Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/05/2021 in all areas

  1. The projects taking place always come first as does the economic engines of the areas. They have left roads and bridges that were easily utilized by the trail system, but as ski points out are taken back as needed without debate. Some modifications also seem to be removed or destroyed in the name of the ecosystem or to remove possible liabilities of use. The wood rights went back to Hornepayne and there have been multiple road building projects to access the wood resources north of Dub. The roads run from Dub and can connect logging to the mills in the west and all the way up to Hearst not just Hornepayne. Someday these routes may be available, but if used will be taken back when needed by industry. The gold mining around Dub has boomed and is also taking back the use of roads used for trails. There was some re-routes worked on, but never needed or opened up. There were new trail sections opened, but not really finished to the point that lower snowfall amounts could make them usable. without the snow, the trails were bypassed back to roadside sections destroyed by plows well before the ice fishing season was finished. Railroad crossing access is always maintained first. It will be a trying season if the covid thing stops. The weather and covid masked the problems with maintaining the D108A last season, but the interactions with logging are not fixed yet. A dedicated trail is needed as the old 100 mile loop has been taken back and expanded on both sides by logging. Short term there may be a sharing plan, but often loggers decide to wipe away and close trails at the worst times of the season. Halfway closing is a huge hit to touring riders starting from SSM and will put more pressure on D trail and the old F trail connected areas. This will just push the more dedicated to head to Quebec as opportunities for connected touring are lost. As the drive/trailering I need to make is pushed from 6 hours to 12 hours, I can go east and make fewer but longer trips in Quebec. The exception is when weather cooperates and the Soo to Sudbury has good conditions, but often this is not the case.
    2 points
  2. White River doesnt even have a club at all. Craig Colbourne of the Marathon club, is the driving force in the area to get these trails back up, connected and running. the marathon club opened, groomed, maintained trail from marathon, to Dubreuilville's turn around with White River, with only help from Jeremy and Cynthia at the Fishing moose lodge on Hammer lake (the former H&C lodge on hwy 17). that has been in place for several years but, logging, time, manpower, funds, prevent it from opening up regularly. this year, he and his group of volunteers in Manitouwadge opened the trail from Mani, to the hwy 17 corridor to connect back to marathon. only to have the new Hydro corridor updates, stop the trail from really opening to white river. to get any of this opened further, you will need white river to get a solid group of people to commit time, and effort, and re-organize as a club. you will need hornepayne, and longlac/greenstone, to want to connect, and then lastly... they will need commitment of ofsc and districts, funding, and riders to utilize these links, loops, and patronize only businesses that support, fund, volunteer to keep and maintain these links. the majority of the locals will never leave their town, beyond about 25-50km, and when they do, it is to access camps, and fishing, not to travel between towns, for recreation. they will utilize organized trails when they are opened but, could give 2 shits, if the trails are in or not. the biggest hurdle is the distance between towns, and the limits on grooming equipment in the area. it would be nice to have a groomer at white river, at mani, at caramat etc... but, permits, money, and volunteers dont allow for this. with halfway closing, I would venture to guess, just like in the years before shawn arrived at halfway, that trail will close. no fuel to make it from wawa to chapleau, or searchmont to chapleau, let alone aubrey falls to chapleau. and I am just talking about sleds, not the groomers themselves. now you have no resting place, no fueling available, no easy place to swap out drivers. just like pre-shawn, there will be lots of dead ends on the system, in this region. and for those of you that dont know, with the mining, and logging operations going on, and the fully opening of the road bridge over the big Kabi river between hornepayne and Dubreuilville, and the subsequent opening of a road system from Dub to Hearst, and Dub to White river, not to mention the 2-3 new gold mines on the south F, D trail between Dub, and Wawa, that has now reclaimed the road (road 48), as a second route to the mines, for emergency vehicles, and mine traffic, the Dub club are and will be in a bad position, with no dedicated trail, to avoid these roads like Hornepayne has had in place for decades. utilizing roads is easy but, comes at a price, and the next few years are going to really show this, in this region. In my honest and humble opinion, there needs to be a permanent trail to avoid these roads and keep these trails, links active. the manpower and funding required to build these new trails will be a huge investment in funding up front but, the system would have an undeniable permanent solution... as long as the clubs and chief groomers stay on the permanent trail, v.s wanting to go the easy route, and groom the road, that may or may not be plowed, to dirt, during the season. this has been the problem in Dubreuilville since the start of the ofsc system. Ski
    2 points
  3. This is great news! Thanks for sharing it. I sure hope Jean and Don didn't have to give it away. Now, hopefully the Halfway situation can be resolved and the Manitouwadge loop can be completed, and it snows, and.... There is great potential for the northwest as the northeast gets too busy. I needed a pick-me-up today and the Black Creek/HH news hit the spot.
    2 points
  4. I have no recent information and am not connected in any way with the region. I just recall information put forward on this forum in the off season last year that efforts were being made to connect Marathon to Manitouwadge, and then a link to Longlac. So mostly just wishful thinking on my part, fuelled by previous banter and my own desire to get back to that area. I recall riding in that area in 2004 or 2005, and it was breath taking.
    1 point
  5. Hey, that would be great. I'm newer on this site but enjoy reading everyone's stories on here. The season before this one, we went East and ended up doing the Algonquin loop - lots of fun there too. Just something different about riding north of the border compared to the UP. Been nice to see Ontario reopening some of the trails over the past few years. Hope this pandemic doesn't kill all the recent progress.
    1 point
  6. I doo agree that is likely the case, but others have used the term "can't", and that simply is not the case. I rode that trail for 3 years before Halfway was there. Purty sure that it was Dec '99 when they opened originally, and I was of the first group/night of customers. (Should have been there the night before, but we slept in the bush that night) It was a groomed trail when we started riding it in March 97. (although it was under 18" of fresh snow from the day before - but it had been groomed anyhow) I just ass _u_me that the groomers had a lot of jerry cans on board and slept in the groomers. This trail is NOTHING like it was back then either! It is mostly on new logging road now, and is several miles shorter on the south end than it was originally, as we used to have to run Ranger North all the way to where it crossed the hydro - at the sand pit, but now you can cut a few miles off with a new cut line put in many years ago. ... but then you doo need to add a few back on I guess since they haven't used Point Lake Rd in a coons age - in favor of the faster [easier] Ranger North... It was "TOP D" trail at that time, but was also running under "Wilderness Trail" designation - just like the trail up the back side of Wakamata Lake. (Doo they still use the "TOP" nomenclature anymore?) This is the mid to late 90's, back when a snowmachine couldn't make it more than 100 miles on a tank - even on groomed trails. Now-days the new roads and bridges have completely erased the old Toll Creek crossing, and oodles of other remoteness. I love the fact that at least the 15-20 klicks from Bauparlante Road to Cross-over Rd is still Old Skewl. (where y'all bugger off the hydro line at the warm-up shack, and then ride right past another warm-up shack @ 50mph on Cross-over that you don't even know is there) Now - I doo understand that this aint the 90's anymore as per liabilities as well. AND - as has been said - you could EAT GAS NOW* in Searchmont back then, but this really isn't an issue for Yanks IM/HO. Even when Searchmont was open - anyone that I knew always unloaded in Searchmont anyhow, and didn't need gas or food there. Even AC/YA staged there ..... Also note that the trail out to Pineal Lake / Chapleau wasn't opened up until some time during or after The Crash, and after the mill @ Pineal Lake closed - which then opened up the road(s) over there for skidoos. That was NOT part of the early days / original plan. My chum and me scouted that route for possible trail (other than the road) back around 2004 or 5 prolly? (I have pics, so I can date it) I really miss the old trail through the bush, but "Progress has taken it's Toll". ** * C W McCall ref ** John Anderson ref Here is a pic of old skewl Toll Creek with the beaver dam on the one side. It was almost always running water there. Pic taken a year before Halfway .
    1 point
  7. Jean and Don sold and will be gone soon or maybe it was the beginning of this month. She messaged me a couple months ago. The new owners may get more traffic running to Elliot lake from the Soo if the Trailblazers get the D201F back going and it makes for a good loop to Elliot. Enjoy that entire area! Very remote yet not way way north. This is where Dan does all the off trail lake jumping............
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...