37.   Last year for the first time since 2008 we did not have our annual Winter Trip to the Sooley Family Cabin, but Winter 2014 saw the return of the good old fashioned Winter Trip. Weather this year has just been a roller coaster of emotions. January started out strong with over 120cm on the ground, those dreams were crushed by a warm spell that decimated the snow pack, and recently winter storms returned just in time for our adventure.

36.   One week prior to the Winter Trip Maffer and I went out to the Cabin with our two Honda 9/28 Snowblowers to clear the driveway, parking lot and doors.

35.   There was about 18" of snow on the ground, it was dry and not compacted which was easy work for the two machines.

34.   It took us about 2 hours to clean everything up, another hour breaking up ice on the hill in the driveway and a few minutes getting Maffer's truck unstuck! With our work complete we headed to Monty's Place Restaurant for a couple of their famous Sharon Burgers before heading back to town.

33.   Maffer and I were supposed to leave town Friday morning for the Annual Winter Trip, but mother nature forced us to put our plans on hold. We had heavy snow, gale force winds and an RCMP advisory to stay off the highway, overall not a bad way to start a snowmobile trip! Later that afternoon snow changed to rain and quickly made a mess of things. By suppertime the storm had cleared, we had our driveways cleaned up so we  loaded up my Project Powertek REV and Maffer's 2006 REV 500ss and headed out over the highway to the Cabin only a few hours later than planned.

32.   We arrived at the cabin just as it got dark, got everything unloaded, and the wood stoves lit. Sooley arrived around 9pm as he had a valentines date earlier that evening. Unfortunately there was not much snow at the cabin, Whitbourne had a lot more rain than town so conditions were not ideal for the sleds.

Saturday morning Janes arrived just as we were finishing breakfast at Monty's Place Restaurant and French showed up a little later that morning. The day brought sunny skies and cold temperatures, snow on the ponds was melted mess of slush and was now freezing into glare ice. This has happened many times in the past, and it makes snowmobiling a PITA as you can't get traction, nor keep the sleds engine & hyfax cool.

31.   Maffer and I decided to quickly run back to town and grab our bikes, Project Foreman and Maffer's Can Am Outlander as we would be able to ride them easily in these freezing conditions. We left the sleds at the cabin just in case we got more snow later in the week. We arrived back at the cabin around lunchtime, unloaded the bikes, suited up and hit the pond to see what the guys were up to.

30.   We found Sooley, Janes & French at the top of the bond quite busy ice fishing and doing a little riding. Sooley was on the family Arctic Cat 570, and Janes the old Enticer II 410 weapon.

29.   French having sold his Nytro XTX this past fall was riding his father's mint Yamaha Venture Multi Purpose.

28.   Water on the ponds was quickly freezing up, but not enough to support the weight of the machines on top of the new ice. It was a slow wet ride up the pond, although perfectly safe as there was still over 12" of ice under the water/slush mix. Snow in the woods was perfect for ATV riding, about 12" thick it was not deep enough to easily get stuck but plenty deep to have a lot of fun! Maffer's bike is an absolute savage in the snow. With 72 horsepower from the monster 800cc V-twin and 28" Maxxis Mudzilla tires there weren't many obstacles that would stop it. and he tried! Riding behind him was like being in a snowstorm as he tore up and down the power line trail and side trails with ease!

27.   My Foreman with considerably less power and half worn out Mudlite XTR tires still faired well, but I lost power/traction trying to climb the steepest of hills. This is where the smoothness of a CVT transmission really shines, all and all it was still great going.

26.   That evening we had an awesome BBQ supper, it was steaks all around paired with French's mashed potato, and pan-fried mushrooms & onions.

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24.   That evening we had a very important task to take care of. Getting rid of a big pile of scrap lumber left over from Mr. Sooley's renovation project in Heart's Delight. Since there was no wind and everything was soaked from last night's storm, it was a great time for a bonfire.

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22. We soaked the pile in fossil fuels and after a couple failed attempts of using flares to start the fire, Sooley and I used a fuel soaked stick to get it going. It was a fire of epic proportions and in true Sooley style. At least the RCMP didn't show up this time!

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19.   Nothing like a late night Sled & ATV rip to the top of the pond.

18.   Sunday morning brought more rain and generally miserable weather. French prepared a wonderful breakfast, afterwards Maffer, Janes and I headed to the couch to watch TV and keep the woodstoves going. Meanwhile French & Sooley suited up to go up the pond ice fishing. Personally I am a fair-weather outdoorsman, if I don't have to go out in crappy weather I'll give it a pass as I'd rather have an enjoyable experience. As the guys were busy I prepared supper by heating up spaghetti with Moose meat balls (which was prepared and sent to the cabin by Mrs. Sooley), and a side of garlic bread toast.

17.   Monday arrived and brought us back to winter conditions with sunny skies and cold temps. French packed up and headed back to town as he had a new vehicle to pick up at Hickman's Dodge, meanwhile Maffer, Janes and I headed to Monty's Place once again for Breakfast. Before we headed back to the cabin, we stopped over and visited the man himself, Monty Petipas whom we've gotten to know over the last few years at the St. John's Rod and Gun Club.

16.   That afternoon Maffer and I suited up and went for a run on the bikes while Sooley and Janes went ice fishing. By now the ponds were frozen solid, and we had a great run all in through the high waters area and back the pole line towards the highway. There are quite a few Hydro access roads along the pole line that are used to bypass bogs and connect to the highway, here the snow was much deeper and I managed to bury my bike AND run out of gas! On my last trip I must have switched the gas valve to reserve, and forgot to switch it back when I refuelled, so when the bike stalled, it was completely out! Maffer ran back to the cabin on his Can Am and got a can of gas, with the bike refuelled I had it winched out in no time.

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14.   Later that afternoon Maffer made an awesome climb up the hill at the end of the pond on the power line, and was so excited with his success he tried another line up the same hill.

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12.   Not one to be defeated, Maffer tried again to make it all the way up the hill.

11.   This time the bike hit a stump and pitched skyward with Maffer at this point just along for the ride. He finally pitched right into the branches of a big spruce tree! We had to cut away some branches and another smaller stump to get the bike free.

10.   Instead of backing down the hill Maffer punched it forward and spun 270 degrees right around the spruce tree like it was tethered to it (it looked awesome!) Unfortunately the bike came to an abrupt halt sending Maffer crashing into the Side Panel & Handle Bars  where he either bruised or broke a rib!

9.   While Maffer and I were up to our shenanigans, Sooley & Janes continued ice fishing and got a fire going in our fire pit at the top of the pond. We cut out this pit almost 15 years ago, our log benches are still held in place by the same straps we tied up all those years ago.

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5.   Earlier that morning I prepped a nice big Moose Roast from this years Moose hunt in Trepassey, placed it in my cast iron roaster on 220 Degrees F and left it for the day. That afternoon Janes prepared carrot, turnip, mashed potatoes, canned corn, and made an awesome gravy. Needless to say it was truly a meal fit for a king! The roast was so tender you hardly needed a knife!

4.   After supper we sat back with a coffee and lit the candles on Sooley's Birthday cake. I think we were a couple days late, but better late then never! (This brings up another point- never ask Janes to grab a half full can of coffee from your truck as he may knock the lid off sending fresh coffee grinds EVERYWHERE! LoL I guess there are worse things to have the truck smell like!)

3.   We awoke Tuesday morning to sunny skies, cold temps and about 10cm of fresh fallen snow! Janes packed up and headed back to town while Sooley, Maffer and I once again headed to Monty's Place for breakfast and then to the hardware store for a few supplies and plumbing antifreeze to re-winterize the cabin. Maffer was still super sore after his run in with the spruce tree, Sooley suited up and went Coyote hunting, while I suited up and took the opportunity to finally get a decent run on my sled. I fired up the beast and headed up the pond, went all in through Highwaters everywhere, out the pole line as far as Ocean Pond, then back the other way to the highway. I actually managed to burn a full tank of gas riding, looking for coyote tracks and generally fooling around.

I finally convinced Maffer to come out of the cabin for an easy, relaxing ride, so he could take it easy on his sore ribs. He took his bike and managed to get it stuck, I dug it out for him and he rode it out of the hole with ease. Unfortunately, on the narrow path in front of him lay a fallen tree which popped up, struck the front fender, poked a hole clean through the plastic and jabbed him in the leg. Maffer took this as a sign and headed directly back to the cabin! I was nearly out of gas, so I headed back to fuel up, while doing so I got a text from Sooley saying he had the Arctic Cat buried. I eventually found him in the woods just off the bog near the cabin and we had the sled popped out in no time. Supper that evening was another BBQ, Sooley and I had steak while Maffer had chicken, we sided the meal with rice and canned corn.

2.   Wednesday was the last day of our trip, although it was another perfectly fine sunny day, we had a lot of work to do to packing, cleaning and re-winterizing the cabin.

1.   Also, the forecast called for another storm Wednesday suppertime so I wanted to be back a little early to unpack and tidy up the driveway from the snow/ice we had while I was away. All in all it was a great trip. All the benchmarks of a great trip were hit: gas burned, stories shared, machine carnage, trout caught, firewood burnt, and awesome meals very much enjoyed by all. I think this trip we have eaten way better then any past cabin trip thanks to ever refined cooking skills and the fact that Monty's Place serves an awesome ultimate omelette!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith