It was an early night on the Darkside last night. The restaurant/bar closed at 8pm, and most everybody was tucked away by 10pm. SideShow Ron did entertain a few snowmobilers who have been traveling the same trail and staying at the same places as us the last few nights. His coin trick has to be witnessed; We can't figure it out, and it's driving the locals bonkers too.
Our trail stalkers
Breakfast was at 8am today, the standard, eggs over easy, bacon, sausage or ham, potato cubes and white or brown (wheat) toast, or oatmeal. Morning business done, and we were on the trail by 9 bells.
It was about -9 degrees when we departed. The sun was shining bright, limited clouds, excellent visibility and smooth and freshly groomed trails. The below 0 temperatures really firmed up the trails, and there were many straight and soft curved miles in front of us.
We trail climbed thru the Chic Choc Mountain Range, and it gave us some of the most amazing views we have ever seen. The clear skies provided miles of visibility. And the recent freezing rain/snow had covered the trees with about an inch thick of snow on every twig and limb. It was like something you would see in a movie. Many picture opportunities were granted, and taken.
Action Dan
Team Darkside Photographer Jamie Elfstrom
At about the 63 mile mark, we stopped at a Relaise for fuel. Basically a 1000 gallon tank on the top of the ground with a pump. And around $5.50 per gallon. That's the cost of fuel when it's your only option. Connecticut Jim says its a lot cheaper than fueling out of Bar Tab! We thought we were going to be able to grab some lunch and a restroom break, however the house that used to facilitate those options wasn't open this year. Top off our tanks and back on the trail.
Around the 118 mile marker, Team Darkside pulled a major gaffe. There were 2 Arctic Cats broke down on the side of the trail. They had placed ticker tape across the trail to warn oncoming riders to slow down. Our leader, Ole, mistook their hand signals for help as everything was OK, and we traveled on. However, our tailgunner Dave Goretski, stopped and did a better translation with the stranded riders. He found out one had a blown chain case and the other a blown belt, with no spare belt. He took one of the very grateful riders to the local gas station, where they were able to get enough of a cell phone service to contact the local Arctic Cat dealer to come assist them. Our apologies to the riders and kudos to Dave for doing a better translation than the rest of the numbskulls in our group.
At the 121 mile marker we stopped at another Relaise and had a hot lunch at around 1pm. The spaghetti with chicken soup seemed to be the big hit of the day, as I saw alot of those dishes on the table. Of course Action Dan had to maintain his gluten free diet and had the gluten free hot dog (hot dog without the bun!). I wish I would have had the time to get a dessert, as when I first came in I saw the young lady running the kitchen, and waitressing, delivering to another guest a piece of apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top that looked scrumptious.
Lunch was done around 2:30pm, and we had about 30 miles to go to get to our destination of Hostellerie Baie Blue. It is located on the body of water called Baie des Chaleurs, and we are directly across the Bay from the city of Dalhousie, New Brunswick, a city that hosted Team Darkside back in 2013. Some of the Darkside riders have actually stayed here before, some had better experiences than others (if you don't get that reference, you weren't here!), but it is a nice place to be.
We got in around 4pm today, and are now in the restaurant/bar having happy hour, and writing this blog for my millions of followers.
Tune in tomorrow and see how we fare.
Cheers,
Stick