3 old guys adventure

[Not greg b]

Any of you following them?? It’s been an interesting adventure. Sled catching fire, getting stuck ect. Now need to 2 clutches flown in. They were doing the big no no of greasing the clutches to keep to sleds moving.  Pretty impressive what they are doing. 

[Deephaven]

Wait, a cat caught fire?  Jimwit said that can't happen.

Impressive trip for sure.  I donated to support them but have not followed since.

[Bontz]

Yup - been watching their updates, daily.  It's impressive to comprehend what they're doing (and the fact they're not exactly youngsters!).  The last few days have been brutal, from the sounds of it.

[Palu49]

6 hours ago, Deephaven said:

Wait, a cat caught fire?  Jimwit said that can't happen.

Impressive trip for sure.  I donated to support them but have not followed since.

Well he ran it through a tree and the remnants on the pipe caught on fire. But I’m down for not telling Jim for entertainment sake. I think that was the 2nd or 3rd day too, melted a small hole in the intake they duct taped up. If Rick was there the sled would’ve burned to the ground before he could’ve had the hood off.

[favoritos]

It is a pretty cool feat to do this trip with all the gear they are hauling.  The updates that I've caught make it look like it's no walk in the park.  Cutting a path through downed trees, doubling back to grab gear after breaking trail, etc, the list is probably long.  It can't be easy to log miles.

I hadn't heard about their clutch issues.  I wonder if they were trying to limp those primaries after the dreaded 7,600 dead spot started kicking in?  They are running the 800 motors which seem finicky with that clutch.

@Not greg b, How are you getting updates on their progress?

[mnstang]

I thought they brought spare clutches with them?

[Palu49]

40 minutes ago, favoritos said:

It is a pretty cool feat to do this trip with all the gear they are hauling.  The updates that I've caught make it look like it's no walk in the park.  Cutting a path through downed trees, doubling back to grab gear after breaking trail, etc, the list is probably long.  It can't be easy to log miles.

I hadn't heard about their clutch issues.  I wonder if they were trying to limp those primaries after the dreaded 7,600 dead spot started kicking in?  They are running the 800 motors which seem finicky with that clutch.

@Not greg b, How are you getting updates on their progress?

Facebook, one of their daughters updates it once a day. The post on there says driven clutches is what they’re having issues with.

[mnstang]

1 minute ago, Palu49 said:

Facebook, one of their daughters updates it once a day. The post on there says driven clutches is what they’re having issues with.

Interesting.  Yeah I thought they brought spare primaries.

[Not greg b]

1 hour ago, favoritos said:

It is a pretty cool feat to do this trip with all the gear they are hauling.  The updates that I've caught make it look like it's no walk in the park.  Cutting a path through downed trees, doubling back to grab gear after breaking trail, etc, the list is probably long.  It can't be easy to log miles.

I hadn't heard about their clutch issues.  I wonder if they were trying to limp those primaries after the dreaded 7,600 dead spot started kicking in?  They are running the 800 motors which seem finicky with that clutch.

@Not greg b, How are you getting updates on their progress?

The family has a Facebook page they update a lot. Looks like they are almost to their final destination once they get the clutches.

[Not greg b]

34 minutes ago, mnstang said:

I thought they brought spare clutches with them?

It will be interesting to see if they post a list of parts they broke on the adventure. They had trouble with a tow sled too and had to fix that 

[Bontz]

For those on Facebook, but not aware of the page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088934197535

This is the last update, from yesterday:

Day 30/ Apr 4 – Consider this your trail report (for the past few days), albeit conveyed by Kasie

The Richardson Mountains didn’t give up easy, but after a tough few days, the 3 Old Guys made it to Old Crow this afternoon. The Guys are reporting in that they have logged an estimated 4,500-5,000 of hard miles and everything is getting tired. In fact, when they arrived into town today one individual commented, “You guys look tired” – fortunately, while they agree that they are indeed tired, they are still laughing, still upbeat, and still healthy.

Upon arriving in Old Crow, they stopped at the Co-op where they understood there were a couple of rooms; they were told that no rooms were available tonight when a woman walked in and said curiously, “are you the 3 Old Guys?”…. “we have a cabin waiting for you” – what a wonderful journey to be welcomed with such hospitality! The guys were escorted to a local’s home where they had a spare cabin with a woodstove for the guys to stay in. They spent the afternoon speaking with her husband about the trail ahead, described as “330 miles of no trail.”

Hearing the trek ahead will be a continued challenge, the Guys immediately took to assessing the sleds. In Inuvik they proactively changed out some parts, but they have still been having problems with the clutches, putting grease on them to get by; after evaluating the machines today, it was determined that they will need to stay in Old Crow until clutch parts can be flown in and the necessary repairs can be made- however long that takes. (Note – we have a plan in motion)

The Guys do not have service in Old Crow, so our first communication via GPS messaging went a bit like this “Old Crow. Need 2 Driven Clutch. At least sleeve. Daily flight Whitehorse.” – You can imagine the stir these types of messages cause the “home-front” crew as calls and texts start flying between the critical few that can act, while simultaneously informing the broader group of the good and bad news coming in from the trail.

A few hours after the initial stir occurred today, I received an unexpected, but welcome, call from Rob – note this is the first time that we have heard from him, aside from brief GPS messages since Friday (Mar 31). While he does not have service, he was able to go back to the Co-op and briefly connect to their internet so that he could check-in and – lucky for us – provide a proper trail update from the last few days; I will do my best to share their tale:

When the 3 Old Guys finally departed Fort McPherson on Saturday (Apr 1) and got going on the correct route, they had a good trail all the way to the first cabin, they ventured forward but quickly found themselves on open, barren land. They knew they were supposed to go by a creek and would find bits and pieces of prior track, but struggled to find the right trail. As dusk approached, they made the decision to head back to the first cabin for the night and make a fresh start in the morning.

With an early start on Apr 2, the guys re-evaluated the trek they had taken the prior day. With the terrain as it was, Rob and Rex went ahead to assess while Paul stayed with the sleighs. They were able to get up near the creek, but still were unclear on where the trail went. They decided to park the sleds and walk – this is when Rob went through the ice. Wet up just past his knees and in frigid temperatures the two Old Guys quickly returned to the sleds and Paul where Rob put on his overcoat, emptied his Bunny boots and put on dry clothes.

It was about this same time, as Rob was getting dry, when two First Nations people showed up on a single Ski-Doo. They were coming to connect with some others and guide them over the pass. What perfect timing! The 3 Old Guys followed as these locals steered them in a much different direction than they expected to a steep chute – “seemed nearly vertical” to the top of the pass. Once they reached the top “the wind was so fierce you could not see more than 15-20 yards in front of you.” The local experts immediately said it was too dangerous and that they needed to turn back – and so they did. While the guides headed back to Fort McPherson, the 3 Old Guys retreated back to the first cabin for a second night. Prior to departing from the locals, they got some directions on the trail for the morning, which the Old Guys say was as clear as mud to them, “Go this way, Take the creek, It is the only trail, Can’t miss it.”

The 3 Old Guys climbed the chute again the morning of Apr 3, this time as they reached the top they found an unexpected surprise: no snow, all rock and, of course, not a single track. They made their best guess on how to navigate their way down and finally found the creek, but it was loaded with deep snow. They made the decision to leave the sleighs again and Rob and Rex road ahead to break trail through the powder. After a short while, out of what seemed like no where to the Guys, another First Nations local appeared. He said he was there to guide another group, going the opposite direction, but that it was getting windy and he had to move quickly. The guys asked “where is the trail” and his simple reply, “you’re on it.” He instructed them to follow him and that he would make a track for them. The Guys re-connected their sleighs and were able to swiftly follow his trail; about 30 minutes later a group of ~8 came through headed towards Fort McPherson under his supervision. Their tracks helped the Old Guys make much better time the remainder of the day to the Porcupine River. When they came to this intersection they were surprised to find the tracks went the opposite direction from Old Crow, upon further investigation they saw a small tipi and cabin just down the river a bit where the 3 Old Guys decided their safest bet was to rest for the night before heading to Old Crow this morning (Apr 4).

The ride into Old Crow was relatively mild considering the past few days. While there is a “trail” that connects Fort McPherson to Old Crow, this is not a modern trail that many of us may think of – it is not marked, it is not heavily packed down as only a few sleds ride it here and there – and between nearly every occasion that someone passes on this route it likely snows, the wind blows, and all evidence is lost, bringing it back to its peaceful state.

[mnstang]

It would be nice if a podcaster or YouTuber could have a sit-down talk with the three guys afterwards so they can recap their adventure.

[Bontz]

44 minutes ago, mnstang said:

It would be nice if a podcaster or YouTuber could have a sit-down talk with the three guys afterwards so they can recap their adventure.

I just about guarantee something like that will happen.  They've gained a lot of attention throughout this trip, with over 31K followers just on Facebook alone.  If I miss an update from their group, I typically see it shared by someone - or by one of the many snowmobile clubs I follow.  It's a really cool story ... especially reading about the last week or so with just how remote they are & the terrain they're trying to cover.

[p51mstg]

I've been following their trip, incredible journey!

[Bontz]

Some good publicity .. coming from the Star Tribune

https://m.startribune.com/minnesota-snowmobilers-headed-to-alaska-await-parts-delivery-above-the-arctic-circle/600264634/?fbclid=IwAR0wL1GBaOUL1bXOl7kpKTlNpI0dpMi5jgzVfDzEYbVTNPEz0CXbNKFe9yg

[Bontz]

Latest update:

Day 33 / Apr 7

The 3 Old Guys were able to make good progress down the Porcupine yesterday and stayed in a cabin along the way towards Fort Yukon.

The guys are ~3,900 miles into what they originally estimated to be a 4,200 mile trip. Unofficially, we’re estimating they’ve put 5,000 of actual miles on the back of their Arctic Cat Norseman sleds to get to this point. The high in Fort Yukon today is supposed to be 19F and weather is holding steady for these 3 Old Guys as they work to complete this journey.

With the 3 Old Guys officially within the Alaskan border, they are closing in on their final destination of Fairbanks. We still can’t give anyone an actual arrival date - the Guys reported it best in their GPS message last night: “Every corner new adventure. Don’t know.” But we can give you insight to the “finish line,” in hopes that those within the Fairbanks area can welcome the Old Guys and help them celebrate this milestone.

Date/Time:

Unknown- Likely Mon/Tues? - as Guys get close, we will keep you informed

Location:

Await their arrival with signs and smiles or help escort them into the destination!

Northern Power Sports

1980 Van Horn Rd

Fairbanks, AK

Ask:

We, as the Old Guys “behind the scenes” family and friends support crew, would love to be there, but simply cannot; we’ve been awed across this entire journey by the outpouring of love and support for our Guys and would be honored if you would help them celebrate this momentous milestone with your presence and a simple congratulations.

Since we can’t be there, we would also appreciate any footage or video of the Guys closing out this journey so we can be in the moment with all of you.- help us out, share it on our page or email us pictures and video at 3oldguysride@gmail.com

And…. Fox News WCCO-TV CBS ABC News Discovery PBS Mike Ross KTUU Channel 2 News CBS 5 CBS News 13 CTV News Channel MSNBC feels like you should be there too, but just a suggestion

[Not greg b]

I guess they had another sled catch on fire and had leave it in the woods. Some locals helped them get to town. They are supposed to go get the sled later and hopefully have it up and running on Tuesday 

[Mag6240]

If this little adventure has taught me anything,... NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

A bunch of guys in my club have been giving me shit that "You could have ridden up there and back this year!"  -  Um, NO.  I don't see the excitement in that whatsoever.

[Not greg b]

5 minutes ago, Mag6240 said:

If this little adventure has taught me anything,... NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

A bunch of guys in my club have been giving me shit that "You could have ridden up there and back this year!"  -  Um, NO.  I don't see the excitement in that whatsoever.

all of that does not look like fun. Even doing the iron dog doesn’t sound fun. I think those old guys have proved it isn’t easier to do it now vs the 70s. 

[Not greg b]

They made it. Had to be trailered the last 60 miles as one sled blew up and the other lost coil. 

[awful knawful]

Two sleds down. Any guess what brand the sleds were?

@ZR6000RR 

[Kevin]

5 hours ago, Not greg b said:

They made it. Had to be trailered the last 60 miles as one sled blew up and the other lost coil. 

Shoulda pulled the coil off the blown one.

[Kevin]

47 minutes ago, awful knawful said:

Two sleds down. Any guess what brand the sleds were?

@ZR6000RR 

I know Dumbstad will make excuses but the reality is that brand wouldn’t matter - this was no 5000 mile trail ride. 

[Not greg b]

45 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Shoulda pulled the coil off the blown one.

Probably would not have fixed it. The sled was pretty fubr and they were riding 2 up when the second one blew up 

[Art Vandelay]

4 hours ago, Kevin said:

I know Dumbstad will make excuses but the reality is that brand wouldn’t matter - this was no 5000 mile trail ride. 

No idea how those guys made the last 1000 or so miles at their age and pulling all that weight and basically not having trails and riding through some very sketchy conditions. Very impressive.