tricky

Thank you DRJ for the very useful report. Glad that you had a good day.

X2

Does anyone know how/if the trails survived around Elliot Lake/ Bruce Mines area?

If its worth the drive to Cochrane, then IMO, its worth driving right on past to Kap. Everybody and his brother is going to be trying to get to Cochrane next week. It will be a zoo. Kap to Geraldton and back is looking good, using as many local loop trails as possible along the way.

Thanks Dan. Good to know.

Nunz, I hope the trails recover by then. A friend who lives in Azilda said they lost a ton of snow Tuesday and Wednesday, and also didn't get as much so last night as was forecast. Maybe Soup and other locals could comment. I assume the closing of the entire STP was preventative since it was done Tuesday PM when some trails were still good.

Thanks so much for the real time trail reports. Good information will hopefully help make a good decision on where to sled next week.

That damned making a living gets in the way of fun too much. Thanks anyway. If conditions held up anywhere in the south, it would be Mattawa and to the east.

Signfan, did you ride the Mattawa area earlier this week? If si, how was it?

What about a back-up to the back-up? I am already on plan 3 for next week. If anyone knows where, in Ontario, the base has survived and new snow is faling or will fall before Tuesday, please share.

Thanks ski, for the hard news. Might be better in the Sudbury area next week. At least they are supposed to get some snow in these next few days. Save Algoma until some more snow falls???

Dan, how much snow did SSM lose in the past 2 days? What's left? I am hearing horror stories from Sudbury, North Bay and north to Timmins. The temperatures are cold enough next week, but where will there be snow?

Thanks OX and Dan. The friends that I have mentioned this option to are coming from Dunlop Lake on the F trail. I have used the short cut both, successfully (like Dan's video), and with brutal results (as Ox suggests is likely) in Marches past. Unfortunately there isn't as much snow forecast there in the next few days as there is in Sudbury thru to Mattawa along highway 17. Damned strange weather this year.

If scheduling permits, it's best to review the status as of Friday or even Saturday, after the hoped for Thursday night snow.

Have a question to ask for friends: If taking D201F northwest from highway 129 to the D Trail, is it currently possible to use the Ranger Lake Road detour to chop roughly 20 KM off the trip to Wawa. I know that is not very specific, but I also know that anyone who could answer the question, knows where and what I mean. My friends would appreciate some advice prior to Tuesday. Thanks in advance.

Go for it. Haven't been there for two weeks, but trails were good then and weather has been cooperating there for those two weeks. I am sure that you know to ride the Missing Link trails to the west as well, in particular 197, but all the local trails up there. Hidden Gems!

Lots of different 4s motors in Polaris ATVs and SxSs, not to mention Victory and Indian motorcycles. Majority of these have been good engines. I am a little suspicious of a 1000 cc twin vs my current 3 cylinder, but I don't think that Polaris would risk introducing a dog.

I called the stock iceripper on my 2017 Blizzard ACE an "iceslipper". Back to regular studs two years ago.😀 Do you have one of those? All of my friends with 4 stroke Yamahas and 900/1200 Skidoos have ben running Snow Trackers for years. I tried for 3 years with my Blizzard to make my sled steer as well as theirs', using different brands of runners and different chassis set-ups. I wanted to show them that Trackers weren't the only hot set-up. I finally capitulated and have been using Trackers for 3 seasons. Hard to beat them on a 4 stroke. 2s results may vary.

So, I know that most of you are more high performance sledders, but has no one ridden the Poo 4s yet? Hard to believe that they are that scarce.

Get a ride on a 650 before you buy an 850. 650 VR1, or even XC, is an incredible sled.

Yup, same in my driveway. Doesn't matter much to me, as I managed to come down with Covid Friday, for the first time. Feel like I tried to go a few rounds with Mike Tyson, so I won't have a trip report for a while.

You will get lots of seconders, including me, for Dunlop Lake Lodge on this forum. Its almost 10 miles north of Elliot Lake and very sled friendly. I have stayed at the Hampton Inn on one trip when DLL was fully booked. It was certainly acceptable and good restaurant was within walking distance, but I prefer the lodge. If everything is booked in Elliot Lake, you could consider Spanish or Blind River. I haven't stayed in either town, so can't give a personal recommendation on accommodation.

Glad to see that there were enough sleds with the recall done to have the event...🤣

I don't have a stake in this bickering, but the above claim rings a little hollow with me, given your previous post. i doo miss the posts of those that I just discovered have opted out.

Got back home today after a mini three night/two day trip out of Mattawa Golf and Ski. Our group of 6, for the most part, lucked out with the weather and the grooming schedules. Wednesday, we rode 290 km from Golf and Ski eastward via the A trail to Deep River for an early Timmi's lunch, and then back via the 130 series local North Renfrew and 190 series Missing Link trails. Most of the trail we rode had been groomed Monday or Tuesday, and even those that hadn't (the 'dead end" 137 and 136), were tolerable. That day's riding is about as good as it gets in Ontario. Every time I take a new person on that ride, they are super impressed with the scenery, and trail quality and variety. Thursday, we did the same 240 km route that gtowe referred to above, but in the opposite direction. From Golf and Ski, we went thru Mattawa via the A trail and A112A, unfortunately still via the downtown road bridge, then northwest toward North Bay on A112A, to the A trail, south on the A with a detour in/out on BF201 to the Dinner Bell for a delicious lunch. After lunch we carried on back to the A trail, south/east back to our hosts. The trails were in very good shape with 3-6" of fresh snow on top of mostly very smooth base. Sled traffic was minimal both days. Sadly we saw a broken down groomer on the A trail about 15 km west of Golf and Ski. With the colder weather this coming week, the slush should freeze on the Mattawa River, allowing that crossing to open. The hospitality for three nights was excellent at a modest price, which may be important to some, as the fuel prices for both sleds and trucks are still too high. If you haven't ridden this area recently, make the effort to go there.