I then hopped off and headed east towards Lake Kabetegoma (sp???). The terrain up there is nothing but bumpy ass swamp land. To say it was rough would be a huge understatement. It reminded me of riding a plowed farm field. As in if there's not at least 10-12 on the ground forget about it.[/b]
Kabetogama is the correct spelling and your version is closer than a lot I hear, believe me!. Us locals call it kab, or kabby. As far as the bumpy ass swamp land thing - you're pretty right on. Take a shovel sometime and you find clay pretty quick if you don't find rocks at least here on the river. We also got a bunch of beavers in our neck of the woods which screw up/create flowages on a year to year basis. This year is a low water year due to precip; you should see the swamps in a wet year. I'm sure none of this is too much different from the bemidji area?
You're best bet I think would be to ride the rivers (Ash River) but I don't know how safe it is.[/b]
Ash River is definitely safe for sled travel. I've seen an SUV across already over New Years. I've measured 14", but this is not to say that you couldn't find areas with less, but still sufficient for snow machine travel. As far as other rivers go. Thats an own risk kind of deal. You got low water, but you had warm weather earlier, which creates runoff, which creates current, which erodes ice. Just be careful and talk to a local or ride with enough people to yank a sled out if need be. Dropping water levels create a sort of "psuedo" ice layer above the real water, this hurts ice strength.
Arcticman - Bemidji is a pretty long haul from Ash river and I tend to agree with nacapster on the rockiness. Some land trails have been packed, some haven't been touched. I don't know about the bemidji area, but riding the rabbit trails and/or forest roads around here would be you best bet, which is still far from perfect especially if they are plowed! I may go out tomorrow to see what the land trails are like after today and will take pictures if I do. Kabetogama is staked from Ash River to Intl. Falls so I may have to take a spin on the lake. It was windy today and we got some snow in the 2" range. But, with drifting, I'm curious to see what is still bare and what is piled up on the lake.
