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Jan 31 - Feb 2: MLSTA trails in bad shape - both groomers down


Formula500

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I've been up to Port Carling twice this winter (2014) and have yet to see a freshly groomed trail.  Was up this past weekend Jan 31 - Feb 2, 2014 and the trails were pretty rough.  Tons of snow but saw the groomer at Port Carling Foodland with a broken track.  I contacted the local club and they are waiting for parts and were shipped the wrong part once.  The spare groomer is also down apparently.  They should be doing something, even bed spring drags would help! 

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 ..... so now you know where NOT to buy your trail pass next year ....  ride somewhere that they appreciate the riders.  

 

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It is frustrating, but many clubs have had groomer issues this year, perhaps because of the exceptional snow volumes.

 

I think the clubs appreciate the riders, and are doing everything they can to solve the groomer issues.

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 ..... so now you know where NOT to buy your trail pass next year ....  ride somewhere that they appreciate the riders.  

 

 

I wish that's all it took (rider appreciation) because our trails would be golden!  Unfortunately Denis, trails are still groomed with equipment that has to travel very crappy terrain.  Sometimes old and new equipment breaks down.

 

I just got back from a public meeting in Larder Lake regarding the A110Q trail not opening over to Quebec.  Many complaints understandably but fortunately some volunteers have put their names in to help the club.  Things are looking up, now all we have to do is fix the remaining problems on the groomers.

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not a chance a110q will open for wk-end i guess ?

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Correct WD.  I forgot to mention the trail will not be opened this season.  Since Ontario Hydro took out the power line to a local mine and stopped maintaining it, it has gone to crap.  The bridges are falling apart and trees are down all over the place I'm told.  Hopefully all the new volunteers in that area will help out although we heard it's not rideable by ATV in the fall, too many swamps.  Some were talking bout a reroute for next year but a lot of work will be required to widen an existing ATV trail.

 

RE: Rouyn to KL

 

I was told last night that "somebody" knows of a trail from the QC border over to Kearns (east of Virginia town) but with all the ATVers and sleders there, "nobody" cold tell me where it was.

 

If you are set on doing this run from Val D'or to KL (edit), you could ride highway 66 from the border crossing west into Kearns and find the trail onto the lake.  Once on the lake you can drive all the way to Larder Lake and come out near the marina.  A little road running will bring you to the trail west of Larder Lake.  I had a look at the OFSC map and I'm guessing the trail in Kearns onto the lake is probably off of Fullerton St or Elliott Avenue.  The take-out in Larder Lake is around the east end of 6th Avenue.  I wouldn't attempt this without a GPS.

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Correct WD.  I forgot to mention the trail will not be opened this season.  Since Ontario Hydro took out the power line to a local mine and stopped maintaining it, it has gone to crap.  The bridges are falling apart and trees are down all over the place I'm told.  Hopefully all the new volunteers in that area will help out although we heard it's not rideable by ATV in the fall, too many swamps.  Some were talking bout a reroute for next year but a lot of work will be required to widen an existing ATV trail.

 

RE: Rouyn to KL

 

I was told last night that "somebody" knows of a trail from the QC border over to Kearns (east of Virginia town) but with all the ATVers and sleders there, "nobody" cold tell me where it was.

 

If you are set on doing this run from KL to Val D'or , you could ride highway 66 from the border crossing west into Kearns and find the trail onto the lake.  Once on the lake you can drive all the way to Larder Lake and come out near the marina.  A little road running will bring you to the trail west of Larder Lake.  I had a look at the OFSC map and I'm guessing the trail in Kearns onto the lake is probably off of Fullerton St or Elliott Avenue.  The take-out in Larder Lake is around the east end of 6th Avenue.  I wouldn't attempt this without a GPS.

thx for info,may just ride back down to new liskeard on que side sunday then

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It is frustrating, but many clubs have had groomer issues this year, perhaps because of the exceptional snow volumes.

 

I think the clubs appreciate the riders, and are doing everything they can to solve the groomer issues.

the aging fleet is the issue . Our groomers are getting too old

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Muskoka Snowmobile Trail Groomer Report

To all concerned, grooming machines have been down since last Wednesday. Parts were sent to us on Friday and after we got  the machine apart it was found the wrong parts we shipped. We are now waiting for the right ones. The repair will only take a few hours to fix but the parts will take longer. The supplier does not know how long it will be. As to a spare machine, the MSR has 2 units and they have been working steadily for the past month. The MSR is currently sitting with 4 downed machines. One of our neighboring clubs, Sno Bombers, was done last week and had one spare, they are now up and running again. They are unable help us as their machine is too wide for our trails and our bridges cannot handle the weight. ( it is 12’ wide) Baxter Snow Riders and S.M.A.R.T. are also both down and unable to help. The spare machine is now in the shop with a few issues and we are hoping to have it for our use by Tuesday.

As far as equipment, there is only so much we can do. This season has been very hard on all the MSR equipment. With the constant snow the equipment is always working at maximum capacity under full load. We are just not able to keep up. The manpower is limited and the demands on them is very high so far this season.

Rene’ Leenaars – Pres. M.L.S.T.A.

Equipment Chair – MSR

 

 

http://muskokasnowtrails.com/2014/02/03/muskoka-snowmobile-trail-groomer-report/

 

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 ..... so now you know where NOT to buy your trail pass next year ....  ride somewhere that they appreciate the riders.  

 

 

You can't really think they don't appreciate the riders. The groomer breaks down and they need parts to arrive. What do you expect the volunteers to do. They can't manufacture the part themselves or make it arrive any sooner than it does. You don't think the volunteers who are passionate about the sport that volunteer their time to create and maintain the trails you ride want the groomed for themselves to ride as well.

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Any update on this? We have a group wanting to spend some serious dough in the Muskoka area this coming weekend. 

 

We could easily spend it elsewhere, as will others.  Sorry, but this is the real consequence that is sometimes missed.

 

 

:cheers:  

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As of February 10, trails are still showing as Yellow on OFSC trail guide around Port Carling, Bala and Bass Lake, so I assume the groomers are still down.

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