Having covered about 5,000 miles on their snowmobiles, the "three old guys'' who departed Grand Rapids, Minn., on March 6, headed for Alaska, are stuck above the Arctic Circle, in a village called Old Crow, Yukon, awaiting clutch parts to be flown to them, which could take a couple of days or more.
Paul Dick, 72, Rex Hibbert, 70, and Rob Hallstrom, 65, have had a tough few days crossing the Richardson Mountains, after leaving Fort McPherson April 1 in Canada's Northwest Territories.
Headed to Old Crow, over the Richardson Mountains, the men initially tried to reach a remote cabin they were told they could sleep in if necessary. They reached the cabin, but beyond that point couldn't find the trail and, worrying about being lost overnight in such a remote environment, they returned to the cabin to sleep.
April 2 didn't start much better. At one point, looking for the trail, the men decided to leave their sleds and search for a path on foot. Shortly thereafter, Hallstrom broke through ice and was immersed in water up to his knees.
Returning to his sled, Hallstrom emptied his boots of water and quickly changed clothes.
About this time, two First Nation — native — men arrived on a single Ski-Doo. The men were planning to connect with another group coming over the mountains from the opposite direction, and they volunteered to show the three American snowmobilers the route over a mountain pass. But the First Nation men and the Americans were pushed back by bad weather, so the American trio retreated to the cabin for a second night.
On April 3, following the route the two First Nations men had shown them, the three snowmobilers again attempted to reach the mountain pass. Which they did — only to find the top was snowless and rock covered.
A chance encounter at that time with a First Nations man coming from the west, breaking trail on a snowmobile for a group behind him that was headed to Fort McPherson, provided much needed relief for the Americans, who were able to follow the group's trail to Old Crow.
