Monday, February 09, 2009

Snowmobiling 101...

Let me start by saying this may be incredibly boring for some of you. Feel free to skip~! I'll post pix in the next post.

We went snowmobiling this weekend in Maine. The conditions were excellent! We found some new wider trails and were having so much fun on Sat. The weather was beautiful! I think it got close to 40 degrees. No ride is without issues though.

We always stick with the same old local trails that are pretty narrow and windy, and sometimes rocky or muddy. My dh has been studying the maps to figure out how we could connect with the ITS 89 trail. It's like a highway for snowmobiles. It's groomed and wider, well marked, etc. So we were speeding along since the conditions were so nice and then we got lost. The local trail wasn't marked so we drove around and around. We went down some dirt roads and the machines tend to overheat when you're not in snow. So you try to go up the snowbank slightly to get snow under the tracks. I hate that part.

Anyway, we found our way and loved it! The way home was much easier when we realized the mistake. We do have trail maps but, like I said, the trails aren't always marked.

Oh, and I forgot, we were heading around a corner going pretty fast because it was beautiful and we seemed to be the only riders out there. Well, we weren't. My hubby isn't used to being "point man" (the front guy). He saw the oncoming snowmobilers and took the turn too wide and got stuck in the deep snow. The guys quickly pulled him out and we were on our way. Whew!

On Sunday, I went out with the guys (Sat. was us and another couple). The conditions were slightly different than Saturday because it was warm and the snow had turned to what we call mashed potatoes. It's not bad but when you are coming around a corner a little fast, sometimes you get caught up in a pile of mashed potatoes and swerve a little.

They took me to Sebago Lake. It's a huge, beautiful lake which we usually go to during the summer. The trail leading us to the trails that lead to the lake is railroad tracks. We drove for miles around 50-60 miles an hour. It was fun. The little local trails leading to the lake were very windy and bumpy. Oh well, we can now say we made it to Sebago.

I'll try not to be so gabby in my next post with the pix.

2 comments:

Peggy said...

Great pics!!! Looks like you had a great weekend!!

Linda Murphy said...

Hey, I enjoy this entry-not too boring for me. You know, I would definitely try snowmobiling. That sounds more fun than skiing or other winter sports. Plus you get a specky helmet!

Sounds like you had a excellent adventure!