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Diaries of a Lodge Owner
In 2009, sheet metal mechanic, Steve Niedzwiecki, turned his passions into reality using steadfast belief in himself and his vision by investing everything in a once-obscure run-down Canadian fishing lodge.
After ten years, the now-former lodge owner and co-host of The Fish'n Canada Show is here to share stories of inspiration, relationships and the many struggles that turned his monumental gamble into one of the most legendary lodges in the country.
From anglers to entrepreneurs, athletes to conservationists; you never know who is going to stop by the lodge.
Diaries of a Lodge Owner
Episode 84: Snowmobile Adventures and the Ice Roads of Ontario
Snowmobile enthusiasts, gear up for a journey into the heart of winter maintenance with Andrew Johnston from Lakeside Marina. Andrew shares his expert tips on keeping your snowmobile batteries in top shape and sheds light on how disconnecting and charging them during spring can save you from fall frustrations. We also discover the transformation of Red Lake communities, where ice roads serve as essential links during the winter months, connecting isolated areas and bringing a sense of unity and purpose.
Experience life in Ontario's remote communities, where the absence of the Great Lakes' snowbelt means bracing against the cold winds from the Manitoba prairies. Explore the construction of ice roads, a collaborative effort that brings vital goods and services to residents. The story doesn't stop there, as the adrenaline-pumping world of snowmobile racing unfolds, with modified sleds tearing across frozen tracks at over 100 miles per hour, all while fostering a community spirit through kiosks and activities.
From the bustling spring workload at Lakeside Marina to the delicate balance of development and cultural preservation in remote areas, this episode highlights the resilience and adaptability of those living in these unique landscapes. We touch on the impact of all-season roads on traditional practices and the importance of cultural heritage. Ending with a peek behind the scenes at Lakeside, we celebrate the dedicated team that navigates the challenges of a demanding work environment, showcasing their skills, teamwork, and the occasional mishap as they prepare for the winter season.
batteries is probably the biggest frustration point for the majority of my customers. Lots of people have this thought process where they want to go and start their snowmobile once a month for the entire summer just to make sure everything's happy. Well, your snowmobile hates you for that. If you can charge your battery in the spring, disconnect it, it's going to save you a lot of heartache because there's no potential for a draw on the battery. Cable's off, hook it up in the fall, hit the button and away you go.
Speaker 2:This week on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Networks, diaries of a lodge owner stories of the north. Willie and I are back in the saddle and we all have the pleasure of getting to know and uncover some really interesting things about this awesome fella and owner of Lakeside Marina and no stranger to the Diaries family, andrew Johnson. On this show we get to know Andrew and Lakeside Marina from a totally different perspective. We find out about the ice roads that leave Red Lake and the communities that are freed by the ice roads and the change in the community in the winter Really cool stuff. We also talk about the sledding season and proper winter maintenance to keep things running. So, folks, if you love great stories from perspectives you wouldn't think about, and learning tips and tricks that keep your equipment reliable and looking great, this one's for you. Here's my conversation with Andrew Johnson. Welcome to the show. Listen, it's a pleasure to have you back, willie. Say hello to all the Diaries family out there.
Speaker 3:Folks, good to see everybody again. It's been a week here. So, Andrew, good to see your handsome face. Steve, you don't even look like your skin's hanging on your bones anymore, man. You're just cock and ribs. That's all you are now.
Speaker 2:I know, wow, I told the Diaries family a little bit about what I was doing on the last episode. And I'm on a fast. Man, I haven't eaten in 37 days. I said, pardon, I was waiting for that. Yeah yeah, I haven't eaten in 37 days. I'm on a 40-day fast and you know, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. But I'm just, I'm going to make it. I'm firing up my guts right now 30, 47 days.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, 37 days, yeah, yeah, 37 days. I haven't eaten since, well, january the 6th and that's not going to mean much to you folks out there because this isn't falling in chronological time, but yeah, I've been drinking, I've been drinking. I try to drink nine liters, or nine quart jars of water a day. It's tough to get that much water into you, but I usually get. I got to get seven, and in that water I put half a fresh squeezed lemon and about a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. And I take potassium and magnesium for electrolytes and a pinch of gray Celtic salt in each one of those waters. And you know the odd other thing a little bit of milk thistle for my liver. And that's been it for 37 days, other than the last couple of days.
Speaker 2:I've started to repopulate my gut flora and I've been taking a tablespoon of fermented coconut milk, which is supposed to be the best probiotic on the planet, and a tablespoon of kefir, which is fermented milk, and some organic yogurt a tablespoon of that. That sounds delicious, steve. Organic yogurt a tablespoon of that so slowly coming that sounds delicious, steve. Oh, dude, after 37 days, man, I can't believe how good organic, unsweetened yogurt tastes and the difference between kefir and yogurt because the kefir is much sweeter. The difference between kefir and yogurt because the kefir is much sweeter, it's um, it's got um, it's a little bit uh, runnier consistency than uh, than yogurt. But I'll tell you what those sour flavors are, so freaking delicious. It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1:So I know everybody's thinking it, but I'm going to ask it. So, do you still poop?
Speaker 2:Wow, that's a great question, it really is. Now I had a big old steamer about day two, which was, you know, just a regular thing, but after that you would think no, but on day 10, I had another shit, and about half the size of what it should have been. Right, but at that point I thought that was it. And then on day 24, 24, 25, I had another one. So after 25 days of actually putting nothing but really water and lemon through me, uh, I still went again and, um, um, that was, um, that was a bit of a revelation to me. And the other really interesting thing is uh, I've been keeping very close track of my blood sugar, so my glucose levels, my blood pressure and my weight, and there was one day in that well, it was the day I shit in, like day 24, 25,. Right At that point your body really doesn't lie to you, like you really got to be in tune with yourself, because I never wanted although I saw the 40 days, and that's what motivated me to do it and that's the way that I felt off the start I never wanted my ego to get in the way of blocking me if my body really needed to come off 40 days of not eating, because that's a long freaking time.
Speaker 2:So there was one point where I was watching my weight and I was losing on average for a long time, you know, roughly one and three quarters to two pounds a day, and, um, um, I went on a bit of a plateau where I lost a pound a day. And then there was one day where I lost three pounds and I was I hadn't added, I hadn't did the net loss daily on my chart yet, and three or four days had gone by and I always have notes too about how I was feeling that day, so I can refer back. Anyway, I saw a three pound drop in the day and I thought, oh no, geez, that might be a little bit, that's, that's a lot. Like I gotta, I gotta watch it. And at that point I had already lost 25 pounds.
Speaker 2:And then, because that one, that one anomaly was, was sticking out and it was bothering me because I felt it was too much, well, about 20 minutes later I looked back in the notes. That was the day I had my last shit. Those notes were important, right, because I was concerned over nothing, because you take that pound of shit that I got rid of and my weight average loss. It brought it back down to something that was more comfortable with right. But so it's uh, it's been, uh, it's been a a journey. So far, that's for sure, but um.
Speaker 1:I know where it takes to do. That man is impressive. I, uh, I pat you on the back for that one. I mean you got to get yourself into some special kind of headspace to jump on that bandwagon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I'll tell you, the first four to five days are hell. And you know, 40-day fasts have been done by Christians and religious groups for thousands of years, right, and their main motivation is to come closer for Christians, come closer to Jesus, right and God. And for me, when I saw it, I was just at a point where I was sick of being sick hypertension or high blood pressure, type 2 diabetic state and I had all of the diagnostic stuff. I've got the Freestyle Libre, which is that button on your arm that monitors your glucose in real time. I've got my blood pressure machine. So when I started this, I had the ability right off the bat to really monitor those mechanics, much like an engine. Right, be watching my diagnostics as I progress through this. And, um, um, that was very important.
Speaker 2:But coming back to that spiritual part of it, um, you know the demons that you have to fight and I can see why people, when you do something like this, feel closer to we'll calls become so much clearer because you know when you give into those cravings right away and I give up caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and food, so you see them so much more clearly because you're not giving into them right away, whenever I you know, whenever you're just eating whatever you want I get a craving for a bag of chips, I smash the bag of chips. I don't even think about the craving right. But when you're not eating and you really have to deal with each individual way that your mind is trying to convince you to eat and you have to fight that and all of the different things that you go through, you really see how these things are. The devil, are evil, and it's been a wonderful experience for me so far and, yeah, it's been really tough.
Speaker 2:The one thing that's funny that has been helping me get through it is cooking. Believe it or not, I cook for my family most of the meals and I've also prepared a lot of stuff in advance, more than I ever have. I probably got 40 jars of soups and stews and chilies and all kinds of things that I've put together to kind of, on the other end of this, help me continue, because this is just the beginning of the battle, right.
Speaker 1:That's wild buddy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so enough about that. Hey, listen, I hear it's colder than I don't even know what up there.
Speaker 1:It is. It's actually been somewhat of a regular winter for us. A little late getting enough ice on the lake, but everything's just rocking there now. Really nice to see we got snow this year. Last year we had nothing. The entire continent was lacking some winter activity last year, so we're getting it tenfold this year. So what are your?
Speaker 2:snow levels like.
Speaker 1:You know what? We're in a unique place, man. We're outside of tenfold this year. So what are your snow levels like? You know what? We're in a unique place, man. We're outside of a snow belt, so the Sault, ste Marie and the Great Lakes sort of effect doesn't occur here. We get sort of like a kick off of the Manitoba prairies, which really just makes it windy and cold.
Speaker 2:Just give the Diaries family a reminder on exactly where you are in Ontario.
Speaker 1:So exactly where we are in Ontario lands us somewhere about 50 or 60 kilometers before the Manitoba border. Picture yourself driving from Torontoonto 2 200 kilometers, still within the same province, but you're at the end of the road. We talked about it last time. The road literally ends at the lake and right now there's a very nice ice road maintained by the municipality that gets people across to the island. And yeah, it's uh. We're in the middle of nowhere, man.
Speaker 3:How far does that road go? Like does it go? Can you get all the way to James Bay?
Speaker 1:Nope, you can't from this one. So this one doesn't take you that far. You've got to go north of, like Pickle Lake gets you a lot closer, which is east of here yet, but you can go an extra. I think it's about 250 300 kilometers north of red lake, on on the winter roads. Wow, nice, yeah, they've just opened them up. Actually, that's making uh, that's making my, my time right now extremely busy. We have such a great customer base north of uh. You know that isn't normally road accessible. So everything that they use, everything that they break, everything they want to maintain, all has about a four or five week window to come out, get fixed and go back up. So we're hopping into what the lodge owners would feel like is May for us right now.
Speaker 2:No shit. Talk about all of those communities up there, because I had no idea that there was that commerce north of the end of the road. I had no idea and I think a lot, of a lot of the people listening would have never thought like when I heard you know end of the road, you go. Yeah, you know end of your road ends at a you know end of your road ends at a lake. I thought you know what, that's the end of the road. But that really isn't the end of the road. There's this 300-kilometer ice road that runs further north and it's full of communities up there. So talk a little bit about the communities that are there and just any stories, uh, any stories that you've heard about those places.
Speaker 1:I mean, the winter is really the time that the stories all sort of happen, that the travel on winter roads. I mean, you've seen the, the, the show ice road truckers and, um, my father-in-law ran a business, uh, in town here, still does and still does, and he did a lot of ice road trucking and again, like most things, it's not the same as you see on TV but it comes pretty close. Local company here, far North Contracting, they put in the bulk of the winter roads that lead north to Red Lake and it's quite the effort to get these things created. I mean, these guys started out, um, in december when we had the first ice taking snowmobiles. They do the run with snowmobiles in order to pack snow, to push the frost into the ground so that they can get equipment out on it when it gets cold enough. And then and it's the equipment to move the snow, you got to build ice bridges to get over water flows. You got to find lakes that hold enough ice and stay away from flow. Once all of that comes together and happens, they move a big camp up there and then they work out of that as their home base and then they can create the roads that go into these communities. Some of the communities have their own programs where they build the sections of their road. It's impressive to see sort of the teamwork environment that happens there to make all of that network happen.
Speaker 1:And then the traffic starts. Everybody that needs to get out. You can picture being in a community where the only access you have to um like uh, the the market economy to get out and go do your shopping for clothes and go to the city. I mean, this is the only time of year for anywhere from four to eight weeks. I guess that these, that these first nations people can come out and do that stuff. Now, all of a sudden they have access to it. So it's just everybody flocks out and they're coming out with all of their broken stuff and hauling trailers.
Speaker 1:You can just picture, I mean, one day you go to start your truck and you get an engine light, yeah, and it won't turn over, it won't start. Where do they go? They don't have the facilities that we do here and it makes it really tricky for them to to be able to. I mean, I I sold the guy a truck up there a little while ago. You know, six, eight months after he's used it now won't turn over. And he's like well, what do I do? And I said can you get it here? Yeah, and then he goes Nope, it's a 20 kilometer barge ride that you can just imagine the expense and the cost that has to.
Speaker 1:Oh my god yes, so many flights happen all year long, but it's uh, it's. This time is the time that these guys can actually get out, get their stuff repaired, buy new product, and it's a great time for our community. Lots of dollars flowing through this time of year. It gets busy all the way around. The hotels are booked solid. It's a great thing for our community and we service the road network here runs us like eight or nine reserves and, yeah, the people are steady flow. We've got a lot of really great friends and good customers up there. It's nice to be able to see them, because you really only ever get to talk to them on the phone mostly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. That is crazy and I can just imagine you almost need to have a festival when these people come.
Speaker 1:You know it's happening this weekend we got our Red Lake Winter Carnival is this weekend. We didn't get enough ice early this year to be able to do all the things that we normally do out on the lake. There's a pond hockey tournament they got curling on the ice, they do bike races and boat races. There's all kinds of stuff that normally happens. Unfortunately, it was such a late start to the good ice this year they weren't able to prep the lake, but we still I'm going to plug one here. We still got the Red Lake District Trail Masters, which is our OFsc club, is having their poker derby this weekend and and I again I mean that this is probably we're not going to fall in the dateline, but uh, this year, uh, brp, uh, lakeside and the club came together and we've actually, uh, we got a brand new snowmobile up for for first place. So, oh, wow, that's awesome man. Yeah, it's gonna be.
Speaker 3:It should be a wild day, is that the day that I brought the kids out to last year, remember, I brought Holton and them and I think it was that event, and then they did some dragging after.
Speaker 1:No, the drag races. They're a different weekend. They're in a couple weeks. March 1st this year is the drag races out on the bay Another great event. They've got an association here that runs it. These guys travel all around it's.
Speaker 3:Uh, it's a wild time too, those little kids on there, andrew, there was kids steve. They were like man.
Speaker 3:They had to be three years old and they were just like the parents would like almost tape their hands to the handle and it's like no one two three fucking go and these buddy, these sleds are doing like 40 mile an hour and those little kids like waving like a necktie out your window On the back of the flag and then they get to the end and they let off and they just kindly coast to a stop and, oh man, it was so great to see them, it was funny. I mean me and Holton, I think, went up there for the day.
Speaker 2:That so great to see them. It was funny. I mean me and holton, I think, went up there for the day. That's awesome. Yeah, that would be another great event to watch the drags. Like I mean, uh, how long is the uh? Is the track on the uh on the lake, like what's the official uh length that they run?
Speaker 1:they run the race at 660 feet 660 feet.
Speaker 2:And uh, what's? Uh, what's an average? Uh, what's the faster sleds?
Speaker 1:uh, getting up to in 660 feet well, you got these guys running these modified units where, uh, they're on the, they're on the go all the time and I mean they're, they're. You know you're creeping over 100 miles an hour and that's, that's an awfully short distance to make that happen.
Speaker 2:So oh my god. So talk a little bit about the engines in those things and what are they doing with them they're doing.
Speaker 1:They're doing everything under the sun. They're doing complete modifications with uh. You know these guys are running race fuel and they're all programmed, they're, they're pumping. You know some of them are creeping on that 700 horse type of craziness and holy, yeah, it's. Uh, it's pretty wild to watch man at uh, it's so fun to go. See, we set up a little kiosk there and have some product out and yeah, we I think we had the cornhole out on the ice there last year and people coming by and yeah, it was uh, it was a really fun day I can imagine that just the sound from those sleds must be crazy.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm fucking stupid sitting there. Yeah, and you know, the cool thing too, stevie, is to have like the drag strip. They actually plow out either side of it for like half a kilometer. I would say you know what I mean. So so the cars and the kids and everybody has a long area where you can park and sit there. If you're cold, you can sit there and watch it, you can get back in your vehicle and watch. You know they have a really good setup for it. I was super impressed actually.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, that is, that's great. So, um, your season is just firing up, which is wonderful. I would have never guessed that, I would have thought that this was your downtime and summer was your busiest time, with all the lodges and everything else. But that's fantastic and I would like I mean just having the different people coming through the town and seeing you, like you were saying, that would be wonderful, it would be truly great, and I can just imagine being part of those communities, how important those ice roads are. So let's just, I'm still really intrigued with the ice roads and and listening like we've all seen ice road truckers and and all the stuff. You know the. The guys are hanging out with the door open because they're feeling it crack and this and that and and uh. But I'm really intrigued with what you were talking about and how it's built, because 300 kilometers of road of any type is a crazy amount of infrastructure to build and these guys are all doing it in like a matter of what. Two and a half months, three months.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. It's really doesn't even take them that long, it's, uh, the beauty part of the way they construct is it's all done with. You know, mother nature's blessing right is that? Yeah, they have to have the right conditions in order for these roads to even, you know, be a be a pipe dream. So, yeah, the the equipment that goes into to constructing and maintaining these roads is impressive. When you see them up there with these big groomers and they're moving snow and packing things down the swamps makes it one of the most difficult because there's so much natural heat there all year long.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the muskeg would be tough yeah, the muskeg is is nearly.
Speaker 1:Especially for the types of of trucks that have to travel on this, like the, the half-ton traffic sort of becomes an afterthought. Uh, when you see the types of material that that are trucking up this road, there's thousands of loads of semi-trucks that haul fuel, because, I mean, that's how these people get power is for years and years and years it was all diesel fuel generators that then they have them in mass stockpiles and it's just not cost effective to fly that fuel in there, so they haul an absolute ridiculous amount of fuel up there. In the winter months, when the roads are open, they'll start with half loads so that they can actually start the process. If they don't start half loads with less ice, they're just not going to get enough material up there.
Speaker 1:They're just not going to get enough material up there. It's, um, yeah, it's. It's extra neat to to see all of the, all of the conditions being right to make it happen and then all of the work that goes into it and then all the work to maintain it for the for such a short period of time. It's, uh, it's it. It's almost like the lodge owner owner season. You know, you're, you're absolutely crazy. Balls out in may. You know, get everything ready for opener. Then you work into the to to getting everybody happy for the first you craziest busy time and then you sort of put it on cruise control and maintain your season. It's very much the same for these guys and in a really tight window, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Now my next question how often does Mother Nature not cooperate, like do you always get a road for a certain period of time, or are there years where that road just doesn't happen?
Speaker 1:I don't think, in the 20 years that I've been here, that we haven't had a road. It has. I mean, some seasons have been really short. Last one, last year, was definitely short because we had such terrible weather in January with the rain and the above zero temps and then getting super cold and making everything icy it. Just. It was a lot harder for them last year, but, um, typically it's always we get, we get a season out of it. It just depends on how long it lasts and and the crystal ball doesn't exist where you get that opportunity to know how long the season's going to last. So when the road opens up, she's on her baby, he's full on.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So many, so many times as a, as a business owner here, like with Lakeside, we're servicing snowmobiles and ATVs and and vehicles and trailers and then all of a sudden, you know it comes to the beginning of March and it's and it's 14 degrees out, so then they start closing the road for any daytime travel and then when it drops down below zero, they'll open it up in the evenings again for for the you know that that 10 PM to 6 AM type of range, but a lot of these trips that these guys are making, it takes them eight hours to get where they're going.
Speaker 1:10 hours, 14 hours. So you're driving in but you got to stay there for the day and then make your way back out and, uh, the end of the ice road season is is really the probably the time where it's the sketchiest, because you're, you got those warm temps and people are getting stuck and equipment's getting buried and the guys that are up there maintaining the roads, or you know, there's always those people that just don't like to listen and then they're wrecking the road for everybody else. It's, yeah, it's it's wild man?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no doubt I can't. And that would be the sketchiest is when the ice is melting, because when do you say enough is enough? I'm sure that they take core samples and there's certain parameters with the ice and once it hits this parameter, that's it. The other side of the coin, when you've got these communities that need this shit and you're you're pushing really hard to try and get that get them their supplies and it comes down to the wire. I bet you, for a lot of those guys it comes down to the wire every year, no matter how long the season is every single year exact same thing.
Speaker 1:It's push, push, push, push, push right till the end. And for that thing I mean I've, I've stored, I've stored, guys, stuff for for eight months, six, eight months. Right, it sits here because when that road goes, you're done. Yeah, what else do you do with it?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, yeah now. Has there been any talk about um amongst the communities, in your community, about global warming and the worry that maybe there might be a year coming where there's no road, or is that just something that you haven't really talked about or heard people?
Speaker 1:talk about. We really don't. I mean, we don't, I guess, see it really as much. I mean, last winter was a little bit of a weird one. We had some record temperatures in january, but, um, it's really not a hot topic up here. Um, what's the? What is happening, though and it appears as though things are getting the ball rolling is they're starting to to push for, uh, all season roads. There's a couple of communities locally there that have round Lake is one of them that they actually put an all season road in so that these guys can can travel out, in and out all the time. They have accessibility, I mean, for everything it it improves healthcare, it improves access to water treatment, chemicals, to, you know, all those things that that are Even their mental health aspect being up there in the bush right Absolutely and being able to get the services that they need.
Speaker 3:And yeah, there's so much that comes with accessibility like that, andrew.
Speaker 1:So they're looking at putting a bridge in over the Barrens River sometime in the next couple of years. That would then give access to a few communities that are relatively close to that, for the potential of that all-weather road, pikangikum being the first one. And then they're talking about what to do with the road network after that. But I mean that's going to be several, several years trying to expand that road network. But I mean I think it's a double-edged sword. There's a lot of people in the communities that value their tradition and think that the accessibility may, you know, may hinder those traditional activities and things like that. But I mean, progress is never truly bad in a lot of ways and hopefully the benefits outweigh the the.
Speaker 2:you know the negatives, the negatives and and you can uh, like, I mean um, logically looking at it, I can see both sides of that coin. I can see people who are traditional and this is the way that it's been done, um, and this is how our, our culture is. I can see them being worried about losing some of that culture, um, um. But again, you know, it's pretty hard to resist um, um, development and and you know, um, at some point I think it does, it will it obviously it's, it's trending that way and it's going to outweigh that and and hopefully, uh, they can, uh, they can deal with that and the only people that can deal with that is the communities themselves and trying to maintain their, their culture and and uh, and hold onto it. So, um, but again, I think um, uh, it's not, that's just not a cultural thing. With uh, with um, um, with uh, those, uh, those groups, it's um, it's a cultural thing with everybody.
Speaker 2:And I see it in a lot of generations. Like, I know that both of my parents, their grandparents, moved in and lived with them until they passed, and that's kind of the way that things go. You know, my mom took my grandma in and my aunt took my other grandma in. But so many times in today's day and age you don't really see a lot of that family looking after each other and it's that breakdown in the chain where you start to lose your tradition. You start looking at how your grandmother cooked for you when you were a kid, at how your grandmother cooked for you when you were a kid, and can you, or anybody in your family, recreate some of those things that she did?
Speaker 2:And you know, I certainly would love to think that everybody could say, oh yeah, I know everything, but I know I don't. And I'm at a point in my life where I'm kind of looking for things like that, looking for, you know, my grandma's recipes and things like that. So I think that's more of a widespread issue. When you're in the wilds of northwestern Ontario, you need gear you can trust and a team that's got your back. That's Lakeside Marine in Red Lake, ontario, family owned since 1988. They're your go-to pro camp dealer, built for the North, from Yamaha boats and motors to everything in between.
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Speaker 2:So you're servicing a ton of sleds and side-by-sides and track machines and all kinds of different things, and that's basically one of the services you provide. And that's basically one of the services you provide At this point in the winter. Let's talk about how our Diaries, family and all the listeners out there should be treating their equipment and what we should be looking for as far as maintenance goes. You know, the beginning of the winter we talked about winterizing things and everything else, and now let's talk about maintaining what we've got going right now.
Speaker 1:I mean when it comes into the ATV world. I mean lots of stuff gets used up here all year long. People plow their driveways We've got lots of the side-by-side world with tracks is really opening up. And snowmobiles is, I mean, for accessibility and recreation up here. There's a pile of them running around everywhere. So maintenance is, I mean, is, critical and we talked about the outboards in the last session. We did and snowmobiles is really no different.
Speaker 1:You get into the fall time when you're getting your equipment out and ready to go. The best time to service a snowmobile is in the spring. When you're done using it for the season, you get fresh oil in the engine. You make sure you go through charge up that charge up and disconnect your battery fuel stabilizer up that charge up and disconnect your battery fuel stabilizer. Um, there are some uh, different brands have different recommendations about how to store your engine two-stroke versus four-stroke but uh, it really comes down to having the appropriate maintenance and checks done in the spring when you're when you're when you're packaging that unit up.
Speaker 1:Batteries is probably the biggest frustration point for the majority of my customers. Lots of people have this thought process where they want to go and start their snowmobile once a month for the entire summer, just to make sure everything's happy. Well, your snowmobile hates you for that. The batteries it's really hot out. The battery gets started, there's a big draw on it, and then, as your snowmobile sits there and idles, it's not replacing the charge that you're consuming when you start it up. So then you're getting all the oils flowing and the fuels flowing and then everything has to settle back out and then you don't give it enough time to to heat up and and get heat soaked properly it. It just doesn't like you for that. Um, I strongly recommend not doing it. Um, because you're going to be looking at me. At the first minus 30 day, you're going to walk out and press your button just to see if your snowmobile starts, which is also a really fun one for a dealership. Hey, it's minus 35. I wonder if my sled will start. It also hates you for that. And if you're going out for a 100-kilometer ride and you want to rip around in minus 35, two thumbs up more power to you. But don't press the button just because, because you're going to get frustrated when it won't start. Um, but you'll go out and your battle will be frozen solid because you drew. You just draw it down all summer long and now you're like, well, what the hell's going on? So then you got to replace your battery and they don't give those away anymore, so everything's expensive. But if you can charge your battery in the spring, disconnect it, it's going to save you a lot of heartache because there's no potential for a draw on the battery Cable's off. Hook it up in the fall, hit the button and away you go. Drive it like you stole it.
Speaker 1:Fuel stabilizing we're into a different world now where carburetors are a thing of the past. I'm a BRP dealer. I sell Skidoo snowmobiles. They actually don't make a unit anymore that has carburetors. They've gone purely fuel injected and there's no more fan cooled. You're into that world where everything is liquid cooled, two-stroke or into the four-stroke world. So we're gone away from the carburetors and draining the bowls and getting them cleaned once a season. That has all disappeared. You're in that fuel injected. It's really efficient, sort of getting. With the times they don't consume as much fuel. It's really important you put that fuel stabilizer in in the spring so that the gas sits during the summer. Fuel stabilizer in in the spring so that the gas sits during the summer, top it up with fresh. When you start out the season away, you go.
Speaker 1:Regular maintenance I can't say enough about it. You actually can tell when people bring their equipment in whether it's regularly maintained by somebody that has experience doing it. And it really comes down to the other big failure point we see is clutches. The snowmobile belt drives the unit. If you're not got a regular change schedule on your belt so that it stays fresh, it's going to blow. And if you've ever snowmobiled and if you've ever run down the lake and you start to hear it happen, the slap, slap, clap, boom, there it's gone. Now you're out in the middle of nowhere, it's cold.
Speaker 1:You got to change your belt. When belts do grenade like that, they can cause damage in your unit and break plastics and everything else. So, um, you know, we've got a general rule of thumb in the two-stroke world if you hit 2500 miles, change your belt for for the cost of the belt. I-stroke world if you hit 2,500 miles, change your belt For the cost of the belt. I mean, if you're running that many miles in one season, sure, try and stretch it a little bit longer, but it will do you nothing but favors. Clutches getting cleaned is another one. There's serviceable parts within a clutch that really regularly need to get inspected to make sure that they're functioning properly, because when they fail, they can cause a lot of really grumbly damage in there. Um, it's just. It just comes down to to if, if you have a product and you don't want to maintain it yourself, get it looked at by somebody else, because complacency is just going to get you frustrated.
Speaker 2:That is wonderful tips, brother, like I mean the first one that you talked about, and I'm not going to say that I'm guilty, but the battery and you know starting it, and I know that there are so many people out there that always say you know, just start it for a little bit, let her run. You know it's good for the engine, this and that, but what you're saying totally makes sense. Like I'm driving around a 1992 F-250 with an old 7.3 IDI in it and it's got an alternator in it and the voltage regulator is separate from the alternator. It's bolted onto the side, so it's a 1G alternator and they're not very reliable. And I have a new one on order that's a 3G with an internal regulator.
Speaker 2:But I've really had to baby this situation that I'm in right now because I traded my 2022 for a 1992, right, so no, he gave me a little bit of cash on top of it. But my truck right now, the one that I drive every day, is a 1992 F-250 with a 7.3 IDI in it and it's only got it just turned 60,000 kilometers on it. So it's a brand new truck. It's just 33 years old.
Speaker 2:But when you were talking about the strain on the battery and on your electrical system and the amount of draw that that battery takes when you start it. I had no idea that each start and especially on a 1992 IDI diesel when you've got to cycle the glow plugs twice because it's really cold and dumbass forgot to plug it in last night how much power that a start can draw out of your batteries. And I think that that one piece of information that I've never heard will save frustration over frustration, and not only for the sledding family and the people in Kenora and in your area who, it's a necessity half of the time, like I mean, I bet you there's more sleds running around up there, right now than there are vehicles I've definitely been guilty of what you just said.
Speaker 3:Like for sure I've done that, for sure. I went out and like, yeah, it's a cool day, I'll just fire up my sled, let it run for just two minutes, fire it down 100 and then I have to charge my fucking battery. Yeah, come spring, you know what I mean. Like, and I've done it with boats too. Yeah, you've got, you've learned, but I've become sprint you know what I mean, Like and I've done it with boats- too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've learned, but Well, and that's what I'm saying it's like not just for the people that own the snowmobiles and sleds, it's guys like me down south. I've not. The last sled I owned was and it was my dad's, it was a 1976 Alouette. So I'm not a I'm not a snowmobiler by any means, because by the time I could afford one, our winters were not that good and you had to travel north anyway to use it. So I've never been a snow machine guy. But it works the same with your quad, with your boat. I'm terrible with my boat. I've got two batteries in it that run, because the one goes dead half the time and that's probably because I just go down, I start it just to see if it'll start, and then shut her back down, and so wonderful, wonderful tip.
Speaker 1:And, contrary to popular belief, batteries don't dislike cold weather. Bad batteries hate it. If you don't have a full, happy charge and a good battery, it's going to freeze.
Speaker 3:If your battery is in good shape, well-maintained and has a full charge it can sit in the minus 30 volt Like your boat batteries.
Speaker 1:as long as you put them away properly and disconnect them, they can sit in your boat. They don't have to go into your basement on cardboard or wood and get topped up all the time. They are more than happy to sit outside during the winter, as long as they're in good shape and stored properly.
Speaker 2:And stored properly is disconnect, disconnect, disconnect, yes, yeah, yeah, because those little draws, you just don't know how, you don't know where they come from.
Speaker 1:So disconnect one little bare wire touching a piece of metal and all that does is just draw your battery down and she's pooched yeah, she doesn't take long either right like it's just, and you're right.
Speaker 3:It just takes the smallest little dial left on or a backlight in a dash. That doesn't click off and might not even be your fault. You're right.
Speaker 2:The other big thing that I picked up on, for me too, is the fact that you emphasized, do all this work in the spring, when you're done with it, make sure it's maintained and ready to go.
Speaker 2:Because I can totally see it psychologically when you're like when I'm in the fall and I hang up the fishing rod and you know winter comes, I'm good with it.
Speaker 2:You know I've I've had a whole season and and I'm good to to hang that rod up. But you know, come this time of year, you know February and March, when you know things are starting to get a little closer to soft water times, I'm starting to itch Right. And I can totally see how, if you don't do that in the spring, by the time the snow comes, because when the first day that you can get on that sled and go, you're getting on the sled and you're going to go and rather than having to deal with your oil being changed and you know doing all of those things, changing the belt on your clutch, which is another key one at 2500, uh, 100 kilometers, um, you, you will end up um driving your sled with shit oil and a bad belt if you do it in the fall and you'll get stuck right because you don't give yourself the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1:You always need it before it's ready to go. So if you do it in the spring, you have it all dialed in, hook up the battery, everybody's happy. And and there's nothing that makes an engine happier than sitting, when it's going to sit for a long period of time, of having fresh fluids in it, because you take all those impurities that that get into there from from the engine running and and that not you know, perfect combustion and the soot, and there's a reason your oil gets black when it's used, the heat that gets generated in there. Having fresh fluids in there is just going to make it much happier and make it last a lot longer for you.
Speaker 2:For sure, because all that soot and the carbon and the shit that's left over from all the heat and everything else, I can totally see with the new fluid in there, that fluid for four to six months is working on all of that shit that's stuck to either your oil pan, the bottom of your crank, all of those areas that are exposed, all of the oil passages and jackets and everywhere where it sits. It's working on cleaning that engine as well and that's all great, great advice. So, going forward, you know we've talked about what we're looking to do and maintain right now. At the end of the season, what do things look like for andrew at lakeside marina?
Speaker 1:they're. They're a bit sad because because, as you can imagine, at the end of my snow season you you know what I'm starting on already right, both is april and may are are that that time up here? I mean, the ice out in the last several years has gone. You know, it's in may, it's in the month I mean the ice out in the last several years has gone, it's in May. It's in the month of May when the ice is leaving.
Speaker 1:So now we're getting all these snowmobiles coming in for their year-end service and get that all sorted out, and you know there's a pile of people that are waiting to the last minute because we got to get that last ride, the last ice fish, and then you've got this massive workload coming for what we have to get prepped for the May long weekend. We've got all of these camp owners and lodge owners coming up and it is full on. These guys are in their most stressful time of year and we have to juggle both. So I always say and the previous owner said the same thing if we could double our staff for the months of April and May, we could definitely fill their time, no doubt.
Speaker 1:It's valuable, no doubt, and we're so often. I mean I have such a great team that works at Lakeside. They're so dedicated, so proud of what they do, they're nothing but extremely professional and we definitely ask a lot of them and and they deliver.
Speaker 3:You know, we're putting in days, sometimes 16, 18 hours, and it it's just, it's a necessity for us, but it uh, it definitely it's appreciated by our uh, our lodges and well, I was just gonna say that I was, you know, as a guy who's been, this would have been my third season here coming in, you know, and that, uh, being a guy that's been there the last two years with you, in that season buddy it was it was impressive watching your teamwork. You know the, the long days at the shop, then the after hours, you know, at my place till six or seven at night, the four in the morning, five in the mornings, dropping off boats to and from work. I think we've been in all those scenarios, you know. So, uh, dealing in our dealings, andrew. So thank you very much for that and I can second, I can vote for that for sure I appreciate that a lot really.
Speaker 1:It definitely uh, it's definitely an interesting time of year. Every, uh, every april 1st we all sit down in the shop and we have that talk, it's that, it's that coffee time meeting where we sit and all sort of just look at each other and know what the next three months is going to bring. And you know everybody's you get, you get mildly excited about about the challenge, but you know the workload it takes and it is absolutely nonstop. And and then and then in amongst amongst all that, the winter road season closes up too, right. So we're, we're getting, we're scrambling to get everybody's stuff uh, completed and and get it out the door so that these, so that the community stuff when they need it in the fall. So it's, uh, it's super exciting and challenging. I mean, uh, I mean I never thought that that time of year would be as crazy as it is, but then it's fun.
Speaker 2:That's very cool. Well, listen, the backbone of your business is that staff into them just a little bit and tell me about the people you have working for you and how many and you know. Get a little bit into your team, because I didn't realize how big your business is and how extensive it is and the different dynamics that you've got going on. So talk a little bit about your team.
Speaker 1:I mean it doesn't. It takes a lot to run the machine right? I mean, we've got some office staff. We float between nine and 11 staff depending on the time of year and between students and not, you know, right at the front desk. Uh, I don't have my own office. I am the guy that sits up front with uh, with my, with my parts clerk, uh, Sherry, we, uh, we are the two at the front of the counter. Um, we take all the phone calls, we deal with the staff coming in and out and we also work together to run the shop and keep the wheels turning there Her job.
Speaker 1:And there's not anybody that's ever done it in the world that would tell you that. It's simple, anybody that's been a parts person, which was the deal I had with the previous owner. I had to learn the parts job before I was allowed to sit in the seat, in the big boy seat. So the parts job is the one job within the building that can bankrupt a company. It is 100% stressful. You are nonstop, from the minute you get there to the minute you go home. The number of work, orders and parts receiving, and all of that stuff happens with very minimal staff at Lakeside, because we like to run light and efficient, but we really look for people that are motivated to work and want to be there.
Speaker 1:If you don't, then it doesn't work out, and Sherry has been nothing but amazing for Lakeside. She's had a lot of experience in the industry over the last 15 years and she's just nothing but fantastic in the office. You know all the stuff that you don't see out front with the accounts, receivables and payables. Carol has been at Lakeside. She's one of our longest standing employees. She shows up every single day and just does whatever she's asked and she's. She's been extremely reliable for us. Uh, can't say enough great things about that. My wife also works in the office. We won't run the business together. She's doing the payroll, all the government reporting and taxes and all the wonderful things that go along with that.
Speaker 1:Oh man, um job boy, it's always fun and then you know, then we jump into the shop. So we currently have two full-time certified mechanics, we've got two apprentices and then we've got one laborer and two students For years and years. I mean Lakeside's longest standing employee is a guy named Ian Chuhai. He works out of the local Harmony Centre for disabled folks and he's worked at Lakeside God, I think it's got to be close to 35 years and he comes in every Wednesday for a couple hours. He absolutely loves it. He's just such a great, cheerful guy to see every Wednesday and everybody in the shop loves it.
Speaker 1:Now we get into the guys that are boots on the ground and out in the field. My mechanics, the two with the most experience, are Arthur Valiant and Riley Fulton. These guys, I ask probably too much of them and they just don't stop delivering for me. These guys are so knowledgeable and I don't like an avenue where I try to make my mechanics or get my mechanics to be absolutely good at only one thing. These guys cover the spectrum. Absolutely good at only one thing. These guys cover the spectrum. They're working on 400 horse outboards down to nine, nines to chainsaws to eight, 50 snowmobiles to the. They put their hands on. All of it is if I have a guy that's only good at one thing and that's all he works on. If he leaves or gets sick or as on holidays, and I got nobody to cover that, I'm in a bad way. So these guys, these guys just cover the spectrum and man, oh man, do they? They just show up every day and work their asses off. Can't say enough about them are you sending these guys?
Speaker 3:I know yourself, I know you go down to Georgia and Cali and do all the training with the Yamahas and the BRPs. Do you send your guys away to do that stuff too? And if you do, what do you send them away for, like what kind of training do they get?
Speaker 1:So there are different OEMs run programs. I mean, covid really changed the game on things, so much of everything has gone online now. So they have access to all of these vast training tools. Probably the Sh shining stars land between yamaha and brp these online sessions that they, that they have the. They dump dollars into these things because they're so valuable for the, for the staff and and employees to like the mechanics, to actually see why and how they develop changes in the product and and the different uh maintenance strategies. It's, it's all done online for these guys and it uh it's not for the faint of heart man, that's. A lot of hours go into these things. There's for sure, piles and piles and piles of training videos and they uh that, yeah, it's great. Um.
Speaker 1:So the other, the other two, the apprentices, uh, brian bailey and uh and aiden mountain. These guys are um relatively new to the power sports game. Um, brian's been away to his first term of school and uh, they just they're just grinding every day, man, it's our shop is full every single day of the week and they're turning out work. It's tough for Sherry and I to keep up. They're handing in parts requests, their work orders are completed, the product's getting done and it's just. Then you've got to do all the other stuff with you Invoice it out, order the parts, get the parts received, get them tossed into the shop and and schedule the work.
Speaker 1:It's just, it's. It's a wheel that doesn't stop turning and you have to have your finger on the pulse of it, or it should just the wheels fall right off. An inefficient shop just means you have people pissed off and I will be the first person to stand up and say I'm not perfect, I forget shit. Every day, every single day, there's something. I go, oh man, and I don't care how good your notes are and how organized you are, it's just. There's such a volume for us that we try and do our absolute best to make sure everybody's taken care of and serviced and happy. But man, oh man, you will definitely let people down from time to time, and it's not an easy pill to swallow. And as a business owner that is proud of what we do, man, it just feels like crap when somebody's frustrated at you. It's a tough pill to swallow, especially when it's something that's out of your hands, but when it's something you could have controlled and made it good, ouch it hurts.
Speaker 2:Those are the best learning pros. That's the learning process, right. Every good business person has been there, like I mean. I've been there, you know, and that's how you learn.
Speaker 1:And there's truth to you. Learn the hard way and I was always taught in this industry is learning only costs you one thing, and that's money. And unfortunately, it costs money to learn, and it's a process that I you know what I? I, we gotta just be smart about the way we do things. And again I it's it, and again it's a beast.
Speaker 2:Well, on that note, I got to admit I've done a lot of learning then, because it's cost me.
Speaker 3:Likewise, likewise.
Speaker 2:Anyway, listen, andrew, thank you so much for joining us again. We really appreciate you and Lakeside Marina and, uh, everything that you do up there. And folks, uh, for anybody um that's listening, that's down South here with me and you're considering a, uh, a sledding trip, um, you gotta head up that direction and check out, andrew, and really, the intrigue of what goes on with the different festivals and everything. I had no idea and that's something that I've got to come and see one of these days. So, thanks for shedding some light on that stuff and folks, thank you for listening to this point, andrew, we will talk again.
Speaker 1:Sounds great. Guys. Thanks so much for the invite and again love what you guys are doing here. This podcast is amazing. I just I get all jazzed up about coming here and talking to you guys because it's unique. It's something that we haven't seen before. Big shout out to all the lodges and and everything that that use our services. You guys are amazing. Thanks a lot again, will Steve. This is it's been wild man. Thanks so much.
Speaker 3:Brother, I appreciate you having you on here every, every time. You know thanks for coming on board with me and Stevie and the Diaries family and you know, the Outdoor Journal Radio Network. We appreciate it and you know everybody in northwestern Ontario. It's a big place up here. Get up to Andrew's. I've sent Browey up there. We've sent lots of people up there already. Go and see Andrew. You know you buy a sled from Kenora. You buy a sled from Dryden Thunder Bay. You know he's willing to meet you. So give him a call, get up there and see him. It's worth it. His customer service is worth it.
Speaker 2:And on that note, folks, thank you very much again for getting to this point in the podcast. And go on over to fishincanadacom and get in on the giveaways, get that name of yours in the box as many times as you can and increase your odds, and on taking home a beautiful garmin unit, uh, we've always got different things on the go there, so so check that out. And uh, for anybody out there, any lodge owners who uh want to tell their story, feel free to reach out to will and I, um, y'all know our, uh, our email addresses. I'm steven at fishing canadacom and we've got uh willie at. Uh, what are you will?
Speaker 3:uh walleye drilling. Walleye drilling at gmailcom since my yes, yes, sir walleye the fish drilling at gmailcom. Let's reach out that way and, uh, we'll help you out there you go.
Speaker 2:and for anybody, uh uh, interested in our, our deck uh, we've got a wonderful deck and look to partner with wonderful people. Uh, just like, and Thanks again, brother. And thus brings us to the conclusion of another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner Stories of the North. I'm a good old boy.
Speaker 1:Never mean to no harm. I'll be all you ever saw, been railing in the hog since the day I was born, Bending my rock stretching my line.
Speaker 3:Someday I might own a lodge, and that'd be fine. I'll be making my way.
Speaker 1:The only way, I know how, working hard and sharing the north.
Speaker 3:With all of my pals. Well, I'm a good old boy.
Speaker 6:I bought a lodge and lived my dream, and now I'm here talking about how life can be as good as it seems, yeah.
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Speaker 5:As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry Ouellette and I was honoured to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as chaga, a tree conch with centuries of medicinal use by Indigenous peoples all over the globe.
Speaker 5:After nearly a decade of harvest use, testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession and I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit of the strange mushroom and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy. Find Under the Canopy now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts.