By Jim Baird

We were making good time over the hard-packed drifts on Great Bear lake . I had to focus all my attention on the drifts I was hitting; I got air on a few of them. Meanwhile, Ted’s toboggan lashing had broken and needed to be retied so he stopped. He watched me ride into the distance and disappear. We got split up another time on the trip, too: Ted said he was going to drive over land. I said I was going to follow the coast. We both took off thinking the other one was following. It was pretty scary. With the muffling effects of the helmet, combined with the noise of the machine, and howling winds, it’s tough to hear a word anyone says. There are a few key things you can do to avoid getting split up and steps to insure that you will reunite if you do.
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By Jim Baird

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that packing your toboggan properly is possibly the most important part of a snowmobile expedition. If you don’t do it properly you can run into some big trouble. Your toboggan takes a serious pounding if you’re going at a good speed over uneven ground for any length of time. Your gear will smash. Things will break. Gas will leek. Things will fly out of your toboggan when you’re not looking. It is an art to learn how to pack your sled and lash it down properly. Here’s what Ted and I learned about what to do and what not to do when it comes to packing toboggans on this expedition.

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By Jim Baird

Seven feet of ice sounds like a lot, but it feels like twice that when you're trying to auger through it. I brought a top-of-the-line auger on the trip with enough extensions to get through ice 9 feet thick. We soon learned that getting the auger out after the hole is pierced can be harder than drilling it. Still, there are a couple things you can do to get through the ice faster and reduce the amount of snow in your hole.

Step 1: As you drill, and your auger gets in past 2-1/2 feet, pull up abruptly every few seconds. Keep the blade spinning while you pull up but don't let the blade come out of the hole. Then let the auger back down quickly and keep drilling. This is more physically demanding but it throws a lot of the snow out of your hole as you drill.

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By Jim Baird

It’s great to go on a multi-day - wilderness expedition. You see so much of the land and you get to camp in a new spot every night. The only problem is that it can be a pain to make and break camp every day. A few key things that make breaking camp quicker can get you on the water or on the trail much faster every day and will make your style of travel more efficient, and more enjoyable.

Stuff It - In the video you see me roll the tent—a must when you have a canvas tent like we had. But when using your other tents, just stuff them; don’t bother rolling. It takes way too long. Stuff your sleeping bag, to. Seriously, what is the point of fussing with rolling a sleeping bag? It’s a pain.
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By Jim Baird

We didn’t catch anything on our final two attempts to fish Great Bear. Ted lost one, which was pretty devastating. We had been told about a great spot to fish on our overland route to Kugluktuk. It didn’t work out there either.

I dealt with the fishing failure without going on meds. I prescribed to a positive mentality instead. It was tough but we had to move on. I told myself: “Well, it’s all about just getting out there..” and other things fishermen say when they don’t catch anything. I just stayed positive.

I did know, deep down, that it was a lie--maybe just a white lie to myself--but still a lie. I was fishing to catch fish! Of course there are elements to fishing other than just the fish, but if it were all about just “getting out there” it wouldn’t be called fishing. [ Read Full Post ]

By Jim Baird

We were making good time over the hard-packed drifts on Great Bear. I had to focus all my attention on the drifts I was hitting; I got air on a few of them. Meanwhile, Ted’s toboggan lashing had broken and needed to be retied so he stopped. He watched me ride into the distance and disappear.

We got split up one other time on the trip. Ted said he was going to drive overland and I said I was going to follow the coast. We both took off thinking the other one was following. It was pretty scary. With the muffling effects of the helmet, combined with the noise of the machine, and howling winds, it’s tough to hear a word anyone says. There are a few key things you can do to avoid getting split up and steps you can follow to insure you and your travel companions reunite if you do.

[ Read Full Post ]