Saturday, September 25, 2010 (Elliot Lake, ON)

It was forecast to be a chilly day today with a high of only 10 degrees, so we bundled up...long-johns, heavy wool socks...the works! I had 7 layers on with the final layer being my Helly Hansen raingear—it acted not only as a defence against the rain but also was a great windbreak while riding. Steve unloaded the quads from the truck while I gathered everything we would need for the ride today.

After packing the cargo boxes—lunch, snacks, water, camera, extra gas...etc.—we left at 8:30 for the clubhouse. Of course, it had started to mist out...good thing we had our raingear on, I think we are going to need it today!

It was a poor turnout for an annual event. The previous day’s storm and the uncertainty of today’s weather has probably kept many away. I think when you have such a fantastic riding area that you can access directly from your home you can afford to pick and choose your rides according to the weather. Eight of us headed out on the trails today with Bill leading the way. Unfortunately, that number was soon down to seven as Bob got stuck in the first big muddy puddle we went through and once freed, he decided to head back as is smaller sized ATV wasn`t running properly.

Bill commented that he has never seen so much water on the trails as they never get that much rain. Steve said he has never ridden in so much mud and water! The puddles weren’t as deep as one we did on our previous ride but sure were fun.

Now, I have likely said this on previous posts this past week...but the colour of the leaves is changing daily...become more and more brilliant as each day goes by! The colours today were just beautiful!


What another awesome day! We had been lucky having had perfect, blue skies and sunshine on our previous 2 rides but today`s cloud didn`t hamper the ride at all...it was still incredible and we had a great day! The pictures don’t do the colours justice!
Oh dear...and no chainsaw...we had to turn around at this point...

And this is Elliot Lake Falls...
We arrived back home just before 4:00 p.m. We had been lucky...a bit of heavy mist at times but no major downpour! Our ride today was about 76 kms...so over the 3 full day rides we have had, we have ridden about 266 kms...of the approximately 300 km mapped trail system in the area. And it is so nice riding with people from the area...great trail guides! A lot nicer than riding an unfamiliar area on our own.

We spent the evening inside again...trying to warm up! We are hoping for a nicer day tomorrow so we can get the ATV’s all washed up...and so we can sit outside with a nice campfire on our last night in Elliot Lake! After nine nights here, we will be continuing our journey east...and then into southern Ontario. We are looking forward to meeting up with Garth and Donna, the wonderful couple we met back home when we lived at Oceanside RV Resort. They left Victoria at the beginning of June and after going north, they are now visiting family just outside of Orangeville, Ontario. We will connect with them on Tuesday.

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