Off trail riding for the inexperienced 101

cooksend

cooksend

Active member
A great place to start would be to call up the boys at KSE (Keweenaw Snow Expeditions). Great guides with lots of knowledge and skills! Also as stated above be ready to accept damage! I have 3 sleds under my belt in the last 5 years! Get on good terms with your insurance agent!!! Common sense is the king! If you don't know you don't go when you are learning! Find more open areas to play and forest roads! When you have the skills the bush is a blast but not for everyone!
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
lenny said:
I had a mtn lite and rode an xtx but still way to front end heavy always fighting it wanting to dive down to the low side. You can ride them but they wear you out fast, than you get on a xfire, rmk, gade or the like and it's like,,,"wow,,,why did I wait so long to try this"
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I agree with you Lenny those are better off trail sleds just thought the Nytro XTX was nite & day better when compared to my Attak. I'm sure you get to demo everything at Pat's same as I do & we always compare demo sled head to head with current sled. On trail the Attak all the way didn't like Nytro XTX much for that but off trail the Attak was a beast ditch digger & Nytro just floated along didn't get stuck & Attak got super stuck. Anywho just my comparo in the deep.
 
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timo

Well-known member
Administrator said:
First off, there's no trail signs, so it's INSANELY DANGEROUS!

Sorry, just could not resist. :p

Really, I think it's best to go out with someone both familiar with the area and who has some good experience in off trail riding. Not a lot to learn new, but what there is, is pretty important and helpful. Most of the learning comes from watching and experience. That's how I learned anyway. I'm sure you will get some good advice from folks that learned it on their own and are willing to share their tips.

-John
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ha ha your first line is indeed very funny. as sheldon on the big bang theory would say "bazinga!!"
 
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Firecatguy

New member
first read here.....
http://www.akmining.com/snow/powder1.htm

getting stuck is not the end of the world.....when you first start venturing off trail you WILL get stuck WHAT you do when your stuck can make the difference from enjoyable fun stuff to down right stressful not fun time fast.....first calm down get your breath and make and escape plan....stomp down the snow under the front end turn sled on side rev up and get all the snow out of track(makes it lighter) then the snow that falls out of track will fill in hole and have some grip to it......set sled back over you should be able to ride right out OR you should at the least be able to stand next to sled pull up on running board and blip the sled back up on the snow.........plan 2....have friend pull on ski that works every time with no digging or lifting.........its only work if you make it work........plan 3 if you recognize that your getting or about to get stuck you can turn out or make a out plan before your stuck OR just jump off...yes jump off this will let the sled get back on top snow and will be waiting for you to ride off......
 
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mjkaliszak

New member
Firecatguy said:
first read here.....
http://www.akmining.com/snow/powder1.htm

getting stuck is not the end of the world.....when you first start venturing off trail you WILL get stuck WHAT you do when your stuck can make the difference from enjoyable fun stuff to down right stressful not fun time fast.....first calm down get your breath and make and escape plan....stomp down the snow under the front end turn sled on side rev up and get all the snow out of track(makes it lighter) then the snow that falls out of track will fill in hole and have some grip to it......set sled back over you should be able to ride right out OR you should at the least be able to stand next to sled pull up on running board and blip the sled back up on the snow.........plan 2....have friend pull on ski that works every time with no digging or lifting.........its only work if you make it work........plan 3 if you recognize that your getting or about to get stuck you can turn out or make a out plan before your stuck OR just jump off...yes jump off this will let the sled get back on top snow and will be waiting for you to ride off......
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Good one firecatguy " jump off " ! I honestly never thought of that... I normally due to my "ego" ride it right into the grave trench.... LOL

That link is funny, good too....
 
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polarisrider1

New member
A snobunje is your friend.
never explore down hill.
if you see a guy with a broken windshield and a grin, that's Cuzzinolaf
take an avy class if you venture west.
Buy the proper equipment for the job at hand.
set up a paypal acct. And learn to watch ebay for A arms, skis,etc. Part deals.
go with guys you can trust.
bring at least one young buck with a good back. Lol
do not tresspass!
 
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92 coupe

Member
Thank you for starting this thread I hope you don't mind me jumping into it. All state land is legal to ride on, state parks etc ? Are there any maps that show the forest roads? Whereabouts does one go to purchase plat books? Also where can I find info on the john dee ride? Sorry about all the questions just pretty unsure about where to ride, don't want to be in the wrong places and get in trouble. Thanks nick
 
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polarisrider1

New member
Golf courses and county gravel pits are off limits. I have plat maps for Lake, Mason, Manistee and Wexford counties, my neck of the woods. I study them. I also have detailed trail maps that I transfer additional information to. I use a GPS with bread crumbs and transfer off trail info to these maps also. I have about 400 miles of logging roads, seasonal roads, forest rds, fire lanes, power lines cow paths and billy goat trails in addition to the groomed trails on my maps for a four county area. I also have Emmit county and the Pellston area plat maps for riding there. Yes this takes a lot of time, but I am not sitting in Lake county jail on tresspass charges either. (Not a nice place I hear).
 
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winter_time

New member
92 coupe said:
Thank you for starting this thread I hope you don't mind me jumping into it. All state land is legal to ride on, state parks etc ? Are there any maps that show the forest roads? Whereabouts does one go to purchase plat books? Also where can I find info on the john dee ride? Sorry about all the questions just pretty unsure about where to ride, don't want to be in the wrong places and get in trouble. Thanks nick
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You can find information on the ride inn on the home page of johndee.com the info link I believe is on the right hand side of the page.
 
harski

harski

Member
Thanks for all of the great responses. I anticipate being a fire and forest road type of person to minimize the getting stuck and breaking things part of true boondocking. As someone had mentioned "it's not for everyone and if you don't like getting stuck and breaking things it's not for you". I'm guessing that it's true more with boondocking than on the roads. We'll see...

So, would a 136" gade w/ 1 3/4 paddle be sufficent for fire and forest roads? How deep of snowcover should this setup handle? I need to be able to trail ride with the sled too.

As for getting up to the Ride-In or KSE that will be hard this season with baby #2 coming any day now. Maybe later in the season or next year but I'm definitely going to try to get up once to the UP before the meltdown. I hoping to rent a gade too to see how I like the extended track as I've only been on a 121". Hopefully I'll like it as I've heard they're great on the trails too. Thanks again.

Harski
 
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