Quadding adventures
Several times a year, campers as well as cottage residents, get together for some adventures in the forest. The reason we say adventure is that no one trip is ever the same; you not only deal with the elements you encounter, but also equipment break downs, which seem to happen more often than not with the younger fellows who are looking for water and mud and muskeg. These could be just minor things, from flat tires to wires getting pulled off, to fenders getting torn and tires coming off the rims, which require a little more effort and perhaps a few shots of ether, to creating a mini explosion which generally re-seals the tire on the rim. If you didn’t have your ether along, then for sure you had your trusty $10 Canadian Tire special 12 volt compressor along with a ratchet strap and for sure you had along a valve stem remover, so you could get the maximum amount of air into the tire. With these tools this type of break down would almost seem routine, kind of like a pit stop. Water can also be the cause for a major bush pit stop, if someone in your party happens to flip their bike over or water is sucked into the intake or even if the engine fills with water through the muffler. Several years ago we were on a tour with about 12 or so quads. We toured around Bronson Lake then over to the Alberta border, then headed east on the Buffalo Camp Trail. From there we worked our way along cut lines and pipe lines. On one pipeline we were in an area where the forest fire had been and the muskeg was burnt out on both sides of the pipeline. When we arrived at this location water was on both sides of the pipeline. It appeared the best crossing would be right on the line. Wrong. Don, one of our campers, struck out into the muskeg and quickly found it to be a fl oating bog, which all but consumed his new Polaris. Desperately attempting to keep his bike moving, he jumps off into waist high muskeg and manages a few more feet until he slips off the pipe line and into the burnt out muskeg. With his new Polaris about to flip over into the water, the anguish and sense of hopelessness Don was experiencing almost made him cry like a girl. Fortunately, a helping hand arrived in the nick of time to steady the bike, while another bike made it through and hooked on a winch cable pulling him safely to high ground. While he was drying out his bike, we managed to get the whole crew over the obstacle, by this time daylight was burning up and we still had almost two hours to the house. Without a doubt, events like these will be reminisced time and time again while sitting around a camp fire in the company of good trail riding friends. |
