Well today did not quite go as planned. Got to the train a little late because the very nice woman from the hotel directed us to the station and not the railyard, which is where we needed to go to load the sleds. So we ended up with a 6 pack of Tim Horton's doughnuts and a coffee for breakfast, but we made it and off we went. Of greater importance, we did not have time to put gas in the sleds before loading them up. Should have done that last night but we were excited and didn't so....
Train was cool and very scenic - but it was a long ride. We met a nice couple from New York who were also on the train, doing a short two day trip from Hawk Junction back to the Soo. We ended up getting to Hawk at 3:30, not 2 like we were supposed to. Given the fuel situation and the late arrival, I decided we should head to Wawa and not try to push to Hornepayne. So we are already behind schedule on the trip.
We rode over with the couple from New York, which was nice, because we all sort of helped each other get situated and find our way. There was no marked trail from the station so we had to wing it and just follow some tracks. We found our way but it took a little while and was a bit confusing. Hope it is not like that the whole time. On the way over Ellen (I think that is her name anyway) missed a corner and crashed in to a tree on a big hill. No damage but scared her a little. As Brian pulled the sled out it got away from him and came down the hill unmanned, but Craig drove up there and stopped it. Pretty funny site as we see the sled coming down the hill with nobody on it, and Ellen and Brian standing on the top of the hill watching it.
After that we found the trail and headed toward Wawa. We were on the throttle pretty hard coming across a lake with a lot of deep powder, and when we got to the other side I could smell something burning. I looked back and my backpack, which I had tied to my saddlebags because it was really heavy, was smoking. It had fallen in front of the rear exhaust and was literally smoldering. Not good, and I lost some very valuable stuff so I am not happy right now. I lost a very nice Yamaha Fleece Jacket, which i had used to wrap my.......BRAND NEW HP MINI COMPUTER. It is toast ladies and gentlemen - burned at the stake. Surely that will take a toll on my ability to Blog and post pics, so I am sorry about that. Also lost a bunch of paperwork, maps, and the backpack itself. I have pics I will post one day for all to see, but this computer here at the motor in does not have a card reader and is pretty old. Maybe at one of our future stops the setup will be better.
So, in a nutshell we are behind schedule and have already incurred a several hundred dollar catastrophe. But we are safe and tomorrow is another day. Life goes on, and so will we.Tomorrow we need to get an early start and we will make up as much ground as possible. In a perfect world we will get back on schedule, which will require a several hundred mile day. Based on today I am not overly optimistic.
All I've had today is a few doughnuts, so I am going to have something to eat....and drink. Ciao for now.
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