Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 11/02) - Take one look at Billy Storr's snowmobile sled and you'll see why he's serious about proper packing.

Jerry cans snug in the back, duffle-bag up front with his neatly packed clothes, grub box in the middle with food and equipment.

"I started getting ready a couple days ago," he says on the eve of a four-day snowmobile trip he was preparing for last week.

Storr and 10 other students in the Aurora College natural resources technology program were heading out to Husky Lakes, 85 kilometres northeast of Inuvik, for a field trip.

A trip on the land may sound like a good time, but a poorly packed sled can put a hole in your plans -- literally.

Over the years Storr has developed his own perfect packing technique. Some tips he learned from his family, others he learned by trial and error.

Storr says he once let jerry cans sit atop exposed bolts in the middle of his sled. He ended up with holes in the cans and a sled full of gasoline.

"Now I put a caribou skin in the centre so the jerry cans don't get worn through and leak gas."

Fellow student Forest Kendi also had a story about improperly packed sleds -- not his of course, his brother's.

"I lost a rifle once because it wasn't properly packed. If you don't have it snug, it will bounce out of the sled."

Kendi adds that loads should be kept low. "You don't want to get it too high, or it will tip. You put your heavy stuff in the back so if you hit a snowbank at least you'll pop back up."

Other important rules? Storr says it's a good idea to keep organized so you can grab what you need in a hurry. "I got my grub box with tools and binoculars and I keep all my stuff I might need -- spare mitts, rope, spare belts, dry meat, hooks, lunch -- at the top. Then you cover it all up with a tarp so the snow doesn't get in."

The tarp should be off-centre so one long end covers the entire sled. Storr usually ties a double rope at the middle, separating the sled into two parts. That way if he needs to get at something, he only has to untie half the sled. The very top of his grub box Storr reserves for something special -- fresh doughnuts, for a quick snack on the trail.