Winter 2008

May 19, 2012 - Argentia ATV run: (23 Photos)

23. The highly anticipated May 24th Holiday weekend finally arrived this past weekend. Although we didn't have a big cabin trip planned, we did manage to set up a great long distance ATV run for Saturday.

22. The morning brought sunny skies and mild temperatures as Maffer and I loaded up our bikes to meet Danny, Frank, Brian & Carl at Wendy's in Mount Pearl, then headed out the highway with a slew of bikes in tow.

21. We unloaded near Middle Gull Pond then crossed under the highway overpass to access the old railway track, now referred to as the Provincial Trailway Park. Maffer was riding his new Can Am Outlander, I had old faithful Project Foreman, we each had extra gas strapped on for this extended ride. The rest of the crew represented most of the major manufacturers, Suzuki, Arctic Cat, Honda and an older Gen 1 Can Am.

20. We rode west bound on the old Railway bed approximately 6km before Maffer had his first stuck! For his first stuck he tipped his Can Am Outlander completely on its side in a rather deep bog hole, soon after getting it out he buried it again in another hole! Danny started the game of spraying him with mud during the extraction.

19. From there we continued on to Whitbourne stopping to pick up lunch supplies at Monty's before continuing on to Placentia Junction. Here we took the left fork and continued on to Argentia, the right fork continues on across the island.

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17. The ride down to Argentia is beautiful, the scenery, hills and trails are spectacular, and the ride is relatively easy over all. Like mist East Coast ATV trails, the Argentia run is bumpy in places, a lot of water and a few wash outs to be aware of but nothing that really requires even four wheel drive.

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15. About half way down we stopped for lunch on the side of a large pond. The wind was breezy here which kept the flies at bay. Danny broke out his cooking gear and set out barbequing hamburgers with fried onions & bacon on his combination Propane barbeque/stove. It was an awesome feast, especially one prepared out in the middle of the woods.

14. After lunch we continued on to the old US Military base at Argentia. We crossed the highway making a tour from old gun barracks, down to the beach and up to a high cliff lookout.

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9. On the way back to the base Danny got stuck, so Maffer got his revenge by spraying him with mud during the extraction! With time running short we continued back to the base and retraced our route back to the old rail line headed back to the trucks Middle Gull Pond.

8. On the way back, we stopped once again to play in the mud and that's when the trip got tangly. Maffer got stuck and managed to snap a front side axel, Danny was nice enough to pull him out, not before completely burring Maffer's bike again in mud! Luckily the broken axel didn't affect ride ability, so he could finish the trail ride with ease.

7. Next Frank's Arctic Cat broke down and wouldn't re-start. The battery was flat and the bike wasn't charging. We managed to boost the bike and slightly charge the battery, but he only made it a couple miles before finding himself on the end of a tow strap behind another of the crew's Honda 420 ATV.

6. About 3/4 of the way back to Placentia Junction we stopped to top up our fuel tanks, we each carried extra fuel. I don't think Project Foreman would do the round trip from Middle Gull Pond to Argentia and back on one tank especially with all the optional fun bog rips on this adventure. We continued on making pretty good time all the way to Whitbourne. Trail conditions were very dusty and we lost sight of Maffer & Danny around Placentia Junction.

5. We stopped and waited for the longest time before finally spying Maffer with Danny in tow. The oil drain plug fell out of Danny's '08 Suzuki King Quad 750 and the motor shut off. It didn't seize solid, but without a proper drain plug and not enough spare oil they elected to tow the bike back to Middle Gull Pond.

1. Even with a slow down caused by towing two bikes we still made it back to the trucks around 8pm, just before dark. It was an awesome trip and I look forward to the next one!

Cheers, MIKE