[AGM ideas]

I don't think regional permits will get the people who are riding with no permits to change what they do.  I also don't believe it has been much of an issue in the last few years in our local area from what our club's trail patrollers have seen at least. It may however help retain the permit buyers who are on the cusp of quitting the sport or who are considering riding without a permit purchase.

[Riding North out of Searchmont without Halfway]

3 hours ago, Ox said:

 

I have a pc of alum broke up, but not taken time to doo anything with it yet (like my LH throttle....) that should be able to mount up to 4 fiver's on the sled.

I have a sleigh, but towing sucks!

 

Waiting for that big economy crash that they have been promising....

Maybe then I can have time to ride?

Currently more back-log than ever!

 

I wouldn't have wanted to make that run this year anyhow.

Way more open water and slush than normal this year for sure.

 

.

Ox, do you think in 5 years from now, anyone is going to care if you took a weeks holiday? Any of your customers that would begrudge you a holiday may not be worth keeping anyway. JMHO

[North Bay]

2 hours ago, Baylaker said:

Just wondering what the current conditions are like in north bay right now. The wife and I are thinking about our last ride of the season this coming weekend and weather looks good for the weekend also.

if anyone has any info on current riding conditions, that would be great! These are the day rides we’d be considering. Thanks guys!

I can't speak for current but a few weeks ago we found the following:

-NB308 had some road running the wasn't too much fun.

-The D trail from Asterville to Trout Lake was a tough ride and especially from Hwy 17(Mr.Gas) which seems to be normal

-If your wife isn't partial to tight twisty trails she probably won't like A104D

-The Bonfield Club trails south of Lake Nosbonsing were amazing.

-Everything else we were on was awesome except the trail from the A up into Mattawa which was real bad on a Tuesday

[2024 polaris]

36 minutes ago, soupkids said:

Had a demo 4s yesterday, top speed is about 70, lots of low end power

Great sled for Quebec where speed limit is 70. Can you just imagine riding the trail from LSQ to Chibougamau with a 70 KPH sled or the C trail from SRF to Timmins.

[Head North or East from North Bay?]

1 hour ago, DanB said:

Hello all,

 

Given the tough road riding conditions, I am planning to trailer up to North Bay from Huntsville this morning.  Any recommendations on whether to head north of North Bay or east towards Mattawa?  Both areas are showing green trails.  Any staging recommendations also appreciated, thanks! 

The Portage on Trout Lake Road  (Hwy. 63) has parking and there used to be parking on Sand Dam Road north of the City on Hwy. 11 where the 2nd trail crosses the hwy.  . I'm not sure if there is still parking there or not.

 

[I wonder??]

1 hour ago, oldslowsledder said:

 

Well as it turns out........No.  Groomer is fine but apparently the hydraulics on the brand new drag leak, and there is an issue with 

male to female connections. By the time they got it unloaded off the flatbed there was oil everywhere. Operator says it is

unusable in it's current condition. He is frustrated beyond belief

Sorry to hear that. Somebody needs to get in touch with the equipment manager at the OFSC and let them know what has and what is going on with your groomer situation. This is beyond belief.

Your clubs' issues were discussed in a Feb.24th post on the OFSC Facebook page called Grooming Equipment 101 where they where they were explaining about different types of groomers. It had little effect as a new post last week explained how expensive it was moving groomers around and various other excuses.

[I wonder??]

15 minutes ago, oldslowsledder said:

Well looky looky what arrived today, finally

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that your groomer or a replacement sent to help you out?

[South is OPEN!!!!!!]

2 hours ago, Strong Farmer said:

Can’t expect open trails when weather turns so fast. It’s a challenget to just keep my long lane way open and clean in this type of weather. Thank you for setting up trail snd donsting your property for trail. 

Really? Conestoga Lake and Arthur were open Saturday.

[New Cats]

11 hours ago, signfan said:

That sucks.  I've got a 1.25" ice ripper with 22,000 km on it.  Still in pretty decent condition.  Not perfect but pretty good.  It's in an xs chassis.  I also have a 1.5" ice ripper on our other xs chassis sled.  It's still fairly new.  Just installed it last year.  I'll have to watch the ice build up.  We have definitely experienced ice build up in the tunnel on our saddlebag trips.  Am considering carrying a rubber mallet to break it loose every morning.  Especially if guys are saying it causes track lugs to tear.  

Revrnd who used to be active on this forum has been manufacturing and selling a small hammer for a number of years made especially for tunnel ice removal. It has some type of hard plastic surfaces that protect the tunnel from damage. If anyone is interested I can get in touch with him.

[Lunch in Hornepayne?]

52 minutes ago, coldfinger said:

Was Hornepayne the same town guys were going to the hospital buffet for lunch . I recall that being the topic of conversation awhile back . Thought how weird is that . 

It was but alas the hospital saw through the scheme and cut them off. LOL

 

 

[New Cats]

46 minutes ago, Baylaker said:

I have 14,000kms on my ripsaw 2, not one issue other than it’s now down to just over an inch in lug height. I think the next track will be the 1.5” ripsaw 2 track. 

The longevity of your track vs. others mentioned is no doubt partly due to the chassis it is in and possibly speeds ran.

[South is OPEN!!!!!!]

2 hours ago, volunteer2 said:

It's Sunday.    But in all honesty, and we are the same here   not very cold at night.  Sap lines are up here and there   l knew the lake was planning on opening and if a trail could get there then your good to head north now that Arthur is open We just don't have any where to get to so no grooming and staying closed 

I am frustrated since this is the most snow we have had all winter. Elmira / St.Clements trails had only been open 3 day this winter.  We lost 2-3 days earlier on due to a groomer management issue. I understand that its going to be 4 today. The thing is if the groomer had started anytime after 1AM Saturday and did 1 pass we would have been good for the day and evening Saturday. The clubs do a lot of hours of work and to loose one day in a short season is poor.  JMHO  

[South is OPEN!!!!!!]

4 hours ago, Sledguy74 said:

Conestoga lake trails opened 

I agree march sun isn’t helping but at least they opened again 

Our groomer is sitting in the shed and we know it won't be out on Sunday.

[Spring order Arctic cat]

1 hour ago, zrtkat said:

Well I built my new Arctic cat online and they send it too the dealer for a quote,he replies with a quote.

 Pre-order does not start till March 7th my dealer calls me this morning tells me Arctic cat allocated him so many sleds and the one I ordered is not available.

 Snowmobile ordering has surely changed since my last new one in 2017.

  Greg

To bad you can't deal with your dealer but you could always try contacting another dealer who may have what you want coming.

[Vintage trail maps]

4 hours ago, Sledguy74 said:

Thanks for posting this map Sledguy74. It brings back lots of great memories.

The Waterloo Sno-Plan was started by a few dedicated sledder's from our local area clubs. I'm pretty sure that this was the first attempt at Central Grooming in Southern Ontario. 

The Waterloo Snow Plan was part of The Golden Triangle Snowmobile Association which if memory serves at one time consisted of 13 clubs between Guelph and Stratford areas.

The Algoma Snow Plan was first and then the Sudbury Trail followed as the first 2 Central grooming Associations in Ontario I believe.

[North Bay Club is Sandbagging]

2 hours ago, tricky said:

I hope you have some experience getting out of NB from the Lakeshore strip. As PLC said, it can be a chore getting from there to the A trail north, and your day to Liskeard is long to begin with. On your Stonecliff day, it is a must to ride the 197 and 195 trails of the Missing Link club. You can ride them on the way to the A trail at Stonecliffe, where there is fuel, and then ride the A trail back west. If you have time, I would suggest using A112A in one direction to Mattawa and the A trail in the opposite direction. Both Trails have some very nice sections. New Liskeard and Sudbury areas were good last week even where snow was limited. You will have more snow now. Enjoy the trip.

If they aren't carrying fuel, they may need to go through Mattawa for gas in both directions depending on what sled and how they ride or fuel at Big Moose Camp on the ride via the A trail. Its only about 4-5 minutes off the A trail on Lake Nosbonsing.

 

[C101D Chapleau to Foleyet]

4 hours ago, coolbane said:

Does anyone have any info regarding when this section of C101D is likely to reopen? I've read elsewhere on here that they are repairing a large washout. 

 

Any info appreciated. 

The Timmins F/B page just said ASAP

[North Bay Club is Sandbagging]

1 hour ago, Turbo Tim said:

I am happy to hear this as we were originally going to go to Timmins March 1, but now we are going to go to NBay, I love Timmins and the northern trails but I also like a 3 hr drive vs 7 hrs. More time on the sleds!!!! Planning some big km days, I have only been from NBay to Mattawa once in the past, planning doing NB to Stonecliffe, NB to New Liskeard and NB to Sudbury. Any recommendations on these plans??

The Stonecliffe and Sudbury days aren't too bad at about 350 km depending on where you are staying in North Bay. The Liskeard day would be about 400 km.+ but has more fast sections. If you have been to Mattawa, you know the trails you will be on for the most part are not like the C trail north out of Timmins.

On the Stonecliffe the only convenient place to fuel on the way is in Mattawa via A112A unless you go via Lake Nosbonsing and then you can get fuel at Big Moose Camp (follow black stakes off the Lake trail right to the pump).

Where are you planning to stay in North Bay?  Riding out to head north is a chore (IMO) if staying up on the Lakeshore.

There is always more snow up over the hill on the north side of N.B. but the A112A and the A trail east have been pretty good the last while. 

[Alban, New Liskeard, Shining Tree, Alban Trip Report]

We better get used to those funky self serve tanks. They will no undoubtedly become the only alternative in many areas as time goes on. Fortunately, there are already 2 of them that I have been using in our local riding area with trails to or past them.

[North Bay Club is Sandbagging]

40 minutes ago, tricky said:

I think that 4 colours has the potential of being more informative for would be trail users, but if we can't have agreement from club to club, on how to use the 3 colours, then is likely too much of a stretch. I doo like ski's idea of a 4th classification for trails that are passable, but not quite up to yellow standards. 

It's not a bad idea but as you mention "too much a stretch". Adding that classification and doing it properly would require club volunteers to patrol their trails a lot more often. In many if not most clubs, those who would have the time to do these extra patrols are older retired people that in many cases are already over volunteered and/or don't have the $ to pay for fuel and sled expenses to do so.

Have you noticed the pictures of various club volunteers in front of the OFSC dog and pony show trailer. There's a lot of grey hair showing.

[North Bay Club is Sandbagging]

Personally, I've never changed a ride plan because a trail was marked yellow. 

[I wonder??]

5 minutes ago, Bearcat_w said:

It's been a trying year for our District. Currently we have 2 club groomers and our District spare down for the season. The refurbished groomer for NEGB has been scheduled for delivery multiple times but the shop working on it continues to find issues that delay delivery. They've had it in their shop since last summer. Frustrating. 

 

At some point long past, one would think the appropriate person(s) at the OFSC would have made other arrangements for NEGB to have a fit groomer to use this season. Somebody somewhere has dropped the ball.

[North Bay Club is Sandbagging]

40 minutes ago, skidooboy said:

There should be 4 conditions... closed (closed means closed), red, maybe not groomed, packed, or signed well but, available, use extreme caution. yellow open, use caution, many areas of rough trail, issues, or signage... and green, mid season, conditions, signed, regularly groomed (and more than 2 groomer passes).

According to OFSC policy, club trails in Ontario are not to be opened in any colour until they have been inspected as to condition and signage by an appropriate individual from said club, signed off on by that individual and the signed paperwork sent to the district office. I believe this procedure has been in place for quite a number of years. 

[North Bay Club is Sandbagging]

54 minutes ago, signfan said:

No closed is closed.  How can there be 2' of snow in north bay, trails groomed into the 9's and maybe one washout that causes the entire system to be yellow.  Then in district 3 you get 6" of snow one groom and it all goes green despite the hazards.  It makes no sense.

Theoretically you are correct but since we already have riders who believe a trail permit gives them the right to ride any trail anytime, I believe that having only Red and Green trails would mean a dramatic increase in red riders.

Maybe more education is needed for the club volunteers and groomer captains that make the call on the colour posted. 

[I wonder??]

10 minutes ago, skidooboy said:

 

Not sure what is going on a Chapleau for groomer issues but, guessing it is a staffing, operator, volunteer issue. As for Hornepayne, they had a brand new (brand new) groomer, and sunk it one of the first days out. They received a replacement but, it is a farm tractor type, and they are having training issues, learning how to run it on some of their terrain.

 

All of these clubs used to have 2 or even 3 groomers, a back up, a spare, one to be maintained or repaired, while the others did the work. Now most of the clubs are down to 1 each, mostly. Can you imagine being responsible for 250, to close to 400 miles of trail, with only one machine, and possibly person to run it? When do you have time to change the oil, adjust, do routine maintenance, etc...? Then the sheer distance, and hours used, wears these machines out in a few years. add in rough terrain, etc... and it just gets worse. 

 

 

White river has zero (zero!) people in the club, and no one in town, not even business owners help, donate anything to the club. So, Marathon, jumps up, to open to White river, all the way to within 20 miles or so of Dubreuilville, and reconnected to Manitouwdge, on their own, with one groomer. This needs to change, or the area is going to fail again. people are getting or already are burned out.  Ski

If you are speaking about the red C101D to Foleyet, according to the Timmins FB page it is due to a large washout that is in the process of being repaired.