Getting Ice off Scandic SWT 800

 After repacking the landing strip yesterday which was full of overflow, Bryan hoisted up Miss Piggy about 8 " off the ground and with the throttle rev'ed up, dislodged all the packed ice from the overflow.  The hard ice just flew out the back.  You can't do this when the stuff is not frozen. 

Off they go again to check the Inklin- Sutlahine line.  Bryan is hoping to break thru to where he made it coming from the other way.  That will complete the 85 km Circle.

Scandic 800 Fuel Line Assembly Installation

 Now this had Bryan talking very poorly about the design engineers of this machine.  You can't get the cowling up very far for easy replacement of the Fuel Line Assembly.  He said it should have been split for easy removal.  With his big hands it was not easy.  The whole thing took about 1/2 hour. 

That's the Filter and the whole thing is about 2 ft long.

The white plastic is a clamp that pushes down once it is installed.

There's the other end attaching to the brass fitting.

Ishi waiting patiently with her little stick.

Skidoo Scandic SWT 800 not starting great.

Last night while talking to Bryan on the SBX radio, Vikki was given a new problem to get some answers for.
Our 2008 Scandic is 5 years old.   It has always started up immediately no matter how cold it was.  It is a 4 stroke with no pull start.  You should never over rev them.  They have to be treated a little differently than a 2 stroke.  We usually use the 4 stroke only when there is a 2 stroke following with pull start, but this year Bryan is traveling a lot on his own.  The 4 stroke are very complicated and if they break down you have no way of fixing them.
Yesterday morning it was only -19 Cel. but it took 4 attempts for it to start.  It has Bryan wondering if it is the Battery or if the injectors are dirty.  What he does now is only turns the key on three times.... letting the electric fuel pump pressure up, then after 5 seconds he does the full turn on.    The electric fuel pump in the tank is not pressuring up instantly.
Last night at 5 a.m. there was Vikki worrying out how to get Bryan back here to the base camp if it wouldn't start this morning.
The 12 km with a 1000 foot climb would be no fun at all.   Bryan could do it but why.  Her little Tundra 300 would get down there okay and on the flat both could ride but the long hills would kill it.  A heli is only a satellite call away but about 1,700 or more.  Whow!!!  But a lot can happen on a 12 km walk in winter.
This morning on the SBX at 9 p.m. we discussed the problem.  We checked in again at 10 p.m.
The Scandic was running outside the line cabin. 

Bull Moose Still in the Rut.... Overflow

 -1 Cel.  Down on the Inklin Bryan saw lots of Moose tracks, then out on a 40 acre islandie sandbar was a big Bull.  As Bryan took the picture he noticed the area was all torn up.  He'd interrupted a fight.  There, about 30 feet off was another Bull Moose.  Bull Moose aren't just in the rot on Sept 20....  it last until they drop their horns in mid Jan or Feb.  One layer of cells around the horn goes soft and the horns drop off.  Usually within 5 to 15' of each other.  Then they turn into more of a steer.

 The other bull.

 Just before the Inklin Line Cabin Bryan looked back and the toboggan was floating.  1' of water in 2' of snow.  He got off "Miss Piggy", the Scandic 800 SWT, unhooked the toboggan, shoveled the snow out from in front of "Miss Piggy", drove out.  Got a 20' rope and pulled the toboggan free.  If Vikki had been following on her Tundra 300 she would have been really stuck.

 Bryan hung up the 5 Marten and squirrel to thaw.  Ishi stood guard occasionally looking back at Bryan.... saying "Well!!!!!"

An American Dipper

Scandic 800 SWT High Centered... New Years Eve

-4 C Snowed 2" last night.
In our check-in on the SBX-11a this morning, Bryan told Vikki at dusk last night he had to abandon the Scandic and he snowshoed the last 300 feet to Windy Pond Line Cabin.  Mice had got in over the summer and it was a mess.  
He said he had pushed the trail 1 1/2 km from Snake Swamp.  The steep trail down into Windy Pond (150') he packed and shoveled without his snow shoes on.  It was light fluffy powder.  He is hoping it will set up and he can get back up that hill tomorrow.  He'd rode down the hill on "Miss Piggy" and got stuck on something.  He was hi centered... couldn't go forward or backwards.   He thinks it is probably a 3" stump or something.  Vikki said she was concerned about that heavy skidoo falling over on him if he shoveled out one side.  He said he wasn't going to do that... he would feel with his hand to find what was the problem and cut it out with his chainsaw.
We made a call schedule at 2, 3, 4 and 7 pm.  One of those times Vikki will find out that all is okay again.  Bryan is 24 km away.  
Once he gets unstuck he will put out some traps.  Looks like we will be apart for New Year's Eve.   But Vikki got out her oil paints yesterday and now she doesn't need to clean up the kitchen table until tomorrow.  So it will work out.  

Snowmobile SWT or WT????

 We've owned a SWT for 5 years .  We've found it very reliable and extremely good in deep powder snow and probably the best machine I've ever driven on overflow.  It is not a great hill climber except on hard packed trail on a hill... you can just idle up.  If you are riding for 8 hours the SWT is hard to take with your legs spread wide like that.
Early in the season when there is less than a foot and a half of snow and there is no base underneath... the SWT can be described as a "PIG".  The skiies will not steer this enormous rack.  At this time of the year we use the smaller skidoos with regular tracks (Tundra 300 and 550 Tundra LT 16" x 156").
The WT is going to fall between those two.  It will never be as good as either of the others for certain conditions but if you only have one machine...  maybe the Wide Track is the one.... but I've never owned one.

Marten Season Starts

With only 7" of snow on the ground the little Tundra 300 was the first skidoo used this season.  Ishi was really excited to be going somewhere.  Bryan came back with 3 Marten.  He said Lots of squirrel and rabbit and Marten sign and a Fisher.
 

Two in the feed bag and one in the trap.

 Today Bryan took Miss Piggy... the Scandic 800 Super Wide Track Skidoo and just went down to the end of the lake.  He said he had no trouble and that Ishi was really good.  So it brings the total up to 7.