Giddy UP

It is not just “North Bay Sledders”....This region is huge! D11 runs down to Novar so it impacts trails much farther south than North Bay or Mattawa as well....And certainly impacts Highland Rovers SC as half their trails are in D11 and the other in D7. This club should at the very least be exempt from this ridiculous closure based on that alone. This entire decision was made by obviously someone that has a personal issue with sledders and just wanted any excuse to close it down. At least the Simcoe Muskoka Health unit has more common sense with what the impact will be to the local businesses and human mental health. You could probably lick a sledder and not get Covid. I consider myself in full PPE when I am sledding. As a woman...just try peeing on the side of the trail and see how much gear you have to go through just so you don’t wet yourself.

I was thinking the exact same thing! There are loads more places to access D11 trails for Hwy 11 further south that have seen far more traffic without any complaints.

Just read in North Bay Nippising News. Starting Jan 21st at 12:01am until lockdown is over

When we were up there - the parking lots were full. There are still quite a few up there on saddlebag trips. We started ours 10 days ago just before it started getting crazy....we just returned yesterday and our friends coming home today from a trip they started on the 8th. Those of us that were up there when it was declared a state of emergency decided to just stay put as things were nuts back home and we believed we were safer there behind our helmets and out on the trail social distancing than coming home. We sanitized our room ( as we always do when we travel with Lysol wipes) and always carry our hand sanitizer as we are "travellers" and have done this for years anyway - nothing really new for us. But - what we were doing was "social distancing" when in restaurants, etc. Always handling the gas pump handles with gloves on etc. Those that are now heading up with all the warnings in place and risking the spread of the virus as irresponsible IMO...and if it was me I certainly would not go at this time if I hadn't already been there and risk bringing the virus to the north from the city. The hospitals up there are not equipped to deal with this as most only have 2 ICU beds and don't have the equipment to deal with it as the bigger hospitals in the city. Stay home! Stay safe!

Enjoy the last couple of days! We headed home yesterday before the storm hit. We had a great 10 days up there. Hope to see you again next year

You bet!! We usually head up every year for our “pilgrimage”. I will let you know when we book for next year!

Glad we got our riding in when we did! Sad to see the season end so soon up there with all the snow. But it was the right call under the circumstances. That’s a wrap! See you next year!