Terra Nova to Mt. Sylvester

January 25, 2020

Well, with the snow flying on the East coast this winter our first trip of the year turned in to a trip to Terra Nova where one of the boys has a beautiful A frame style cabin that could easily accommodate the 6-7 of us that would rotate in and out as fellas could only leave after the State of emergencies on the Avalon had been lifted.

 

After doing some significant travelling around in all directions the previous days we decided to head for Mt. Sylvester on Saturday as I had never made that run before and was anxious to get the track recorded for myself and of course see the sights. We couldn’t ask for a better day, the sun was shining the temps were average for the time of year and we had some new sleds in the group that needed riding.

 

Being cautious and having been warned about the uncertainty of the ice throughout Terra Nova we chose to travel over the country and on the road way right up to Kiipenkack lake with Barry Noonan leading the way as normal. Our Navigator; Barry, even ventured across the bridge first to ensure it was safe.

 

At the end of the trail, almost lake side we met a great group of fellas; Elmo and Stretch who own the cabin ensured us that the ice was good in the lakes and they also gave us some information that we really enjoyed hearing, the river was good for travel too, just follow the tracks they had made and we would be safe and good to go.  Prior to this information, we didn’t want to take this chance in new terrain.

We made our push following the trail the boys had previously broke and this really made our day. The ascent started through a winding trail through the trees and quickly broke out on to the wide-open wind-swept mount and while steep in some areas its very ridable for any level of sledder and once at the top of Mt. Sylvester the scenery and views did not disappoint, absolutely beautiful. Truly worth the ride. Once we took in the sights.  We were invited back to the boys cabin for a warm up before heading down the river which we wanted to Navigate in the day just to be safe.

 

The ride back was a beauty, taking the river back the entire way down to Lake St. John before hitting land again. With the sun setting on our backs, it was a beauty ride back and a lot smoother then the ride had been up the road. We arrived back in Terra Nova just after dark and headed into the cabin for some food,  post ride sociables and of course laughs about the day’s adventure.

Riding group members; Barry Noonan, Marvin Butler, Doug Crews, Gary Kind and Bill Kennedy.