bad dog
Observer
Our goals were simple :
1) be safe
2) don't wreck the trucks
3) don't make a mess
4) have fun
The crew was Jim & John Newell in "Olive" the G-Wagen and Dwight Elliot and I in our trusty Jeep, the "Bad Dog".
Ideally, we wanted to try and push as far in towards La Poile as possible without breaking any of our cardinal rules. Keep in mind that no one had ever driven to La Poile. The ONLY way to get there is by ferry or helicopter. From our research, two things seemed abundantly clear:
1) There was a VERY high probability that we would not make it through the bogs that formed the headwaters of the La Poile/Bunker Hill, Garia and Crabbe.
2) If we couldn't find a quad track to lead us through, we probably would get stopped by either bogs or in-penetrable woods (see rule #3).
We began assembling gear and packing the trucks in preparation for a week to two in the back country of Newfoundland. Key to our load-out was keeping the load reasonably light while carrying enough fuel, food and water. We assumed that given the bogs we would have to negotiate, there probably wouldn't be any opportunities for taking on clean water once we got out of the Crabbe's River valley.
Day #1 :
We had a night crossing booked from North Sydney to Channel Port Aux Basques (PAB) so I had a leisurely start to the day. Jim & John were not that fortunate as they had to do a last-minute re-build on their winch when a quick check determined it was no longer functioning. It turns out that the brushes had seized and once they were loose, all was well in the world again.
We met at Dwight's as it was on the way and then trundled casually up the #7 heading generally North. It was "all adventure" from the get-go so we had to stop in Sherbrooke for iced coffees and panini's. We got to North Sydney, where we lined up for our ride across Cabot Straight on the MV "Highlanders". It was 2300 when we got on board so we had a quick drink at the bar and went off to our cabins for a snooze.
The night crossing is excellent as long as you can get a cabin. Spending 6-7hrs in a half-reclined seat is just way too much like air travel.
1) be safe
2) don't wreck the trucks
3) don't make a mess
4) have fun
The crew was Jim & John Newell in "Olive" the G-Wagen and Dwight Elliot and I in our trusty Jeep, the "Bad Dog".
Ideally, we wanted to try and push as far in towards La Poile as possible without breaking any of our cardinal rules. Keep in mind that no one had ever driven to La Poile. The ONLY way to get there is by ferry or helicopter. From our research, two things seemed abundantly clear:
1) There was a VERY high probability that we would not make it through the bogs that formed the headwaters of the La Poile/Bunker Hill, Garia and Crabbe.
2) If we couldn't find a quad track to lead us through, we probably would get stopped by either bogs or in-penetrable woods (see rule #3).
We began assembling gear and packing the trucks in preparation for a week to two in the back country of Newfoundland. Key to our load-out was keeping the load reasonably light while carrying enough fuel, food and water. We assumed that given the bogs we would have to negotiate, there probably wouldn't be any opportunities for taking on clean water once we got out of the Crabbe's River valley.
Day #1 :
We had a night crossing booked from North Sydney to Channel Port Aux Basques (PAB) so I had a leisurely start to the day. Jim & John were not that fortunate as they had to do a last-minute re-build on their winch when a quick check determined it was no longer functioning. It turns out that the brushes had seized and once they were loose, all was well in the world again.
We met at Dwight's as it was on the way and then trundled casually up the #7 heading generally North. It was "all adventure" from the get-go so we had to stop in Sherbrooke for iced coffees and panini's. We got to North Sydney, where we lined up for our ride across Cabot Straight on the MV "Highlanders". It was 2300 when we got on board so we had a quick drink at the bar and went off to our cabins for a snooze.
The night crossing is excellent as long as you can get a cabin. Spending 6-7hrs in a half-reclined seat is just way too much like air travel.