Over the past year, the Soldiers on Sleds organization (www.soldiersonsleds.com) has been very busy contacting our partners, and finding new partners to help us make the 2016 Soldiers on Sleds Appreciation Ride become a reality. This year we have added many new partners. There were many individuals who supported our efforts, and who helped make this years ride another huge success! Our sincere thanks goes out to each and every one of them.
One of our new sponsors is the Stormy Kromer Company. During the summer we had an opportunity to tour the Stormy Kromer factory in Ironwood, Michigan (www.stormykromer.com) and got to watch, as their fine staff tirelessly labored at their various machinery making their products. Although they are known for the famous Stormy Kromer hat, another one of the products they make, are high quality thick woolen mittens, that are very warm and comfortable and trimmed in fine leather. When we asked them to participate in our event they immediately stepped up to the plate, without hesitation, and generously outfitted ALL of our soldiers with a pair of these warm mittens. We cannot thank them enough! Our soldiers really like them, as was apparent by how they guarded them, never letting them out of their sight, just as they guard us on a daily basis. It was quite an interesting thing to watch, as they donned them when venturing outside in the cold evening air. We thank you again Stormy Kromer!
Wisconsin Public Service Foundation has supported us from the beginning by providing us a grant for tha past two seasons. We cannot thank them enough. With their help we are able to make this ride happen.
Another new partner was Minocqua Yamaha (www.minocquayamaha.com) who came through just when we needed them to, by helping us out when one of our snowmobiles had engine trouble, and was put out of commission. We immediately contacted Jeff, the owner, and without hesitation he volunteered to let us use one of his brand new Yamaha snowmobiles. But because we didn't have an enclosed trailer to protect it, he even let us use his enclosed trailer so we could transport it from Minocqua, WI, to Watersmeet, MI. One of the soldiers, Sargent First Class Richard Helm, who was on the road and driving up to Watersmeet, from Medford, WI with two of the other Sargent's who were traveling with him. He quickly altered his route and headed directly to the Yamaha dealership to pick up the much needed sled. Our hats go off to Jeff and his team for helping us out when we really needed it, and Sargent Helm for coming to the rescue.
FXR Racing was one of our returning supporters and sponsors again this year. When I contacted them in January, they responded, to our call and agreed to generously provide each of our participants with brand new snowmobile jackets and bib outfits. It is said by avid snowmobiler's that a snowmobile suit is the second major purchase after buying a sled. These suits are of such high quality our soldiers will enjoy them for years to come. Just as important as it is to have a good running machine to take you where you need to go, so it is for having a good snowmobile suit to protect you from the cold. But the FXR Racing suit is much more than just to keep you warm. It is very special too. Not only does it keep you warm, when needed, it also has built in flotation to protect you in case of emergencies, should your sled go through the ice.
The Scotch-Lite reflective material incorporated into the design makes it very easy to see the sleds' riders in front of you on the trail at night. They are waterproof, and breathable, to wick away the sweat when hard riding. The quality built into these suits cannot be matched anywhere. The style and design is also top notch! We cannot thank them enough. The surprise and smiles on the faces of the soldiers as they received their suits was worth a million dollars, at least. These suits will only entice them to participate in the sport of snowmobiling for years to come. Continued participation in the sport, which is an important goal of the Soldiers on Sleds organization is of the essence. After a hard days ride on washboard trails there was no fatigue evident in the faces of our soldiers, just a lot of warm smiles. Here is a photo of Sargent Cara Butterfield, as she sits on a snowmobile for her first time showing off her new FXR Racing snowmobile suit. Once our certified snowmobile instructor Captain Roger Klein (US Army retired) provided some instruction to her, she was well on her way to enjoying the ride of a lifetime........
Our home base was Camp Shed Horn in Watersmeet Michigan. This facility is provided to us through a generous donation from Neal and Rene Anderson of Northland Docks (www,northlanddock.com). These are two of the finest and most generous people any organization could want as supporters.
This camp is available for rent through Northland Docks, it accommodates Soldiers on Sleds very comfortably and will sleep up to seventeen individuals, with a lower level bunk room, and kitchen, and an upper level with bunks, pool table and small bar. In the back there is a sauna where our soldiers were eager to partake in. There are two small fishing ponds on the premises stocked with trout, bluegills, and perch. It is conveniently located on the snowmobile trail MI Rte 3, and this also serves as an ATV trail in that season. One could not ask for a better place when hosting a large group of people. But if you need docks for the lake front or dock related services, please give Neal a call, and Northland Docks will certainly address your needs.........
We wish to thank Mr. Jim Willard, of the band Rubber Soul for his generous contribution. His dedication to our efforts is without question. Rubber Soul is a Beatles tribute band located in Townsend Massachusetts. Jim and his group perform all over New England, and are excellent entertainers if you happen to catch one of their performances. You can find their performance schedule or contact information, by looking them up on Facebook at "The Rubber SOUL Band".
Located just outside of Boston Massachusetts is a Cajun/Zydeco band known as "The Squeezebox Stompers". They perform all over the New England area. Their leader, Mr. Ralph Tufo, was kind enough to send to our soldiers a
three CD set of their original recordings. Ralph is also an accomplished playwright and his new play is called "Katrina Roadhouse" which is the story of people who were displaced by hurricane Katrina. It tells about how they waited out the storm in a local gathering place located down in New Orleans. One of those CDs Ralph donated was the soundtrack from the play. If you're ever in the Boston area look up The Squeezebox Stompers, you surely will not be disappointed. You can find their schedule here at www.squeezeboxstompers.com
. When we contacted Ralph, an old friend, he just asked "What do you need me to do, and I'll take care of it." One of the great people who answered our call and quickly stepped up to help make this event the huge success it was. It's people like Ralph who help to make this all happen.
Mr. Chuck Altamore, an ex-Navy man, and his wife Karen, are the owners of Stillwaters Bar and Restaurant and always look forward to hosting lunch for the soldiers. This is our second year of going there and we look forward to going there again next year. Their waitress "Debby" could not have been more gracious. She specifically asks to be our waitress when we come in and sit down, she buys all of the soldiers delicious Northwoods appetizers prior to their main meal. She is GREAT people, and our thanks go to her for making the soldiers feel so welcomed. They still talk about the food and hosts at Stillwaters.
Stillwaters has the best Italian beef sandwich in the Northwoods. It is homemade by the master, Chuck himself, and his homemade jardiniere hot peppers is not to be matched anywhere, bar none......simply delicious.
These are the 2016 Soldiers on Sleds Appreciation Ride participants: L to R: Sgt. Jennifer Dreibel, Capt. Roger Klein, Sgt. Cara Butterfield, MSGT Steven Sitte, MSGT Mark Ruden, SFC Richard Helm, SGT Mitchel Phelps, SGT Sean Shemenaur, Jack Bourgeois (President of Soldiers on Sleds and former USN), Chuck Altamore (owner of Stillwaters and former USN).
In the beginning..................It's Friday, February 19th, 2016. It started out simple enough, packing the truck, loading the snowmobiles on the trailer, and heading for the 60 mile ride to Camp Shed Horn where Captain Klein was already waiting for us to arrive. But I ran into some difficulty in getting my two sleds on the trailer as the ramp was too short and the angle was too steep. Time to improvise, with two come-a-longs, a tow strap, and a boat wench, we got the job done.
As I drove into the driveway, Roger had already unloaded his two sleds and parked them adjacent to each other in our staging area. My truck, gear, boxes, and sleds were unloaded while we awaited the arrival of the rest of our soldiers. And one by one they came. Two of the soldiers had brought their own sleds, all the way from Chippewa Falls and Pardee City, Wisconsin, and quickly took them off the trailers, parking them with the others. Once inside the camp building they looked around quickly choosing their bunk, and then got settled in. Each soldier did this as they arrived in groups of twos and threes.
We had divided the cabin in two living spaces with separate quarters for the female soldiers, who would be housed upstairs, while the men would take up space in the bunk room on the first level. This was more of an issue for me than for them. I come from Old School Navy, when I served we did not have mixed company living quarters, but it did not seem to bother them, as much as I had trouble understanding the new Army. But after all, my kids are older than any of them. Meanwhile, outside, there was a slight misting rain gently falling to the ground, making everything wet and slick. This made all of the snow outside and on the trails very, very slippery.
That evening we were scheduled to ride to the Gateway Lodge in Land of Lakes, Wisconsin, to partake in their Friday night Fish Fry, a local favorite.
To get there by snowmobile, we have to travel about about 20 miles away on those rain slicked trails. However, getting there safely, would have two things against us that we'd have to overcome, especially with novice riders among us. The first one was that the outside air temperature had risen to a warm thirty-eight degrees, during the day, which made the heavily traveled trails very soft, granular and mushy. It was very bumpy from all of the day's sled traffic. It was especially very slippery, and dangerous, in the turns, and we had four novice riders along. Speed control was of the essence. The second issue to overcome was that with the rain, coming down the way it was, would spray water droplets on the face shields making visibility at night that much more difficult. As stated before, all of the trails were very slippery, with ice directly underneath the soft trail snow. We had to be very careful with our speed and guard over the novice riders.
The soldiers donned their new FXR Racing snowmobile suits, new balaclavas, new gloves, and Soldiers on Sleds helmets, after which, we were quickly out the door.
Each person chose their sled. Because we were one sled short, the female soldiers chose to ride together on my Yamaha Venture Lite two up, while I drove my Yamaha Venture Multi Purpose (MP) Sled. Roger was seated on his new Ski-Doo Enduro, and Sgt Sean Shemenhauer took the new Yamaha sled the dealer loaned us. Of course the two soldiers who brought their own, rode those, and Sargent First Class Richard Helm rode on the sled provided to us by Camp Shed Horn. It was unbelievable how quickly the two female soldiers mastered the maneuvering on such a big and heavy sled, as the two up Venture Lite Yamaha is just that, big and heavy. You would never know they were snowmobiling novices, as I followed behind the group taking up the last position of the column.
As we left the staging area, with Captain Klein in the lead, it took about an hour to get to our assigned destination, where the hostess, also a military veteran, had a table already set up for us. Traveling there, the trails were generally were flat for about the first seven miles or so, with some of the ride traveling on paved snow covered road surfaces. The roads' shoulders were like washboards on both sides, worn that way from sledders looking to stay off the pavements surface, which certainly can ruin the skis carbide runners as they scrape along the hard pavement. This was also true of the trails we traveled that went through the dark and rainy forests. Up and down, up and down, was the ride, not smooth at all. The effort required to maintain control of the sled was very hard on ones shoulders and arms. This was true even for the most experienced rider, but all of our soldiers handled it well! Even more difficult for them was that now it was night time. It was certainly very dark out now, as we traveled along the trail. Except for the headlights of the snowmobiles themselves, there were no lights in the forest, except an occasional rider coming towards us in the opposite direction. The good news is that no water from the rain ever penetrated their new snowmobile suits, and the suits provided every comfort a rider could ask for. They performed just as they were designed to. The soldiers could not believe how suited they were to handle the current riding conditions.
The fish fry was excellent, with choice of fried or broiled fish, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, tartar sauce and soft drinks. As in the past, and a strict Soldiers on Sleds policy, we NEVER drink any alcohol and drive while out on our sleds, a rule we strictly adhere to, ALWAYS, with no exceptions. While dining, the good conversation, provided us time to get to know each other a lot better.
Once back to the cabin it was early to bed for some, and a late night for others. It was very easy to separate the the two groups according to our ages........
The next morning we served a breakfast meal of hot cakes, sausage links, hot coffee, fresh orange juice and cranberry juice for the troops. One by one they wiped the sand away from their eyes, as they awoke and entered the kitchen and enjoyed the well deserved meal. With so many helpers on board, cleanup was a breeze. But soon after, it was time to get dressed and head out to the sleds for the challenging ride to Stillwaters.
Before leaving I gave each one of them a pack of trading cards I had received from my personal friend Mr. Walter Day. Walter is the recognized "Father of eGames". In each pack there was a challenge coin that Walter had made arrangements to send to us. On one side of the coin it said "In Walter We Trust" on the other side was an embossed likeness of the man himself. I explained who Walter was, and how he is related to the electronics gaming industry, his honesty and respect throughout the world when it comes to high score records and he was the keeper of the records, similar to Guinness World Records, but to the gaming industry. I told them of how he made the cover of Time Magazine some years ago, and how one of the characters in the movie Wreck It Ralph was modeled after him. He was sending his best wishes and thanks to the troops. I watched as the inspected Walters gift to them......
A short time later we were all suited up and ready to hit the trails. to head to Stillwaters Restaurant and Bar. Roger gave some detailed instruction to Sargent Butterfield on how to safely operate the Yamaha Ventur-Lite snowmobile, as she was going to drive that day.
The trip under ideal trail conditions should only take about two hours or so, but this day because of adverse trail conditions, it would take much longer. Leaving at about 9:45AM, we traveled about an hour to Land of Lakes to fill up with gas which, was only about twenty miles away. From there we'd hit the trails again and travel further on South another thirty miles to get to Stillwaters, where we arrived at about 12:30PM. About a half an hour later than we'd planned but all things considered we made good time. We had bad trails, rain, sleet, novice riders and still, we made good time. Their military training surely had something to do with their excellent performance.
Once our meal was done, we went outside and took a few pictures. It was now time to hit the trails again, and head over to Gooch's-A-One restaurant and bar for dinner. This would take us about three hours under normal circumstances, but the rough trail and wash board conditions was beginning to take its toll. We stopped frequently to rest.
As we rounded one corner, we had to slow up to a stop as there were many sleds stopped in the roadway. It seems that a thirteen year old girl had driven off the trail and hit a tree. Fortunately, she did not get hurt, her sled was OK, and she was in the company of many others. It was obvious our assistance was not needed as the group waved us on through. A short time later another rider spun out on the trail and flipped his sled over. This happened as I got separated from the rest of our group due to heavy trail traffic, and was riding behind another group of twenty riders. The person that was involved in this second accident, a young male rider, was also OK. He was in the middle of the twenty riders, who were driving way to fast for the conditions present at the time. I was again waved on through, as the chaos ensued, and caught up to the rest of our soldiers on sleds group, who were sitting parked and waiting for me down the trail.
I spoke to our trail leader and we decided it was not in anyone's best interest to try to continue on. Because of that we would head back to Camp Shed Horn. It was the safest thing to do. Nightfall was coming, and it would be difficult enough with the hazardous trails to try to continue. We were bout twenty-five miles from camp and so we headed back.
Upon our arrival everyone was beat, to say the least. But they were not discouraged. They spoke of their experience, and there were no negative experiences stated. They were all excited and despite everything, had a great time. Everyone was in good spirits, and enjoyed each and every minute of their ride. I tried to explain to the novice riders that this weather was highly unusual and definitely not the norm. But to my surprise their experience was much to the positive. I guess their trill of adventure was much more than I expected, as they all expressed interest in future snowmobiling activities. Which is one the organizations goals, to introduce combat veterans to the sport of snowmobiling with the hope that they will continue in the sport. Fortunately, we got back early enough before dinner to allow some much needed rest.
But what to do for our evening meal? For dinner they all decided to head, by car, to Rogers Bar and Grill, which was about a mile away from camp.....Saturday night was not a very late night for these weary soldiers, and the cabin roof rocked with nighttime noises of snoring, grunts and groans as the exhausted soldiers slept the night away.
The next morning, Sunday, each of them awoke to the smell of fresh coffee, baked spiral cut ham, sizzling in the frying pan, and the smell of eggs and toast with fresh Wisconsin butter. One by one they came to the kitchen table, relaxed and enjoyed their home cooked meal. We had decided to cancel our morning trip to Bonn Falls because of the poor trail conditions. The conversation around the table was about the good time they had the day before, and their long ride home, their appreciation for all that our sponsors had provided to them, and how they were praying for much our needed snow for the rest of the snowmobiling season, and how they could not wait to end their long ride home to tell all about their great week-end with Soldiers on Sleds. 'Till Next Year! But next month for us, it'll start all over as we begin plans for next years ride.......
