March 2011 Snowmobile Trip
Friday, February 25th - I went up to the camp early, arriving at about 7:30 am. Bob had planned to ride that day, so I figured I would use it as a break and ride also as the trip was not planned to start till Sunday. We did a nice loop of 155 miles up around Willoughby Lake, Derby and across Rt. 105 to Norton for lunch and down Rt. 96 to 102. We looped through the Rt. 1’s, back down to the pipe line and home by 4:00 p.m.
155 Miles
Sunday, February 27th - Ed (the fighter pilot, “Crash and Burn!”), Larry “the roll over”, and I left the camp at 7:45 a.m. on a day that started out with a little fresh snow coming down. The trail over to the pipe line was freshly groomed and as I rode along I thought, “It doesn’t get any better than this”. We headed out the pipe line to the balls and north on Rt. 102. We met up with Dave the “Trail Boss”, “Moose Wrangler” at the stone dam at 9:15 a.m. After a brief talk we headed out with Dave up front. Just before Canaan, Larry “Roll Over” didn’t quite make it around a hard left hand corner and rolled his sled enough to break his windshield and crack his cowl. Went up through Canaan, across the bridge to NH and headed north to Pittsburg. We stopped for fuel and lunch there and headed out from again. The trails in Pittsburg where well traveled but in very good condition. We crossed the border into Maine and the trails went from good to bad. We ended up riding about 25 miles of rough trails heading toward Rangeley Me. We pulled into the Town and Lake Cottages at about 3:00. Larry and Ed went out to pick up supplies for dinner and there was a nice sun set over the lake.
165 miles
Monday, February 28th - We woke up to snow falling and we were suppose to get 6-8”. We were on the trail by 7:30 a.m. with our sights on Millinocket for the night. Because of the heavy snow falling and that I had mapped this trail two years ago on my GPS, I figured I would take up the lead position. I find it a lot easier to look down at the GPS and see where the trail is going up ahead or at intersections. A few miles out of town we came across a moose in the trail. I stopped and hoped it would move off, but no such luck. After a few walks down the trail with us following at a distance Dave “Moose Wrangler” came up and walked it to the side of the trail enough that we could ride by. We stopped in Eustis for gas and then on to The Birches in Rockwood for lunch and fuel. After lunch we headed out on the big lake (Moose Head) in blowing snow so you could not see 100’ in front of you. Again the GPS is nice for stuff like this. When we got across the lake we found some fresh trails heading towards Kokadjo. I wanted to stop at the store there to look for fuses as I had blown one earlier in the day. So when I pulled in front and went into the store, I figured everyone knew that’s where I would be. Dave was out front when I came out, but no Larry or Ed. Dave said he saw them about a mile back the last time he looked in his mirror. We waited awhile and figured they must not have seen us and went up the trail. So we headed out. We got about 5 miles out and found that there were no sled tracks in the fresh snow so we turned around. Back at Kokadjo, we then back tracked another two miles and all we found was a black spot in the snow. All we could think about was the dreaded Kokadjo curse. Twenty-three years ago I blew a piston in Kokadjo on a saddle bag trip. What a nightmare. Anyway we headed back to the store - no Ed and Larry, so we headed the other way. Sure enough there is Ed’s “The Fighter Pilot, Crash and Burn” sled with the tow strap still on it - dead. Blew a piston and seized. We made arrangements to make sure he had a room for the night and we would talk later about trying to arrange a pick up. Larry, Dave and I headed to Millinocket. I picked up the pace a little as it was now about 3:00 p.m. We pulled into the Pamolla Motor Lodge @ 5:00 p.m. Made arrangements for Dave’s son to pick up Ed and his sled the next day and bring him back to MA.
225 Miles
Tuesday, March 1 - We once again got an early start @ 7:00 a.m. to head up to Shin Pond. What a beautiful morning. The sun was coming up and the trails where fresh groomed from the night before and had 6-8” of snow on them. Perfect day for riding! Forty-five miles later we pulled into Shin Pond for fuel and a quick snack and we headed out again. We headed towards Ashland and up to Portage before banging a right towards Caribou. We got on the RR bed and what a ride. It seemed like we made it to the Lake View Restaurant in no time. Good place to eat with a great view. About 5 miles from the Lake View I was leading, and at this point the trail turned into corduroy. Can’t say I have ever seen it on a snowmobile trail. We ended up coming up behind a Tucker that had this big roller behind it. But riding through the fields up there it began to make sense. There are a lot of big fields that the wind blows the snow right off. That’s why they roll it to pack it down. After the lunch stop we headed over to Fort Kent. Larry had a problem with his T660 turbo so we went right to the dealer. A hose had fallen off, most likely not tightened after the last time he had his chain case apart. Fifteen minutes later we were out the door. We stayed at the Track Down Lodge that happens to be ¼ mile down the road from the Cat shop. Really cool place to stay. Unfortunately they only do dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But the owner opened up the bar to let Dave mix two drinks to take back to our room and a bag of ice for me as I brought fixings.
212 Miles
Wednesday, March 2 - We started out early with a plan to ride to Millinocket for the night. The trails down there where great, passing a few moose along the way with a few deer also. We made a gas stop at Shin Pond and also ate lunch there at about noontime. We were about 30 miles from Millinocket and I blew a belt on my Jag, first one ever. We had been cruising at 50 mph for what seemed like hours so I just thought the belt was getting hot. It was kind of odd that just the top row of the cogs peeled off. Put with the new belt installed, off to Millinocket we went. We pulled into Millinocket at about 2:30 p.m. to gas up. It was mostly sunny and a great day for riding once again. Dave asks, “What do you want to do, keep riding or go watch Oprah?” So we decided to push on to Kokadjo, figuring we would spend the night there. While in Millinocket I asked if there was a Cat dealer to pick up a new belt just in case. No luck. We got about 20 miles out of Millinocket and it started to snow. I am thinking this could be a mistake. It was snowing so hard that you could not see 30 feet in front of you. Had to slow down to about 20 mph. When sleds came from the other direction, you could barely see their head lights until they were right on you. Just as fast as the snow came in, we rode out of it in about 10 miles. Stopped in Kokadjo and asked about a cabin but they wanted $75 a head, so off we went to Rockwood and the Birches. This was a good choice as we met up with some good old boys from Alabama (Bob and Jay), who come up to the Birches and rented sleds for 5 days. Bob was the older gentleman, I am guessing early 60’s. Jay was probably late 30’s, a Harley-riding, tobacco-chewing and spitting good ole boy. We had dinner with them and shot the shit until bed time. This was my all-time mileage high for one day.
260 Miles
Thursday, March 3 - We woke up early as usual but it was cold. About 5° below was the best guess. The sunrise over Moose Head was nice. But we were in no hurry to head out in that cold. We had decided the night before that we would back-track across the lake and head up to Northeast Carry and Pitson Farm as we had never been up there and we were ahead of schedule. We planned to end up going through Jackman and onto Rangeley for our last night out, before heading back to VT on Friday to beat the rain that was predicted on Saturday. After we got Dave’s sled started with the help of a hair dryer, across the lake we went. We had heard that the groomer that does Northeast Carry was down, but they were going to run the one from Kokadjo up to do that area. When we got across the lake the trail was fresh groomed from the night before and no one had been on it. Although cold, the sun was out and the sleds where running. Dave missed the turn-off that we were looking for, so I stopped and soon Larry came up from behind. I could see and smell gas all over Larry’s tank. He had forgotten to put his gas cap on when he filled up at the Birches. So he goes back to try and find his cap. Dave came back to where I was stopped and as soon as Larry came back from looking for his cap (which he didn’t find) we where off once again. This trail was not groomed and we had heard from the guys from Alabama that there were 3-4’ drifts in Northeast Carry but 1 mile up at the next intersection once again we were in fresh groomed heaven. Did I tell you it was cold??!! This was the first time this year that I was cold. Hot grips on high, all vents and zippers closed and it was chilly. We swung through Robertson store parking lot and there was a herd of deer out back that could care less that we where there. I will say that this was some of the nicest trails we rode on the whole trip. We stopped at Pitson Farm to warm up and I found some hand warmers for my gloves. Pitson Farm is one of those “must see” places if you are into history. It started out as a logging camp. I will go back for sure. When leaving, we saw 3 bald eagles and I was able to get a picture of one in a tree. Down to Jackman we went. We stopped at the Cat dealer so Larry could buy a gas cap and I thought I was all set on belts at this point (mistake), as I had a good one with 250 miles to go with a new belt waiting at the camp and a good back up… About 20 miles or so out of Rangeley I blew my second belt. Same thing happened, just peeled the top section of the cogs off. I check Dave’s and Larry’s belts and they are way too big. Trimmed the lose threads off my old belt and ran the rest of the way at 35-40 mph. It went better than I expected. We pulled in behind the Saddleback Motor Inn and I started to look for dealers on the back of maps as Dave and Larry went in to try and get a deal on a room. I called the Cat dealer who replied “yup I have them, where are you?” I ask what time he closes - 5:00 p.m. What time is it now? 5:10 p.m. Shit! But he then told me he would wait. Nice place and nice guys. I bought two belts to be sure, as I know I have a problem, but nothing that obvious. They even gave me a piece of Scotch Brite and the service guy wanted to help but I was all set. I went gack to the Saddle Back with a stop on the lake to see the sun set and take a picture. After cleaning up, Dave and I went out to dinner as Larry was not feeling too good that night. When I stuck my head in his room to ask about dinner all I could smell was gas. I mean, if you lit a match the whole place would go up kind of smell.
208 Miles
Friday, March 4 – We were up early to see the sun rise over Rangeley Lake, but it was COLD once again. We had to delay our departure until 9:00 a.m. as Dave’s sled needed a little help. The 4 strokes started no problem. Another beautiful day! When we crossed Rangeley Lake to get on the trail, everything was groomed and flat. Heading towards Bose Buck Camps, we came across two moose; one BIG male in the trail. This time, the trails on this section were perfect. Crossed into Pittsburg Ridge Runners territory and the closer we got to Pittsburg the more the traffic picked up. We skirted out to the secondary trails and it was quiet once again. Stopped for fuel for the first time this day after 107 miles and took 6.2 gallons. That’s 17.2 MPG, which was the best gas mileage of the trip for me. Rode down and crossed the bridge into Canaan VT and stopped at the Northlander for lunch at 12:30. Headed across Rt. 105 to Norton and down 102 to where Dave parted ways to head to his camp and Larry and I headed south to mine. Once again the trails heading home where the best I had seen all year. Larry and I pulled into the camp at about 3:00 p.m. and glad to be there.
179 Miles
Comments:
Great trip! I will go to ride Maine again soon. Trails are different than VT, so the variety is nice. You can travel more miles in a day. Although you have to travel more miles between fuel stops, there are plenty of gas stations. The farther north you go in Maine the signage is not as consistent and can be confusing. Two of the days that we headed out we didn’t pass another sled till we hit 74.2 miles. Should have played that number.
Totals:
1404 total miles for the week (includes Friday the 25th)
1249 miles on the trip to Fort Kent and back
77 gallons of fuel used and averaged 16.2 mpg with a high of 17.2.
$3.79 highest price paid for fuel.
$61.00 highest paid room per person (The Birches)
