February 2010

[ashriverguy]

Wow, February already.

I made it back from the Keweenaw and John Dee's Ride In last night.  The weekend was a lot of fun - maybe too much - and Ryan and I had no breakdowns or collisions to weigh us down.  I did have to tow our guide in on Saturday because his driven clutch exploded on him, but it was far enough in the day that we still had fun.  Otherwise, we put on roughly 350 miles and saw some very cool terrains, lakes, a wolf, a lot of deer, a grouse, and a car in the ditch upside down.

I also want to thank everyone who participated in the donation buckets, either online or in the lodge, I was able to hand John Dee $293 towards the event on behalf of all of you!  I don't know what our trips raised at the silent auction, but I think its safe to say that we did our part and the kid and family are at least closer to their dream.

From what I heard the weekend had some good riding.  The trails looked pretty good from the road as I got closer to home.  I did hear quite a bit of complaining about the Arrowhead as it took them a while to clear and groom that thing.

Deb had to shoot out of town down to Chicago on thursday too.  Her Dad was not doing well and so she made the emergency trip.  She's still down there and Grandpa is on a little roller coaster right now, so her return is unknown at this point.

Meanwhile, now that I'm back, I can help fill the gap.  Although, Steve did freeze up a cabin and break a furnace while I was gone, so I have to attend to that.  The EXT also developed a problem over the weekend, so I have to see if I can fix that.

The webcams also require attention.  The one on the river is taking great shots of the snow from a week ago and the snowmeter has some frost issues.  Bear with me, I'll try to remedy these as I can.

Tucker is still battling with his leg and he gets to go to the vet tomorrow for a shot in the joints to see if we can get him spinning on all 4 wheels again.

So, with Deb being gone and a long list of fun stuff around here, I can't see any openings for me to get out and ride.  But, things can change in a hurry around here - for worse or better.  I'll be sure to pass anything I hear on to ya'll!

[ashriverguy]

Tough day today.  Main story is Tucker, lesser story is what I did, and what I know even less about is the trails.

Tucker woke me up at 3:30am this morning whining.  Pet him and let him out.  He paced constantly and finally got out of bed at 5:30am.  Early for me, not for many of you.

I made a great big pot of chili starting about 6:40am.  Took me until about 9:30am to complete.  Little slower than Deb, but got her done.  She's still in Chicago taking care of grandpa.

Tucker had a vet appointment at 11:30.  Dropped him off an ran my errands for a couple hours.

Returned to the vet and both Docs were inspecting the xrays.  Tucker has bad news.  He's a hurtin' pup.  His bones are all deteriorated in the rear end.  Spirits are still good, but the 4th wheel doesn't work so good.

Turns out that Tucker has some pretty bad prognosis.  Docs want to take the leg off.  Even if the joint shots work, the bone is so brittle that if he starts using it, breaking a bone is a major concern.  But, even if we take the leg off, the other one is not in the best of shape and an indeterminable amount of time before that starts acting up too.

After doing my errands and waiting for the vet all day (left town at 4pm), and basically hearing my dog is on the downhill; kinda killed my spirits.  Not to mention my froze up cabins (actually Steve's); managed to thaw that out by 7pm for guests.

But, poor Tucker.  I'm not sure if I want this shot of cortisone equivalent will work or not.  If it does, Tuck will break a leg if he starts using it again.  If it doesn't, I will more than likely be putting him down sooner than later cause we will amputate and then the other leg/hip will take the brunt of duty and not last very long.

Sled is parked and so is the dog and myself for the weekend with Ms. Deb gone taking care of Grandpa.  I do have plenty of trail rats out there for updates, which I will have to rely, and ya'll will have to settle with.

[ashriverguy]

From the park today:

Experience Your America
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American
people so that all may experience our heritage.
Voyageurs National Park News Release
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                                                   



February 4, 2010
For Immediate Release
Park Headquarters (218) 283~6600

VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK WINTER ICE AND TRAIL CONDITIONS REPORT

Some of the best snowmobiling of the winter season is now occurring in
Voyageurs National Park and the surrounding community.  All snowmobile
trails in the park will be open and in good condition this weekend.  Park
crews and area snowmobile clubs have cleared brush and windfall from a
recent storm and have groomed all overland safety portages.  The Chain of
Lakes Trail on the Kabetogama Peninsula is the only trail in the park that
is in fair condition with numerous riding surface moguls.  The Rainy Lake
Ice Road is open from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center and now circumvents
Dryweed Island on to the entrance of Dove Bay.  If lake ice conditions
permit next week, an attempt will be made to extend the ice road into the
back channel area toward Diamond Island.

In order to conduct trail maintenance and moose research activity next
week, park staff will be temporarily closing the Chain of Lakes snowmobile
trail and the overland portages of the Ash River to Kettle Falls snowmobile
trail.  These trails will reopen NO LATER THAN the morning of Friday,
February 12 to ensure use during the Presidents Day holiday weekend.  An
additional News Release will be issued next week if trail closures are
lifted before February 12.

Please remember that the snowmobile speed limit within Voyageurs National
Park is 45 mph on frozen lake surfaces and 25 mph on all overland portages.
Speed limit signs are posted at trailheads and overland portages.  Weekly
winter trail conditions reports are available on our website at
www.nps.gov/voya.

Snowmobile Trails
International Falls to Kettle Falls (Purple Trail) – Open & Staked
Black Bay to Kabetogama Lake to Ash River – Open, Staked & Groomed
Ash River to Crane Lake (Green Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed
Chain of Lakes (Dashed Black Trail) – Open & Staked
Ash River to Kettle Falls (Yellow Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed
East Namakan Lake to Sand Point Lake (Blue Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed

Rainy Lake Ice Road – OPEN (from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center boat access)

Ski Trails
Echo Bay Ski Trail – Open, Packed, & Tracked
Black Bay Ski Trail – Open, Packed & Tracked
Tilson Connector Trail – Open, Packed & Tracked
KabAsh Trail – Open

Snowshoe Trails
Blind Ash Bay Trail – Open
Sullivan Bay Trail – Open
Oberholtzer Trail – Open
                                 REMEMBER
                     “STAKED TRAILS MAKE SAFETY SENSE”
                         ORANGE IDENTIFIES HAZARD

[ashriverguy]

Everyone that has been here since Wednesday is reporting good trails.  Temps today look to be outstanding for sledding.  22*F right now.

Perhaps a little shot of snow heading our way.  Will be interesting to see how that pans out.

I'm thankful that there is no scavenger hunt today.  Yesterday was quite interesting with all the dead, dirty, and obscure stuff they brought in from the trails......

Deb remains in Chicago and looks to stay there thru the weekend.  Tucker is doing better slightly.  Still holding the leg, but not whining as much.  Hopefully the shot lasts.

[ashriverguy]

Trails were reportedly good to great over the weekend.  The only complaint was the trail south out of Crane towards the Arrowhead.

Lots and lots of folks running around this weekend, but everyone was pretty impressed with how the trails held up.

We got about 1/2" of snow yesterday and overnight.  Looks like the big totals are south of us.

Still have some availability this upcoming weekend.  If you need to get away and have some fun, shoot us a call and we'll see what we can do!

The EXT is sick and out of my hands now somewhere around Hibbing getting fixed.  The XF is ready to go, but not going anywhere either.

Deb is still out of town, grandpa doing ok, she's planning on coming home tomorrow, but that is tentative.

Tucker is doing better, but still not out of the woods either.

Wish I had more news, but I basically spent my weekend in front of the fryer making cheesburgers and fries all weekend.

[ashriverguy]

Quite a few folks running around yesterday.  All reporting good to great trails.

Temps looks good for a while and maybe a couple clippers heading our way to add a little fresh stuff.

One of these days I'll get to ride again up here, going into the weekend doesn't look promising for any time off, maybe next week 

[ashriverguy]

Just a handful of sleds running around yesterday, but all saying trails were in good to great shape still.

This has been about the quietest winter weatherwise.  Two storms spread out a month apart and south of us has just been pounded with snow.  I'm glad someone is getting snow.  I just wish we could get something in the weather pattern just so I had something to talk about and look forward to in the forecast.

Temp was -10*F earlier and still -6.2*F right now.

Another sunny day to ride but it looks like I'll be heading north to I-falls again to see what the vet has to say about Tucker's leg.

[ashriverguy]

From the park:

Experience Your America
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American
people so that all may experience our heritage.
Voyageurs National Park News Release
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                                                   



February 11, 2010
For Immediate Release
Park Headquarters (218) 283~6600

VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK WINTER ICE AND TRAIL CONDITIONS REPORT

Some of the best snowmobiling of the winter season is now occurring in
Voyageurs National Park and the surrounding community.  All snowmobile
trails in the park will be open and in good condition this weekend.  The
Chain of Lakes Trail on the Kabetogama Peninsula is the only trail in the
park that is in fair condition with numerous riding surface moguls.  The
Rainy Lake Ice Road is open from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center and now
circumvents Dryweed Island on to the entrance of Diamond Island.

Please remember that the snowmobile speed limit within Voyageurs National
Park is 45 mph on frozen lake surfaces and 25 mph on all overland portages.
Speed limit signs are posted at trailheads and overland portages.  Weekly
winter trail conditions reports are available on our website at
www.nps.gov/voya.

Snowmobile Trails
International Falls to Kettle Falls (Purple Trail) – Open & Staked
Black Bay to Kabetogama Lake to Ash River – Open, Staked & Groomed
Ash River to Crane Lake (Green Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed
Chain of Lakes (Dashed Black Trail) – Open & Staked
Ash River to Kettle Falls (Yellow Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed
East Namakan Lake to Sand Point Lake (Blue Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed

Rainy Lake Ice Road – OPEN (from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center boat access)

Ski Trails
Echo Bay Ski Trail – Open, Packed, & Tracked
Black Bay Ski Trail – Open, Packed & Tracked
Tilson Connector Trail – Open, Packed & Tracked
KabAsh Trail – Open

Snowshoe Trails
Blind Ash Bay Trail – Open
Sullivan Bay Trail – Open
Oberholtzer Trail – Open
                                 REMEMBER
                     “STAKED TRAILS MAKE SAFETY SENSE”
                         ORANGE IDENTIFIES HAZARD

[ashriverguy]

A little drought in the updates lately, but other than the having fun department, I don't have much to really talk about.  The weekend was nothing short of a great time with lots of great people.

Friday night did allow me to take a run up the lake.  The stars were awesome when you stopped and shut the sleds off.  And I did manage to get out for a ride on Saturday afternoon.  Ran up the lake to Kecs, hopped on the land trail and took that to Lu's.  For Saturday afternoon, trails were in pretty good shape.  Some corners were icy, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised.

Not sure how/when the blow up doll got to know the snow meter, but it happened.  I guess I'll have to rope that off next year.  Fortunately they didn't tromp down the snow too bad, but it has been tampered with, we'll worry about it when we get some snow.

Speaking of snow, we got about 1/2"-3/4" of the stuff yesterday.  Nice little blanket, nothing major, but its kinda bonus snow as nothing was really forecasted.

Looks like we're in another boring pattern of weather for a while.  Actually, riding temps look fine, just wish we could trick a little clipper in our direction for a little fresh.  I did quiz folks over the weekend and most were more than satisfied with conditions.  The trail south out of Crane got beat up a bit and was the only complaint I think I heard.  Consensus is that the entire northwoods needs some snow, maybe Obama can spend some money/create some jobs and truck some from TX and DC up this way.

[ashriverguy]

Got a chance to cruise around finally today by myself.  Had some signs we had made back in December that needed to be put up in the woods so people could have an easier time finding us.  So, I cruised around on my normal loop up the Morgan, south the 'head, to the link and up to the Crane-ash, north to Ash.

Didn't get out of here until about 4:30, so I was running out of daylight and didn't stop alot, except at the intersections.

- The cedar swamp on the morgan
- the straighaway on the morgan
- arrowhead looking north at the morgan
- back east on the morgan
- south on the head
- slightly more north looking south to cover the work i did
- about 4 miles south of the county 129 in a sunny spot
- looking back north at the same spot
- can't remember, but on the arrowhead
- remember now, had to put the gauntlets on, just a random spot
- a rough hill, there were a few of these, but not terrible
- looking north at the link/arrowhead
- the link, turned out not to be recently groomed but not bad
- south to elephant looked a little beat up
- same intersection
- link/arrowhead looking north, with signage finally
- just our sign
- dark at the the half way point of crane/ash

Pretty decent running, some icy corners, but overall, still really good.  Nothing had been groomed since the weekend, so that should tell you something that I made it in two hours putting up signs and all.

[ashriverguy]

Another ho-hum update.  Good news is that there isn't any bad news in the trails or weather department.  The bad news is there really isn't anything to talk about.

Quite a few riders out yesterday for a Wednesday.  Everyone is reporting happy trails and good conditions.  Just about everyone saw a groomer running somewheres or another.

Tucker is doing very well on his new pills.  He's on Prednisolone and responding well.  I'm starting to taper him off the initial dosage, so we'll see how it goes once we get to the target dosing.  After Rimadyl didn't work and the shots not working either, its good to see something in the good news column.

Ty continues to be a little pest and torment Tucker every chance he can.

Yesterday it was -10*F when I got up and rose to 33*F above by noon.
This morning it was -7*F an hour ago and already up to 22.5*F above.
Goofy, goofy weather, lots of popping and banging in the various structures around here.

Deb brought back a bug from Chicago and it finally made its way around to me.  I'm not happy about this, I rarely get sick.  Hopefully I can kill it quick before the weekend starts.   

[ashriverguy]

From the park this afternoon:

Voyageurs National Park News Release
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                                                   


February 18, 2010
For Immediate Release
Park Headquarters (218) 283~6600

VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK
WINTER ICE AND TRAIL CONDITIONS REPORT

Some of the best snowmobiling of the winter season is now occurring in
Voyageurs National Park and the surrounding community.  All snowmobile
trails in the park are open and in excellent condition.  The Chain of Lakes
Trail on the Kabetogama Peninsula is the only trail in the park that is in
fair condition.  The Rainy Lake Ice Road is open from the Rainy Lake
Visitor Center and circumvents Dryweed Island on to the entrance of Diamond
Island.

Please remember that the snowmobile speed limit within Voyageurs National
Park is 45 mph on frozen lake surfaces and 25 mph on all overland portages.
Speed limit signs are posted at trailheads and overland portages.  Weekly
winter trail conditions reports are available on our website at
www.nps.gov/voya.

Snowmobile Trails
International Falls to Kettle Falls (Purple Trail) – Open & Staked
Black Bay to Kabetogama Lake to Ash River – Open, Staked & Groomed
Ash River to Crane Lake (Green Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed
Chain of Lakes (Dashed Black Trail) – Open & Staked
Ash River to Kettle Falls (Yellow Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed
East Namakan Lake to Sand Point Lake (Blue Trail) – Open, Staked & Groomed

Rainy Lake Ice Road – OPEN (from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center boat access)

Ski Trails
Echo Bay Ski Trail – Open, Packed, & Tracked
Black Bay Ski Trail – Open, Packed & Tracked
Tilson Connector Trail – Open, Packed & Tracked
KabAsh Trail – Open

Snowshoe Trails
Blind Ash Bay Trail – Open
Sullivan Bay Trail – Open
Oberholtzer Trail – Open
                                 REMEMBER
                     “STAKED TRAILS MAKE SAFETY SENSE”
                         ORANGE IDENTIFIES HAZARD

              Voyageurs National Park – Celebrating 35 years!
                                 1975-2010

[ashriverguy]

It was quite the weekend around here.  Lots of people running around and the trails held up pretty good from what I heard.  Only complaints were the Kettle falls trail and the trail south out of Crane by saturday.

The Karaoke machine continues to be evil and really is dangerously close to being whacked with a heavy maul.

Got a chance to put a face to another member here, clm, which is always nice, hopefully winter sticks around for a few more weeks and I get to meet some more of ya'll!

My cold continues to linger a little bit, I don't think the evil machine helped at all.  I was a squeeky talker with no voice by Saturday and couldn't help but laugh at myself.

We actually got Steve to head out of the lodge here yesterday afternoon.  He went fishing with the boys over to Lake of the Woods and will come back Wednesday night.  So, my chances of getting a ride are pretty slim being a man down around here, but Deb and I are sure glad he's out having a little fun.  Hopefully he brings back some fishies for us to consume and enjoy!

Another anomaly occurred yesterday afternoon as well; clouds.  A sort of white, whisk like thing floating in the skies above.  Haven't had anything but bluebird days forever, these clouds were kind of a treat.  Then another funny thing happened.  These aforementioned clouds took over the sky and these little white specks started falling to the ground.  They seem to be called snowflakes according to reputable meteorologists.  Nothing but a dusting so far, but they might fall long enough for at least the possibility of becoming what the experts call 'accumulation'.

I did have to rob the rivercam on friday.  Steves' 'puter crapped out and I needed to get something going ASAP for him.  Sorry, I may be able to get something going here by tomorrow or Wednesday, but no promises.

That about wraps it up for me, but it was good to have a least a little something to talk about!

[ashriverguy]

Little bit of snow overnight and still falling right now.  Maybe, say, 1/2" so far.  We'll take it.

Groomer ran thru the lot last night.

Nothing but good trails is all I'm hearing about!

[ashriverguy]

Another bright sunny day here in the northwoods.  One noticeable difference is the temperature.  Little chillier than the last 20 sunny days we've had.

From the guys riding around early in the week, the unanimous opinion is that from somewhere north of cook north to Ifalls and west is all still in really good shape.  Closer to cook and south is producing bare spots and icy corners.  They did say in between the rougher spots was still good.  That being said, both groups made it into and around Cook just fine, they simply noted that the different conditions were noticed.

I had -17*F this morning and we're at 7.3*F above right now.  The weekend looks to have some great riding temps in the mid twenties.

Snow producing weather events still seem to be out of grasp for us in the forecast.