Rendezvous 98

PowerStreak Rendezvous '98 was a snowmobile ride across Canada. Sixteen riders representing all the provinces of Canada rode across this great country from Newfoundland to British Columbia. The BC Snowmobile Federation organized a ride to join up with the cross Canada riders in Dawson Creek and guide them across BC, following the same trail that we rode in 1997. I had the priveledge of being on that ride and here are some of the pictures I took.

We started from the mile zero marker of the Alaska Highway in downtown Dawson Creek with over 40 riders participating in a day ride to Tumbler Ridge. We had some fresh snow and good weather on this the first day of our ride.

Because of the number of riders participating in the first day's ride, it took quite a while to get to Tumbler. The group I was riding with arrived just after dark. Boy, was I tired! A 22 hour drive from home to Dawson and then 4 hours of sleep and an eight hour ride to Tumbler!!!

Have you ever seen this many sleds on the steps of town hall????
Tumbler Ridge before riding out to Chetwynd.

The next day saw us riding out of Tumbler Ridge up onto the gas pipeline leading to Chetwynd. We had more fresh powder, good weather and a short ride. After arriving just outside of Chetwynd just before noon, we trailered up for the drive over the Pine Pass and headed for Mackenzie.

We recieved a great welcome in MacKenzie with a banquet feast and a great reception. The next morning we headed out for Prince George, following gas pipelines and hydro lines. The further south we got, the less snow there was.

We arrived at the Prince George Snowmobile Clubhouse to another great dinner and reception. The music was supplied by the locals with a "Junk Band" playing such instruments as a bathtub base, a banjo made from an old automotive steering wheel and shovel handle. It was great entertainment.

The next day saw cold and clear weather for the long ride to Wells. We followed the Prince George club trails to Abou Lake and then along the Willow River to Wells and Barkerville. Some of the scenery was fantastic. We saw lots of wildlife (moose mostly) and enjoyed a hot lunch at Abou Lake hosted by the Quesnel Snowmobile Club.

Some of the Powerstreak Sleds lined up for day 40 of their ride across Canada in Prince George, BC

We continued on to Wells, BC, for another great reception at the local curling rink. Many locals turned out (all ten of them....LOL) to meet the riders and trade great riding stories. The next day we took a photo opportunity in Barkerville and headed up to Mount Agnes - site of the world championship hill climb. Normally, we would have continued on over Yanks Peak to Likely and on to 100 Mile House, but there wasn't any snow south of the peak. We trailered all the way to 100 Mile House and had a great reception at the Red Coach Inn.

The next day we trailered to just south of 100 Mile House and rode the Begbie Trail into 70 Mile House and on to Green Lake. The Green Lake Snowmobile Club was ready for us with a great hot lunch, sandwiches, soup and dessert. There wasn't much snow, but we continued on to Kamloops over the Bonaparte Trail. There was great snow up on the higher elevations.

We arrived in Kamloops in the middle of a championship rodeo and partied away the night at a local western bar. I don't remember much of the following day's ride, except we made it to Coalmont on the Coquihalla Highway and trailered to Squamish for the final day's ride up Brohm Ridge. We were socked in with fog at Brohm - a usual occurrence, but enjoyed a great reception in town with a fantastic salmon dinner.

This ended the official ride across Canada, but many of the riders lingered on for another day of riding hosted by the Pemberton Snowmobile Club. The weather was clear, with over 4 feet of fresh powder awaiting the riders on the Pemberton Ice Fields. The trail up was freshly groomed and it was probably the best day of their 45 day ride. I had to work and missed it.