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Aubrey Falls - Black Creek


Dan-Senior

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We spent our day riding the Aubrey Falls area yesterday.  Although temperatures were mild when we left Sault Ste. Marie, they were at 0 at Aubrey Falls.  We enjoyed lunch hospitality at Black Creek Outfitters and dinner social at Aubrey Falls Trading Post.  This is a photo I took on the D106 trail.

 

aubrey.jpg

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Thanks Dan that d106 trail is nice. I rode it last year from F interection at black creek to the Top D, and looped back to Elliot lake.  How was the snowmobile traffic?  I'am thinking of doing a run from Sudbury to Elliot lake and over to the Soo and back. Nice trails in the area and looks like the washout, heading north of Abrey Falls, isn't going to be fixable anytime soon. Did you happen to take a ride out to washout area as well?  So avoiding that trail again. Is snow levels good around the soo and down Top D towards Elliot lake? Love that trail, but can be low on snow near highway 17 (was last year anyway's). 15 Km's north of 17 the base was double, not sure if that is normal or not.

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Hi Dan,

Great to see the D106 is getting opened up.  Was the road section plowed & sanded?  (That was why I really liked the D201F. Too bad about the 30 meter wide water crossing on the D201F which is not getting fixed this season.)

Please let me know how much of the road portion of the D106 trail if any is plowed. 

Thanks

Scott

 

 

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Hi Scott and Viperrules700.  We trailered to Aubrey Falls and snowmobiled from there.  At this time I am on the understanding the D201F washout is still significant and nothing has changed.  We sledded down the D106 trail towards Bruce Mines but did not make it to Carpenter Lake or south where there may be some logging activities.  We also took the F-trail down the Kindiogami.  No issues with the FTrail down the Kindiogomi or the D106 part-way down.  Wish I could tell you more.

 

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stg, flame lake lodge, is no longer on the trail system. the F trail as it was known, that ran beside hwy 129 from Aubrey falls to chapleau, now has be re-routed to as the d201f, from Aubrey falls, to halfway haven. then to the once known "wilderness trail" from the D trail, to the F trail to chapleau, is now called the c101d. this was done due to the geography of the regular F trail, and it's history of being hard to open, manage and groom due to weather, snow depth and length of trail.

 

unfortunately, this cut Karen and gary out of the loop for direct sledding traffic. which in itself is a tragedy. it was my favorite loop, trail, and stop. flame lake lodge holds a very special place in myself, and Lynne's, hearts, I am sad we cant go there easily by sled any longer.

 

with the cutting of budgets, manpower and equipment issues, this closure, and the F trail closure from missanabi to chapleau, not only cut out a crucial winter time, weekend loop, it hurt businesses like Ernies' and flame lake lodge, and their communities, AND, it hurt the region economically as a whole, for local, and regional winter time touring tourists, and the money they bring with them. for the districts, and the ofsc, this closure was based on return of investment.  hopefully some day this will change. I miss my friends. Ski

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I count  myself lucky that I enjoyed the trail from Elliott Lake all the way to Chapleau.   And from Chapleau to Ernie's.  Beautiful, beautiful riding through there.  We can always dream that we'll be able to do it again one day.  

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1 hour ago, Owls Nest Lodge said:

I just got a FB message from the Sault that the groomers got through C201F and a small area with 6 inches water is the only problem,  Its a little good news for the area,

Good news, indeed.  

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12 hours ago, Owls Nest Lodge said:

I just got a FB message from the Sault that the groomers got through C201F and a small area with 6 inches water is the only problem,  Its a little good news for the area,

 

The water crossing you refer to is 90 feet wide and when my daughter and I crossed it, the bottom was rocky and ranged from 6" deep to 2 feet deep and is "flowing water". If you aim for the curved less deep area slightly down stream of the entrance and exit of this flowing water crossing and follow it you will be in the least water depth. The entrance and exit areas are not alligned with the curve so you may find the water to be a little deeper. The rocks are of various sizes and the entrance and exit are inclined which make water skipping across very dangerous. I though it could cause a ski to possibly catch a large rock which I saw many and flip the sled. 

 

With the thaw and rain this crossing may now be much deeper and flowing much faster!

The 30 meter wide area will never freeze and partial ice coverage would only make for a ski catch as your skis dive under. 

 

My daughter's belt got wet and her sled barely made it out on the other side after her engine screamed to propel it over the rocks. 

 

I believe this needs to be fixed before this trail can be opened for touring traffic. If it is truly cold, the soaking we experienced would be a dangerous situation for those on a ride. It is an hour by trail to Aubrey Falls and more than 2 hours to Halfway Haven. 

 

This as "ski" has said is taking the place of the F trail. 

As it sands, I think the trail is disconnected !!!

Many will find out they cannot turn back if coming from Halfway due to the lack of fuel remaining in their sleds. 

 

No fuel in Searchmont so to avoid this water crossing, many additional trail miles and hours are required to run south and around with final gas being found at the Zone on Hwy 17 in Goulais River.  

 

The real killer is no gas in Searchmont. 

You may want to carry gas these days. 

Scott

 

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1 hour ago, AC+YA said:

 

The water crossing you refer to is 90 feet wide and when my daughter and I crossed it, the bottom was rocky and ranged from 6" deep to 2 feet deep and is "flowing water". If you aim for the curved less deep area slightly down stream of the entrance and exit of this flowing water crossing and follow it you will be in the least water depth. The entrance and exit areas are not alligned with the curve so you may find the water to be a little deeper. The rocks are of various sizes and the entrance and exit are inclined which make water skipping across very dangerous. I though it could cause a ski to possibly catch a large rock which I saw many and flip the sled. 

 

With the thaw and rain this crossing may now be much deeper and flowing much faster!

The 30 meter wide area will never freeze and partial ice coverage would only make for a ski catch as your skis dive under. 

 

My daughter's belt got wet and her sled barely made it out on the other side after her engine screamed to propel it over the rocks. 

 

I believe this needs to be fixed before this trail can be opened for touring traffic. If it is truly cold, the soaking we experienced would be a dangerous situation for those on a ride. It is an hour by trail to Aubrey Falls and more than 2 hours to Halfway Haven. 

 

This as "ski" has said is taking the place of the F trail. 

As it sands, I think the trail is disconnected !!!

Many will find out they cannot turn back if coming from Halfway due to the lack of fuel remaining in their sleds. 

 

No fuel in Searchmont so to avoid this water crossing, many additional trail miles and hours are required to run south and around with final gas being found at the Zone on Hwy 17 in Goulais River.  

 

The real killer is no gas in Searchmont. 

You may want to carry gas these days. 

Scott

 

 

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IMG_5106.JPG

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IMG_5111.JPG

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I would bet the 4 legged chain saws plugged the culverts and then it washed out.

And people think they are so cute.

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Hey Thanks for the Info

I just posted a question on the Sault section of this forum then I found this.

I would still be interested to know how the D106 is from the D east of Echo Bay all the way to Black Creek Outfitters

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Great photos Scott.  I'm glad you posted them so others can see the true reality of the situation!

 

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4 hours ago, soupkids said:

I would bet the 4 legged chain saws plugged the culverts and then it washed out.

And people think they are so cute.

They can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. Saw it a couple of years ago when they flooded our main trail during the deer hunt. 

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Quote

 

I wonder if the club could go out, flag, mark, and cut a single wide sled safe passable bypass around the water area back on to the trail. they should, or could never post this as full green open until the culvert is fixed but, it may prevent sledders from ending up wet, cold, or spend a night in the bush with a wet sled. otherwise, this trail should be listed as closed, NOT LIMITED. tell the truth about the trails, or the tourists will not come back. Ski

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42 minutes ago, skidooboy said:

I wonder if the club could go out, flag, mark, and cut a single wide sled safe passable bypass around the water area back on to the trail. they should, or could never post this as full green open until the culvert is fixed but, it may prevent sledders from ending up wet, cold, or spend a night in the bush with a wet sled. otherwise, this trail should be listed as closed, NOT LIMITED. tell the truth about the trails, or the tourists will not come back. Ski

 

I would be royally ticked if I was on a yellow trail and came upon that much of a water crossing.

 

90 feet wide  the bottom was rocky and ranged from 6" deep to 2 feet deep and is "flowing water". Really that shouldn't even be open especially at 2 feet deep of water.

 

It is an hour by trail to Aubrey Falls and more than 2 hours to Halfway Haven. 

 

That's one heck of a long way to go when you're wet and cold.

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I just checked the ITG, it is listed as red. Ski

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It was showing green on the Halfway side of the river water crossing washout and yellow on the Aubrey Falls side for a day or two after it was packed/groomed. 

 

That bothered me out of concern especially since that water we crossed was back after the hard freeze and now with the rain and thaw it will be far worse!

 

Once conditions return, the D106 and then up to Searchmont is the next shortest way.  Sadly a 33 mile each way detour starting from Searchmont to the Zone in Goulais River is needed to get gas. In total, it adds another 85 miles to the trip going from Black Creek to Halfway Haven.  This is the new replacement for the F trail. 

Carry gas and save 66 miles. 

 

Paige and I are not crossing that water again. 

Scott

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that water doesn't look that bad,know we won't be shy...

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1 hour ago, AC+YA said:

It was showing green on the Halfway side of the river water crossing washout and yellow on the Aubrey Falls side for a day or two after it was packed/groomed. 

 

That bothered me out of concern especially since that water we crossed was back after the hard freeze and now with the rain and thaw it will be far worse!

 

Once conditions return, the D106 and then up to Searchmont is the next shortest way.  Sadly a 33 mile each way detour starting from Searchmont to the Zone in Goulais River is needed to get gas. In total, it adds another 85 miles to the trip going from Black Creek to Halfway Haven.  This is the new replacement for the F trail. 

Carry gas and save 66 miles. 

 

Paige and I are not crossing that water again. 

Scott

Thanks Scott, going to drop at the doo dealer in echo bay and leave instead of Elliot lake,  going to take a couple small cans just because,

Thanks for the pics, a little better than the 6 inch deep story,

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This trail really needs a bridge. It is a key trail for tourist traffic. It is only efficient way to go from Elliot lake to halfway heaven and farther north. Otherwise you have to run to the soo and then head north and hope you can make it to halfway heaven without running out of fuel. 

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5 hours ago, Owls Nest Lodge said:

it was listed as closed when I asked about it,  still not to sure what way to

plan a route but leaning on not through that mess,

You can go down the F trail and then down d106 towards echo bay (I think there is logging again on this trail closer to echo bay (10 kms's or so is ploughed). The top D is a great trail all way to soo, if snow levels near 17 are good. I enjoyed that way last winter. 

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