Alright! You find yourself in a situation where your stuck with your sled in the woods.
Are you prepared? If you carry a trail pack with you, then you should have pretty well everything you need to survive a night in the bush. If not, your in bad shape.
My trail pack consists of a trunk bag that attaches to the rear of project REV. And in the new riding year, a bar bag that carries my GPS, Phone and camera, more on that below.
The first thing is to get a rear bag for your sled. I like the packs available from www.sledsolutions.com. They have many different bags for most newer sleds with lots of room in them. I can tell you that my factory skidoo model has enough room to take all my trail pack gear, a lunch for the day, and in case I need to get warm there is enough room to fit a jacket lineror sweater in there too. The key is to be prepared by keeping your trail pack fully stocked for unforseeable situations. The packing of your trail bag does not cost a any great amount of money, with most items available at Dollorama or WalMart! Lots of the items can be purchased for a buck or two each.
Here is a list of what is in my pack. Note: when packing the bag, make sure everything is in ziploc baggies. I do not like vacuum sealers as you have to cut the bag open and you can’t reseal until you get back to the house. With the baggies, you can use and replenish anything in your pack.
- First is the tool kit, if you don’t have one, GET ONE! Mine is just the included sled tool kit, with an adjustable thumb wrench, and a multi tool screwdriver set as well. This will get you out of most situations. Keep a spare belt, spark plugs, a bottle of iso propyl and a spare headlight bulb on your sled as well. Never know when this will become an issue. Also put in the repair items some JB weld, duct tape, electrical tape, vise grips, some syphon hose, a pack of zip ties, some “rabbit” wire (double duty on this one, to tie up parts on your sled, or to catch dinner if stuck in the woods), and some electrical wire to fix any broken wires that may strand you on the side of the trail. Tow ropes are essential to your trail pack as well! Another item to keep in here is a fold up mini shovel, these are much easier to dig your sled out with than your hands, especially if your in wet snow, your hands will pack the snow, but the shovel will dig through it.
- Next up, a good first aid kit. This is an invaluable tool on the trail from a little cut, to a “yard sale” that someone has experienced, the first aid kit could save their life. And its no good with out first aid training.
- Additionally, you will want to pack a warm hat, gloves thermal survival blanket, socks incase you get cold. If you get cold, warm up with these items or light a fire. Speaking of which, put in a couple of lighters, a few fire starter sticks and a retractable saw to get fire wood.
- Other necessities to include are a flashlight and spare batteries, a couple of power bars to keep your energy up if anything happens and you have to hoof it out to the camp/truck, some tylenol to reduce pain if the “yard sale” ended badly, and some extra cash for phones, food, or anything else you would need. The cell phone and GPS are with me every ride. Never leave home with out them and up to date maps. Another note on the GPS, DO NOT rely on them, watch your surroundings and what the terrain is doing. We've all heard stories, but I know of an unfortunate snowmobiler who was in the Lewis Hills area of Newfoundland when the weather turned bad quickly, he was following his “breadcrumbs” on his GPS and drove over a cliff. He survived the accident but was hospitalized for a long time.
I hope this article is a good starter to get you packing safe for future rides. If there is anything you want to add to your own pack feel free, the more you take, the better off you will be when unforseeable situations arise.
Until next time Rev it up, and keep the rubber side down.
SledAddicts.com Tech Editor,
Steve Adams
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