3 Old Guys

Last Sunday, we had an opportunity to highlight Rex Hibbert as he celebrated his 70th birthday on the trail. We felt it only made sense to share a bit more about the other two guys crazy enough to ride into this adventure as well.

Today, I’ll share about Rob Hallstrom, the baby of the group at the age of 65 (for another month or so). Like the other Guys, Rob has been riding snowmobile for more than 50 years—first riding a 10-horse, early 1960s Ski-Doo snowmobile in circles around the baseball field in the backyard of the Hallstrom home in Centerville, MN. When he was in 11th grade, his family moved to Thief River Falls, MN, hometown of his parents. From the youngest age, riding has been a core tenant of Rob’s life and if the “Hallstrom” name sounds familiar it may be because his father, Hank Hallstrom led the Arctic Cat Safety Department for many years and rode in the Iron Dog Ambassador Class at the age of 68 in 2004- he was the oldest guy to have ever run it at that time, or perhaps because his cousin, Joey, who he grew up riding with, is a former Team Arctic racer, race manager, and product marketing manager.

Now in retirement, Rob and his wife, MaJeana, live near Park Rapids, MN. Their daughter, Kasie, is married to Mike Plekkenpol, and they have two “tweenagers” following along on Grandpa’s wild ride. During the 3 Old Guys Ride to Alaska adventure, it has been me, Kasie, who has been writing/preparing most of the Facebook page posts. Rob has been doing the “Trail Reports” when he is able.

But snowmobiling is only one piece of what makes up Rob’s passions, as a lifelong outdoor adventurer his undertakings go far beyond snowmobiling; he is an avid hunter, canoeist, adventure bike rider, and off-road enthusiast. His earliest adventures—starting at age 12 and without adult supervision—included winter camping with his buddy, David Kolden, in a cabin near the remote community of Four Town, MN. He and Dave also ventured to Isle Royale as young kids where Rob recalls running out of food and money; they had one last candy bar and decided the first one to jump into Lake Superior would get the candy bar.

His love for the “North Country” started at a young age and when Rob was 21, he worked as a hunting guide and wrangler for a big game outfitter in British Columbia. (And yes, he did get frightfully close to grizzly bears!) At the end of the season, he was able to take a mountain goat –that mount is still hanging on a wall in the Hallstrom hunting shack. He has spent much of his life traveling, reading and studying both Canada and Alaska.

The “Cain’s Quest” snowmobile challenge—a 2500-mile endurance race—in Newfoundland and Labrador became a goal when he learned about the event from his cousin Joey. Joey had introduced Rob to Paul Dick, who had recently run that race with his teammate, Rex Hibbert. Beginning in 2010, Rob and teammate, Mike Dolby, began prepping for that event, including taking an official mechanics training course at Arctic Cat headquarters. Rob and Mike participated in that grueling competition in 2011, and Rob ran it again in 2012 with former Team Arctic Cat racer and engineer, Jason Howell. In 2019, Rob, Rex, and Paul made their 3,000-mile round trip snowmobile ride from Grand Rapids, MN, to Churchill, MB.

Sometimes the adventures seem too many to count – from riding the 3,000-mile Canada-to-Mexico Continental Divide route on dirt bike, taking multi-week fly-in canoe trips to Canadian waters, or riding to Alaska on snowmobile! When Rob and MaJeana were dating, he promised to bring adventure to her life, he has more than delivered on that! They will celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary in August.https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088934197535