Snowmoblog

I’ve long meant to write about my first snowmobile adventure. Most would (and do) call it their first ride, but it was well and truly an adventure for the 14 year-old I was in 1982. This was the ride that defined snowmobiling for me, it was the beginning of a lifelong love of Winter & of snowmobiling.

The ride was in the northern area of Dunn county Wisconsin, just north of the city of Menomonie with my cousin, uncle and my uncle’s friend Dale & his son. The ride wasn’t long by our standards today, but our route out & back was upwards of 30 miles - though we did have many stops planned along the way. My dad and I rode absolute leftovers - they were ours, and we were thrilled to have them, but they were quite old and in ill repair to be kind. An aside - only one of our sleds made it back that night, and just barely at that!

My snowmobile was a 1968 Alouette - I’ve no idea of the model or engine size other than it was a air-cooled one-lunger that had the carburetor right in my chest.  My dad’s sled was a slightly newer 1971 Ski-Doo Nordic 400cc (I think) fan-twin.  Our trailer was a late-’60s model single-place with tilt & swivel.  How we trailered two aging machines 40 miles to our starting point (and back) is another story!  Dad, I need your help on telling that tale (it involves a Chevy Chevette and a lot of ingenuity) .  Our other gear was made up of rather good Sorel pac-boots, but went downhill from there: cheap mitts, hand-me-down snowmobile suit, $30 helmets with bubble shields , and other assorted otherwise-good winter-ware that shouldn’t be used for snowmobiling . Such are the makings of an event that will live among my fondest memories for life.

We met the rest of the group at my uncle’s friend Dale’s place, where everyone got sleds loaded and extra socks packed. From there it was a 15 minute drive to our starting point on the shores of Tainter Lake, at a house mysteriously described as “Uncle Stan’s”.  The first leg of about 3 miles took us to the Elk Point Inn - a cozy little bar on the other side of the lake.  About half-way across the lake, my headlight goes out - and being a “newbie” at this trail riding thing I just kept following the taillight in front of me!  Good thing we didn’t hit any frost heaves or ploughed lanes on the lake, or I might have had a really exciting time! Turns out that it was just a loose connection under the hood, and was quickly reconnected.

With our first drama out of the way, we stepped in the bar and had a beer, er, Coke (hey I was only 14!)

Part II is in the works - give me a few days to dredge up the details.  They’re lurking somewhere in the old memory bank.