Mike Romain

You are most welcome Bill.

I try to make the reports interesting knowing that a lot of folks can't
or don't off road, especially way up here in the Canadian Bush. Our
trips are a world away from your sand runs.

You know Bill, we are doing a paved road run up to James Bay in Northern
Canada at the end of the summer. Polar Bear territory, seriously. Why
don't you jump in 'any' kind of vehicle and come along for the ride?
It's the same deal as all my runs, a 'family style' vacation trip, kids
are more than welcome. Hey, you might even get to meet 'mad' Jo! ;-)

Mike

"L.W.(ßill) ------ III" wrote:
>
> Thanks.
> God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
> mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/
>
> Mike Romain wrote:
> >
> > Well we got back ok... Not quite in one piece, but with most of the
> > pieces....
> >
> > I was setting up my driving lights for highway aim Saturday when I
> > realized I didn't have any headlights... Crap, so I check the 4 year
> > old dimmer switch, sure enough, seized up. I take a hammer to it, nope
> > it ain't clickin'. Get new one, put it in it, works. Go to set up
> > lights just before leaving again and no lights again! Double crap! So
> > I look at the dimmer plug and the sockets are gone. Rotted right out.
> > Cut wires and twist for low beams. All Right, lets get out of here!
> >
> > What a weekend! We got away about 8 PM Sat. It was almost zero
> > visibility at times on the highway when it wasn't bright daylight from
> > the lightning, Jo and Steve had a couple kids along, running in a
> > Cherokee and almost bailed for the night about a third the way there,
> > but stuck it out. It was just insane! 90 kph or 55 mph tops, lower for
> > most of the drive. (This is on a highway where the slow lane runs at 70
> > mph or 110+ kph normally)
> >
> > As we are getting to the bush area, the rain almost stops and the
> > puddles are empty. 'Great', I say, 'we went far enough north to miss
> > the rain' as my wife slaps me in the shoulder. LOL! Ya right, it
> > caught up and stayed with us. Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor
> > sometimes....
> >
> > We come to a causeway across a Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh and, oh,
> > oh, I think, the 3' high culvert is washed out. Get out and check, and
> > it's ok, solid bottom. Turns out the beavers dammed the culverts.
> > Nasty wash out damage in a bird nesting area though.
> >
> > So it is raining harder and harder and I notice one wiper, my side is
> > wiping strange places... My wife noticed too and commented. I said I
> > hop it holds 'till we get there... It up and jammed just as we found a
> > hunt camp to stay the night in. The windshield frame gave up. Crappy
> > aftermarket one split at the hole from flex and let the linkage jam up.
> >
> > So next day I tear into it and brace it and lose the spring clip
> > putting it back together. I heard a perfect pinball machine tick tick
> > ding as the clip goes down the defroster duct.... So I steal a clip
> > from my choke fast idle rod and it lasts 10 minutes. Oh well, I still
> > had it manually working on my side in the rain after I unhooked the
> > linkage.
> >
> > So it rained some more on Sunday, then we had some thunderstorms. We
> > did a bit of wheeling across the bush roads over to a lake we camp at
> > lots. There were 15 tents in there! The loggers have just plain ruined
> > the area. This lake used to be 6 hours from where we came into the bush
> > and 4 hours from the other end and now it's 45 minutes from one side and
> > a mini van can make it. But this time that side is closed because the
> > loggers crushed another Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh's causeway with
> > a 10' high culvert and water level control dam. The MNR has the road
> > posted closed to motor traffic so even if we could winch our way across
> > the ravine, it would be a 'bad' idea. Closed is closed. There were a
> > bunch of ATV's that went across that are giving them a bad impression
> > according to the MNR guy I talked to on Tues.. That kind of BS gets
> > areas closed!!!!
> >
> > We were going to go on another firewood run in the evening to have a
> > fire and marshmallows, etc., but it decided to really rain hard, so we
> > didn't.
> >
> > We did a pile of hikes down to the marsh during the day and nights. The
> > marsh noises at night are wild! The frogs were in full symphony with
> > the bull frogs playing bass and the big Barred Owls were yapping/howling
> > away. They are extremely loud and one person in our party said he was
> > out with others that though they were hearing coyotes when they heard
> > the owls. I can believe it.
> >
> > We saw lots of fresh tracks (did I mention it was raining, so tracks
> > wash out fast) moose, deer, fawn, raccoon, what really looked like big
> > cat, (palm sized tracks with no claws showing, so not dog) fresh beaver
> > cuttings, and bird. We only physically saw a porcupine, a big old
> > ground hog, a couple foxes in the marsh at night caught in a spot light,
> > and a ruffed grouse I tagged driving by and walked/sneaked through the
> > woods, back with the young girls so they could see it in person. They
> > did then it took off with a roar scaring them good! LOL! The Blue
> > herons were longer distance and the red wing black birds were everywhere
> > squawking at us and chasing Herons away from their nests.
> >
> > Got up Monday to some more rain. The TJ folks had to get back, so they
> > left fairly early.
> >
> > Steve and I and the kids are going to go out on a run when I check my
> > new hub to see how it's doing.
> >
> > LOL! SOB! Two bolts are snapped and the rest of the studs and bolts
> > are just plain gone!!! What is it with these things? I even used some
> > studs because I heard they were better and used loctite on
> > everything....
> >
> > So I just hand pulled it off and tossed the hub in the back and we went
> > on another run anyway with me in 2 WD and ended up on a winter built
> > skidder run.
> >
> > These are mud roads with brush and ice filling the holes as they make
> > them for the trucks to run in the winter only. Come thaw and you can
> > have 6' or deeper holes covered by a bit of muddy brush. (snapped a
> > shock pin on one a couple years ago. Bottom dropped out fast.)
> >
> > Man that organic mud sure can turn a mud tire into a slick in a hurry!
> > LOL! I had 'fun' trying to get across one log bridge and up the creek
> > bank. It was one of those slick hills with a funky bridge that could
> > end up with a Jeep rubber side up. The bridge was made for a skidder
> > with 6' high tires and chain cleats on. Steve followed along in a
> > Cherokee with no problem in 4x4....
> >
> > That is the only place we got any photos. Steve had a full camera with
> > only a couple left and Jason had dead batteries with no charger along.
> > (we have inverters)
> >
> > If Steve can forward the photos to me I will put them up and post a
> > link.
> >
> > So it's just pissing rain and I am staring to see bottomless pits in the
> > road so figure it's a good time to turn around while I am still moving.
> > I didn't feel like winching in a thunderstorm.
> >
> > We got back and they packed up in the rain to leave. My wife and I
> > stayed until Tuesday when they called for clearing. Driving with a
> > manual wiper is no fun.
> >
> > So Tuesday morning and some trucks show up from the local works dept.
> > Apparently the loggers phoned in saying they can't cross the washout in
> > the marsh and these guys are trying to figure out who's fault the
> > environmental damage is and what is needed to fix it.
> >
> > If the loggers caused the culvert collapse, they are liable for the fix
> > and the damage.
> >
> > The workers thought they saw back hoe tracks and asked us if we had seen
> > any and I said nope and we had bee all across. No track either, we were
> > down at the marsh a lot on short hikes. It is a neat place, especially
> > at night.
> >
> > Then a conservation officer showed up and I talked with him a bit and
> > pointed out the second high water bypass culvert nicely dammed up and
> > water wash across the top of the road and the lack of any dirt piles
> > from back hoe work over on the main culvert. He agreed that nature was
> > to 'blame' for it. They will call in the local trapper to clean out the
> > beaver. He is a 'nuisance' beaver affecting the forestry access road.
> >
> > I don't know what that means for the clean up though.... A large bird
> > breeding area was damaged. We saw lots of Red Wing Black Birds, Great
> > Blue Herons and Ducks of many varieties nesting in there.
> >
> > So I asked the MNR guy about the weather (no radio coverage in there)
> > hoping for clearing for my drive home (one manual wiper only) and he
> > laughs saying they are calling for flood warnings that day and
> > recommends I get that rain x stuff at a store 100 miles down the road or
> > at the other store 50 miles through the woods the other way. LOL!!!!
> >
> > I got freaking lucky. Had some low cloud/heavy mist for the dirt run
> > out
> > and the first 50 miles, then it didn't start raining again seriously
> > until I was 20 miles from home.
> >
> > Oh, did I mention it rained all freaking weekend?
> > ;-)
> >
> > Had a fun time, met some nice new folks and I think everyone enjoyed
> > themselves.
> >
> > Mike

Mike Romain

North east of there.

We try to have a fun 'family style' vacation trips on our RAMJ+W runs.

We are running up to James Bay at the end of August, interested?

Mike

SB wrote:
>
> Where abouts did ya hit? Peterborough area? or further east?
>
> Sounds pretty good though!
>
> "Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
> news:40B6364E.5543E26B@sympatico.ca...
> > Well we got back ok... Not quite in one piece, but with most of the
> > pieces....
> >
> > I was setting up my driving lights for highway aim Saturday when I
> > realized I didn't have any headlights... Crap, so I check the 4 year
> > old dimmer switch, sure enough, seized up. I take a hammer to it, nope
> > it ain't clickin'. Get new one, put it in it, works. Go to set up
> > lights just before leaving again and no lights again! Double crap! So
> > I look at the dimmer plug and the sockets are gone. Rotted right out.
> > Cut wires and twist for low beams. All Right, lets get out of here!
> >
> > What a weekend! We got away about 8 PM Sat. It was almost zero
> > visibility at times on the highway when it wasn't bright daylight from
> > the lightning, Jo and Steve had a couple kids along, running in a
> > Cherokee and almost bailed for the night about a third the way there,
> > but stuck it out. It was just insane! 90 kph or 55 mph tops, lower for
> > most of the drive. (This is on a highway where the slow lane runs at 70
> > mph or 110+ kph normally)
> >
> > As we are getting to the bush area, the rain almost stops and the
> > puddles are empty. 'Great', I say, 'we went far enough north to miss
> > the rain' as my wife slaps me in the shoulder. LOL! Ya right, it
> > caught up and stayed with us. Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor
> > sometimes....
> >
> > We come to a causeway across a Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh and, oh,
> > oh, I think, the 3' high culvert is washed out. Get out and check, and
> > it's ok, solid bottom. Turns out the beavers dammed the culverts.
> > Nasty wash out damage in a bird nesting area though.
> >
> > So it is raining harder and harder and I notice one wiper, my side is
> > wiping strange places... My wife noticed too and commented. I said I
> > hop it holds 'till we get there... It up and jammed just as we found a
> > hunt camp to stay the night in. The windshield frame gave up. Crappy
> > aftermarket one split at the hole from flex and let the linkage jam up.
> >
> > So next day I tear into it and brace it and lose the spring clip
> > putting it back together. I heard a perfect pinball machine tick tick
> > ding as the clip goes down the defroster duct.... So I steal a clip
> > from my choke fast idle rod and it lasts 10 minutes. Oh well, I still
> > had it manually working on my side in the rain after I unhooked the
> > linkage.
> >
> > So it rained some more on Sunday, then we had some thunderstorms. We
> > did a bit of wheeling across the bush roads over to a lake we camp at
> > lots. There were 15 tents in there! The loggers have just plain ruined
> > the area. This lake used to be 6 hours from where we came into the bush
> > and 4 hours from the other end and now it's 45 minutes from one side and
> > a mini van can make it. But this time that side is closed because the
> > loggers crushed another Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh's causeway with
> > a 10' high culvert and water level control dam. The MNR has the road
> > posted closed to motor traffic so even if we could winch our way across
> > the ravine, it would be a 'bad' idea. Closed is closed. There were a
> > bunch of ATV's that went across that are giving them a bad impression
> > according to the MNR guy I talked to on Tues.. That kind of BS gets
> > areas closed!!!!
> >
> > We were going to go on another firewood run in the evening to have a
> > fire and marshmallows, etc., but it decided to really rain hard, so we
> > didn't.
> >
> > We did a pile of hikes down to the marsh during the day and nights. The
> > marsh noises at night are wild! The frogs were in full symphony with
> > the bull frogs playing bass and the big Barred Owls were yapping/howling
> > away. They are extremely loud and one person in our party said he was
> > out with others that though they were hearing coyotes when they heard
> > the owls. I can believe it.
> >
> > We saw lots of fresh tracks (did I mention it was raining, so tracks
> > wash out fast) moose, deer, fawn, raccoon, what really looked like big
> > cat, (palm sized tracks with no claws showing, so not dog) fresh beaver
> > cuttings, and bird. We only physically saw a porcupine, a big old
> > ground hog, a couple foxes in the marsh at night caught in a spot light,
> > and a ruffed grouse I tagged driving by and walked/sneaked through the
> > woods, back with the young girls so they could see it in person. They
> > did then it took off with a roar scaring them good! LOL! The Blue
> > herons were longer distance and the red wing black birds were everywhere
> > squawking at us and chasing Herons away from their nests.
> >
> > Got up Monday to some more rain. The TJ folks had to get back, so they
> > left fairly early.
> >
> > Steve and I and the kids are going to go out on a run when I check my
> > new hub to see how it's doing.
> >
> > LOL! SOB! Two bolts are snapped and the rest of the studs and bolts
> > are just plain gone!!! What is it with these things? I even used some
> > studs because I heard they were better and used loctite on
> > everything....
> >
> > So I just hand pulled it off and tossed the hub in the back and we went
> > on another run anyway with me in 2 WD and ended up on a winter built
> > skidder run.
> >
> > These are mud roads with brush and ice filling the holes as they make
> > them for the trucks to run in the winter only. Come thaw and you can
> > have 6' or deeper holes covered by a bit of muddy brush. (snapped a
> > shock pin on one a couple years ago. Bottom dropped out fast.)
> >
> > Man that organic mud sure can turn a mud tire into a slick in a hurry!
> > LOL! I had 'fun' trying to get across one log bridge and up the creek
> > bank. It was one of those slick hills with a funky bridge that could
> > end up with a Jeep rubber side up. The bridge was made for a skidder
> > with 6' high tires and chain cleats on. Steve followed along in a
> > Cherokee with no problem in 4x4....
> >
> > That is the only place we got any photos. Steve had a full camera with
> > only a couple left and Jason had dead batteries with no charger along.
> > (we have inverters)
> >
> > If Steve can forward the photos to me I will put them up and post a
> > link.
> >
> > So it's just pissing rain and I am staring to see bottomless pits in the
> > road so figure it's a good time to turn around while I am still moving.
> > I didn't feel like winching in a thunderstorm.
> >
> > We got back and they packed up in the rain to leave. My wife and I
> > stayed until Tuesday when they called for clearing. Driving with a
> > manual wiper is no fun.
> >
> > So Tuesday morning and some trucks show up from the local works dept.
> > Apparently the loggers phoned in saying they can't cross the washout in
> > the marsh and these guys are trying to figure out who's fault the
> > environmental damage is and what is needed to fix it.
> >
> > If the loggers caused the culvert collapse, they are liable for the fix
> > and the damage.
> >
> > The workers thought they saw back hoe tracks and asked us if we had seen
> > any and I said nope and we had bee all across. No track either, we were
> > down at the marsh a lot on short hikes. It is a neat place, especially
> > at night.
> >
> > Then a conservation officer showed up and I talked with him a bit and
> > pointed out the second high water bypass culvert nicely dammed up and
> > water wash across the top of the road and the lack of any dirt piles
> > from back hoe work over on the main culvert. He agreed that nature was
> > to 'blame' for it. They will call in the local trapper to clean out the
> > beaver. He is a 'nuisance' beaver affecting the forestry access road.
> >
> > I don't know what that means for the clean up though.... A large bird
> > breeding area was damaged. We saw lots of Red Wing Black Birds, Great
> > Blue Herons and Ducks of many varieties nesting in there.
> >
> > So I asked the MNR guy about the weather (no radio coverage in there)
> > hoping for clearing for my drive home (one manual wiper only) and he
> > laughs saying they are calling for flood warnings that day and
> > recommends I get that rain x stuff at a store 100 miles down the road or
> > at the other store 50 miles through the woods the other way. LOL!!!!
> >
> > I got freaking lucky. Had some low cloud/heavy mist for the dirt run
> > out
> > and the first 50 miles, then it didn't start raining again seriously
> > until I was 20 miles from home.
> >
> > Oh, did I mention it rained all freaking weekend?
> > ;-)
> >
> > Had a fun time, met some nice new folks and I think everyone enjoyed
> > themselves.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > Mike Romain wrote:
> > >
> > > My wife and I are heading off into the Canadian bush for a few days.
> > > Have a couple with TJ coming and Steve and Jo are joining us.
> > >
> > > I don't have a working camera, maybe the others do. If we get photos I
> > > will post the link.
> > >
> > > Mike
> > > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Mike Romain

North east of there.

We try to have a fun 'family style' vacation trips on our RAMJ+W runs.

We are running up to James Bay at the end of August, interested?

Mike

SB wrote:
>
> Where abouts did ya hit? Peterborough area? or further east?
>
> Sounds pretty good though!
>
> "Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
> news:40B6364E.5543E26B@sympatico.ca...
> > Well we got back ok... Not quite in one piece, but with most of the
> > pieces....
> >
> > I was setting up my driving lights for highway aim Saturday when I
> > realized I didn't have any headlights... Crap, so I check the 4 year
> > old dimmer switch, sure enough, seized up. I take a hammer to it, nope
> > it ain't clickin'. Get new one, put it in it, works. Go to set up
> > lights just before leaving again and no lights again! Double crap! So
> > I look at the dimmer plug and the sockets are gone. Rotted right out.
> > Cut wires and twist for low beams. All Right, lets get out of here!
> >
> > What a weekend! We got away about 8 PM Sat. It was almost zero
> > visibility at times on the highway when it wasn't bright daylight from
> > the lightning, Jo and Steve had a couple kids along, running in a
> > Cherokee and almost bailed for the night about a third the way there,
> > but stuck it out. It was just insane! 90 kph or 55 mph tops, lower for
> > most of the drive. (This is on a highway where the slow lane runs at 70
> > mph or 110+ kph normally)
> >
> > As we are getting to the bush area, the rain almost stops and the
> > puddles are empty. 'Great', I say, 'we went far enough north to miss
> > the rain' as my wife slaps me in the shoulder. LOL! Ya right, it
> > caught up and stayed with us. Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor
> > sometimes....
> >
> > We come to a causeway across a Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh and, oh,
> > oh, I think, the 3' high culvert is washed out. Get out and check, and
> > it's ok, solid bottom. Turns out the beavers dammed the culverts.
> > Nasty wash out damage in a bird nesting area though.
> >
> > So it is raining harder and harder and I notice one wiper, my side is
> > wiping strange places... My wife noticed too and commented. I said I
> > hop it holds 'till we get there... It up and jammed just as we found a
> > hunt camp to stay the night in. The windshield frame gave up. Crappy
> > aftermarket one split at the hole from flex and let the linkage jam up.
> >
> > So next day I tear into it and brace it and lose the spring clip
> > putting it back together. I heard a perfect pinball machine tick tick
> > ding as the clip goes down the defroster duct.... So I steal a clip
> > from my choke fast idle rod and it lasts 10 minutes. Oh well, I still
> > had it manually working on my side in the rain after I unhooked the
> > linkage.
> >
> > So it rained some more on Sunday, then we had some thunderstorms. We
> > did a bit of wheeling across the bush roads over to a lake we camp at
> > lots. There were 15 tents in there! The loggers have just plain ruined
> > the area. This lake used to be 6 hours from where we came into the bush
> > and 4 hours from the other end and now it's 45 minutes from one side and
> > a mini van can make it. But this time that side is closed because the
> > loggers crushed another Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh's causeway with
> > a 10' high culvert and water level control dam. The MNR has the road
> > posted closed to motor traffic so even if we could winch our way across
> > the ravine, it would be a 'bad' idea. Closed is closed. There were a
> > bunch of ATV's that went across that are giving them a bad impression
> > according to the MNR guy I talked to on Tues.. That kind of BS gets
> > areas closed!!!!
> >
> > We were going to go on another firewood run in the evening to have a
> > fire and marshmallows, etc., but it decided to really rain hard, so we
> > didn't.
> >
> > We did a pile of hikes down to the marsh during the day and nights. The
> > marsh noises at night are wild! The frogs were in full symphony with
> > the bull frogs playing bass and the big Barred Owls were yapping/howling
> > away. They are extremely loud and one person in our party said he was
> > out with others that though they were hearing coyotes when they heard
> > the owls. I can believe it.
> >
> > We saw lots of fresh tracks (did I mention it was raining, so tracks
> > wash out fast) moose, deer, fawn, raccoon, what really looked like big
> > cat, (palm sized tracks with no claws showing, so not dog) fresh beaver
> > cuttings, and bird. We only physically saw a porcupine, a big old
> > ground hog, a couple foxes in the marsh at night caught in a spot light,
> > and a ruffed grouse I tagged driving by and walked/sneaked through the
> > woods, back with the young girls so they could see it in person. They
> > did then it took off with a roar scaring them good! LOL! The Blue
> > herons were longer distance and the red wing black birds were everywhere
> > squawking at us and chasing Herons away from their nests.
> >
> > Got up Monday to some more rain. The TJ folks had to get back, so they
> > left fairly early.
> >
> > Steve and I and the kids are going to go out on a run when I check my
> > new hub to see how it's doing.
> >
> > LOL! SOB! Two bolts are snapped and the rest of the studs and bolts
> > are just plain gone!!! What is it with these things? I even used some
> > studs because I heard they were better and used loctite on
> > everything....
> >
> > So I just hand pulled it off and tossed the hub in the back and we went
> > on another run anyway with me in 2 WD and ended up on a winter built
> > skidder run.
> >
> > These are mud roads with brush and ice filling the holes as they make
> > them for the trucks to run in the winter only. Come thaw and you can
> > have 6' or deeper holes covered by a bit of muddy brush. (snapped a
> > shock pin on one a couple years ago. Bottom dropped out fast.)
> >
> > Man that organic mud sure can turn a mud tire into a slick in a hurry!
> > LOL! I had 'fun' trying to get across one log bridge and up the creek
> > bank. It was one of those slick hills with a funky bridge that could
> > end up with a Jeep rubber side up. The bridge was made for a skidder
> > with 6' high tires and chain cleats on. Steve followed along in a
> > Cherokee with no problem in 4x4....
> >
> > That is the only place we got any photos. Steve had a full camera with
> > only a couple left and Jason had dead batteries with no charger along.
> > (we have inverters)
> >
> > If Steve can forward the photos to me I will put them up and post a
> > link.
> >
> > So it's just pissing rain and I am staring to see bottomless pits in the
> > road so figure it's a good time to turn around while I am still moving.
> > I didn't feel like winching in a thunderstorm.
> >
> > We got back and they packed up in the rain to leave. My wife and I
> > stayed until Tuesday when they called for clearing. Driving with a
> > manual wiper is no fun.
> >
> > So Tuesday morning and some trucks show up from the local works dept.
> > Apparently the loggers phoned in saying they can't cross the washout in
> > the marsh and these guys are trying to figure out who's fault the
> > environmental damage is and what is needed to fix it.
> >
> > If the loggers caused the culvert collapse, they are liable for the fix
> > and the damage.
> >
> > The workers thought they saw back hoe tracks and asked us if we had seen
> > any and I said nope and we had bee all across. No track either, we were
> > down at the marsh a lot on short hikes. It is a neat place, especially
> > at night.
> >
> > Then a conservation officer showed up and I talked with him a bit and
> > pointed out the second high water bypass culvert nicely dammed up and
> > water wash across the top of the road and the lack of any dirt piles
> > from back hoe work over on the main culvert. He agreed that nature was
> > to 'blame' for it. They will call in the local trapper to clean out the
> > beaver. He is a 'nuisance' beaver affecting the forestry access road.
> >
> > I don't know what that means for the clean up though.... A large bird
> > breeding area was damaged. We saw lots of Red Wing Black Birds, Great
> > Blue Herons and Ducks of many varieties nesting in there.
> >
> > So I asked the MNR guy about the weather (no radio coverage in there)
> > hoping for clearing for my drive home (one manual wiper only) and he
> > laughs saying they are calling for flood warnings that day and
> > recommends I get that rain x stuff at a store 100 miles down the road or
> > at the other store 50 miles through the woods the other way. LOL!!!!
> >
> > I got freaking lucky. Had some low cloud/heavy mist for the dirt run
> > out
> > and the first 50 miles, then it didn't start raining again seriously
> > until I was 20 miles from home.
> >
> > Oh, did I mention it rained all freaking weekend?
> > ;-)
> >
> > Had a fun time, met some nice new folks and I think everyone enjoyed
> > themselves.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > Mike Romain wrote:
> > >
> > > My wife and I are heading off into the Canadian bush for a few days.
> > > Have a couple with TJ coming and Steve and Jo are joining us.
> > >
> > > I don't have a working camera, maybe the others do. If we get photos I
> > > will post the link.
> > >
> > > Mike
> > > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Mike Romain

North east of there.

We try to have a fun 'family style' vacation trips on our RAMJ+W runs.

We are running up to James Bay at the end of August, interested?

Mike

SB wrote:
>
> Where abouts did ya hit? Peterborough area? or further east?
>
> Sounds pretty good though!
>
> "Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
> news:40B6364E.5543E26B@sympatico.ca...
> > Well we got back ok... Not quite in one piece, but with most of the
> > pieces....
> >
> > I was setting up my driving lights for highway aim Saturday when I
> > realized I didn't have any headlights... Crap, so I check the 4 year
> > old dimmer switch, sure enough, seized up. I take a hammer to it, nope
> > it ain't clickin'. Get new one, put it in it, works. Go to set up
> > lights just before leaving again and no lights again! Double crap! So
> > I look at the dimmer plug and the sockets are gone. Rotted right out.
> > Cut wires and twist for low beams. All Right, lets get out of here!
> >
> > What a weekend! We got away about 8 PM Sat. It was almost zero
> > visibility at times on the highway when it wasn't bright daylight from
> > the lightning, Jo and Steve had a couple kids along, running in a
> > Cherokee and almost bailed for the night about a third the way there,
> > but stuck it out. It was just insane! 90 kph or 55 mph tops, lower for
> > most of the drive. (This is on a highway where the slow lane runs at 70
> > mph or 110+ kph normally)
> >
> > As we are getting to the bush area, the rain almost stops and the
> > puddles are empty. 'Great', I say, 'we went far enough north to miss
> > the rain' as my wife slaps me in the shoulder. LOL! Ya right, it
> > caught up and stayed with us. Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor
> > sometimes....
> >
> > We come to a causeway across a Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh and, oh,
> > oh, I think, the 3' high culvert is washed out. Get out and check, and
> > it's ok, solid bottom. Turns out the beavers dammed the culverts.
> > Nasty wash out damage in a bird nesting area though.
> >
> > So it is raining harder and harder and I notice one wiper, my side is
> > wiping strange places... My wife noticed too and commented. I said I
> > hop it holds 'till we get there... It up and jammed just as we found a
> > hunt camp to stay the night in. The windshield frame gave up. Crappy
> > aftermarket one split at the hole from flex and let the linkage jam up.
> >
> > So next day I tear into it and brace it and lose the spring clip
> > putting it back together. I heard a perfect pinball machine tick tick
> > ding as the clip goes down the defroster duct.... So I steal a clip
> > from my choke fast idle rod and it lasts 10 minutes. Oh well, I still
> > had it manually working on my side in the rain after I unhooked the
> > linkage.
> >
> > So it rained some more on Sunday, then we had some thunderstorms. We
> > did a bit of wheeling across the bush roads over to a lake we camp at
> > lots. There were 15 tents in there! The loggers have just plain ruined
> > the area. This lake used to be 6 hours from where we came into the bush
> > and 4 hours from the other end and now it's 45 minutes from one side and
> > a mini van can make it. But this time that side is closed because the
> > loggers crushed another Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh's causeway with
> > a 10' high culvert and water level control dam. The MNR has the road
> > posted closed to motor traffic so even if we could winch our way across
> > the ravine, it would be a 'bad' idea. Closed is closed. There were a
> > bunch of ATV's that went across that are giving them a bad impression
> > according to the MNR guy I talked to on Tues.. That kind of BS gets
> > areas closed!!!!
> >
> > We were going to go on another firewood run in the evening to have a
> > fire and marshmallows, etc., but it decided to really rain hard, so we
> > didn't.
> >
> > We did a pile of hikes down to the marsh during the day and nights. The
> > marsh noises at night are wild! The frogs were in full symphony with
> > the bull frogs playing bass and the big Barred Owls were yapping/howling
> > away. They are extremely loud and one person in our party said he was
> > out with others that though they were hearing coyotes when they heard
> > the owls. I can believe it.
> >
> > We saw lots of fresh tracks (did I mention it was raining, so tracks
> > wash out fast) moose, deer, fawn, raccoon, what really looked like big
> > cat, (palm sized tracks with no claws showing, so not dog) fresh beaver
> > cuttings, and bird. We only physically saw a porcupine, a big old
> > ground hog, a couple foxes in the marsh at night caught in a spot light,
> > and a ruffed grouse I tagged driving by and walked/sneaked through the
> > woods, back with the young girls so they could see it in person. They
> > did then it took off with a roar scaring them good! LOL! The Blue
> > herons were longer distance and the red wing black birds were everywhere
> > squawking at us and chasing Herons away from their nests.
> >
> > Got up Monday to some more rain. The TJ folks had to get back, so they
> > left fairly early.
> >
> > Steve and I and the kids are going to go out on a run when I check my
> > new hub to see how it's doing.
> >
> > LOL! SOB! Two bolts are snapped and the rest of the studs and bolts
> > are just plain gone!!! What is it with these things? I even used some
> > studs because I heard they were better and used loctite on
> > everything....
> >
> > So I just hand pulled it off and tossed the hub in the back and we went
> > on another run anyway with me in 2 WD and ended up on a winter built
> > skidder run.
> >
> > These are mud roads with brush and ice filling the holes as they make
> > them for the trucks to run in the winter only. Come thaw and you can
> > have 6' or deeper holes covered by a bit of muddy brush. (snapped a
> > shock pin on one a couple years ago. Bottom dropped out fast.)
> >
> > Man that organic mud sure can turn a mud tire into a slick in a hurry!
> > LOL! I had 'fun' trying to get across one log bridge and up the creek
> > bank. It was one of those slick hills with a funky bridge that could
> > end up with a Jeep rubber side up. The bridge was made for a skidder
> > with 6' high tires and chain cleats on. Steve followed along in a
> > Cherokee with no problem in 4x4....
> >
> > That is the only place we got any photos. Steve had a full camera with
> > only a couple left and Jason had dead batteries with no charger along.
> > (we have inverters)
> >
> > If Steve can forward the photos to me I will put them up and post a
> > link.
> >
> > So it's just pissing rain and I am staring to see bottomless pits in the
> > road so figure it's a good time to turn around while I am still moving.
> > I didn't feel like winching in a thunderstorm.
> >
> > We got back and they packed up in the rain to leave. My wife and I
> > stayed until Tuesday when they called for clearing. Driving with a
> > manual wiper is no fun.
> >
> > So Tuesday morning and some trucks show up from the local works dept.
> > Apparently the loggers phoned in saying they can't cross the washout in
> > the marsh and these guys are trying to figure out who's fault the
> > environmental damage is and what is needed to fix it.
> >
> > If the loggers caused the culvert collapse, they are liable for the fix
> > and the damage.
> >
> > The workers thought they saw back hoe tracks and asked us if we had seen
> > any and I said nope and we had bee all across. No track either, we were
> > down at the marsh a lot on short hikes. It is a neat place, especially
> > at night.
> >
> > Then a conservation officer showed up and I talked with him a bit and
> > pointed out the second high water bypass culvert nicely dammed up and
> > water wash across the top of the road and the lack of any dirt piles
> > from back hoe work over on the main culvert. He agreed that nature was
> > to 'blame' for it. They will call in the local trapper to clean out the
> > beaver. He is a 'nuisance' beaver affecting the forestry access road.
> >
> > I don't know what that means for the clean up though.... A large bird
> > breeding area was damaged. We saw lots of Red Wing Black Birds, Great
> > Blue Herons and Ducks of many varieties nesting in there.
> >
> > So I asked the MNR guy about the weather (no radio coverage in there)
> > hoping for clearing for my drive home (one manual wiper only) and he
> > laughs saying they are calling for flood warnings that day and
> > recommends I get that rain x stuff at a store 100 miles down the road or
> > at the other store 50 miles through the woods the other way. LOL!!!!
> >
> > I got freaking lucky. Had some low cloud/heavy mist for the dirt run
> > out
> > and the first 50 miles, then it didn't start raining again seriously
> > until I was 20 miles from home.
> >
> > Oh, did I mention it rained all freaking weekend?
> > ;-)
> >
> > Had a fun time, met some nice new folks and I think everyone enjoyed
> > themselves.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > Mike Romain wrote:
> > >
> > > My wife and I are heading off into the Canadian bush for a few days.
> > > Have a couple with TJ coming and Steve and Jo are joining us.
> > >
> > > I don't have a working camera, maybe the others do. If we get photos I
> > > will post the link.
> > >
> > > Mike
> > > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Mike Romain

North east of there.

We try to have a fun 'family style' vacation trips on our RAMJ+W runs.

We are running up to James Bay at the end of August, interested?

Mike

SB wrote:
>
> Where abouts did ya hit? Peterborough area? or further east?
>
> Sounds pretty good though!
>
> "Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
> news:40B6364E.5543E26B@sympatico.ca...
> > Well we got back ok... Not quite in one piece, but with most of the
> > pieces....
> >
> > I was setting up my driving lights for highway aim Saturday when I
> > realized I didn't have any headlights... Crap, so I check the 4 year
> > old dimmer switch, sure enough, seized up. I take a hammer to it, nope
> > it ain't clickin'. Get new one, put it in it, works. Go to set up
> > lights just before leaving again and no lights again! Double crap! So
> > I look at the dimmer plug and the sockets are gone. Rotted right out.
> > Cut wires and twist for low beams. All Right, lets get out of here!
> >
> > What a weekend! We got away about 8 PM Sat. It was almost zero
> > visibility at times on the highway when it wasn't bright daylight from
> > the lightning, Jo and Steve had a couple kids along, running in a
> > Cherokee and almost bailed for the night about a third the way there,
> > but stuck it out. It was just insane! 90 kph or 55 mph tops, lower for
> > most of the drive. (This is on a highway where the slow lane runs at 70
> > mph or 110+ kph normally)
> >
> > As we are getting to the bush area, the rain almost stops and the
> > puddles are empty. 'Great', I say, 'we went far enough north to miss
> > the rain' as my wife slaps me in the shoulder. LOL! Ya right, it
> > caught up and stayed with us. Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor
> > sometimes....
> >
> > We come to a causeway across a Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh and, oh,
> > oh, I think, the 3' high culvert is washed out. Get out and check, and
> > it's ok, solid bottom. Turns out the beavers dammed the culverts.
> > Nasty wash out damage in a bird nesting area though.
> >
> > So it is raining harder and harder and I notice one wiper, my side is
> > wiping strange places... My wife noticed too and commented. I said I
> > hop it holds 'till we get there... It up and jammed just as we found a
> > hunt camp to stay the night in. The windshield frame gave up. Crappy
> > aftermarket one split at the hole from flex and let the linkage jam up.
> >
> > So next day I tear into it and brace it and lose the spring clip
> > putting it back together. I heard a perfect pinball machine tick tick
> > ding as the clip goes down the defroster duct.... So I steal a clip
> > from my choke fast idle rod and it lasts 10 minutes. Oh well, I still
> > had it manually working on my side in the rain after I unhooked the
> > linkage.
> >
> > So it rained some more on Sunday, then we had some thunderstorms. We
> > did a bit of wheeling across the bush roads over to a lake we camp at
> > lots. There were 15 tents in there! The loggers have just plain ruined
> > the area. This lake used to be 6 hours from where we came into the bush
> > and 4 hours from the other end and now it's 45 minutes from one side and
> > a mini van can make it. But this time that side is closed because the
> > loggers crushed another Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh's causeway with
> > a 10' high culvert and water level control dam. The MNR has the road
> > posted closed to motor traffic so even if we could winch our way across
> > the ravine, it would be a 'bad' idea. Closed is closed. There were a
> > bunch of ATV's that went across that are giving them a bad impression
> > according to the MNR guy I talked to on Tues.. That kind of BS gets
> > areas closed!!!!
> >
> > We were going to go on another firewood run in the evening to have a
> > fire and marshmallows, etc., but it decided to really rain hard, so we
> > didn't.
> >
> > We did a pile of hikes down to the marsh during the day and nights. The
> > marsh noises at night are wild! The frogs were in full symphony with
> > the bull frogs playing bass and the big Barred Owls were yapping/howling
> > away. They are extremely loud and one person in our party said he was
> > out with others that though they were hearing coyotes when they heard
> > the owls. I can believe it.
> >
> > We saw lots of fresh tracks (did I mention it was raining, so tracks
> > wash out fast) moose, deer, fawn, raccoon, what really looked like big
> > cat, (palm sized tracks with no claws showing, so not dog) fresh beaver
> > cuttings, and bird. We only physically saw a porcupine, a big old
> > ground hog, a couple foxes in the marsh at night caught in a spot light,
> > and a ruffed grouse I tagged driving by and walked/sneaked through the
> > woods, back with the young girls so they could see it in person. They
> > did then it took off with a roar scaring them good! LOL! The Blue
> > herons were longer distance and the red wing black birds were everywhere
> > squawking at us and chasing Herons away from their nests.
> >
> > Got up Monday to some more rain. The TJ folks had to get back, so they
> > left fairly early.
> >
> > Steve and I and the kids are going to go out on a run when I check my
> > new hub to see how it's doing.
> >
> > LOL! SOB! Two bolts are snapped and the rest of the studs and bolts
> > are just plain gone!!! What is it with these things? I even used some
> > studs because I heard they were better and used loctite on
> > everything....
> >
> > So I just hand pulled it off and tossed the hub in the back and we went
> > on another run anyway with me in 2 WD and ended up on a winter built
> > skidder run.
> >
> > These are mud roads with brush and ice filling the holes as they make
> > them for the trucks to run in the winter only. Come thaw and you can
> > have 6' or deeper holes covered by a bit of muddy brush. (snapped a
> > shock pin on one a couple years ago. Bottom dropped out fast.)
> >
> > Man that organic mud sure can turn a mud tire into a slick in a hurry!
> > LOL! I had 'fun' trying to get across one log bridge and up the creek
> > bank. It was one of those slick hills with a funky bridge that could
> > end up with a Jeep rubber side up. The bridge was made for a skidder
> > with 6' high tires and chain cleats on. Steve followed along in a
> > Cherokee with no problem in 4x4....
> >
> > That is the only place we got any photos. Steve had a full camera with
> > only a couple left and Jason had dead batteries with no charger along.
> > (we have inverters)
> >
> > If Steve can forward the photos to me I will put them up and post a
> > link.
> >
> > So it's just pissing rain and I am staring to see bottomless pits in the
> > road so figure it's a good time to turn around while I am still moving.
> > I didn't feel like winching in a thunderstorm.
> >
> > We got back and they packed up in the rain to leave. My wife and I
> > stayed until Tuesday when they called for clearing. Driving with a
> > manual wiper is no fun.
> >
> > So Tuesday morning and some trucks show up from the local works dept.
> > Apparently the loggers phoned in saying they can't cross the washout in
> > the marsh and these guys are trying to figure out who's fault the
> > environmental damage is and what is needed to fix it.
> >
> > If the loggers caused the culvert collapse, they are liable for the fix
> > and the damage.
> >
> > The workers thought they saw back hoe tracks and asked us if we had seen
> > any and I said nope and we had bee all across. No track either, we were
> > down at the marsh a lot on short hikes. It is a neat place, especially
> > at night.
> >
> > Then a conservation officer showed up and I talked with him a bit and
> > pointed out the second high water bypass culvert nicely dammed up and
> > water wash across the top of the road and the lack of any dirt piles
> > from back hoe work over on the main culvert. He agreed that nature was
> > to 'blame' for it. They will call in the local trapper to clean out the
> > beaver. He is a 'nuisance' beaver affecting the forestry access road.
> >
> > I don't know what that means for the clean up though.... A large bird
> > breeding area was damaged. We saw lots of Red Wing Black Birds, Great
> > Blue Herons and Ducks of many varieties nesting in there.
> >
> > So I asked the MNR guy about the weather (no radio coverage in there)
> > hoping for clearing for my drive home (one manual wiper only) and he
> > laughs saying they are calling for flood warnings that day and
> > recommends I get that rain x stuff at a store 100 miles down the road or
> > at the other store 50 miles through the woods the other way. LOL!!!!
> >
> > I got freaking lucky. Had some low cloud/heavy mist for the dirt run
> > out
> > and the first 50 miles, then it didn't start raining again seriously
> > until I was 20 miles from home.
> >
> > Oh, did I mention it rained all freaking weekend?
> > ;-)
> >
> > Had a fun time, met some nice new folks and I think everyone enjoyed
> > themselves.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > Mike Romain wrote:
> > >
> > > My wife and I are heading off into the Canadian bush for a few days.
> > > Have a couple with TJ coming and Steve and Jo are joining us.
> > >
> > > I don't have a working camera, maybe the others do. If we get photos I
> > > will post the link.
> > >
> > > Mike
> > > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

Hi Mike,
Thanks muches for the invite, but I'm just too old with my pinched
nerve at L5-S1.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

Mike Romain wrote:
>
> You are most welcome Bill.
>
> I try to make the reports interesting knowing that a lot of folks can't
> or don't off road, especially way up here in the Canadian Bush. Our
> trips are a world away from your sand runs.
>
> You know Bill, we are doing a paved road run up to James Bay in Northern
> Canada at the end of the summer. Polar Bear territory, seriously. Why
> don't you jump in 'any' kind of vehicle and come along for the ride?
> It's the same deal as all my runs, a 'family style' vacation trip, kids
> are more than welcome. Hey, you might even get to meet 'mad' Jo! ;-)
>
> Mike

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

Hi Mike,
Thanks muches for the invite, but I'm just too old with my pinched
nerve at L5-S1.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

Mike Romain wrote:
>
> You are most welcome Bill.
>
> I try to make the reports interesting knowing that a lot of folks can't
> or don't off road, especially way up here in the Canadian Bush. Our
> trips are a world away from your sand runs.
>
> You know Bill, we are doing a paved road run up to James Bay in Northern
> Canada at the end of the summer. Polar Bear territory, seriously. Why
> don't you jump in 'any' kind of vehicle and come along for the ride?
> It's the same deal as all my runs, a 'family style' vacation trip, kids
> are more than welcome. Hey, you might even get to meet 'mad' Jo! ;-)
>
> Mike

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

Hi Mike,
Thanks muches for the invite, but I'm just too old with my pinched
nerve at L5-S1.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

Mike Romain wrote:
>
> You are most welcome Bill.
>
> I try to make the reports interesting knowing that a lot of folks can't
> or don't off road, especially way up here in the Canadian Bush. Our
> trips are a world away from your sand runs.
>
> You know Bill, we are doing a paved road run up to James Bay in Northern
> Canada at the end of the summer. Polar Bear territory, seriously. Why
> don't you jump in 'any' kind of vehicle and come along for the ride?
> It's the same deal as all my runs, a 'family style' vacation trip, kids
> are more than welcome. Hey, you might even get to meet 'mad' Jo! ;-)
>
> Mike

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

Hi Mike,
Thanks muches for the invite, but I'm just too old with my pinched
nerve at L5-S1.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

Mike Romain wrote:
>
> You are most welcome Bill.
>
> I try to make the reports interesting knowing that a lot of folks can't
> or don't off road, especially way up here in the Canadian Bush. Our
> trips are a world away from your sand runs.
>
> You know Bill, we are doing a paved road run up to James Bay in Northern
> Canada at the end of the summer. Polar Bear territory, seriously. Why
> don't you jump in 'any' kind of vehicle and come along for the ride?
> It's the same deal as all my runs, a 'family style' vacation trip, kids
> are more than welcome. Hey, you might even get to meet 'mad' Jo! ;-)
>
> Mike

SB

Oh I'm interested....just not doable this summer.

Family is going to florida (disneyland/world?) and that's going to chew up
most of my vacation time!

Is this run a stock run??

Incidentally....Moosonee only has 2 hotels (Polar Bear Inn and the Osprey
Inn) but about 3or4 years ago they built a big hunting lodge on the island
(Moose Factory)....supposedly pretty nice.
But you have to take a chopper ($50) or the water taxi's....then taxi's on
the island....

How many spare parts would you carry for an isolated run like this?

sb

"Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:40B6AD68.6135D826@sympatico.ca...
> North east of there.
>
> We try to have a fun 'family style' vacation trips on our RAMJ+W runs.
>
> We are running up to James Bay at the end of August, interested?
>
> Mike
>
> SB wrote:
> >
> > Where abouts did ya hit? Peterborough area? or further east?
> >
> > Sounds pretty good though!
> >
> > "Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
> > news:40B6364E.5543E26B@sympatico.ca...
> > > Well we got back ok... Not quite in one piece, but with most of the
> > > pieces....
> > >
> > > I was setting up my driving lights for highway aim Saturday when I
> > > realized I didn't have any headlights... Crap, so I check the 4 year
> > > old dimmer switch, sure enough, seized up. I take a hammer to it,
nope
> > > it ain't clickin'. Get new one, put it in it, works. Go to set up
> > > lights just before leaving again and no lights again! Double crap!
So
> > > I look at the dimmer plug and the sockets are gone. Rotted right out.
> > > Cut wires and twist for low beams. All Right, lets get out of here!
> > >
> > > What a weekend! We got away about 8 PM Sat. It was almost zero
> > > visibility at times on the highway when it wasn't bright daylight from
> > > the lightning, Jo and Steve had a couple kids along, running in a
> > > Cherokee and almost bailed for the night about a third the way there,
> > > but stuck it out. It was just insane! 90 kph or 55 mph tops, lower
for
> > > most of the drive. (This is on a highway where the slow lane runs at
70
> > > mph or 110+ kph normally)
> > >
> > > As we are getting to the bush area, the rain almost stops and the
> > > puddles are empty. 'Great', I say, 'we went far enough north to miss
> > > the rain' as my wife slaps me in the shoulder. LOL! Ya right, it
> > > caught up and stayed with us. Mother Nature has a warped sense of
humor
> > > sometimes....
> > >
> > > We come to a causeway across a Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh and,
oh,
> > > oh, I think, the 3' high culvert is washed out. Get out and check,
and
> > > it's ok, solid bottom. Turns out the beavers dammed the culverts.
> > > Nasty wash out damage in a bird nesting area though.
> > >
> > > So it is raining harder and harder and I notice one wiper, my side is
> > > wiping strange places... My wife noticed too and commented. I said I
> > > hop it holds 'till we get there... It up and jammed just as we found
a
> > > hunt camp to stay the night in. The windshield frame gave up. Crappy
> > > aftermarket one split at the hole from flex and let the linkage jam
up.
> > >
> > > So next day I tear into it and brace it and lose the spring clip
> > > putting it back together. I heard a perfect pinball machine tick tick
> > > ding as the clip goes down the defroster duct.... So I steal a clip
> > > from my choke fast idle rod and it lasts 10 minutes. Oh well, I still
> > > had it manually working on my side in the rain after I unhooked the
> > > linkage.
> > >
> > > So it rained some more on Sunday, then we had some thunderstorms. We
> > > did a bit of wheeling across the bush roads over to a lake we camp at
> > > lots. There were 15 tents in there! The loggers have just plain
ruined
> > > the area. This lake used to be 6 hours from where we came into the
bush
> > > and 4 hours from the other end and now it's 45 minutes from one side
and
> > > a mini van can make it. But this time that side is closed because the
> > > loggers crushed another Ducks Unlimited sponsored marsh's causeway
with
> > > a 10' high culvert and water level control dam. The MNR has the road
> > > posted closed to motor traffic so even if we could winch our way
across
> > > the ravine, it would be a 'bad' idea. Closed is closed. There were a
> > > bunch of ATV's that went across that are giving them a bad impression
> > > according to the MNR guy I talked to on Tues.. That kind of BS gets
> > > areas closed!!!!
> > >
> > > We were going to go on another firewood run in the evening to have a
> > > fire and marshmallows, etc., but it decided to really rain hard, so we
> > > didn't.
> > >
> > > We did a pile of hikes down to the marsh during the day and nights.
The
> > > marsh noises at night are wild! The frogs were in full symphony with
> > > the bull frogs playing bass and the big Barred Owls were
yapping/howling
> > > away. They are extremely loud and one person in our party said he was
> > > out with others that though they were hearing coyotes when they heard
> > > the owls. I can believe it.
> > >
> > > We saw lots of fresh tracks (did I mention it was raining, so tracks
> > > wash out fast) moose, deer, fawn, raccoon, what really looked like big
> > > cat, (palm sized tracks with no claws showing, so not dog) fresh
beaver
> > > cuttings, and bird. We only physically saw a porcupine, a big old
> > > ground hog, a couple foxes in the marsh at night caught in a spot
light,
> > > and a ruffed grouse I tagged driving by and walked/sneaked through the
> > > woods, back with the young girls so they could see it in person. They
> > > did then it took off with a roar scaring them good! LOL! The Blue
> > > herons were longer distance and the red wing black birds were
everywhere
> > > squawking at us and chasing Herons away from their nests.
> > >
> > > Got up Monday to some more rain. The TJ folks had to get back, so
they
> > > left fairly early.
> > >
> > > Steve and I and the kids are going to go out on a run when I check my
> > > new hub to see how it's doing.
> > >
> > > LOL! SOB! Two bolts are snapped and the rest of the studs and bolts
> > > are just plain gone!!! What is it with these things? I even used
some
> > > studs because I heard they were better and used loctite on
> > > everything....
> > >
> > > So I just hand pulled it off and tossed the hub in the back and we
went
> > > on another run anyway with me in 2 WD and ended up on a winter built
> > > skidder run.
> > >
> > > These are mud roads with brush and ice filling the holes as they make
> > > them for the trucks to run in the winter only. Come thaw and you can
> > > have 6' or deeper holes covered by a bit of muddy brush. (snapped a
> > > shock pin on one a couple years ago. Bottom dropped out fast.)
> > >
> > > Man that organic mud sure can turn a mud tire into a slick in a hurry!
> > > LOL! I had 'fun' trying to get across one log bridge and up the creek
> > > bank. It was one of those slick hills with a funky bridge that could
> > > end up with a Jeep rubber side up. The bridge was made for a skidder
> > > with 6' high tires and chain cleats on. Steve followed along in a
> > > Cherokee with no problem in 4x4....
> > >
> > > That is the only place we got any photos. Steve had a full camera
with
> > > only a couple left and Jason had dead batteries with no charger along.
> > > (we have inverters)
> > >
> > > If Steve can forward the photos to me I will put them up and post a
> > > link.
> > >
> > > So it's just pissing rain and I am staring to see bottomless pits in
the
> > > road so figure it's a good time to turn around while I am still
moving.
> > > I didn't feel like winching in a thunderstorm.
> > >
> > > We got back and they packed up in the rain to leave. My wife and I
> > > stayed until Tuesday when they called for clearing. Driving with a
> > > manual wiper is no fun.
> > >
> > > So Tuesday morning and some trucks show up from the local works dept.
> > > Apparently the loggers phoned in saying they can't cross the washout
in
> > > the marsh and these guys are trying to figure out who's fault the
> > > environmental damage is and what is needed to fix it.
> > >
> > > If the loggers caused the culvert collapse, they are liable for the
fix
> > > and the damage.
> > >
> > > The workers thought they saw back hoe tracks and asked us if we had
seen
> > > any and I said nope and we had bee all across. No track either, we
were
> > > down at the marsh a lot on short hikes. It is a neat place,
especially
> > > at night.
> > >
> > > Then a conservation officer showed up and I talked with him a bit and
> > > pointed out the second high water bypass culvert nicely dammed up and
> > > water wash across the top of the road and the lack of any dirt piles
> > > from back hoe work over on the main culvert. He agreed that nature
was
> > > to 'blame' for it. They will call in the local trapper to clean out
the
> > > beaver. He is a 'nuisance' beaver affecting the forestry access road.
> > >
> > > I don't know what that means for the clean up though.... A large bird
> > > breeding area was damaged. We saw lots of Red Wing Black Birds, Great
> > > Blue Herons and Ducks of many varieties nesting in there.
> > >
> > > So I asked the MNR guy about the weather (no radio coverage in there)
> > > hoping for clearing for my drive home (one manual wiper only) and he
> > > laughs saying they are calling for flood warnings that day and
> > > recommends I get that rain x stuff at a store 100 miles down the road
or
> > > at the other store 50 miles through the woods the other way. LOL!!!!
> > >
> > > I got freaking lucky. Had some low cloud/heavy mist for the dirt run
> > > out
> > > and the first 50 miles, then it didn't start raining again seriously
> > > until I was 20 miles from home.
> > >
> > > Oh, did I mention it rained all freaking weekend?
> > > ;-)
> > >
> > > Had a fun time, met some nice new folks and I think everyone enjoyed
> > > themselves.
> > >
> > > Mike
> > >
> > >
> > > Mike Romain wrote:
> > > >
> > > > My wife and I are heading off into the Canadian bush for a few days.
> > > > Have a couple with TJ coming and Steve and Jo are joining us.
> > > >
> > > > I don't have a working camera, maybe the others do. If we get
photos I
> > > > will post the link.
> > > >
> > > > Mike
> > > > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > > > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's