Dan-Senior

Some lumber camp exploring north of Sault Ste. Marie today with Ray Clargo, while out for a snowmobile ride. It was a 13 lake trip under sunny skies and warm weather.

Good news. The D201F Trail that links Searchmont to Aubrey Falls / Black Creek is now open again. It was groomed last night and their is a disclaimer on the Sault Trailblazers website indicating a frozen bypass is available at the water crossing, but use at own risk. I suspect the Domtar Road is still being logged for the 1st 11 kilometres from where it starts at the Ranger Lake Road. I wish I could easily explain how you can bypass that 11 km section, however, there are too many branch offs on that bush route and one wrong turn, one would get lost. Here's a video of the 11 km stretch bypass route to avoid the logging. This route suggestion was brought forward to the club as an idea a few years back, however, I am on the understanding there are a obstacles along the way that may include physical and political.

Wow, that's the best write-up I've seen on OC to-date. Very well done and quite captivating. Great story and photos. Can't wait for Volume II

Fresh Snow and Colder Temperatures made for some cross-country and trail riding south of Aubrey Falls yesterday. We utilized part of the D106 trail as part of the day ride. The area bush trails were not immune to the warm meltdown as you can see in the video. The lakes held up well and the slush disappeared.

$145 for my XC 700 and $165 for my XCR 440. Liability only. TD

Hi Greg, I'm sure you and the crew had a great time snowmobiling this past week. I was right behind you yesterday morning crossing at the US Customs in Michigan on the US side of the border. Your sled trailer gave you away. "ZRTKAT" on the license plate. Nice setup! Dan

Great photos and nice write-up Glenn. Looks like a fun trip.

F8 EXT, We ran into some of your friends on Patton Lake this past Sunday. They were from Indiana and know you. Wish I could remember their names. Ice was good, but a bit slushy in some spots. We rode the D106 to Aubrey Falls / Black Creek and did some lake running to shorten up the trip. Here's a brief video of us going through Horner Lake narrows. We took our time, then hit the trottle once in the wider part of the lake.

Safe travels Greg. Have Fun!

I was in Dunlop Lodge (north of Elliot Lake) last Saturday afternoon having coffee and a large group of riders showed up about 5 pm. Some of the group walked through the lounge, then headed for their rooms. Were any of you OC riders part of that group? Would have been nice to meet face-to-face.

Aubrey Falls Trading Post indicated riders are crossing the washout using the north side pond. This is what I heard today. That's good news!

Hi Chris, Nice to hear from you. Lakes are starting to take shape, but nothing spectacular in terms of thick ice as compared to past years. I'll likely see Mike Butcher at work tomorrow and will ask him about Patten. He said he was heading to camp on the weekend. We were on Dunlop Lake yesterday and no one has yet to venture on the lake with a truck / suv as of yet. Friends of mine were fishing Kaufmann lake and ice was closing in on 10". The good news is the slush is gone. I suspect if cooler weather remains, you should be in good shape to get through the lake hops at Patten.

Sault Trailblazers Club President was there and took a photo. Looks like that station opened today. Feb 1st. Great News!

'Mile 38' is well-know by the Sault Ste. Marie locals as a snowmobiling riding and camp recreation destination. The starting point is at the junction of highway 17 just east of Batchawana Bay (60 kms north of Sault Ste. Marie), that goes northward into the interior of Algoma resulting in higher elevations and deeper snow. The top end of Mile 38 is one of our last resorts for end-of-season riding when we are seeking April snow. This past Saturday, we snowmobiled to Batchawana Station on the Algoma Central Railway, then headed east to Spruce Lake. Once at Spruce Lake, there was the opportunity to ride through the Quintet Lake system and loop back out to Mile 38. There was close to 2 feet of ice on Spruce Lake, not great ice, but thick. Temperature was -6 and light snow throughout the day.

Hi Matt, I have not heard of any updates to that washout. The Sault Trailblazers website is listing this quote (directly below) in their Trail Status Column. *** D201F Has a Major Water Hazard 60 Feet Across and Max 8 inches Halfway Between Aubrey Falls And the Warm up Shack at Domtar Whitman Damm Intersection. All Attempts to Fill it would not work due to The mild Temps Ride With Care***** Although I update the Latest News section of the Sault Trailblazers website, I do not update that center Trail Status column, that section is done by the Club Executive. I suspect the groomer went straight through that 60' wide water crossing.