yamadan700

We were out today again(Wednesdays) and we had a discussion about using a mini excavator. It's difficult to know where one is useful as we can't assess the carnage on the trails as we can't get to them without cutting ourselves through. So far, minus the one area, it has been a few trees down and then it's good for a hundred feet. So far, we have determined that an excavator would not be as useful as previously thought. Where does the excavator put all the broken trees as our trails are lined with trees? It all needs to go back into the bush as our trails are not that wide. We would also need to have a few guys leading the excavator to cut down the fallen trees to manageable sizes and that would be a fulltime commitment if we rented one for a week. We have 160kms of trail so it would be hard to hit them all in a week or two. Tough call as they are not cheap to rent. It may an option in the future if we come across another area like some of the previous pics. Possible solution. Maybe the OFSC should purchase a few mini excavators and they can float them to areas in need? Don't know if that's feasible. However, a bulldozer may work good!!!..lol.. Not sure if the Provincial Park would approve or even on Crown Land! The swampy areas may stop both. Jerry Yes I have heard that as well regarding the OFSC's cash crunch. They would like parallel running trails or dead end trails be eliminated. It would save on groomer costs.

Just to give all of you an idea of what we are dealing with in our area because of the ice storm back in March. We try to go out every Wed and bang some more off. However, 6-8 guys and 5-6 hours later, we have managed anywhere from 0.5-1km of trail cleared each time. It will be tough to get it all done by the time snow flies. The struggle is real! If you can help the affected areas, it is appreciated!!

Our area is a complete mess as well. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. We will all get there but it will take time. OFSC. When your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep becomes your downfall. Funds are tight FWIW. ODSC They should also reach out to the city, township and county to see if they have any funds available. They may be surprised. Snowmobiling is a economic benefit to their region so they may receive financial assistance from their local governments. A few thousand $$$ here and there can go a long way.

Permit revenue is down approx 10% over the last 5 years. Expenses are up over the revenue received. Groomers and their expenses aren't cheap. There's not much left in the OFSC pot. Changes will be happening. The ODSC should be going through their District first to see what's available instead of going to the OFSC. Don't know their situation. Just reading the article. There could also be grants available through the Government of Ontario that they/district/OFSC may be able to be access. We rented a 4wd backhoe last year for a few days to go through as much of our trails as feasible. It was a good investment as the backhoe can clear many of the downed trees quickly, fill in low spots and help drain the water holes etc.. It wasn't a huge investment but we do have a very skilled operator/volunteer that ran it for the rental period. It probably saved us weeks of work to do manually. I would imagine that ODSC could do the same and it may fall within their budget or the district's budget. Again, don't know. Just speculation.

Yamaha motors. From SnowGoer New Arctic Cat Releases Complete 2026 Snowmobile Lineup More Four-Strokes Some folks were worried that Yamaha’s departure from the snowmobile market and Arctic Cat’s unstable situation would result in the end of the ferocious, 200ish horsepower Yamaha turbocharged triple in snowmobiling. Well, with Cat back, that’s not happening. In fact, use of the engine actually expands by one model in Cat’s lineup. Back are the ZR 9000 Thundercat EPS ATAC model plus the Riot 9000 EPS. The Thundercat spins a 137-inch RipSaw II track around the coupled Slide-Action skid while the Riot whips a 146-inch Cobra track around an uncoupled Cross-Action rear suspension. Only colors and graphics change 2026. New, though, is a Pantera 9000. It’s a two-passenger tour bus with an attitude. In introducing the model – which features EPS, heated driver and passenger seats, an auxiliary rear fuel tank and much more – Halvorson acknowledged that Yamaha basically had this setup in model year 2025 with its Sidewinder S-TX GT EPS. With Yamaha’s departure from the market, Cat essentially picked up the model to offer it to the most discerning power-touring riders. There are also two returning models in the 2026 Arctic Cat lineup featuring the naturally aspirated 1049cc Yamaha triple that started the Cat/Yamaha relationship way back in model year 2014. They are the unchanged ZR 7000 single-passenger rig and Pantera 7000 2-Upper. All four-strokes are back in the ProCross or related ProTour chassis layouts.

Looks like AC is putting out MY26 models!👍 Yamaha 4 strokes too!👍

Congrats!! Bonus is that you have a fuel sock/pump maintenance professional just south of you! Looking at you Blackstar!😉

Maybe everyone are waiting to see the Arctic Cat MY26 lineup?

Wow! That usually would be a track destroyer. Glad it didn't! 👍

Did my last run for the year from north of Buckhorn to Cardiff and looped back around. 170km. The northern 3/4 part of the loop received a fresh 2" of snow last night.👍 Trails were still great and flat for most of it but some Canadian Shield was starting to poke through on the way back. The trail across Paudash Lake was flat as glass and I touched 190km/h(and climbing) and said that's enough!!! Don't blow something up now!..lol... Saw maybe 15 sleds out there. Sad that it is coming to such an abrupt end as there is such a great base and great snow coverage overall. Great year for most clubs in the province and everybody was able to ride local most of the time. That should generate renewed interest going forward. The OFSC and all the volunteers needed this.👍

Did a little 60km run with my wife this afternoon. Rode some of the Buckhorn and Twin Mountains(Bobcaygeon) trails. All were in 8/10 or better! Came across this nice Jeep on our trails quite a few kms in. Had a talk with him and his girlfriend and got him headed the right way! SMH Parking lot 1 was a full house. Many people getting their last ride in. Will do mine tmo.👍

We received about 2-3" of snow north of Buckhorn in the last day. Not sure about your area. Maybe send Nunz or Steve F6 a pm and see if they have any insight.

We groomed most of our trails smooth and flat before the warmup and they mostly stayed that way after the freeze up. We did receive 2-3" of snow in some areas so there is some fluff for cooling and sliders. There is a few slushy areas where we have gone through and I'm sure there will be some water issues but most of the trails that are open are looking pretty good/excellent. No idea on the lake conditions. I would expect slush out there. Don't know, don't go. It's been very windy here so there may be some branches/trees down. Had a big tree down on the E211 that was cleaned up today. Truck and trailer on the 502 close to the E211 intersection. Road running will be marginal.

I know a guy who has an Indy 137" with the S4 and he rides with a guy who has a 900ace Skidoo. The Indy is louder, slower and burns 30%+ more fuel than the 900ace. He isn't exactly happy about it.

501 is now fully open to Big Bald Lake. 502 is now fully open. A bit of road running along hwy 36 between the 501 and the 502A. Can't get the groomer down some of the trail on the west side. Should be okay with the snow falling as long as the plows are conservative with the shoulder plowing. 503 is still closed. Haven't been able to get the Rabbit as of yet so no grooming has been done in well over a week. May get the Rabbit tmo so may see colour sometime this weekend. Mississauga Lake is not staked and won't be this year. Too late now. Juice is not worth the squeeze. 506 North from P2 to the E108 was packed before the warmup and is now yellow. First time in years! 509 hasn't been touched for a week. May get touched tmo or Sunday. We've been grooming for the last 2 days so many, but not all, trails will be groomed.