Walt Longmire Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 We fire those machines up right in the garage and take off from home. The snow is ass deep. Temps are nice. Days are sunny. I have great riding right here. This afternoon we are planning a ride on the Refuge. We'll load 'em up and haul 'em 10 miles north and unload at Captain Cook State Park. We'll turn inland and ride virgin snow on the Refuge. Maybe even pick up some moose antler sheds. Did a Go Pro video yesterday. Grandson will edit it for me. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&P15T Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 I never rode a snowmachine as much as you do, but when I did, I never remember having a bad day. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 Just got back. I'm whipped. Snow was DEEP. Lots of overflow on the lakes. Rode about 40 miles. Swung by my remote cabins (2) to check on them. All o.k. Saw lots of wolf tracks, moose tracks, hares, and saw where a river otter made an overland journey to another lake. We both got stuck. It sure is easier to stick it when you're tired. Most of our riding was where others seldom go. I took a few pics and Jesse had the go pro running a while. I'll see if I can get up the ambition to get my camera out of my coat pocket and load some pics. Oh, and I found a SOG multi tool in the parking lot where we unloaded the machines. Temps were in the 20's with the exception of one lake we hit I could feel much colder air there. Snow machines love cold dense air and will really sing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 For those that don't know about overflow. If you get stuck in it, you're screwed. It is water that over flows the ice. So in our case the lakes are buried in snow, but underneath is a foot or so of snow next to the ice that is water logged with water that has flowed up over the ice. It happens for various reasons, but usually, as in this case, heavy dense snow puts weight on the ice and pushes it down. Water flows up through cracks and such. The snow that is trapped in your suspension and track becomes water logged too and the machine becomes a LOT heavier. If you get stuck you might end up with the track spinning on wet ice and the heavy overflow preventing forward movement. When you dismount, water goes over your boots. If the temps are dropping, your machine can freeze in quickly. Thankfully with the better, more aggressive tracks we have these days we can usually power through this stuff. A big rooster tail going up behind. It looks scary as hell to the new riders. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 I remember when I took my niece for a snowmachine ride up da UP when she was around twelve. First she was amazed that the streets of Ishpeming had more snow mobile traffic than cars. I borrowed a machine and took her on a mild trail, there are many, many marked and maintained trails in the area, and when we got back, she thought that that was the best thing ever. This is same girl that rode in my Porsches many times. Even thirty years later, she still remembers that ride. NB don't tell her mother. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 1 hour ago, tous said: I remember when I took my niece for a snowmachine ride up da UP when she was around twelve. First she was amazed that the streets of Ishpeming had more snow mobile traffic than cars. I borrowed a machine and took her on a mild trail, there are many, many marked and maintained trails in the area, and when we got back, she thought that that was the best thing ever. This is same girl that rode in my Porsches many times. Even thirty years later, she still remembers that ride. NB don't tell her mother. But there you ride on groomed trails with speed limits, cops, street signs. Here we go wherever we want, as fast as we want. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 The blue cabin is one of my 2 remote cabins. I'm overdue for an overnighter there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 I'm riding the blue Switchback this trip. It has a 144x2 track, Sly Dog Powder Hound skis, and vintage graphics. The red one is my Switchback Dragon. 136x2, Skinz bumper. Frog Skin vents, geared down. Sly Dogs, and more. It's a 700, with an aftermarket exhaust can. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadbart Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Looks like a WHOLE lot of fun! Y'all sure do make the best of each season. Attaboy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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