Ice Fishing

It was a lovely sunny morning so we loaded up the qamutik and went ice fishing out on the lake. Alas we didn't get so much as a bite but we very much enjoyed a couple of hours in the sun. the dogs really aren't at all sure what is going on and probably think we are mad but they seem happy enough to hang out with us. Blaine said that they are not very helpful when it comes to tying the hooks on the line though.

 

Fun in the Snow

This weekend we had planned to go ice fishing but opted out since the lake was barely visible through the falling snow, it didn't seem like it would be much fun. On Sunday afternoon it started to clear up a little so we grabbed the sleds and went out for a ride. I didn't turn on my GPS tracking app but I am sure you have a good idea by now of where we go.

We rode over to Indian Hill and then took the trail to the barns on the south of Marguerite Lake. However, we were unable to get through as the stream was decidedly liquid. Blaine turned off the trail to turn around but his sled sank in the thigh deep snow so we spent some time extracting it then retraced our route to join the main trail to the north of Marguerite.

Instead of going all the way around to the rest area we elected to take a short cut over the lake. Blaine went ahead first to find a liquid free route. I do not enjoy riding my sled on water. Johnny, Sage and I took a short walk on the lake while Blaine zipped over and back.

  

The dogs were a little confused as to why daddy had left us but they enjoyed playing in the snow.

 

We parked up on the point by the hunting cabin and enjoyed a beer (snugged in Jimmie Johnson stubby coolers) and a packet of crisps.

This is my view on the sled. Johnny stands on the gas tank, Sage sits behind me on the passenger seat.

On the way home Blaine and I rode around the trails near our house so that they were beautifully groomed for my dog walk on Monday.

Thank you Paul!

Today I awoke to another beautiful morning in the Cariboo and I knew I had to get out there and enjoy it. But how? Walking the dogs is lovely, however we are limited to being in the forest which takes away from our enjoyment of the sunshine (of course in the summer I will be craving that shade). The lake is a bit too scary for me to venture out on alone since my last walk took me past way too many open patches,  the only other option for open skies is Indian Hill. However, my skidoo is in the seacan which has snow piled up in front of it that would have to be dug out to get the doors open.

I posted my dilemma in my facebook status. Paul posted "dig out the machine". It took about 20 minutes to get the doors open as the snow was actually ice disguised as snow.

Snow-bound seacan before

and after

I went back inside and dressed Johnny in his jacket and boots, he doesn't wear them so much for the cold as to stop his legs from becoming snow/ice balls. I threw on my camo dungarees, CG jacket and hat, mittens and Sorels then went to start the sled. Fail. It wouldn't start. I fiddled around, tried the choke half and full on and wore myself out with the pull start. At this point I might have given up but Johnny and Sage were beside themselves with excitement, bounding around and running in circles. 

Using my awesome skills I set about checking stuff... Gas, yep; Oil, yep; What else...? spark plugs I guess. Thankfully a skidoo is a simple machine so I was able to identify the plugs, then I went and rummaged in the shop for new plugs and tools. There were several boxes of two types of plugs, one type had RMK written on it so it took the others. After some time I got the correct size wrench thingy and set about removing the old plugs and installing the new ones. I was really quite proud of myself, even more so when my sled started up!

 

The ride over was interesting as there has been a lot of traffic, followed by warm weather, then cold weather. This resulted in frozen ruts and bumps that made the 1800 road ride like a series of rollers in the terrain park. Sage did a great job of balancing on the back seat then hopped off to run once we arrived at the meadow. My machine seemed to struggle with the hill climb, could be my poor driving or maybe the belt needs replacing.

As always it was worth coming, the silence and the view combine to make this a very special place.

The frosty trees looked spectacular against the clear, deep blue sky.

Shredding Sun Peaks with Shalla

Tyee Lake to Big Lake

As promised, on Sunday morning we set out again and after several attempts we found our way... the straight line depicted is not an accurate portrayal of the route, rather I gave up trying to figure it out on Google maps. Thanks to the logging industry there are hundreds of trails all over the place. I have promised to clearly document the route before my parents arrive next summer so that they can safely head over to the pub on our side by side.

Bluebird sled afternoon

Justin, Sage, Johnny and I took my sled to Prairie Chicken Hill this afternoon. It was so very beautiful. We saw a moose cow and took turns driving. Justin is a much more confident driver than me. Hopefully the RMK 600 will be ready in a couple of days and we can take both machines. It was an awesome day :-)

Sledding

Today I rode my skidoo for the first time this winter. It was fun. Blaine was getting the Rhino side by side ready for our family trip to Indian Hill (aka Prairie Chicken Hill), his skidoo is broken so we figured we might as well take the Rhino. While he was removing the snow plow I went for a spin up the drive, then I kept going over the cattle guard and all the way to the 90degree corner, then back again. Johnny rode in front of me, Sage ran alongside - and ahead. Maybe tomorrow I will go out for a skidoo ride with the puppies while Blaine is at work.

Posted with Blogsy

Skidoo therapy with Dr. Kavanaugh

After work last Friday Blaine and I joined our friend John on a skidoo ride. With John revelling in the role of tour guide we travelled North past the end of the Road to Nowhere and then onwards to the spectacular Johnson's Canyon. We then backtracked a ways to to trail to Pangnirtung which we followed for a few miles before heading home. Sunset was well after 8pm and with little wind and mild temperatures (maybe -10c) it was a perfect evening. Of course I didn't take my camera.

After almost three days of non-stop snow the tundra was covered with a soft, thick blanket of snow. My skidooing experience thus far has been limited to travelling on ice and barely covered rocks. This new surface took some getting used to as my machine seemed to float at times, and get bogged down at others. I was happy enough pottering along feeling out my confidence on the flats and closely sticking to John's trail on the hills (the boys kindly placed me in the middle of our convoy to keep me safe).

My favourite part of the evening was watching John and Blaine having so much fun riding through deep snow, and up and down steep hills. John's sheer joy was particularly infectious and I found my confidence growing as the boys frolicked on their machines. The journey from our house to Dead Dog Lake was extremely stressful for me as we had to cross several roads and the trails were sometimes steep and narrow. I can't say that I enjoyed retracing the same route on our homeward journey, but I didn't have a meltdown.

Conclusion: Happiness is good for you