Quad trip of the decade

I hate to brag about all the great things we enjoy here in Fort McMurray, but here goes nothing...

About 200 kilometers north of town is an area officially known as the Richardson Back Country. There was a huge fire up there this year (more on that later in this post) Everyone here calls the area Six Lakes because there are... That's right, about 100 small to medium sized lakes with fish that beg to be caught. Wall Eye and Northern Pike that fight each other to gobble down your hook. These are no ordinary small fish either, they average about 30 inches long. You have to go camping with a small army just to justify filleting one of these beauties. Of course I caught exactly zero fish this trip too. But that is because I did not do any fishing.

We went to ride quads on the sand dunes. Yes, sand dunes, as in Sahara Desert. We have some good friends that put this trip together and invited us (Joseph, Samuel, and I). The ride in starts in town, then a trip up the road to north, past the "bridge to no where," past the end of the pavement, past the newest oil sands plants under construction, to the end of the road. Really, the end of the road. If you want to drive any further north and you have to wait until the winter road is built in late December and by then the temperature is not conducive to riding quads.

You have to pack in everything you need. Everything. And you have to pack out your trash. No one is there to pick up after you. We packed light, taking only what was essential - food, rain gear, and toilet paper.

Joseph with 15 of the 55 gallons of fuel we took in. We brought out about 6 gallons after 2 days.

After riding for over 3 hours, we came to the area we camped in for the night. The forest fire earlier in the year had burned almost everything. Most of the pine trees were either totally burned up, or in some places, the fire moved through so quickly it scorched the needles on part of the tree, but not all. Some areas you could still see the remnants of the fire retardant that the water bombers dropped trying to control the fires. Some areas the ash looked like snow on the ground.

Our camp site was on the east side of a nice lake called Keith Lake, in the middle of a large stand of Birch trees. It was relatively untouched by the fire.

Arrival at Keith Lake.

After dinner, we all crashed and in the morning we played "who could squeeze the last toot out of Joseph." I was not the winner, thankfully.

After another 3 hour ride north, we arrived at the dunes where Joseph and Samuel posed for a portrait.

The dunes are about 100 acres or so of sand with occasionally tufts of prairie grass. No trees, no bushes, rocks, or other things that hinder boys riding with almost total abandon. There were 8 quads and 9 riders. A good time was had by all. We rode up and down hills, some as steep as 60 degrees. the only wreck of the day was when Joseph and Sam were doubled up and they ended up rolling at the top of one hill. No serious injures. Only sore egos.

Smile foe the camera.

On the way out, the quad Samuel was riding had a serious mechanical failure. We ended up towing that quad out. Joseph was escorting the youngest rider (11 years old on a small 80 cc machine without lights) I offered to trade machines with Samuel because being towed out is no fun at all. Samuel was all too happy to trade places with me, and here is why:

After about 50 kilometers, we reached the trucks and trailers. I had received the best micro-derm abrasion treatment you could possibly imagine. Sand kicked up from the tires of the towing quad in front of me mixed with the cold rain that started to fall steadily. I was soaked to the bone, and the sand was caked on about 1/4-inch thick. That is no exaggeration, 1/4-inch. I could not see anything. I only concentrated on keeping the tail ight of the tow vehicle centered in my handle bars so I would not cause him to skid.

We loaded up the quads, and drove home, arriving about midnight. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would we do it again? Absolutely. Would I trade places with Samuel again? Absolutely not. He is on his own next time.

Hopefully next trip will be for more than one night, and will include a little fishing.

to be continued...