BigMac
Expert
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2004
- Messages
- 378
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 591
- Location
- Brainerd Lakes area, Minnesota
Some friends and I just got back from a week snowmobiling in the Flathead Valley of northwestern Montana (around Glacier National Park). Mostly "hero" snow down low because of previous warm temps, but nice stuff at altitude. Very typical mountain riding, although the mountains were more impressive than what I usually ride out west. We actually had a guide (provided by our buddy who owns the Tamarack Lodge in Hungry Horse). I've never ridden with a guide before, but that was really great because we were able to do a mix of climbing, deep powder, and boondocking that probably would have gotten us lost or killed given the relative absence of groomed trails. Rino GPS/communicators saved us a lot of search-for-stragglers time.
We rented some SkiDoo Summits. They performed reasonably well. No major breakdowns. Those sleds are impressive in the way the windshields and various panels pop together. They rattle more and none of the panels fit quite right, but after a roll-over (we had several that would have snapped the headlight pod right off my Apex) everything goes right back together.
We took the Amtrak from Minnesota. It was a 20 hour ride (longer actually - the train was about 4 hours late getting there), but we had bunks, plenty of booze, and three meals a day served on white linen tablecloths. Not to mention the wine/cheese tasting. I had no idea what train travel in the US was like these days. They get a little fuzzy on their on-time performance, but if you have plenty of leeway in your schedule, it's a really great way to travel.
We rented some SkiDoo Summits. They performed reasonably well. No major breakdowns. Those sleds are impressive in the way the windshields and various panels pop together. They rattle more and none of the panels fit quite right, but after a roll-over (we had several that would have snapped the headlight pod right off my Apex) everything goes right back together.
We took the Amtrak from Minnesota. It was a 20 hour ride (longer actually - the train was about 4 hours late getting there), but we had bunks, plenty of booze, and three meals a day served on white linen tablecloths. Not to mention the wine/cheese tasting. I had no idea what train travel in the US was like these days. They get a little fuzzy on their on-time performance, but if you have plenty of leeway in your schedule, it's a really great way to travel.
4strokin
Extreme
Glad to see someone having fun in my neck of the woods!! I havent go to go riding once!!!
BigMac
Expert
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2004
- Messages
- 378
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 591
- Location
- Brainerd Lakes area, Minnesota
4strokin said:
Beautiful part of the country you have there. Eastern Montana, not so much....but we did have a great time in the Flathead Valley.
I kept watching out for Kieffer Sutherland
, but then found out he's been permanently banned from Whitefish.
