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New Quads at ChehalisHarrison AreaFebruary 11/06 Written by Paul Mitchell and Greg Photos by Paul Mitchell and Singleton Paul Mitchell's report:This little day trip came about after Bruce had found the quad that met with his wife Sherry's approval, a Bombardier 400 demo from Ski & Trail. Rumrunner, who had purchased his quad there, mentioned that Ski & Trail had a unit that just might do the trick. A phone call to Gary Mueller, the owner of the dealership (and a sponsor of last summer's Quads.ca BBQ/Camp-out at Larson Hill), confirmed that he had a unit waiting to go. To make a long story short, Bruce got the quad plus a few extras, and was off home to install a winch, heated hand grips, and a new rear Kimpex box. We posted for a Feb 11 ride and got a few responses, including our fearless web leader himself. The weather was still great and not too cold, so we looked forward to a nice day. We had posted that the ride would be a tame one as this would be Sherry's first trip on her new quad. I had called Singleton and he said his neighbor was also a new rider and it would be perfect for his first outing as well. This turned out to be Paul T who had just bought a camo Kodiak 450 from one of our Vancouver Island members. There were a few more replies so I thought we would have six or seven quads out, but when we arrived at the parking lot there were trucks and quads everywhere! After unloading, I made the rounds and introduced myself to new folks I had not ridden with before. It got kinda confusing as we had Bambam Dave, Caveman Dave and Dave’s buddy Dave with "Dave" embroidered on his jacket. Bob G was there with his wife Angie and their son, along with a friend of Bambam's. I am terrible with names and it was definitely overload with new faces. Hopefully Greg will help out here as all had a great time and would hang out with these guys anytime. I know I missed Bambam's friend and our new friend on the 800 but you always can hang with us other "lowly" Polaris guys! I find it funny that the closer you live to work or to a meeting or event the harder it is to get there on time. So all I’ll say is that Greg got a big cheer when he arrived LAST! We split into two groups with the “Fast” riders heading out first after planning to meet for lunch at the south Chehalis campground. Our group of eight headed up to the Dickson Lake loop and made it as far as the twin bridges. The snow was compacted down and the ride was a slow climb, so traction was good but at the bridge it starts to climb and even if we had more time I don’t think we would have gotten much farther, so back we went to meet for lunch. Myself, I think some of the best parts of the day are when you stop and the story-telling begins. Throw in some new people with new adventures to tell, and it seriously could cut down on ride time. We had sixteen here and had a lot of laughs with a little serious quad talk thrown in the mix. Down at the other end of the lot, I saw Greg playing with Joebears winch helper, but will let him report on that. After lunch, our group headed up towards Hemlock Valley, but the snow was a lot softer and the tires cut right through. We again turned around and met the other group at the Statlu Y and Bambam entertained us with a lesson in log-jumping. After some more chatting, we headed back to the parking lot. Those of us that could had dinner at the Sasquatch Inn, and all agreed it was fun day and so nice to get out in the sun after the long rainy spell we had. Hope to see you all again soon, and don’t forget to mark July 21-23 on the calendar! Greg's report:In my defense, I had previously asked Paul how long it took to get to the crossroads from where we live, and he said an hour, so that's what I allowed. Apparently I live 17 minutes further away than Paul does! Anyways, I eventually arrived at the meeting place, where I was hurried along by those who were anxious to get going. I was then told that I was leading the "fast" group, so after a head count and a quick survey of the quads (big bores all around!) I headed off down the mainline. The main advantage of leading a ride is that there is NO DUST. I glanced over my shoulder, and spotted the others close behind in the dust *cough cough*. I opened up the throttle a bit, and we soon found ourselves drifting through the corners at 60 mph. Lots of fun! We stopped for a break at a fork, where both the "slow" group and the "fast" group let the stragglers catch up. Some quad sniffing ensued; I made a mental note of how good the Warn front bumper looked on Singleton's Rincon, and also noted that his Moose heated grips and thumbwarmer kit was something else I needed to add. I checked out Bambam's brand new front bumper and front cargo box, both fabbed up by him. I admired the shiny silver paint and aluminum wheels of a new Polaris 800; Polaris sure makes a pretty machine. One of the guys in our "fast" group mentioned that that ride was a trial by fire, as this was the first time he'd ridden his quad, and drifting through the corners at 60 mph was a real eye-opener! Whoops, I had just assumed that everyone in the "fast" group had previous riding experience. After the break, Bambam led for a bit. We headed for the South Chehalis campsite, passed by the turnoff, and headed up towards an area that I thought would take us to a washout and creek crossing that I knew of. However, one trail was a dead-end, and the other ones had too much snow. One of the trails had a makeshift ATV bridge built from small logs, and it looked like an interesting place to return after the snow season. By then it was time to head to the South Chehalis campsite to meet with the others for lunch. Our lunch was well underway by the time the "slow" group arrived. More quad chat and discussions ensued. Paul Mitchell had packed a spare sandwich for me because he knows I don't like to cook, and asked "Have you eaten yet?" I replied "Yes, but I'm still hungry!" so I got a bonus sandwich out of the deal. Thanks, Paul! Singleton and I played around with Joebear's sand anchor, a device which provides a winching point when there are no other objects around to winch to. The device is still in the design phase, and we found a few things that needed improvement, although all thought that it was a great idea. I know that when it's finalized, I'll definitely have one in my quad trunk. After lunch, we headed towards the Dickson Lake loop. I was leading, and was flying along pretty good along a snow-covered trail, drifting through the corners (snow drifts?), and managing to stay on top of the crust (which is a neat feeling, by the way). Suddenly I launched over a cross-ditch that I didn't notice because of the snow, and when I landed I broke through the crust, immediately sunk, and came to an abrupt STOP and almost flew over the handlebars. Ow, sharp lower back pain. I fought the snow for a bit, but couldn't extricate myself. I got tugged out, then Bambam showed off by riding past where I had been stuck. He didn't get too much further, and we turned around and headed for a different trail. We wound up on the same trail the "slow" group had done before lunch. Mid-way along the road, there was a section of road that had been washed away, leaving a nice V-shaped hole on the "drop" side of the road. I pointed it out to the rider behind me before continuing on, so that he wouldn't fall into it. I rode just past the twin bridges, then turned around when I realized the others were no longer behind me. They had stopped just before the bridges; we turned around there and headed back. I forgot about the V-shaped hole, and flew over it before realizing what I had done, feeling only a slight bump as my rear tire dropped into it. The rider behind me did the same, as he'd forgotten about it too. We met up with the "slow" group, and did some more quad chatting, then headed back to the trucks. Just before the parking lot, I ran out of fuel and had to switch the tank over to "reserve". Normally I have plenty of fuel left from such a short run, but running flat out on the mainlines, coupled with spinning the tires in the snow, contributed to worse-than-usual fuel economy. Some of us headed to the Sasquatch for dinner, where Bambam did his best to annoy the waitress with his burger indecision. I was feeling pretty sore by then, as my back was really hurting, and my left knee felt like it was disconnected (a left-over from the previous ride at BC Nickel Mine Road two weeks ago, where I rolled my quad three times down an embankment). I was hunched over and limping around the restaurant, which probably looked pretty funny to everyone else. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have gone riding so soon (but quadding is so much fun!). Anyways, as Paul mentioned, it was a great break from the weeks of rain that we'd been experiencing, and if I hadn't gone quadding, I would have been sitting around the house all day WISHING that I'd gone quadding. I spent the next day in bed, as my back hurt too much for me to move (wishing that I HADN'T gone quadding). It was slightly better on Monday, which at least allowed me to go to work. It's slowly improved since then, and as I write this on February 22 it's pretty much healed. Almost ready to go riding again! The photos are all from the "slow" group, as none of the "fast" group took any photos. 
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