Page 32 - TheJanuarySnomad

We headed out and trail 7 and 8 to Shingleton were excellent. As we head-
ed north on trail 8 from Shingleton I could see the Groomer had been over
it. That lasted for about a mile as you could tell the drag was not operating
properly as it was still rough. About a ½ mile later you could see where the
groomer turned off as the next 5 miles were rough.

My group went to where trail 8 splits to go to Grand Marias east or the
Bear Trap west where Seney takes over and stopped for a well-earned rest.
Just as I pulled in Russ’s group of 8-10 was heading out having taken a
break at the same spot. As the rest of my group came up, Bill Plewa asked
that I stop more. Dave Gabriel and the off-trail group passed by coming
from the west trail from the Bear Trap playing just off the trail in the pow-
der.

After a good rest our group started headed east toward Grand Marias with
much better trails. About 2 miles down we came to a 1-mile section that
had been plowed for logging but was still in good condition. We had great
trails until we got to the stop sign where trail 8 meets trail 43/88 toward
Seney. Four of us waited at the stop sign when Paul Reed came up and said
Lenny hit a tree. The group turned around and went about a mile back to
find the rest of our group on the side of the trail.
Trail 8 is an old railroad grade, and several years ago a detour was put in
for logging and left in. Well, it seemed Lenny didn’t quite turn enough right
and caught a tree with the front bumper. Yep, Shakedown ride. He said he
was ok, and the sled wasn’t hurt bad either. Paul and I went to turn around
and both got stuck. Once
we were out, we contin-
ued east toward Grand
Marias on trail 8.

Just before Kingston
Plains Jeff Obear put his
kick stand out and put his
sled on its side in slow
motion on a right turn.
Yep… Shakedown ride.

January 2020 The Snomad Page 32