Willy turns ice-road trucker

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/03/2012 (5274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s truly a mystery how I get myself into these fine messes, but this one promises to be epic.

Earlier this week, we started a journey at the southeast corner of Manitoba on the Buffalo Point First Nation. If everything goes as planned, we will arrive on Sunday at the most northern point in the province accessible by vehicle.

Normally, a nice Sunday ride on my snowmobile is all it takes to get my blood flowing in winter, but apparently that was nowhere near interesting enough for Season 3 of our Willy’s Garage MTS TV Winnipeg on Demand documentary television series.

Nope, the director had to make it tough — really tough.

In total, our trip will take us more than 1,600 kilometres deep into the North, with stops along the way in Grand Rapids, Thompson, Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake. We will then make a 12-hour drive across ice roads to our final destination — Tadoule Lake, home of the Sayisi Dene First Nation.

Joining me this year is my friend and neighbour, Jay McLeod. Following us in a chase vehicle is Far Point Films producer and director Scott Leary, director of photography Dave Gaudette and sound and lighting technician Kevin Bacon.

To get you up to speed, our ride for this chilly trek is a used 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD truck that was purchased a few weeks back.

After countless hours in the shop and more than a few improvements, it is now totally winter-ready. Dubbed “Snow Drifter,” our new shop truck looks like it just went through an episode of Pimp my Ride, Manitoba-style.

Although it’s a 4×4, when I purchased the truck it was totally stock and rolling on all-season 16-inch radial tires. The first order of business was a beefier set of wheels and tires and a minor suspension lift to accommodate the new rubber. Our resident crew chief, Evel Dave Radey, was joined in our shop by local off-road guru Richard L’Heureux from Pro Towing for the suspension lift. The guys worked hard and tightened up the front torsion bars and added a block in the rear leaf springs. A nice set of 17-inch factory Chevrolet aluminum wheels was purchased by placing a want-ad on the Kijiji website, and a fresh set of aggressive 285/70/17 Cooper Discoverer mud-and-snow tires was purchased from my friend, Wayne Kehler, at Jake’s Husky in Steinbach. Wayne is a gearhead like us and found us a great deal from Sturgeon Tire. It was definitely worth the trip to Steinbach — Wayne even mounted and balanced the new tires free of charge.

According to my trusty tape measure, we gained an additional 2.5 inches of height at the truck’s front and rear bumpers. The added clearance and the sticky new tires were a must for this journey, and as an added bonus, it made the truck look way meaner.

To make sure nobody misses us along the way, our friends Steve and Mary Redman from Action Sign Services created and applied enough decals to make any NASCAR fan envious. Highlights include maps of Manitoba on the side windows chronicling our trip, as well as MTS, Free Press and Willy’s Garage logos and a sinister-looking graphic of a Yeti throwing snowballs, flanked by Snow Drifter decals, along the truck’s box.

In the mechanical department, we had the alternator rebuilt at the Starter Connection and Evel Dave also replaced a bearing on the idler pulley. A new spiral-core battery from Part Source was purchased, as well as a spare drive belt. The Goodwrench guys from Jim Gauthier Chevrolet Cadillac were commissioned to change all the truck’s fluids and give it a clean bill of health.

For the first leg of our trip, we headed south to Buffalo Point First Nation, an Ojibwa or Saulteaux band in the southeastern corner of Manitoba along the shores of Lake of the Woods. Upon arrival, we were met by Drew Thunder, son of current chief John Thunder and the grandson of past chief and community visionary Jim Thunder. To give you an idea of how successful the band has been under Thunder leadership, I gleaned a few words from Jim Thunder’s autobiography, aptly titled Voice of Thunder. Today, Buffalo Point is “a community with assets of over forty million dollars and less than four million in liabilities. It includes an eighteen-hole golf course, a world-class convention centre, a 350-dock marina, 330 resort homes, 24 rental cabins and 200 RV campsites. The community has its own fire hall, a residence for seasonal employees and a museum.”

As a Métis man with Saulteaux blood flowing through my veins, it is difficult to describe the feelings of pride I experienced when Drew Thunder shared the tale of his family’s dedication to both the development and preservation of the land they have inhabited since long before Canada was officially a nation. The tour of Buffalo Point showcased breathtaking scenery, and you can bet both Jay and I will return in the future to hunt and fish with our new friends.

Following our stop in Buffalo Point, we headed north and stopped off at our homes in Cooks Creek for a night of rest before continuing our long journey. I was looking forward to one more night in my own warm bed, but Jay had other plans. Moments after arriving home, he took my truck and parked it deep in the snow in my front yard. He then took away my keys and offered a challenge I couldn’t refuse.

“Hey, big shot survivor man,” he said with a grin, “you’ve been bragging for days about how prepared you and your truck are for this journey. Why don’t you sleep in Snow Drifter tonight and prove to everyone in TV land that you’re prepared.”

Never one to pass up a challenge, my next 10 hours were spent in my front yard, with cameras rolling, alone in my truck. My dinner was cooked on a fire I made with wood packed in the truck, and later I slept in the back seat with only a candle and my trusty sleeping bag for warmth. Without entirely spoiling the plot, I can proudly report that thanks to the winter gear recommended by the province of Manitoba’s Infrastructure and Transportation website that was packed in my truck, I slept like a baby. I also wrote this article with a pen on my trusty notepad, so a big thanks goes out to my daughter Katelyn for typing it up for me.

As you read this, we are out there somewhere barrelling down a lonely highway. Along the way, we will be on the lookout for cool Manitoba machines and also plan to visit a mine and drive a massive dump truck. Rumour has it they might even blow something up while we are there.

When we finally get to Tadoule Lake, we will be presenting our new friends with a mirror ball, disco lights and a fog machine for the community’s recreation centre, so basically, we are bringing the party with us.

Hopefully, our journey features just enough drama for good TV. Wish us luck — we may need it.

willy@freepress.mb.ca