A Turn For The Worse |
lessly buried . It was all quite comical , until |
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Leaving Taylor Park , Scott led us down |
thoughts of possibly spending the night |
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a long straight stretch that was going |
in the wild crept into our heads . Eventu- |
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to take us someplace interesting … or , at |
ally we made it over , but it wasn ’ t pretty , |
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least that ’ s what we were told . We never |
as there were many doomed attempts fol- |
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made it – Mark ’ s little fanner decided it |
lowed by dig-outs along the way . |
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had enough and the engine seized so tight |
It was well past dark by the time we |
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you ’ d swear it was professionally welded |
got back to the lodge . The masseuses had |
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when we tried to pull on the recoil rope . |
gone home . The restaurant was closed . |
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As the day was getting late , it was time |
The bar was empty . And Scott – so eager |
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to create Plan B – we would leave this sled |
to show off the grandeur of Mount Princ- |
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behind because we weren ’ t confident we |
eton Resort – felt completely defeated . We |
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Scott lead us out of the woods and into the vast Union Park playground , which was filled with powder . |
could pull it back over the pass now that the day ’ s April warmth had turned the snowpack into a crystallized , sugary mess |
still enjoyed a good late-night soaking in
the hot springs and checked out the river .
Sleep certainly came easy that night .
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that caused sleds to sink . We ’ d have to |
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got stuck where we couldn ’ t and generally
had a pleasant time , all while dreaming
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we ’ ll try it today , with these sleds and in these conditions ,” Scott said . “ But it ’ s really |
double-back our entire route and ride 2-up on one of the sleds . |
The mountain scenery was shrouded during our visit , but the riding was spectacular . |
about what we could do with an extra 100 |
beautiful up here – trust me .” |
That sounded simple , but it wasn ’ t . The |
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horsepower and more track on the ground . |
When playtime was over , we took an |
remaining RMK was so underpowered it |
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During another break , Scott tried to |
interesting , tight and dramatic route down |
could barely move in the sugary snow with |
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help us with our coordinates , despite the |
( to 9,400 feet – “ down ” in Colorado is rela- |
one rider aboard . Scott ’ s Indy SKS wasn ’ t |
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heavy cloud cover . |
tive ) into the flats for fuel and fellowship |
much better , lacking both horsepower and |
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“ Now , if you could see , Crested Butte |
at the Taylor Park Trading Post . This gas |
track for these conditions . Let ’ s just say it |
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would be right out that way ,” pointing |
station and mini convenience store has 30 |
was a very interesting evening winding |
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straight west into the murky abyss , “ and |
cabins for rent in the summer . In the win- |
back through Union Park , Tin Cup , past |
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Aspen would be right over there ” he said , |
ter , it ’ s a snowmobiling savior thanks to |
Mirror Lake and , most dauntingly , back |
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pointing to the northwest . “ On a nice day , |
its fuel and supplies , and the fact that the |
over the 12,000-foot pass . At the pass , |
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and with the right sleds , we could make it |
guys who run it are friendly and enthusi- |
it almost seemed hopeless , as the sled |
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over to the Butte for lunch , but I don ’ t think |
astic fellow snowmobilers . |
with two passengers kept getting hope- |