Participants in the 25th annual Field ATV Mud Run stopped midway at “Smilie’s hot dog stand” for a quick energy boost. 
Participants in the 25th annual Field ATV Mud Run stopped midway at “Smilie’s hot dog stand” for a quick energy boost. 
Knights Don Deschamps and Ken Paquette are organizers of the Field ATV Mud Run, put on by the Field Knights of Columbus. 
Normand Plante sings to entertain the crowd before prize presentations at the Field ATV Mud Run. 
Some brave riders crossed the river on their machines during the Field ATV Mud Run. 
Seb Bigras crosses the river with his ATV during the Field ATV Mud Run. 
Seb Bigras at the Field ATV Mud Run. 
Joyce Beauchamp
Special to the Tribune
As if on queue, the first drops of rain began to fall when the first ATV riders hit the trails for the 25th annual Field ATV Run on Saturday, August 29. This year, the word “Mud” was included in the event’s name, and there can be no mud without rain. Although the morning began with sunshine at the event’s breakfast at the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church hall, the Field Knights of Columbus, who host the run, breathed a sigh of relief as wet conditions set in. Don Deschamps had told me earlier, “The most difficult ATV conditions are dry and dusty conditions. That’s when you have to wear a bandana and goggles and not follow too close due to the spray of dust, sand and stones.”
This writer is new to ATVing. I asked Don Deschamps before buying my $40 early bird ticket, “can I go around mud puddles?” He replied with some hesitancy, “For the most part, yes.” Just past the muster point at Pike Lake (aka the hot dog stand), I encountered my first mud puddle. Sure enough, I could go around it. Piece of cake. Then the trail began to narrow and become hilly. It became rougher, with stones – even boulders – replacing gravel in some portions. The bush closed in on the trails, with gnarly roots protruding from the ground and soggy branches whacking my machine. I drove through my first large mud puddle, then pulled over and took some photos of the riders following me.
A group of young fellows was happy to oblige. They splashed their way through the mud and continued on ahead of me. I would encounter them again later. I became mesmerized by the breathtaking beauty of the northeastern Ontario countryside around me. The trail took me through pockets of deciduous cover where I could see for a mile through the undergrowth. Who would have thought? It took me through marshes, over trickling creeks, up steep hills and down through more mud puddles. I learned that the best way through a mud puddle is straight through it. I luxuriated in the rich smell of soaking wet bush. It was good for body and soul.
