121.   As already mentioned on the main page, 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the Annual Winter trip to the Sooley family cabin near Whitbourne, NL. Over the course of 20 years we've seen a lot of changes, the cabin has been massively renovated, it now has power which is an upgrade from the old Kubota generator. We went from riding one Argo brought out to the cabin by myself, to most of the crew now bringing quite a fleet of ATV's and Snowmobiles.

• Flashback: Annual Winter Cabin Trip February 1998

120.   I left town a few hours earlier than the rest of the crew, my first stop was the Rod and Gun Club where I had to make a quick repair to our generator.

119.   Control wires in the key switch/relay box rubbed against the PVC box, a couple wires shorted on the bolts attaching the box to the generator causing the fuel cut relay to energize. First step was to tape up the damaged wires individually with quality 3M electrical tape.

118.   Next each section of harness was wrapped in automotive grade TESA tape to keep it snug and add another  layer of abrasion resistance.

117.   Finally split loom was installed to provide yet another layer of abrasion resistance to the control wires and hopefully prevent the problem from re-occurring.

116.   With my volunteer work complete it was back on the highway westward to Whitbourne to the Sooley family cabin.

115.   First on the to do list was to get the woodstoves lit and start getting some heat in the building.

114.   Next I unloaded my gear and Project Foreman and went for a quick exploratory rip in the back fields & trails before heading down to the pond to survey the ice.

113.   There was 6" of ice on this section of pond last weekend which is the minimum recommended thickness for an ATV according to the coast guard ice safety sheet found online.  Checking today I found 7" + in the small cove by Sooley's cabin, a promising sign for the week's activities.

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111.   Earlier in the week I made this ice measuring tool. I cut off a cheap measuring tape and attached it with stainless screws to a piece of 3/4" square poplar trim and installed a 3" stainless bolt at the zero mark. The bolt hooks to the bottom edge of the ice to gain an accurate measurement, I let it overhang on two sides to allow for left and right handed use. I added markings on the stick for weight loads vs. ice thickness following the Coast Guard guide.

110.   I also picked up a can of survey tape to clearly mark my findings on the ice for the rest of the crew to clearly see. My cordless drill adaptor made quick work of drilling dozens of test holes across the pond to safely identify dangerous areas of thin ice.

109.   A little after 6pm Ronnie finally made it to the cabin with two studded out YZ250 dirt bikes in the bed. Janes and Maffer arrived shortly thereafter. 

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107.   After an awesome feed of BBQ hamburgers where Ronnie nearly blew up the barbeque, we settled in for the evening with a few beverages.

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105.   Friday morning after a feed of bacon and eggs Ronnie, A.J., Maffer, Janes and I headed up the pond on foot with my cordless drill ice auger, measuring tool and survey paint in hand to survey ice thickness on the rest of the pond. It should be noted that we know this pond very well having had many trips up and down over the last 20 years. Many of these trips were early winter and late winter trips alike so we know where the ice freezes last and opens early - which would be the dangerously thin spots this year.

104.   Overall the corridors we travel on had between 7&10" of solid clear ice. Two problem areas with only 4-5" of ice were found near the shoals were identified and marked with tree boughs as areas to stay well away from.

103.   We actually drilled so many holes that we had to send AJ back to the cabin for the 2nd battery for my Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill.

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101.   By the time we were through surveying the ice Sooley and Kim arrived to join in on the activities.

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99.   After a snack and coffee break we headed back out and installed the rest of the markers around problem areas surveyed that morning to make sure none of the crew ventured out on thin ice. We didn't want to mark the 20th anniversary trip by being on the news! Boughs were stuck in 1" holes drilled (and eventually froze) into the ice to clearly mark areas to stay away from.

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97.   With our important work complete we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon under sunny skies ATV riding and ice fishing. Since we only tested Sooley's pond we didn't venture out onto any other waterways, particularly Highwaters which has a lot of sketchy currents and inconsistent ice. In past years having ample ice it was never an issue, but this year with bare minimum ice we didn't push our luck.

96.   Fortunately the new Nalcor transmission line and service road provided lots of new opportunities to ride which worked out very well for us this year.

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94.  Winter Trip ice fishing at the top of the pond, another annual tradition!

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92.   The glare ice was an absolute riot to ride on and provided perfect conditions for Ronnie & AJ's studded dirt bikes and Maffer's studded out Can Am Outlander.

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90.   Later in the afternoon Sooley fired up (literally lol) one of our new Norwegian fire logs in our top of the pond clearing. This one was made from Juniper and although it eventually burned, it didn't light as easy as the spruce logs last weekend.

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86.   Friday evening Lester arrived in his rebuilt 1998 Chev Silverado with his 2015 Honda 420AT ATV in the bed.

85.   Friday's supper menu was barbeque steaks with all the trimmings.

84.   Saturday morning Maffer got to work making kick ass omelettes for the crew. This oven baked omelette is easy to prepare and a great way to quickly feed a large crew. Once cooked grated cheese is spread on half the omelette and then it's folded over and served.

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81.   Overnight Friday and most of the day Saturday saw overcast skies and not heavy but steady snowfall throughout the day which quickly added up to 10cm or more of fresh snow.

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77.   We were certainly glad to have clearly marked the areas of thin ice with boughs as they were still clearly visible even with fresh fallen snow.

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75.   The remnants of yesterday's juniper Norwegian fire log.

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73.   A.J. pretty well had wheelies down pat which at first frustrated the hell out of his father, but throughout the day with some son - father coaching Ronnie was getting the hang of it! These guys will be wheelie-ing past highway traffic on Northern Pond Road in no time!

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71.   Back at the cabin Sooley found an old expired hand flare which he figured would not work, surprisingly it fired so he put it to good use as a fire starter. Of course, never light a flare particularly in the country or near water unless you are in immediate need of assistance.

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68.   Saturday afternoon Sooley, Maffer and I got to work rebuilding the benches at our top of the pond fire pit clearing. The old benches were put there about 15 years ago and were well worn and completely rotted out.

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66.   After taking down a couple nuisance trees we installed the first of the new logs, first making a wood stand to keep campfire fuel off the ground and dry.

65.   The previous two benches were completely replaced, then we added more sections of double log benches anchoring them to existing trees and a couple large Juniper chucks. This firmed a nice semi circle with triple the seating as before.

64.   Just as we lit a fire to burn off some of the old crap we cut down Bill and Jessica arrived. Although unable to stay up overnight they joined us for supper and took in the evening's activities.

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