I enjoyed watching the video of the weekend. It triggers memories of the bridges, washouts and the view of Moosehead Lake. Has anyone had any thoughts about another weekend in Maine or Quebec? I have Monday Feb 20th off and would be interested in a couple of days riding somewhere cool.
Anyone have any ideas? I got a truck, a trailer, a sled and the itch to head north.
3 WPR riders went to the basement breakfast site to decide the final days ride. We had some good conversations with a Backcountry rider there with his two boys. We were soliciting riding information from anyone who would talk to us. Where's the spot to ride? Where do you want to go? We never really decided. #10 and #2 basically asked where I wanted to go. Knowing the names of about 3 towns in the area, I spit out: How about Greenville? yeah thats the ticket.
We topped off the oil in our sleds, well two of us did. And we were ready for some riding. There was a little mist for the first few miles, but mist would not be a problem after that. My two riding partners nominated me for the lead for the day. #2 stated that he has lead too often, lately. So we headed down ITS 88 straight through to Rockwood, somewhere around 40 miles. I wanted a Gatorade. Hydration, along with nutrition, is the key to longevity on the trails. Knowing from the previous day's feeding in Rockwood that the lake was safe, we blasted across the lake past the giant cliffs and over towards the golf course. We went up the big hill from last year that has the view of the lake (see the picture of #7). We messed around up there for a short stint and headed what would amount to a 2/3rds trip around the lake. The green trails were pretty good on the northeast side of the lake. There were some roots and dirty snow showing, but the diverse terrain really made this part of the trip exciting. Twisty, turny, upsy, downzy trails all the way to the tiny town of Kokadjo. #2 spoke up and said he wanted to check out the Trading Post. We all bought cool T-Shirts there. How can you not purchase something that says Kokadjo on it?
Next, we headed south down 85/86 to the southernmost point of the lake for lunch in Greenville. We followed signs that really did not help us. We could not remember the name of the restaurant we were looking for. Finally we found our way to Kelly's Landing for lunch. Having not checked our phones or watches in a long time we realized that time was going to be a factor on our return for the AFC Championship game. Yeah!-GO PATS! It was 2:30 and we had not ordered food yet, we still needed to stop for gas as well as figure a plan to get home. #10 won the lunch competition with a Lobster Roll that made me jealous. #2 always gets the Onion Soup. I had a chicken sandwich. I quote the great Jim Morrison when I say, "I eat more chicken any man ever seen". I had it at just about every lunch and dinner for 3 days. Hydration causes stops on the trail, so I only drank 2/3rds of my lemonade with lunch.
We thought we had 60 miles to go to get back. We would ultimately figure out the distance is 75 miles. We took the westerly route down ITS 86 at a NASCAR pace only stopping so I could put my glasses on. Late afternoon dusk plays tricks on my eyes. We would take a local green trail over to ITS 87 toward the Forks still ripping over hills, leaning on corners, a bit fatigued but pushing on nonetheless.I never thought for one second that we would miss kickoff, while not forgetting why we were here: to ride the awesome northeast trail system around Moosehead. By now it is completely dark. Still, the stops to see which way to go at the intersections were efficiently quick. Which way? Ok? We were off just like Indy Car pit stop.
We crossed route 201 a few times while taking the last leg of the tour up ITS 89 to Jackman. The boys were up to the task all the way. There is no quit in this group. The finality of it was a bit depressing, only because of the tremendous adventure we had completed in the 3 days of riding.
We pulled into the parking lot at 6:30pm, a full 10 minutes prior to kickoff. The Pats won the AFC Championship, but we were the real champions with over 400 miles on the trails of Jackman, Rockwood, Kokadjo, Greenville, The Forks and East Moxie. Great time, Gentlemen, thank you very much.
#7
-- Edited by Caboose on Wednesday 25th of January 2017 11:00:28 AM
Saturday morning with #2, #7 and #10 full to the gills with Bishops continental breakfast, we boarded our sleds and headed east towards Moosehead Lake. We took the big trail ITS 88 (mind you Im going from memory). There were some issues with mist freezing on our windshields. Cant see, wipe, wipe again, can see ok.repeat. We all switched sleds early and got to experience the exact same chassis but 3 very distinct power plants. All 3 had their subtle differences and adjustments discussed, pros and cons, whatever. We talked for a while about it, knowing it was early in the trip and we still had 2 full days of riding ahead.
We found green trail 66, this was great. There were mountains, twists, turns and really good riding. This cool haul brought us to the town of Rockwood for some lunch. Not many miles under our belts. We ran into an older crowd who knew the area well. They stated that the lake was safe for crossing. They also told us a lot about the area. Good crowd, talkative and friendly to the WPR gang of 3. We gassed up and headed over to the lake for the view and some pictures. Next we went south and west down ITS 88 to ITS 86 past Lake Moxie and toward the Forks region. This is where we started logging some miles. #10 was a great leader pulling a very fast pace (sound familiar?). This was some truly great riding with a few bumps getting the arms, shoulders and legs a good workout. We started toward Eustis, but just banged around the hills on 86/87 and 86/89 for a while. The mist returned and became a visibility problem, at least for me.
Feeling good we made our way up to Lake Parlin for some chow and something cold and frothy. After dinner, with full bellies we headed home. Not really in the mood for more bumps, we were lucky enough to find some perfectly groomed trails for the 18 mile jaunt back to our weekend retreat. #10 was the star of the day leading us to 150 miles and back to the familiar Bishops Motel.
We did some good riding and all were tired. We all seemed to scratch our heads in disbelief, thinking that we only did 150 miles? It just seemed like we did more. A couple of beers and the lights went out. One day of riding left.
-- Edited by Caboose on Wednesday 25th of January 2017 09:13:12 AM
Ride Report: Friday: we headed south to decent condition and made it 5 miles. I forgot my registration, back to the truck. 2 & 7 are off again. Riding with a studded track has made a big difference, most notably while hitting it hard on the bumps up Colburn Mountain at 3600 feet. We rode through the familiar early evening dusk through the power lines to the lake. We lined up the 900 and 600 for an informal drag race. Both sleds were up equally up to the task. Dinner and back to Bishops on freshly groomed trails. About 80 miles. Big Saturday ahead. 10 made a late arrival Friday night. More reports to come.
#2 and #7 have a Friday morning departure for Jackman. There is still time to rearrange schedules and join us.
Contact us if interested.
Jackman Maine Trail Reports
All our trail system is in good shape. The trails are flat and have enough snow that everyone is happy. Another couple inches of new snow forcasted for tonight. Call 207-668-3231 now to make your reservations , We fill up fast!
Mid week special (Sunday-Monday-Tuesday&Wednesday) $40.00 per person per night based on double occupancy. (Excludes holidays and School Vacations) Must stay two consecutive nights.
GO TO OUR HOME PAGE bishopsmotel.com AND CLICK ON OUR LIVE WEB CAMERA TO SEE CURRENT CONDITIONS.
We are conveniently located across the street from the Citgo gas station and walking distance to restaurants and night spots. New flat screen tv's and expanded free continental breakfast!!
Last updated 01-17-2017 8:09PM Over all Good conditions !
NORTH TO CANADA: Open and good condition!
CLUB TRAIL: Open and very good condtion!
PITTSTON FARM: Open and good condition!
SOUTH TO PARLIN POND : Groomed and in good condition!
Rockwood: Open and in good condition.
Stay with us, ample parking-safe and convenient to all town restaurants, gas stations and knowledgable friendly staff. Snowmobiling is all we do in the winter- we have maps, mileage charts and all your snowmobiling lodging needs.
#7
-- Edited by Caboose on Wednesday 18th of January 2017 08:23:42 AM
