Dan-Senior

Secret November Riding Spots Every year, I would wait, watch and listen, then determine where to steer the 4 x 4 truck and trailer in SEARCH of snow. Those days are gone as I am now more comfortable staying at home enjoying a pot of coffee. However, I'm going to spill the beans for some of you younger enthusiastic riders. 1.) Ogidkai Mountain - I have consistently riden the area of Ogidaki mountain every November. Its 30 kms north of Searchmont on the Whitman Dam road, then another 11 kms North-Westward. High elevation means early snow and good snow. 2.) Eton Bluffs - Take highway 17 north to Frater turnoff, drive into Frater (likely only 3" to 4" of snow) Unload, then head eastward on the road to Eton. You will climb immediately in Elevation and so will the snow-depth. Hope you don't run into the trapper because he can be a mean bugger if you screw up his trail. 3.) Robertson Lake Bluffs - Take highway 17 north of Sault Ste. Marie, turn right on old highway 17 just north of Joseph's Farm, then head eastward on the Robertson Lake Road. 4 x 4 your way into Roberston Lake, then unload, head eastward on the sled as you climb significantly in elevation. Always been very successful for end of November sledding, however, it melts quickly. December snow is more stable. In the 40+ years of sledding, I was able to sled once in October. That was the year a freak snow storm came in off of Lake Superior. It was also the year I just purchased an XLT. I measured 15" of snow on the Robertson Lake Bluffs. The snow trac was short and riding was limited and it melted within 2 days after riding, but what a smile on the sled operator. The first 2 pictures below are November photos at the base of Ogidaki Mountain, 2 years apart. Two different sleds, but same location. Ogidaki is just shy of 2200' elevation. The bottom photo is from November 18th 2011 at Robertson Lake, north of Goulais River. These 2 guys had car trouble and came back the next day to get it. Unfortunately, they had more than car trouble to deal with upon their return, when this spur-of-the moment storm blew in overnight. I helped push the vehicle out, but not sure how successful they were in getting out to highway 17 with banana-slick tires. Good luck to everyone in search of early snow. Dan-Senior

Topic: Aubrey Falls Trail Repair I can't speak on behalf of the club, however, from what I heard this week, significant funds were allocated to repair that stretch of the trail system. Hopefully, the information is correct. If I hear more, will provide updates.

Off to an interesting start of snow in the Sault Ste. Marie region. Haven't seen a start like this since October 2012. Yesterday as I was driving through the City heading north, vehicles were southbound covered in snow.

I'm with TD. Sled Insurance went up 26% this year.

Record Breaking Winter Based upon a report from the local Weatherman, Sault Ste. Marie has broken an all-time record for the most snow to be on-the-ground this late in the winter season. I'm sure other communities might be in the same situation. My backyard this morning. We received 68 cm of snow in April alone. Sudbury also at 68 cm of April powder.

Sault Ste. Marie For winter lovers...its been a great year for Sault Ste. Marie. One of my colleagues at work is an avid Searchmont Skier. I'm sure he will be all smiles today when I see him. A couple of photos from the City Centre this morning (one courtesy of Sootoday.com, the other, my driveyway).

Halfway Haven - 1st - Winter Customers Chad, Ray and I, were #1 again this year. 1st winter sledders to make it into Halfway Haven. Date was December 10th Previous Years: #1 - 2016 - December 11th - Dave, Al, Chad, Ray, Dan #1 - 2015 - December 20th - John, Greg, Gerald, Chris, Chad, Ray, Dan #1 - 2011 - January 9th - Dan D., Ricky, Dave, Sean, Chad, Dan Dec 10th - 2017, Dec 11 - 2016, Dec 20th - 2015 and Jan 9th - 2011 photos

That's amazing Ski, 5 months of sledding. You are having a great year! Sounds like your home investment in Dub is adding quality-of-life for you and the crew. We received 15cms of snow in the Sault. Searchmont was 20cm. Our friends Chad and Bob sledded from Searchmont to Halfway Haven and back and Saturday. Said the trails were mint. Should be nice riding waiting for you this upcoming week or weekend. A photo from my front door this morning. I'm located in the city centre, where snow is not near a much as compared to north of the Sault. Dan SSM

Sault Ste. Marie Fresh Powder throughout the Sault and Searchmont today. Our friends Chad and Bob are at Searchmont out for a ride. Still plenty of snow north of the city. I look forward to their report when they return tonight. Photos courtesy of Sootoday.com

For me, Peace-of-mind is my SPOT Tracker. I setup the link ahead of time, then email it to several people including some that are located at stop locations along the way. Those individuals take an interest and actually follow the map. Hope this helps. On another note, a retired friend of mine flipped his ATV in the wilderness during the summer and it had him pinned in such a way that he could not crawl out. Thank goodness he had a SPOT. Help arrived 3 hours later, to get the bike off him. Dan

Sunday's 14 Lake Cross Country I removed most of the cross country footage on this video, however kept the lake running. The fellow in the photo is ice fishing on Dunlop Lake.

I checked the Song Copyright. Hard to believe, but they block this song in the USA. Bizarre.

That's a bummer OX. Likely blocked due to my music selection. If you try it on a PC, it might work as sometimes they block tablets and smartphones only or visa versa. On another note, I do need to thank the local trapper for helping me plan this trip. He provided feedback in the days leading up to the adventure.

Cross Country Video Today was a good day. New territory was nice to see and explore. I had my metal detector and digging tool hooked on the back of the sled and managed to locate a few old lumber camps along the way. Unfortunately, I lost my axe on a steep hill at Pathfinder Lake. Otherwise, no other issues.

Today's Cross Country Leaving the Sault at 9:30 am this morning, then arriving at the wilderness entrance point at 11:30 at Endikai Lake. Today's Cross Country run is all new territory for me, however, should be an exciting trip running the various new lakes & creeks. Destination is Keelor Lake, Lower Mace Lake, Claim Lake to Dunlop. Only doable if ice conditions allow. Here's the SPOT Tracker. Starts at 9:30 AM https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GSk1e5vHie9VHKcdycOdUEMl6FqP8rVs Dan