They’re home now, back from a 3,700-mile snowmobile trip from northern Minnesota to Newfoundland and Labrador.
And quite a trip it was for the “3 Old Guys,” one of them says.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It went real well,” Rob Hallstrom said. “There were a couple of little hiccups along the way, but that’s what makes it adventure travel, I guess. Nothing serious at all, so overall, a real nice trip.
“It was great.”
The “3 Old Guys” – Paul Dick, 74, Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Rex Hibbert, 71, Driggs, Idaho; and Hallstrom, 67, of Park Rapids, Minnesota – departed from Dick’s home near Grand Rapids on Thursday, Feb. 13, and on Thursday, March 6 – two years to the day after departing from Grand Rapids on a 5,000-mile snowmobile trek to Fairbanks, Alaska.
The trio of senior snowmobilers flew from Newfoundland back to Winnipeg on Sunday, March 9. Hallstrom’s wife, MaJeana, picked them up at the airport, “and I was home Sunday night,” he said.
In a phone interview Tuesday, March 11, Hallstrom said they had excellent riding once they got past the sketchy snow conditions in Minnesota and Wisconsin on the first leg of the trip. Unlike the trek to Alaska in 2023, which required breaking trail through the wilderness in places, the 3 Old Guys were able to travel on groomed trails much of the way to Newfoundland, Hallstrom says.
“It’s amazing the trail system that has been put together largely by volunteers,” he said. “It’s almost like a highway system. The fact that you can ride that far on a trail system is amazing.”
All three drove Arctic Cat 600 Riot snowmobiles.
ADVERTISEMENT
“They were flawless,” Hallstrom said. “We had no problems at all with the sleds.”
Their longest day on the trail was 340 miles in a remote area of Quebec. That was partially planned and partially “low snafu,” Hallstrom says.
The day’s plan was to ride about 300 miles to a lodge they’d been told would have plenty of room. But when they got there, there was no room at the inn, Hallstrom says.
“It was already after dark and they got on the phone and found another lodge that was like 60 kilometers down the trail and said it’s ‘right on the side of the trail, you can’t miss it.’ ”
Hoping to reach the place before the kitchen closed at 8 p.m., they immediately hit the trail again, Hallstrom says.
“We could not find that place,” he said. “It’s a remote area, there’s not a light anywhere – nothing. We’re driving around dead end trails and just could not find the place.”
Finally, about 10 p.m. they came across a heated warming shelter on a snowmobile trail.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It was maybe 50 degrees in there,” Hallstrom said. “It wasn’t real warm, but it was good enough for us. We had enough miles on so we thought, ‘let’s just stop here.’ ”
As with the trip to Alaska, the 3 Old Guys encountered numerous people who reached out to buy them meals or offer a place to stay on their ride to Newfoundland and Labrador. They’ve become social media stars, thanks to daily updates Hallstrom’s daughter, Kasie Plekkenpol, posted on Facebook beginning with the Alaska trip. Her has 48,000 followers and has attracted literally millions of views, Hallstrom says.
“She’s just unbelievable,” he said. “She’s such a good writer, and it’s because of her that everybody knows about us. We have such a following.”
The people are what make the trips memorable, Hallstrom says. On Saturday, March 8, for example, when the trio drove their sleds to an in Birchy Head, Newfoundland, about 50 miles from where they were staying, they became like the pied pipers of snowmobiling.
“We stopped at two different warming huts, and there’s groups of people waiting for us, so by the time we got to the dealership, we had 30 to 40 snowmobiles in a line (following us),” Hallstrom said. “They had a real nice reception for us – kind of an open house with some snacks and treats, and we got to sit around there and visit with everybody for a few hours. It was really a nice way to wrap up the trip.”
Arctic Cat is hauling the snowmobiles and sleighs back to Minnesota.
With the trip to Newfoundland and Labrador behind them – an adventure filled with beautiful scenery and wildlife such as moose, caribou, ptarmigan and lynx – Hallstrom says there are no plans for any big homecoming celebrations like there was after they returned from Alaska.
ADVERTISEMENT
What’s next on their agenda remains to be seen.
“I'm sure there'll be more adventures,” he said. “It’s too early to say. We don't even talk about it when we’re out there. We take them one at a time. We just got home, so we’re still unpacking from this one.
“Give us a couple of months of sitting around, and I’m sure we’ll get antsy to do something else.”
The Trust Project
