AC+YA

Hi Ox, Yes you are correct! I used Manitouwadge not Marathon when I did the math in my head. 46 kilometers from the D109A turn off to Marathon. 62 kilometers from the turn off to Mani. Total distance from White River to Marathon is 124 kilometers. Total distance from White River to Manitowadge is 140 kilometers. I truly hope these trails all come back along with improvements to the D trail between Dub and White River. If these were open and the water issues fixed to maintain the trails as open the entire season, I will definitely plan for a number of trips through these beautiful areas.

Looks like Marathon is 62 kilometers from the old Trail turn off per the sign.

Pictures I took of that bridge a couple years back when my daughter and I ran over to Marathon for the day and back to Dubreuilville.

They seem to be better for flexibility in all seasons and I plan to try these. Thanks for the heads up ski.

I meant when I had my kids with me the Moose Horn Lodge got expensive at $175 each x 3 = $525/night. Very nice place, but if we stayed in the main house, it felt like we were being watched. I have spoken with others who had a large group and got to stay in the lodges and only came into the main house for meals. They thought it was great. I preferred the B&B anyway. The Three Mills was good too and where I stayed back in the early 2000's when the trail came in past it., but the restaurant changed when it was sold and I don't like it as much anymore. I realized that during the years when the B&B was leased out for the season.

It was not taken as any sort of promotion and I was glad you put it on here because of my curiosity. There were a number of seasons when the B&B was fully leased to utility crews and the like. Great for the financials, but sad for us as we missed staying and visiting with Ross and Frenda. We have stayed at most other places along the trails, but never the hard to get to in town center. We stayed at the Moosehorn Lodge also which is the gorgeous place out on the lake and right on the through trail. If you need gas they will provide that too. When I'm paying for multiple members of a group it is not what I prefer. The B&B is most like home and my favorite anyway. A great value when breakfast is included.

I saw it this season on my trips. As the trail crosses the road to Valentine Farms B&B and beyond you see it. At night it was lighted in away to draw attention and I was curious about it. Just hard to give up our favorite in Chapleau which is Valentines with the chicken coop storage although not heated is much warmer than the really cold nights and there is no snow to clean off. Just a nice place to keep the sleds and it is always like being at home for us.

Hi Ox, When you started from the bottom of the D201F, did you take ranger lake Rd. over to Domitar Rd. and park up there? Did you take the powerline all the way up? I know you don't like to run trails and with that sled you can go almost wherever you want. Great pics. I've been out there a couple times because Dan Senior told me about short cuts through the powerlines. I know few put a track on the access road east from the shack. Looks like you had a good trip. Scott

Thanks Fabio, was nice seeing you and the gang also. We had wine one night in your honor. The trip was great with a few exceptions for me anyway. Think we were all surprised to see the snow go down drastically around Lac St-Jean area and continue low eastward until we got into the mountains. That is north and farther east than Quebec City. Must have had a bad snow year in that area, but trails were still open. We came back and stayed in Alma heading back west and the next day was my bad day. The knock sensor code had started coming on, but only for my machine and we were all using the same gas stations? Well, my clutch was shot and causing the vibrations and that day heading west my clutch began sticking and not shifting back down when I slowed. A rubber mallet was my tool of choice to get it to pop back out and go again after killing the motor while stopping. Well, having our French speaking friend and full cell phone service yielded a plan. Very lucky to have found a dealer with a replacement primary clutch and it was on our route. A half day of terrible issues & blowing stop signs at 30 mph when being waived on by others with helmet communicators AND not being stopped by police for those necessary jumps across roads ………. we made it to the dealer. Well, 1.5 hours later I rode out with a sled running better than I remembered it could. The sled did have a clutch with over 16,000 miles without service. The knock sensor issues were gone too. The blizzard started that night and for 3 days we rode in deep snow and had a blast except for some of the concerning times when the deep snow meant we may not make it to the next fuel stop. Low fuel lights were a thing for the SkiDoos, but the tanks are much smaller and the better fuel mileage they have could not makeup for smaller volume of fuel they carry. Great trip in all. Scott

Unless you are riding in a snow storm, roads and bridges are plowed which means some grinding. That is what carbides are for, so I guess they need ski wheels. Longlac is a nice ride and the run past there to Geralton can be done much on lakes, but you have to get gas and cross roads and bridges. I have realized it doesn't hurt the machine as much as it hurts me to listen to it. Even mud & gravel happens and spring riding is still nice.

I agree since I often don't reserve rooms which makes it possible to go farther or stop early. Dub and Hornepayne are exceptions and usually need plans. Most other places seem to always have good options. The worst nights are when you walk in and hear about a hockey tournament in town.

I just saw this and after reading it, it seems you have never run the F Trail to Black Creek and then continued north by using the D201F. That is one of my favorite trails, but skips much of the long day of riding to get over to Searchmont. You do know there is no gas in Searchmont as there was years ago? You would have to carry fuel (always a good idea anyway) to go all the way up to Halfway Haven from gas down along Hwy 17 since the gas is not available in Searchmont. Getting back to the D201F, this keeps you in the snow and would make it possible to shoot to Chapleau, Wawa, Hawk Junction, or even Dub from the Elliot Lake / Dunlop Lake area. If not running up the fast way, I would do what Dan suggested and carry extra fuel. All road connections will include some spring conditions as will gas stations and bridge crossings. Have fun wherever you ride.

We stayed there quite a bit back when Halfway was closed because it is one of the first places on the south end of Wawa. The trail runs through the end of the parking lot and was always a nice place to stay with good rates. It looked like it was open this season but may have not been open the entire winter sled season a couple years back, but I have only noticed as we ride through. Since the D trail is open from Searchmont we try to ride north rather than drive. The driveway off Hwy 17 has quite a hill with a turn at the beginning. I have needed 4WD to get my big trailer up to the lot at times. Since the RMR in Dub is open, we try to ride directly up to Dub and bypass Wawa as it is only 100 miles total from Halfway and quick using the Magpie. I would not have a problem staying there. We just ride to get dinner or plan a stop for breakfast. It was a nice place.

I would love to run over that way and give that trail some use. The D trail west of the Magpie needs to open (closed due to loggers plowing the trail to dirt in two areas) and then the water hazards just before White River and those after White River need to be fixed in a way that lasts the season or detoured around. They do a great job of pushing through each season and a couple days later they are washed out. Did my own detours around on lakes and hit the water where there was no choice. Now I choose to not go because of all the issues. Even if the loop is put together and connected, the water has to be fixed. Put skids and pack over so that the trail stays a while. This is sad because I love those trails, but won't take groups through all the hazards. The trail is actually closed now, so how can anyone use the ones that are being opened? Sad to see the efforts that will never be reached by most.

As ski knows, the "mushrooms" can jump up out of the river bottom when a tree stump breaks through as the ice drops. The thick ice left on top of the stump then gets snow covered and it really does look like a mushroom. Not good to go fast at night on the Magpie later in the season if you don't know. That is why the stakes run in a way that follows the old river rather than where the bottom creates hills and valleys and crazy things happen with the ice. I have crawled up and looked down into an opening where the very thick ice broke open at the top of what looked like a nice flowing hill on the ice. It was horrifying to see a 4 meter drop to a wet sandy looking bottom with just a bit of water standing. If you drove into it, you would be trapped down inside the inverted two foot thick ice walls, that is if you survived the crash. Only fellow riders watching could ever figure it out and go for help. Follow the stakes and go slow until you know!

Yes we rode this to the east from the Soo to Elliot Lake on Feb. 6th and back on Feb. 8th. All good if you take the Ranger Lake Road to Domitar Road which turns back into the D201F Trail. I sent you a PM. Many have been doing it and the pond was frozen well so no water. Watch for brush and the filled washout near the Whitman dam Road warmup shack. All done very well. Some have come all the way through the red portion of the trail, but brushing is not done yet. All good for us because we usually take that short cut anyway. From the west to east...… The portion through the closed Aubrey Fall Trading Post is not groomed but there is a good one track all the way from the bridge crossing the river on the Ranger to the D106 and then it is good for the kilometer to Hwy 129 and Black Creek Outfitters has gas and is open just across the road. For me the trail is as good as open.

Nice seeing you at The Companion in Hearst. Thanks for saying hi. We stopped at the Clubhouse that afternoon on the way to Timmins. Chili is always good. Scott

I have not felt good about running the rivers around Chapleau which I used to do in colder years. I also have cut to the lake off the road later in the season after seeing many tracks. We have stayed at the MHL also, but I usually have one or two with me and the cost per night can get to be extreme when you pay for 3 vs. Valentine's in town. I want to spend more time in Chapleau and learn more about all the routes. I will be through there again next week, but touring with a group on a schedule. I may PM you sometime. Thanks

For many of the past years Trap Creek has been washed out on that part of the trail and I began avoiding it by taking this short cut past Moose Horn Lodge. By the way the groomer made a pass from Devon Siding Road to open up the short cut and help those staying at the Moose Horn get to it. There are signs posted on that trail just off Devon Siding Road also. There is a cut through from Trap Creek on a hydro line which crosses Hwy 129 and then goes almost directly to the MHL also, but can be more difficult since plowed banks are never broken, but thus bypasses almost 100% of the plowed road. Lots of locals play along the small hydro which continues west sometimes near the actual trail to Pineal Lake which had a wood mill in the past. There is a Ford F150 some Brainiac drove out along this road until it became buried and a part of this shortcut for the season. Be careful when zipping through.

Aubrey Falls has not really been part of snowmobiling in a while. They opened only when the trails were going well and for the weekends and could grab everyone because they had a bar. Black Creek has always been there for everyone and still is 24/7. Knock on the door! Definitely going to hurt Black Creek real bad! Hope they are still there next year! Hurts Halfway too! Just think about Dunlop Lake lodge and how many have booked to start or pass through and will not be there. With the F trail gone, this destroys a very popular big loop. Adding a day and stopping in SSM is not an option without another way to connect either. It is going to hurt many, but without resources to fight mother nature there is no way to fix this.

Still hoping to meet you at Dunlop Lake Lodge. The trail showed open for a bit and then went back red after the golf course. Are lakes deep with slush now? Hope we can ride over from the Soo as we will be riding down from Chapleau and spending a night in SSM prior. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Agree. We rode 2 Cat 7000's one day and they both ran out of fuel within 1 km of each other at almost exactly 130 miles. We both had a couple extra gallons and finished the ride back to town. We came into Dub from Halfway and decided to run out to a lake north of town without gassing up. Back in the days when it was hard to get gas there. We were riding hard and thus this was deemed to be a minimum distance they were good to go.

First you have to run the road over and back to the Zone also to get last gas on the way to Halfway. I don't mind if the road is covered and no sand. Just doesn't happen that way all the time. Just like when the trail was changed to cut out the pretty part by the cliffs, now also a bit of road to run along the way.

At the moment (01/14/20) the Cedar Swamp and the trail to the gas at the Zone and the Blueberry Motel are not open. No way to go over to Searchmont from SSM on open trails. Start at Searchmont and drop at the Driftwood!

Drive to Searchmont and park at the Driftwood Chalets. (705) 781-3128 Less $ to park than the extra gas. Stay at a hotel and then drive to Searchmont in the morning. Best if it is your first time and that is only 90 miles. Went back to the longer old trail due to logging this year. The Whitman Dam Road is the trail as it passes The Driftwood. You will see all the trailers. You can even book at the Driftwood.