One Last Ride
White Out & Wide Open—The Blog
Steve Janes Blog
Ever since I've returned from my snowmobiling trip to British Columbia, Lane
has been whining about wanting one last ride. Although he had a chance to head north to ride with Carl Kuster (I always offer Lane the best trips to keep him happy), he chose to head south to ride Kawasaki ATVs.
But all he could do once he returned from the "land of the sun" was sulk around
the office saying he needed just "one last ride" to finish up his winter season.
So Wednesday I obliged him, taking advantage of a bluebird day to slip up into
Mt. Jefferson for a quick ride.
Lane was like a child in a candy store-excited and giddy. Packing all his
camera equipment, he wanted to make the most of this ride. There's nothing like full
documentation of one's last ride of the season . and Lane was going to capture it with still shots and video.
Actually, it was a great day for shooting. A recent snow storm put a couple of
inches of soft, sticky snow on top and a solid base. It was the kind of snow that made it easy to steer your sled, providing the track with great hookup and eliminating the jolting vibrations that emanates from your skis making contact with frozen surfaces.
So with the blue skies and fresh snow (and did I mention there were no track
marks on any of the snow that day) we took full advantage of our opportunity to meander throughout the area, taking photos from almost every ridge top and shooting video through every open meadow. I figure there is about 25 square miles of riding in the high country surrounding Mt. Jefferson. We managed to put tracks in every one of the 25 square miles.
Perhaps the best part of the day, unlike many previous "one last ride" days, is we
managed to keep the rubber side down and cruise back to our trailer without any broken plastic or bent metal. And best of all, both "low fuel indicator lights" were flashing on Lane and my snowmobiles. Finishing with no fuel left to burn makes for a perfect riding day.
The satisfying look on Lane's happy face at the end of the day made me feel good
inside. It was time well spent out of the office. It was a good day at work.
The following morning when I walked into my office Lane was already there
waiting for me. "Do you think we could go out again next week?" he pleaded. "You
know, so I can get one last ride before summer?"
SJ
