Had an awesome family move in today from England.  They had never been on snowshoes or snowmachine before so their experience was rich to say the least.  We went for a hike up to Thunder Brook Falls and had a boill-up.  Little Charolette of 7 years did ver well!  Got some great shots as the day was clear and cool.  They will be posted under CHALETS in the gallery later today.  The next day we went for a snowmobile ride using two machines and sleds up to the Badger Chute for a boil-up.  Another beautiful day…as always in Central!  The two days far exceeded their expectations so I can’t wait to see their expression when we go into the camp for the night this afternoon.  They are going to love it!

Had a group of 10 men in for the weekend for the double whammy…we did the Gaff Topsails run on Saturday and Hodges run on Sunday.  The temp was well below zero so there was plenty powder around to keep machines cool.  Had to stop once after a stretch without powder.  Among the group were two muscians who kept us all entertained for the weekend, both at the chalets and the camp.  They were awesome!  Between the guitar, fiddle, mandolin, voice and a banjo they put off a great duo show.  I even got out my drums for a beat.  What a weekend!  I am headed to Thruway today to purchase a new Shadow 750 from the empties of Coors Lite and Lambs bottles they left!  ha ha!  See you this summer on the river guys and bring the instruments!

Had another awesome day up to the camp.  Took the Smith group from the Avalon in today.  Very cold today…about minus 20.  Lots of snow in Central still so if you are looking to squeeze another couple days riding in this is the place to go.  We should be good until into April unless we get a major mild.  The snow is quite hard so riding two up may cause some slide overheating but it wasn’t much of a problem today.  Went to the top of Hodges for a quick look but did’t stay too long as it was very cold up there.  A big pot of chili was on the menu for today and it hit the spot at the camp.  We all had a great time!  Can’t wait to take in the next group.  The Smith group booked in from Wed – Thursday but staryed all weekend too.  Before they left they booked in for rafting too.  See this summer guys!

Paul

We lost a LOT of snow about a week ago but we still have lots left.  The lakes and ponds still have 2.5 feet of good ice so that should last a while too.  My main concern was losing the brooks and cutting off access to the backcountry.  Although we have had a major flooding of the backcountry, it is now all frozen and good to go.  Got to be careful with two-stroke liquid cooled machines though.  So for those of you booked in for thye rest of March…it ain’t over yet so bring your sleds along!  We just had a tour with the Orielly clan on Sat and the going was excellent!  Not much around in for powder but as the day went on the snow softened up a little.  We had another group of 6 jump on board last minute amongst whom were 3 small engine mechanics.  Good thing to because we had a few technical probblems with machines and they kept us going!  Went to the top of Hodges but the view was limited because we were up in the clouds.  Headed to the camp and had a great lunch of chili, cheeze, buns and cookies before heading back out to the chalets.  Wendy Orielly made a cake for the occasion of which I posted a picture under chalets on the website along with the other pics of the day.  I would like this to become a tradition of staying here, especailly if I get some….Wendys cake was awesome (for those of you who don’t know me yet, I have a sweet tooth!).  We have a busy week coming up with tours on Wed, Thurs, Frid, Sat and Sunday so you can expect a few posts.  Talk soon!

Paul

Had an awesome trip to the Gaff today with the Jenkins group.  There was no wind early this morning, it was warm and the sky was clear and blue so we had good expectations for a Gaff crossing.  We left at 10am and traveled the “groomed trail” to Rocky Brook Camps on Badger Lake where we met up with Leo.  From there we headed cross country though PowderHorn Lake, Dawes Pond and onto South Brook.  Instead of heading to the Gaff via Little Sandy Pond we turned South and traveled up South Brook for about 18 KM.  The ride was very nice as we broke the trail up the brook.  It was not long before we saw caribou on the brook…four of them.  Within 200 meters up stream from the caribou a moose struggled up the steep bank.  He was far deeper than his belly.  We gave him lots of space so he wouldn’t feel too pressured to get over the embankment….we had lots of time to observe him.  By the time we stopped for lunch (after gaining significant altitude) it became blustery and we decided the going was much better on the fringes of the Gaff.  We continued up South Brook until we found an passage to the open country to the East.  From there we picked our way to a logging road that lead to little Joe Glodes Pond.  Very nice going with lots of snow up here!  We saw several Ptarmigan which I got within 5 feet of for pictures.  I posted them and the caribou under chalets on the website.  Lot of machines on the groomed trail on the way back to the Chalets.  Helped a group from St. Johns get a snowmachine out of the ditch.  He was stuck pretty good and head-on into a tree.  Not too difficult for my widetrack Expedition though.  I just backed through the powder, tied on to the machine and hauled it to the trail.  Ther were pretty impressed with my machine I think!  Looking forward to the next trip.

Distance traveled 135km