Waterholes like that are very common where we ride in Maine and NH. It's rare to not go through a few deep ones each ride. Stream crossings are pretty rare too. They want us to build bridges over them to protect the water, and fish I guess. Big fines if you go off trail and through a waterway. If it's in the trail it's okay.

 

Those ponds will be dried up and gone soon. We don't have any trails that go thru them.

We build bridges across our wet lands and you can face a serious fine and possibly the lose of your machine for riding thru them off the designated trail.

If the trail crosses a stream then that's OK.

You've ridden across this one Moose on your first visit out here.

The Gooseberry and Great Western Trails are just a few miles east of Salina. We'll hit them too on you next trip.

 

Where that one trail ends maybe they could put in some posts that the idiots couldn't pull out or cut down, like steel beams sunk in concrete.

I don't know of any places now that cross a creek or stream without a bridge. One trail that crossed a creek with no bridge was rerouted to avoid it. Beaver dams are another story. A beaver built a dam right next to one trail. There must have been a culvert down there under the water and ice. I got halfway across the ice when it broke and I went straight down. I already had it in 4x4 Low and kept going. The front bumper area worked like an icebreaker. I think I had to adjust my headlights after that.

 

We cross creeks here all the time - really not an issue as long as its a designated trail crossing it.

I hate beavers. They are very destructive.

We have some here in my canyon and very few trees. I don't know what happens to the beavers. Maybe they decide to move on to someplace else.

 

One of my friends and I were riding in the winter and I ended up high centered on a stump that a beaver sharpened to a point when it cut the tree down. I never even saw it and was just sitting there teeter-tottering with all 4 wheels off the ground. What the...? We both had a good laugh when we figured out what happened. There's only one way in to the family cabin and beavers like building dams against the only bridge across the creek. When I waited for them with my 12 gauge loaded with armor piercing slugs they never came out. I got tired of waiting and left.

 

They are a menace.

 

I headed back out to the Gooseberry and Great Western Trails hoping the snow had melted enough that I could finish the loop I've been wanting to do.

I can't believe how much greener it is than it was just 12 days ago.



12 days ago this is where I had to stop unable to go any farther due the the trail being buried with snow.



This 50" gate needs some minor adjusting.

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The perfect place for lunch.



I learn something new every time I go for a ride. What I learned today is that when your Hot Hands start cooling off you just take them out of your gloves and toss then on the side of the trail.

Some people are pathetic.





I cut them and dragged them off the trail as far as I could. The Forest Service will have to finish this one up.

My chainsaw has a 14" bar and was 2'3" short of cutting thru the tree. I'm still pretty impressed with it.



A little more pruning and I'm on my way.

No chainsaw and I would have had to turn around and head back the way I came, about 15 miles.

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UM - not sure what it stands for. The are building a new route and will close this one thru the stream. Many of us are sad that they are doing that.
Our Committee coughed up $40k for the new bridge.

I will tell you that I now know I need new boots. These have lost their water proof quality.



I'm up on top of the Great Western Trail contemplating my next move. What if I get over the snow and have to come back?
Well it looked like there was plenty to winch to so off I went. The snow was hard enough that I went right over the top of it.




Another place to contemplate. Oh what the hell. LOL

Sometimes when you're out by yourself you think things thru a little more carefully.



The Great Western Trail is amazing.

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It was a great day for seeing wildlife too.

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I didn't realize what I had captured in the video until I loaded it on my computer and watched it.
I think the deer was telling me that he really did give a $hit that I was there. LOL!!



It was the PERFECT day to take this ride. There was a little bit of everything which made it perfect.



And I always bring home more than I left with.



I really don't like putting my machine away dirty but that was an all day ride and it just gives me something to do today.

The End

 

Wow, great pics. You've really racked up a lot of miles on that Brute Force. Looks like it has been very reliable. Some have commented on other sites that they're not reliable machines but I believe that pretty much all atvs are reliable now if you take care of them. The people that complained most likely abused the crap out of them and then blamed the machine. I still wish it had a button for the diff-lock instead a lever though. When I had my 650, the few times I did try to use diff-lock it always felt a little awkward to pull that lever. And it was almost impossible holding it in and trying to muscle the atv out when not on it.

 

Thanks Greg, its been an excellent machine for me.

I know people complained about them a lot in the past and I always thought they were less than reliable too.

Kawasaki made some big changes in 2012. I rode a 2010 and other than the power I wasn't all that impressed and then I got to put about 400 miles on a 2012 and decided that would be my next machine. Two years later when my '01 Rubicon finally died I bought this one.

I change the oil and filter every 500 miles, take it back to the dealer every Jan and get the valves adjusted, buy a new belt and install when I get it back home. Then I never have to worry about the belt.


I posted this video a few posts ago. I never was a huge fan of that little yellow lever either. Then a friend told me that High-Lifter made this "Pen-Lock" that locks the lever in place. It works like a million bucks.

I don't abuse my machine but it does get a good workout when I'm out clearing trails.

 

I heard about some sort of mechanism that locks it in in place, great idea. I hardly ever used it on my 650 anyway. Most people wouldn't need to change the belt every year but you ride a lot more each year than most.