Leaderboard

After having a 25 foot fall from a ladder and suffering a traumatic brain injury in March 2021, we sold my sled and trailer because it was unlikely I would ever ride again. In April 2022 I was given full clearance medically by all my doctors to start riding again! I was able to find a trailer a month or so ago and started my search for something to ride. I am happy to report i bought a 2022 Skidoo Renegade X 900R yesterday! It is in excellent condition and I cant wait to ride again!

Sons VR1 picked up today from dealer - mine is still MIA (850 XCR)……”January” ship date, if that means anything. I may have to take his Up north for a couple of days next week, as he can’t get school time off!

Just got back with 2022 Indy Evo for my 14 year old. He doesn’t even know I got him one so it’s parked out front for when he gets home off the bus. Decided in the summer to buy this instead of getting an older sled with inflated covid pricing that needed wrenching. $7,500 + HST and there’s 2 younger kids coming right up behind him.

Orillia yesterday. Getting gasoline in Coldwater.

After spring booking in March 2021and all the recalls ,yesterday we got to bring both our new girls home. My wife and I can't say enough about Black's Corners Polaris. The staff worked hard to get our sleds in and fixed as soon as parts were available.

A few years back our group 4 of us came across a good sized tree blocking the trail . As we struggled to move it ,enough to get by , 2 other guys pull up behind us . They crack open the Red Bulls and watch . We get our sleds past and put the tree back across the trail . I know it was a prick move , but felt right at the time .

Was just getting ready for bed when I got a call saying that a groomer had broken down on C trail north. Our operations manager said the groomer was still running but couldn't move due to a hydraulic leak and the operator was stranded. With it being -30 and the operator alone and stranded it was go time. Made a call to another club member to assist me, didn't want to go alone. By the time I got the trailer and sleds loaded it was midnight and still -30. For those that know C trail north he was stranded at the outhouse. By the time I got home it was 3:30 and frozen.

Had to find this !!! Look at the smile.

Better late than never! Picked up the 850 this am. hopefully heading north later this week! have to put higher windshield and mirrors on when home. Dealer back ordered on tunnel protectors and HD rear springs .

Got her home, fully functional short of the DESS system

Sault Ste. Marie - Updates A few photos to go along with the video previously posted. It was a good day north of the City. Plenty of snow.

Spoke with our Dealer this am and my XCR shipped last week and Mrs Nunz's sled has shipped as well so hoping we see them in the next couple of weeks. Once they arrive will start booking trips for February and March.

Picked up Mr. Giddy's new ride today....he is wondering WTF happened to all the snow! it's +17c out there, there was 18" on the ground here last week! Just glad we were fortunate to get ours before Christmas! Giddy UP!

Mrs Nunz sled is at the dealer, picking it up by the weekend, Mine is still in transit.

So glad we are starting to see some Yellow in Southern Ontario. I am privileged to be able to ride from home in two places usually. I live in Kearney as well as have a place in Victoria Harbour 50/50 - and usually one of those two places is one of the first to open south of Cochrane! This year it happens to be in the latter - so - with the Orillia Club and Georgian Bay clubs working so hard to get things open - Hats off to them for all the great work they have done to be ready as quickly as they were this week.....- we FINALLY saw some Yellow on the trails today! GIDDY UP! Mr. Giddy got to check out his new ride - which he is impressed with btw...and I got to check out my new Oxygen Helmet - in love! Not many kms - but enough to take the itch off! Vic Harbour to Orillia and back. Only 100kms...but .....better than the 0 kms we have done so far this season! The trail had been freshly groomed looks like yesterday - with a nice couple of inches of fresh snow on top to make it a sweet ride! We started out and I would say on par with 9/10 most of the way - especially for early season riding! We jumped on Hoggs Bay at Victoria Harbour over to the "Hole in the Wall" and onto C towards Coldwater then onto the "Utoff trail rail bed" or C106B all the way to Lake Couchiching! The ride back was starting to warm up and after Coldwater getting soft and corners were getting bared off....parts of C trail after Wab towards Midland were getting bare and there is a HUGE open water slush hole to get onto Hoggs Bay from the Hole in the Wall to get back to the Harbour on our return. No pic of big water/slush hole as my thumb was on the throttle - sorry...LOL So we did a bit of "puddle jumping" I guess....(although it is fairly shallow there anyway - but sure didn't want to end up in the drink on our first trip out this season - not a good start)! 😁 We definitely could use more snow, even after the good dumping that we got the other day!. Just keep snow dancing folks ! I think you will see more Yellow trails later in the week - not to be confused with "yellow snow" Ride safe!

Did the run up to Halfway Haven on Friday. We didn't get in till late and decided to stay the night, instead of ride home in the dark. I think we were the first overnight customers of the year. Darrel, Rory, Kim and Dee were great hosts, and we got a good education on what it takes to run this place. Please support them if you can.

Sault Ste. Marie - Updates We did well in the past 2 days for fresh snow. One more day of storms and we should see possible sunshine by Tuesday. Total accumulations should be in the 40 cm range over a 3 day period. Great for skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers.

Called the dealer last week about my REN X, He said it was in. Assy this week, pick-up next week. (Forgot to ask how much was missing!) Called today to get an update, and determine how much Scotch to drink tonight, missing parts- lots of Scotch, complete - lots of Scotch . He just finished putting it together, only missing part is the DESS chip. Pick-up next week. Lots of Scotch!!! REN X, 1.5 Ice, Standard display, Remote Adjust. SN is 16. they installed the Block heater, Linq Q and USB outlet. Eastern On Dealer

I was there Friday wandering around the show and chatting with everyone, Ordered a set of the Qualipieces Trek carbides for Karen's sled, very interesting design with the dual carbide offset. Saturday I was at the District 7 booth from 10-2 and saw a few OC members which was nice, Spent the rest of the afternoon at the Polaris booth and various others, It was well attended, not as many retail vendors as years past was the feeling from most, The OFSC district booths were done quite well, Thanks to everyone that attended. Met up with MJ the Ski Doo Ambassador for some pics and lunch, After the Show was over a bunch of us including Blair Morgan and Dave Norona met at Arizona Bar and Grill for dinner and drinks. All in all a great albeit long weekend of talking sleds. Booked our New Brunswick trip for March this morning with the guys from Ontario Quebec Snow Cruises.

We were in the Elliot Lake area today. They received much needed snow in the past week and winter is looking much better. Today's outdoor activities included a series of bush routes and cross-country.

Just got back from 5 days in New Liskeard, Good dumping of snow on Tuesday, Was a challenge riding on Wednesday till the groomers got out, was a great week exploring the area.

Same here.

We are in business

Best run today from north end of lake saint Jean to just south of mont-valin. some pictures from today.

Did an interview with Ctv news yesterday, take a watch. https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?cid=sm%3Atrueanthem%3Actvbarrie%3Apost&clipId=2367618&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0O_fAT5aotMPwsYNFL4zorOINj_NwRRUDAKSoxAEykoOLNrbdAwwdP9hU

My 2022 Renegade XRS 850 is sitting at the dealer, ready for pick up. Apparently the smart shoxx are fully functional. The only unfinished item is the DESS tether. Now to find the nearest snow.

I got out for an hour or two while the snow is still here.

One thing that is hurting places like HH and Base Camp is that sleds are getting better and better on fuel than they did 20 years ago and with the popularity of Linq style cans a lot of guys can make these loops without getting fuel or if they need to stop, buying very little fuel. I remember back even in the early 2000s, all you could safely get is 100 miles out of a tank of fuel. Even Cochrane to Kap required a splash of fuel in SRF. Now, 120miles/200kms is very easy to do with a modern sled. With guys not needing fuel at all or just needing 10 litres to complete the loop it is making it really hard for these outposts to justify staying open. The last time I was at HH, which was the day it closed for the season last year, I topped up my sled even though I know I could have gotten away with 10 litres. That being said, I used my Linq can to finish the Abitibi Canyon loop the same weekend when the guy told me $60 for 10L of fuel.

Had another wonderful day riding with my 14 year old buddy. Trialed up to New liskeard , after Harveys and stop into Walmart for some snacks , and finally on the trail heading north at 1:51pm. Late start with time change also it seems! little bumpy on river , open fields great up to Englehart. A108 not the greatest into Kirkland. Slow and bumpy. 😪 North of Kirkland A great.👍 stopped in for Chinese dinner at the small little resultant in matheson , back onto the trail 7pm. made it to gas in Cochrane 9:06pm. 321 km to the hotel. spend a fair bit of time exploring down some of the hydro lines (as free trail turns off) and tons of wheelies in the powder . Son love playing in the softer stuff. the Best Western swan hotel sure is a step up from the Chimo and Thriftlodge last year when we were up! didn’t see a SINGLE sled last 120km tonight . Off to Hearst and back tomorrow . Leaving gear in hotel for for the day so lighter to play around !

Warming hut on Chic Choc trail between Murdochville and LaCache Warming hit trail 587S 5 day loop we did averaging approx 220km per day. This distance worked out perfect for our wives that both ride their own machines. When doing Gaspe with the guys we usually aim for 300-350 km per day. Because of the great topography and winding trails a lot of it is not fast riding. Don’t make the miles per day you can do in lots of the other areas of Quebec.

Elliot Lake Snowmobiling Some photos from today's snowmobile trip to Elliot Lake. We did our good deed and assisted a Senior's couple who had gotten their Toyota RAV stuck on the Snowmobile trail in Elliot Lake. We also took a run up to Dunlop Lake Lodge for a Burger and said hello to Randy and Trish. The afternoon continued with a trip to the Horne Lake Cliffs, a rip down Esten Lake and the Elliot Lake Falls. Temperature reached +11. Slush was minimal to none. Photo 1 - SUV on Trail Photo 2 - Elliot Lake View from the Powerline Lookout Photo 3 - Horne Lake Cliffs in Elliot Lake

My buddy Paul called me on Sat wondering if I could go on Sunday for a quick ride to Quebec. I reminded him that I sold my 22 600XRS last week and had no sled. He was pretty quick to say that he knew that and he was offering me his spare 2019 Backcountry 850 to ride for a few days. We drove up to Ville Marie on Sunday and checked into the Motel Louise. We were the only sledders staying there last night. We hit the trails this am and headed towards Amos. Trails haven’t been groomed in a bit but have very little traffic. We rode 320kms today and met less than 20 sleds. We are checked into the Amosphere tonight. There are a few sleds but it’s pretty dead. Heading towards Rouyn tomorrow.

Got the call today, Mach will arrive complete short of DESS post and I should have it end of next week, fingers crossed!

Just got off the phone the adjuster. Settled with them. Done - cheque in the mail. I am quite satisfied with the service and price offered. I will continue to deal with Desjardins and will recommend them to friends.

Today, Chad and I trailered to Black Creek Outfitters (Aubrey Falls) on the Chapleau highway 129 in Northern Ontario and we had the opportunity to meet the new owners of Black Creek Outfitters. They are very nice folks with incredible enthusiasm about supporting snowmobiling. They were happy to see snowmobilers arriving at their door today and provided coffee and a nice warm lunch. Snow depth ranged from 14" on the west side of highway 129 down the D106 trail, and 8" down the Kindiogami on the Elliot Lake F trail. Basically, the closer we went to Elliot Lake, the less snow there was. The closer we went towards Sault Ste. Marie, the snow kept getting deeper. Chad and I broke up the day with a variety of riding including some cross-country down the powerline from Black Creek Road to Seymour Lake, then shot out to highway 129 and grabbed the west 129 trail where we hit some deep powder back to Black Creek Outfitters. It was a good day.

A month later............ Got a call from my dealer and my sled is in. They have not opened the crate yet to be sure all parts are there, but will let me know in the next couple of days. I am hoping it is a complete unit, Time will tell.

Looks like the season is getting underway in the NCDN..

Belated Merry Christmas. I hope everyone got some sled stuff from Santa.

I actually purchased Gary’s El Tigre 7000 for a Christmas present for my wife. Bought it because still can’t find a secondary clutch for “Iggy”, har old favorite Crossfire with electric start. (That, and I was really looking for an excuse to buy a four stroke to try out) Gary would be happy to see it has gone to a good home for stray cats. It should be comfortable in the Cat cave with these guys. We have owned about 25 different sleds over the years. First four stroke short of a 120. I hope Gary is smiling down when he sees my wife tearing it up on his old sled. I have a feeling it is finally going get broken in this season.😋 RIP Gary.

Some photos from yesterday's Snowmobile Trip north of Sault Ste. Marie. Sledders were out-and-about enjoying the day and it was nice to see friends we haven't seen in awhile. There is excellent snow-depth averaging 55 cms in the higher elevations.. We visited an old Abandoned Mine at the 1900' level. It was a good day. Yesterday's Video

Snow-depth is good north of Sault Ste. Marie. On average, we were in about 16" of snow (40 cms) in the snowbelt area on Sunday. A good start to a traditional winter.

Picked up my trailer from Factory Recreation yesterday. Now i need to find a sled to put in it!

Well despite what I have said in another post that I have had enough, well my wife hasn't. She ordered a xc 650 first of March last year ,her last email was maybe the end of March this year . She received a text email and call Thursday at work from blacks corners in carlton place. No her sled was not in but someone backed out on a vr1 650 same colour same options plus more . Needless to say it came home Saturday with 30 miles Saturday and 115 Sunday. Only problem is all I have got to do is back it off the trailer and pay for and put fuel in.

Returned home real early this AM from our trip - we all decided to head home Sat afternoon upon arrival to Shawinigan vs. staying the night in Shawinigan & leaving Sun Morning as originally planned. Just over 1000 miles - was a pretty relaxed trip, some short days and some longer days, but nothing crazy. The ride back through and closer to the Mont Valin area was a lot rougher than going the other way - not a lot a sleds to be seen really, but those longer big lug tracks really make a mess of the trails. The last night stay over was at Relais 22 miles again - another fun night at the bar with a bunch of other riders. Was talking to a guy Sat morning at Relais 22 miles that organizes off trail cross country races in that area, he had a group that was just starting one - sounded pretty interesting & I am sure one hell of a race through the bush. Stayed at Universel in Alma the night before. Managed to see two moose running down the trails between Alma and Relais 22 miles as well. On the last 20km down the river into Shawinigan, my brothers 998 Kitty Cat broke down - overheated really bad in plenty of snow, something went seriously wrong, had to tow him the rest of the way, thankfully close to base. Did a quick google search and it looks like they have a problem with this - could not tell where it was coming from, but it was leaking antifreeze and boiling/bubbling real good. A few more pictures that I took as well that I do not think I posted yet.

I'm back to Ski-Doo after two Yamaha sleds, a 2010 Apex LTX and a 2013 Vector LTX. Sunday, my buddy and I did 160KM as a first ride on our new sleds in the area east of Ottawa (mostly north of the east-west A trail(Yellow status). (My REN X and a 2022 Mach Z); First Impressions: Wow - the suspension on the REN is fantastic (I may start riding without a kidney belt); Seating position is good, easy to stand-up; I have the 7.2 dash, liked the extra info it offers; I like @stoney may move the front shock springs to 2 (from 1) - I did drop the TX blade down for better bite on corners; Rear Spring adjust was at 2, for my weight. Wind deflection with the Medium windshield (and Ski-Doo mirrors) is good - oddly, the Mach doesn't have the Ski-Doo windshield mirrors and I noticed right a way wind blast at the shoulders on his Mach; Easier to put my feet back on the running board, compared to the Vector; I worried about cold air and my feet with the open running board on the REN X - not an issue today (-12c); I did notice snow dust coming up around my legs which I didn't have on the closed and heated Vector running board. Tunnel on the REN didn't ice up as bad as the Vector does (no loaf of bread size ice blocks falling out of the tunnel); The 1.5 Ice ripper bites well on the trail, and I will have to learn how to get it to slide in a holly molly curve where you need to lock the track to slide the skid around, and then pin it to make the sharp turn; REN 900TR seems louder compared to Vector rear exhaust - I may start wearing foam ear plugs; REN seat more comfortable (wider). The front dash storage compartment is great. Only negative is that I do miss the power steering on the Vector, as my wrists are a bit tender now, I'm glad I've been doing my pre-season sledding exercises in addition to my knee replacement stuff the last month or so. (Hey now, I'm 65, and both shoulders have also been operated on.) The Mach used 27 litres of fuel, I used 26 - so 160/27= 6 km\litre - Vector was about 7KM\litre (REN X on break-in) (Regular fuel); Spring decision was to drop $2-3K on Elka shocks on the Vector, or get a REN X; Decision: Glad I opted to go to a new sled - no way I would get this kind of ride out of the 100lb heavier Vector, even with Elka's. Side item - found out a 3-day pack works great on the tunnel, making it my saddle bag trip bag at the end of the month.

I just put 32 miles on going up and down the lake and in a field with my newly licensed 12 year old son. What a way to spend a PA day. Complete total fun - nothing like it to be honest.

Totally agree. I sit in my family room and watch riders on the closed trail that I volunteer to put in and am waiting for it to open so I can go riding. Very disheartening. If we don't get some real enforcement it will get worse. The police do not want to lay Trespass charges because it means they have to prepare a lot of paperwork and show up in court. Their bosses don't want them wasting time in court for this type of infraction. We need the MVSA changed to add a "ride on closed trail" ticketed charge with an large automatic fine. That way the cops don't have to go to court unless the ticket is contested. Making it easier for them would hopefully mean more enforcement.

Some things to ponder within the scope of some of what's been discussed in this thread. The me me me generation is only getting worse, respect for one another for the most part is gone, not just in sledding. Everyone got a trophy whether they put forth an effort or not, so here we are ........... 30,000 km of trail in the province each trail with multiple access points - if trail closed signs were put up and removed at every access point each time a trail opened and closed throughout the season what would cost of the signs and logistics be, and how many volunteer hours would it take each time ? Also what kind of liabilities would it open if the odd sign here and there was missed if this was the standard practice ? Mid to late 40's Ted and Alice just want to help their community and volunteer with their local sled club because it's their way of giving back through something they enjoy in their spare time. How much training and legal protection can you feasibly give to them to be effect Trail Patrol, and most importantly at the same time keep them from harms way ? Last season a group of 6 of us were trailside on a rail trail at an open area at a road crossing, checking permits and chatting with riders that stopped because they wanted to stop and chat. 90% of the riders were totally awesome just out riding and enjoying the day, posing for pic's for the clubs FB page, and also taking pic's themselves, very receptive to us being out there. We also helped a couple with a mechanical problem and saved their day. After about an hour or so a group of 4 guys came up upon us at an overly high rate of speed fast enough that their stopping was uncontrolled, almost clipping some of us and others pulled well off the trail. When we and some of the others that were at the stop tried to confront them while they made their stop at the road crossing, they were belligerent and extremely aggressive, one guy actually got off his sled and starting flexing and chirping off to everyone there. Pic's were taken and OPP were called and description and reg numbers were given, there was a snow unit out in the area, but never heard back from them, so figure they never saw them. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened to our group. I like most other volunteers I just want to ride and volunteer to make sure we have trails and to help better my community. I deal with aggressive scumbags at work all the time and have a decent amount of confrontation de-escalation, self defense and tactical training, and I honestly no longer feel safe out there doing trail patrol in the bush with sketchy cell service, and certainly don't want to have to deal with that crap while volunteering. I don't know the solution, but do feel the only thing that will save this sport (and mankind in general) is a shift in the attitude of the select ME ME ME few. No matter how much the fines are, or if the OPP put 10-20x the amount of man power out there it will never be enough to stop the self entitled a-hos. Change has to come within the sport, like Zozo said, people have to stop doing things like riding with people with unpermitted sleds. Also take it a few steps further, not riding with people that ride with cans, or riders riding beyond their talent.... ect

Ran to Kap and back today, after changing out a dead battery, started cold but got better. Tomorrow we are back to via different loops to have lunch on O'Brian patio.

As some of you may have read on OC before, my younger sisters better half, has family and property in the Cochrane area near Greenwater Provincial Park. Here's a picture of the Cochrane sign, current from today..