I landed in Deer Lake for a week of snowmobiling on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula – riding the rock. For reasons known only to the secret order of travel agents, I’d flown Toronto-Halifax, where my companions deplaned for their direct flight to Deer Lake. Meanwhile, I was routed St. John’s, there to double back the length of one very large province to arrive at that same final destination hours later. Adding insult to injury, my baggage shared the direct flight. I would have done better to ship myself as cargo too.

I had journeyed to the island for a meeting of the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations (CCSO), and afterwards, to join about 40 other attendees for a snowmobiling adventure. I also wanted to check out recent developments: by all accounts, Newfoundland was at the brink of a major snowmobiling boom, spearheaded by a $5.9 million provincial investment in trail infrastructure. This trip would allow me to compare their starting point with whatever progress was to be made. Whatever the case, we “Come-From-Aways”, as our friendly Newfie hosts succinctly dubbed us, climbed aboard a van bound for Maynard’s Torrent River Inn, about three hours further north in Hawke’s Bay, our base for the week.

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