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Source: Dave Hagen
9 May 11
This outing surely rivals the Iron Dog Brigade in the annals of Snowmobiling Lore!!! This same group of pioneers returned to hit the trails together for the 37th year running, faithfully fulfilling the quest for wonderful fellowship and great trail riding!! And again, nobody got hurt, lost or angry!! We were honored this year to have the long-awaited return of Keith Lightfoot, one of the old-line sledders from the early years!! Together we motored through all of the nooks and crannies of the Chequamegon National Forest.
Again we enjoyed Big-John Pearson presenting each of the riders with Libby's time-honored secret recipe for special Hot Buttered Rums. Even though he shared the treasured recipe with us last year, none of us have been able to brew anything near his flavorful quaff. This year, he presented us with a new treat, perhaps one that will become another fixture: He gave us each a home-made sample of Big John's BBQ Sauce, fresh from the kitchen. That's us "mugging" with that prize in our annual photo.
We continued our long streak of safe outings without as much as a scratch to sled or rider, save a sledder or two who bounced off a tree now and then due to inattentive driving. We'll be more careful next year!
Cheryl and Wade and their crew did a bang-up job again at the Village Inn (A Gracious Country Inn—except for the BJ week) showing that they know our routine even better than we do. Rhonda again baked us some absolutely delicious pies and desserts!! We were able to convince them to allow us to return for another year on February 7-11, 2012.
The sledders that partook in the 2011 expedition (and their # of trips) were: John Pearson (37), Roy Bewick (36), Dave Hagen (34), Paul Bewick (31), Bill Schroeder (29), Tom Elmquist (29), Jim Alford (21), Tom Orne (20), Keith Lightfoot (21), Barry Melchior (8) and Dave Mohr (8)!
It was fun to participate in the hazing of "new or returning" sledders this year when Keith Lightfoot hit the ginger flavored brandy with a vengence.
If you have a video playing software (Windows Media Player, etc)you could join us on a run through the woods here:
Keith returned to ride again
So that he could be re-initiated!
John Presented Each Rider With Homemade Big John Sauce!!