I say late breakfast, we headed back towards Brookline. The return trip was just as good as the outbound one as the trails that had been hard packed too much in the AM were now really good and the nicer morning trails had seen some abuse from the late risers......we did see a lot more other riders on the way back.

After getting back to Brookline, we decided to explore the Farnsworth trail out to Cleveland hill/Potanipo route to see what activity was present on the Lake, Not seeing any visible bob houses and only 1 or 2 brave sleds, we decided against the possible afternoon activity of scuba diving..... ;-)

BTW, there is one NASTY rock hole wet bar on that Farnsworth trail just before reaching Mason Rd that caused the author a little tipsy maneuver, but since there were no cameras, the guilty will plead the Fifth.......

All in all a much better than expected 58 miles.

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ScottS 1/7/08

Sandy and I left Merrimack at 6:30 Saturday and drove up to the Moore Dam Rest area in Littleton . Every time that we have left from there, we have been the only trailer there. After a short pit stop we unloaded (and yes the cat started right up with no starting fluid) and headed up the trail towards Littleton . We did see 2 sled groomers pass by as we were unloading. That was a disappointment .. not! We stopped at our new home stead about 3 miles up the trail and looked over the open field that once was a solid forest this summer. Next year our garage will be there and a good place for a party!

We turned around and took Sandy ’s favorite trail towards Dalton . The trails were smooth and I think that we might of hit about 2 bumps the whole day! The trails were unmarked, typical of that area, so I took a one of George’s loops but got back in the right direction. We continued north on 5 and ALT 5 to Whitfield as we were looking for a side trail to Grandma’s Kitchen restaurant. Saw a couple of other side trails to the Spa and gas stations but not to Grandma’s. Went almost all the way to Lancaster before looping back to Littleton . (I found out later, when we went to breakfast at Grandma’s Sunday morning, there is no way to get there from the trail).

We only did 70 miles of super smooth trails and maybe saw only 15 sleds the whole day.

We opted not to ride on Sunday as my new turbo was having a clutch problems. There was grinding, rattling, and making a hell of a noise when first taking off but then it stopped making noise after moving. It got worse when the sled was warm after a quick stop. I jacked up the back and no noise when there is not a load on the clutch. But I can tell you one thing, it is scary fast .. 0-60 (I mean 45) in no time at all.

It was nice to see that the George’s 10 riders made it with no problems to Littleton . We stopped down to see them at dinner. No good stories from them as they all look hungry!

Scott + Sandy

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