Jack and Brian arrived and it was good to see Jack. We had not ridden with Jack for over a year and we had heard he was just recovering from a bad bout with his MS - so it was good to see him up and moving around. I caught up on the news of his two sisters both, of whom I had worked with so that was nice.
We got a call saying that Pat and Wendy were "on their way". That meant that we definitely would NOT be leaving at 10:00 am. Big surprise there!!
We apparently would be doing the Green Lake Trail today so that will be a good ride. That was the same trail John and I did a few weeks ago - the day that I ran over his foot with the Sami!!
We rolled out of the yard at NOON!! Another BIG surprise. Raylene had come along with Pat and Wendy and that would be nice for Casey - someone closer to his age.
The trail was wet, wet and wet. Of course, this was to be expected because of all the recent rains but Brian was finding it a bit much. He wasn't expecting all the water!!
Casey was in the tracker with Hogan and with the radio on, the two of them were managing all the obstacles the trail had to offer. Arnie (of course) was the first to get stuck and needed help to extricate himself from the mud. Once that was done, we continued merrily down the trail.
Once we got to Mystery Hill, John mentioned that it may be getting too late to do the Green Lake Trail and perhaps we should re-think the plan. Not to be deterred by the time, we continued on.
We accessed the Island Lake trail and much to our surprise, the forest was being logged and the trail was virtually gone. We returned to the grid and made our way to the start of the Green Lake Trail. Once again, to our surprise, the trail had been graded (more logging to come). This made the going much quicker and within an hour, we were sitting by the lake enjoying the view and quiet solitude of the forest.
We took a side trail and ended up at the outfitter's cabin that had been built within the last two years. John and I had been here two weeks earlier and the trail had not improved. It was nice to see the tall ferns again though.
Back onto the main trail and all was going well until Brian caught the edge of a huge log and ended up rolling the quad and going over the edge into the ravine that runs along the side of the trail. Fortunately, there were plenty of trees along the trail which prevented the quad from going too far off the trail. We hooked the winch up to the quad and got it back onto the trail. Brian, was a little shocked by the whole ordeal but, being a trooper, got back on the machine and continued on. It was getting late and we still had several miles to go. This trip could easily turn into a night ride. (Arnie was hoping to be home by 8:00pm. Yea Right!!
We eventually got back into the yard at midnight!! It did indeed turn into a night ride. There is something to be said about the beauty of the forest with the headlights of the quads shining on it. The moon was up and peaking through the trees and that alone was worth the late hour.
Pat eventually rode the quad that Raylene was riding as she was getting pretty tired and a bit cold. She jumped into the tracker with Casey and Wendy drove the Rhino.
A quick supper was served (thank heavens that Shelly and I had prepared it yesterday) and it wasn't long before everyone was heading to bed. Twelve hours on the trail can be quite tiring. Wendy was the first into bed but I must say that she had worked a 12 hour night shift before the ride so had just got off shift five hours before the ride started. Now THAT is a trooper!!
Way to go Wendy!!
Fun was had by all and there was no injuries and no damage to any machine. It was a good long ride.
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