Dan-Senior

We were in Elliot Lake on the weekend. Winter is taking shape. It was an enjoyable visit to the Elliot Lake Snowbirds Garage for a Sunday morning meet-and-greet.

Today's snowmobile ride at Searchmont. Temperature was -10 when we started this morning. We seen 3 deer, 0 moose, 0 wolves, 1 grouse throughout the day.

Searchmont this afternoon. Snow depth is still reasonable. We put on 50 kms today. Lakes and creeks are starting to freeze across. Some moose and wolf tracks along the way.

Snowmobiling at Searchmont today. I took the fan-cooled sled for snow-depth safety, however, the liquid would have been ideal.

Dunlop Lake Lodge - March 10-11-12th Keeping the Post on track, I'll be in Elliot Lake for 3 days for some regional riding. I'm not much of a long-distance traveler as I love to poke around in the bush and do some Cross Country riding from one lake to the next. Dunlop Lake Lodge in Elliot Lake is a great place to stay and stage from. I can do a 16 lake run in an afternoon and be back at the lodge for a few beverages and an evening dinner with social. May see some of you there.

No, minimal water in this part of Ontario. The high hills and mountainous terrain allows the water to flow down to the creeks. The logging roads and bush trails are elevated out of the flood zone, so once there's enough snow, we can ride. I run the fan-sled in pre-season, due to its lightness. As for the headlight, I do have a Xenon in inventory and will install it. This is one of my backup sleds, so it doesn't get alot priority. Hopefully snow is heading your way.

Beer Cans on Trail My daughter and I were out for a ride just north of Sault Ste. Marie a few years back. We stopped for a break, when 2 Ministry COs pulled up behind us on sleds. One fellow was a big burly guy, about 6' 4" and solid. He came up to me and we looked eye-to-eye with each-other. The first question was 'Have you been drinking?". Of course the answer was no and we had not. However, because we just rode through a section of the trail system with several empty cans laying on the ground, made us look suspicious. Unfortunately, that's all it takes is a few to ruin it for the rest.

Fresh Night-Time Video Footage from Searchmont Ontario

North of Sault Ste Marie A few more photos of nighttime riding north of Sault Ste. Marie. The feather-lite fan-cooled sled served its purpose for early-season riding.

Searchmont Some video footage from tonight's bush ride in Searchmont

Searchmont Riding was good in Searchmont tonight. Plenty of snow!

Another storm went through last night. Searchmont got the brunt of it. 30+cms according to 2 friends living up there. We are going to investigate later today with sleds in-tow. A couple of sections in the remote area have some descent logging roads / trails.

I live in Sault Ste. Marie and cross into Michigan often then return back to Canada. During our recent trips there has been no mention of Covid, however, I find that each visit, the various questioning is at the discretion of the agent. Covid is back on the rise, so who knows what new rules might come into play?

Green Grass Is it green grass or is it snow? The Snow maps are way off this season. A friend was north of Searchmont, (past Wabos), last Sunday and was swimming in snow and sent me photos to prove it. The snow maps revealed minimal snow. Another friend was on the north end of the Tribag Mine road, north of Sault Ste. Marie and said the same, well over a foot of snow. The snow maps showed minimal snow. Now that warm weather has moved in, it looks like 1st hand feedback from actual riders will be the accurate source of information this month leading into December. Dan Sault Ste. Marie

BOOKED Dunlop Lake Lodge - March 10-11-12th 2023. I'll be riding the Dunlop Lake / Elliot Lake area on those 3 days. If you happen to be around that weekend, we might meet up.

Elliot Lake - Global Exposure Travel News International has Elliot Lake on their radar as one of their top snowmobile destinations. They also mention the Elliot Lake Snowbirds club. Good job Elliot Lake. Something that many of us already knew. Great for OFSC and Cross-Country snowmobiling. I think we need to book our Dunlop Lake Lodge trip sooner than later. https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/top-7-snowmobiling-destinations-this-winter#

Elliot Lake Snowmobiling A write-up of our snowmobiling trip to Elliot Lake on Sunday November 20th. https://sled-x.ca/news/november-2022-report2.html

Chad and I were in Elliot Lake yesterday for a fun day of snowmobiling. I brought my Featherlite-Fan sled that I built a few years back. It stayed on top of the snow and I also wore my retro gear to go with it. It was a great day and wonderful feeling to be back behind the handlebars for another season.

Looks like Hornepayne and Hearst are getting an instant winter by the weekend.

Today's the 1st good day of snow for the highway 129 Corridor heading to Chapleau. I wrote a report and am attaching it here. It looks to be about 3 days of snow, then a meltdown. Full Report Here https://sled-x.ca/news/october-2022-report1.html

Wow, good eye! Yes, that was us as we helped a Senior's Couple who had gotten their Toyota SUV stuck on the trail right next to the Hydro Station. We stopped to push them out. Too bad we didn't meet up.

Looks like my camp in Iron Bridge took a direct hit. A few photos from the Security Cameras.

Elliot Lake - Scenic Views We took in some scenic views along the powerline within the City of Elliot Lake limits. This is a photo from on top of the hill on the north side of Horne Lake, with an overview of the city.

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

As OFSC trails shut down, Spring snowmobiling continues for us in the Algoma District 13. Typically, we are good until about mid-april, however, one of my riding colleagues did sled the Kindiogami Road / Black Creek Outfitters on May 1st, years ago in a tee-shirt. Perhaps I may match his record someday, but that is more difficult to do with climate change. Tomorrow we are heading into the Wilderness for some bush snowmobiling. Temperatures are expected to be about +7 C. Looking forward to a sunny day and still ample snow in the bush.