New Beginnings! Our First Ride of the Next Chapter

Mo Mo Nah Chee Chee Nah!  (It’s a snow chant.. Keep reading… :-))

It was the week we’d been waiting for!  We both had time off between Christmas and NYE and the plan was to head north for a week of snowmobiling with our new sleds. It was bittersweet, but we sold our beloved Kawasaki Invaders in October, and found newer sleds to continue on with the adventure, mine a 1997 Ski-Doo Formula 500, and Bill’s a 1999 Polaris Indy 600. Mother Nature didn’t cooperate though, so we had to cancel our reservations in Thompsonville and pretty much joined every other sledhead in Michigan on the snow chase.

We watched the weather, up north trail cams, and several Facebook groups to determine where the optimal conditions were. We’d been to the Gaylord/Grayling area before, so we were a bit familiar with the area and the trails, something we preferred as this was the first time out with these sleds. Snow was headed that way, so we decided for that area.

Tuesday

We got up EARLY with the expectation to ride one day and come home, just to get some riding in and see if anything on the sleds needed work. Then I saw someone posted online that it wasn’t worth the trip to Gaylord, in terms of trail conditions. There was snow in the forecast, so we decided to poke around online and see if we could find any motel vacancies, drive up tonight, stay overnight and have all the next day to ride in whatever additional snowfall they received.  We found a room at the Waters Inn, in Waters between Grayling and Gaylord.  Now we could take our time on the way up since we weren’t trying to cram a ride in all in one day.

Arriving around 3pm, we got our room and got settled. Across the street is the Keg Bar, and right behind that is trail 7.  Perfect!  I was hoping to be able to ride to the trail from the room. We had just enough time to unload and ride a bit before dark. We were anxious to try out our new to us sleds and hope everything was in order.

After our short ride, we parked at the bar, then decided it would be smarter to take the sleds back first, then walk over. I put my sled in reverse, and promptly backed over Bill’s boot. (facepalm)  When we walked back over, we gathered around the fire and met a fun couple not far from our neck of the woods back home. The bar had plenty of stacked firewood on their patio, with picnic tables and propane heaters, much like all the eating establishments right now, due to the restrictions. The four of us had a few drinks, talked and laughed until they shut the lights off on us and we said our good nights.

Back across the street, we put the covers on our sleds and prayed Winter Storm Ivy would bring lots of snowy goodness overnight.  I was glad to be able to park in front of our room.

Wednesday

The next morning..  Ivy didn’t bring as much as I’d hoped, maybe 4 inches. But it was still a needed addition – the trails yesterday were a bit snirty. (snow + dirt)

Bill made a McDonald’s run to Gaylord since there was nowhere in the area for breakfast. I sincerely regretted not packing the Keurig and also, unless we know of a nearby restaurant for the next trip, I’ll probably bring breakfast next time, too.

Today we would ride south on trail 7 into Frederic, our first destination, Sledheads. Bill got me a new helmet for Christmas with a heated visor, but it did not come with the cord that connects to the snowmobile. Luckily my sled was already wired for this, so I just needed the connector cord.

We chatted with Pete, the owner, for a bit and joked about his snow chant he had posted online a while back. He had the cord I needed, it worked perfectly and I was in heaven the rest of the day fog free!  And I could actually feel a bit of warmth on my face from the visor! I also snagged a cool oversized Sledhead’s t-shirt to sleep in since I managed to forget my pajamas.

Our newly found sled friends we met the night before had graciously invited us to join them at the Swamp II, across from Sledhead’s. They, like all the restaurants in the area, had outside dining with propane heaters and igloos. The Swamp had temporary rooms built like this one we chose.

The wind picked up several times and flapped melting snow down the sides of the wall.  I was a tad concerned about being splattered with molten plastic if our heater melted the ceiling, but we made it.

Excellent food! Probably the best black and bleu burger I’ve ever had! And the pizza looked awesome. The staff was super busy but checked in on us often, poking their heads through the blanket draped over our doorway.

After lunch, we continued on for the day and headed back north up trail 7, and planned to do the trail 4 loop.  We found ourselves in a clearing, with oil wells off to the right, and I had to stop and grab this pic.

Behind me, the wind rustled through the pines, blowing snow from the trees and creating a mist. This was such a cool moment!

We kept going, our next stop Starvation Lake, as recommended by our friends. We found the gas pumps and general store, and once back on the trail, passed the Hideaway Bar and Grill. We didn’t stop, as we’d just had lunch, but it’s been added to future itineraries.

At some point and I can’t recall where exactly, I lost all electrical.  No headlight, no dash lights. Bill opened the hood and checked every connection he could find, nothing.  Miraculously, after a few minutes with everything shut off, I had lights again. I had been riding with the heated visor plugged in, and also heated handgrips and thumb warmer. So those two were shut off for the ride home, luckily I still had the heated visor.  Bill figures it was the voltage regulator.  It was getting dark, I thanked the Snow Gods and we were on our way.

By now it was full dark. The trail widened and we rode along the power lines for a good bit. It was also very hilly and honestly, kind of like riding a rollercoaster in the dark! I’d get to the top of the hill and my headlight shone into the darkness, then I’d dip down and realize just how steep the incline was. Such fun! I normally like to avoid riding after dark for several reasons – drunk riders, potential mechanical trouble in the dark and dropping temps. But it’s so much fun in a creepy, exhilarating kind of way. My GoPro chip was full, but I don’t know how well it would have captured it anyway.

To end the day, we exited the trail at The Keg, which was busy and we again took the sleds back to the motel, planning again to walk over for dinner. We walked over at 9pm and thought we had plenty of time as their hours were posted in the window, closing at 10pm.  However, when we walked in, you could almost hear the needle scratch on the record as everyone turned to stare at us, and the bartender grumpily offered us last call. We did not even ask about their hours, just turned and walked out.

So now, nowhere else to go for dinner without dragging the trailer with us, so we walked down the EZ Mart on the corner and yes, decided on a dinner of frozen Tostino pizza rolls.  LOL  Not the first time we’ve had a crappy experience up north and probably won’t be the last!

Unfortunately, our night was about to get worse as we then had to endure the lung capacity of some drunk asshole in the room next door who unsuccessfully tried to get a party started around 1am with every returning snowmobiler. Things would quiet down, then start back up again for the next several hours. Finally we cranked the fan on high speed from the wall air conditioner and were able to block the dipshit out until morning.

Thursday

Coffee from our new friends at the EZ Mart. Really nowhere to ride for breakfast so we gulped down our hot coffee as fast as we could to get moving on our last day. Really good coffee, by the way!  And if you like flavored creamer, you’d be in heaven – at least six different flavors. Mmmm, pumpkin spice!

Not quite sure what my phone did here but it turned out interesting.  This is Bill fixing my snow flap that had popped a rivet. I may have done it backing over his foot, and the studs caught the flap. We were about to ride back to the motel to get the zip ties that came with my helmet cord, but I remembered I had my old tether switch cord that had come with the sled – it was an old, worn thin rope. Bill had bought me a new one, and suggested tossing the old one in the trunk as a spare. Smart move! Should probably still pack some zip ties for the next trip.

Though today was our last day, our plan was to ride north on trail 7 past Gaylord and find the webcam we’ve been watching from home.  I’d Googled it the day before and learned that it is 3 miles north of Gaylord on trail 7. We were off!

We stopped at the entrance of Otsego Lake State Park for a picture. Next time I’ll remember to look at the right spot on my phone.

We met up with the groomer on the way!  We rode up the side of the embankment a bit to get out of his way, waving as he passed by.

In downtown Gaylord, we found a Subway which is literally trailside. Just to the right of our sleds in this pic is the trail.  However, it is on the north side of Main St. so you have to cross 4 lanes of traffic.  There are yellow posts in the street indicating the trail crossing but traffic really does not seem to care if there is a line of sleds waiting to cross, so be careful!

I had to laugh – this is probably the 3rd or 4th “Subway Parking Lot Picnic” we have had since the beginning of the pandemic.  On several bike trips, we’ve sat on curbs and eaten lunch before continuing on the ride.

A few more miles and we found the webcam.  Bill recognized one of the houses from watching the webcam and we pulled over and waved at the folks watching us. Note: the microphone is very sensitive!  Anything you say can be heard by anyone watching the live feed. Bill heard an entire one-sided phone conversation here before we left.  Haha.

Now we’re home and dying for our next trip! We’ll again be watching the weather and we’re also on the lookout for a new trailer as our new sleds don’t quite fit. My McGuyver husband had to work his magic, but it’s temporary. We cannot WAIT to get back out. Thanks for coming along with us for the recap.

Mo Mo Nah Chee Chee Nah!