Muskoka Riding this past Weekend

Hal Armstrong rode 1000 km this past weekend with his long time sledding buddy Kevin Maggs riding the trails based out of Huntsville.

I was riding a brand new out of the box 08 Polaris 600 Dragon Switchback. This is one of the most talked about 08 sleds and this trip was to give the machine a real shakedown. Kevin was riding the sled that all machines are currently measured to , a 600 SDI REV.

The ride began Thursday night with a 100km run on the D101 and 102 to Dwight and area. The trails were in excellent shape and few machines were out. The storm in Southern Ontario must have had everyone stranded down south we thought. In my 25 years of riding I had never seen moose on the trail. Kevin got a first hand look at three that night REAL CLOSE!.

Back at the Hotel that night we met some of the BRP engineers who were unveiling the 09 Doos to dealers and the press. See Snowgoer Canada website for details on those.

Friday morning we woke to some fresh powder snow and racked up 360 km's. We sledded for 12 hours. Our destination was the Jolly Roger in Parry Sound for lunch. The Sequin trail was in good shape for the most part. After a pit stop lunch we headed to Ahmic Harbour and then to Burks Falls for Dinner. You can't beat a $12.00 Steak BBQ with all the fixins at the local legion. The place was packed with everyone getting geared up for the oval races that weekend.

Saturday we headed for South River for Breakfast but got turned arounda the intesection of D trail and the D123 near Sundridge. A local fellow riding a 75 Skidoo Citation pointed us in the right direction and we headed to Sundridge. The town was over run by sledders. Machines were everywhere. With a full stomach we headed towards Ardbeg on the C104D.

We never made it. We ended up on a logging road and the sound of carbides scraping on gravel roads is any snowmobilers nightmare. We turned around and headed south for Magnetawan. The 711 trail was in great shape so we made good time to Sprucedale to fuel up before making the last 2 hour run back to the hotel in Huntsville. 340 Clicks for the day. BBQ ribs and a swim in the pool at the hotel capped off a great day.

Sunday was race day at Burks Falls. We rode hard to the track to see some excellent racing both Champ 440 and vintage. Awesome track, but the attendance that day was poor.

How was the Dragon? Best Polaris sled I have rode ever and I have been riding them since 1970. I was dissapointed in the gas and oil consumption. The REV averaged 17 mpg while the Dragon ran at 13 mpg. Oil consumption was terrible. 7litres for the Dragon and 2.5 L for the REV. Top speed observed on the Dragon was 90 mph on Lake Bernard.

Three day trips are a great way to rack up some high mileage and this area has plenty of snow.

Talk to you later!