Ride Around Algonquin

[sledjunk]

Good news, Brian!

[Blake G]

We/ll arrive in Haliburton this Thursday and start our ride on Friday.  There are only 2 of us this trip,  Look for sleds from NY; green and white 4 stroke RR Cat and a black 1200 Ski Doo.

Apparently the RAP tour should not be undertaken on a weekend, especially in a season when there are no trails open in the southernmost Districts.

In the far north where there are generally fewer sleds, it may make no difference whether one rides during mid-week or on the weekend. Early this season in Cochrane was an exception, of course, as the weekend trails were horrible, due to the unusually high number of riders.

The Interactive Trail Guide is updated on Mondays and Thursdays only. Trails may be listed as green on Thursday. After Friday traffic and Saturday brutal traffic, those same trails may be trashed by Saturday at noon. There is nothing any club can do about this, especially if the weather is a little on the warm side. In District 7 this past week, many trails were excellent up until Friday. I went on the exact same trails Saturday throughout the day, and they were terrible. I have seen multiple comments about how bad the trails were this weekend in Parry Sound, Muskoka, Almaguin, Haliburton etc. This is nobody's fault. If people have no snow in their home districts, and can ride only on weekends, the trails listed on Thursday as "available' will end up taking a beating due to over use.

We need to pay the most attention to trails where there is higher ridership.

[Wildbill]

Apparently the RAP tour should not be undertaken on a weekend, especially in a season when there are no trails open in the southernmost Districts.

In the far north where there are generally fewer sleds, it may make no difference whether one rides during mid-week or on the weekend. Early this season in Cochrane was an exception, of course, as the weekend trails were horrible, due to the unusually high number of riders.

The Interactive Trail Guide is updated on Mondays and Thursdays only. Trails may be listed as green on Thursday. After Friday traffic and Saturday brutal traffic, those same trails may be trashed by Saturday at noon. There is nothing any club can do about this, especially if the weather is a little on the warm side. In District 7 this past week, many trails were excellent up until Friday. I went on the exact same trails Saturday throughout the day, and they were terrible. I have seen multiple comments about how bad the trails were this weekend in Parry Sound, Muskoka, Almaguin, Haliburton etc. This is nobody's fault. If people have no snow in their home districts, and can ride only on weekends, the trails listed on Thursday as "available' will end up taking a beating due to over use.

We need to pay the most attention to trails where there is higher ridership.

 Yes and this fact is not taken in account under FFC

[AkronOrange]

Apparently the RAP tour should not be undertaken on a weekend, especially in a season when there are no trails open in the southernmost Districts.

In the far north where there are generally fewer sleds, it may make no difference whether one rides during mid-week or on the weekend. Early this season in Cochrane was an exception, of course, as the weekend trails were horrible, due to the unusually high number of riders.

The Interactive Trail Guide is updated on Mondays and Thursdays only. Trails may be listed as green on Thursday. After Friday traffic and Saturday brutal traffic, those same trails may be trashed by Saturday at noon. There is nothing any club can do about this, especially if the weather is a little on the warm side. In District 7 this past week, many trails were excellent up until Friday. I went on the exact same trails Saturday throughout the day, and they were terrible. I have seen multiple comments about how bad the trails were this weekend in Parry Sound, Muskoka, Almaguin, Haliburton etc. This is nobody's fault. If people have no snow in their home districts, and can ride only on weekends, the trails listed on Thursday as "available' will end up taking a beating due to over use.

We need to pay the most attention to trails where there is higher ridership.

 

Let's pretend I'm a tourist that just wants to try snowmobiling and rents a few sleds for the weekend.  I've heard snowmobiling is fun and the Algonquin area is beautiful.  What do you think my impression is of the sport and the area?  Do you think I would do this again?  Shouldn't it be a goal to attract those dollars?

[revrnd]

Let's pretend I'm a tourist that just wants to try snowmobiling and rents a few sleds for the weekend.  I've heard snowmobiling is fun and the Algonquin area is beautiful.  What do you think my impression is of the sport and the area?  Do you think I would do this again?  Shouldn't it be a goal to attract those dollars?

Theoretically that's the ideal situation. However reality is a lot different. 

 

The same thing could be said about visitors to the Tug Hill or Old Forge areas of NY. Probably no different than someone trailering to Huntsville on a Fri' night or Sat' morning, then heading out on the Seguin for a ride.

[Blake G]

Let's pretend I'm a tourist that just wants to try snowmobiling and rents a few sleds for the weekend.  I've heard snowmobiling is fun and the Algonquin area is beautiful.  What do you think my impression is of the sport and the area?  Do you think I would do this again?  Shouldn't it be a goal to attract those dollars?

I've never done the RAP Tour. From what I've read and heard, the Tour can be great or not so great, depending on weather, trail conditions, and amount of traffic. Nunz said he met you and you're a nice guy, which I already knew, having enjoyed your posts on this site. You went to considerable effort to undertake the Tour, and I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

[Viperules700]

Hailburton was awesome on Sunday. Only seen 8 sleds in 165 Km's! Fantastic trails! Thanks HCSA!

[barberch]

Hailburton was awesome on Sunday. Only seen 8 sleds in 165 Km's! Fantastic trails! Thanks HCSA!

 

Haliburton was great today!  250kms

[Canadoo]

Day 3: South River back to Haliburton. C105D to D to D101B to Dorset then club trails 64 and 16 to B back to Haliburton. About 170 miles.

I'm safely back home. It's been 7 hours since we ended our ride. The blood almost completely gone from my urine.

We rode about 20 miles of wonderful trail today. The trails can be groomed. The rest of the trails were garbage. Some will say there isn't enough snow. If they can't be groomed how can they be listed as green? Trails in the condition I rode today are not safe. It is much more difficult to stay right when there's a 48" snow on the right and a valley without snow on the left. I also found myself looking for the smooth line weaving and dodging. It really was ridiculous. There was an obscene amount of "follow road to trail", they could save some money on signage if they flipped to say "follow trail to road". As I was scratching my way through this mess, I wondered; do these count as trail miles? If so, I think they should implement this idea in Chapleau, just put a "follow road to trail" on routes 101 and 129, call them the new "F" trail.

We encountered hundreds of sleds today. The a$$hole percentage was way up. I find it interesting that each time we stopped for a break, there was at least one rider going past us that had to show us how much snow he could displace, it was also interesting that on a number of occasions, while I was climbing one of those 4 ft. banks, staying right, the rider coming toward me on the left, couldn't slow down and again made every attempt to move as much of whatever happened to be under his track at the time.

I realize those a$$holes I referenced are a small percentage of the whole. In actuality; the best part of the trip were the people. If we had a map out on the trail; people stopped and offered us help, whenever we asked for directions, people were glad to give them. All of the people in all of the towns were fabulous. The highlight of the trip was our visit with Nunz and his group at the Iron Skillet in Kearney. What a great group of guys! Leaving Kearney, I also ran into Akronsnow; it was also a pleasure.

Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. Needless to say, this will be my last trip to this part of Ontario. I can't justify spending my disposable income on this type of abuse to my sled and my body.

did you actually ride 16 from 64???

Where were the bad 150 miles? I rode part of that area Sunday, it was great! the d101b was groomed sat night through Algonquin down to baysville, and the 64 was groomed all the way too. 16 has maybe a handful of tracks down it, its closed for the season due to logging. I believe there were signs as well. I couldn't imagine trying to ride through the logging on it?

[AkronOrange]

did you actually ride 16 from 64???

Where were the bad 150 miles? I rode part of that area Sunday, it was great! the d101b was groomed sat night through Algonquin down to baysville, and the 64 was groomed all the way too. 16 has maybe a handful of tracks down it, its closed for the season due to logging. I believe there were signs as well. I couldn't imagine trying to ride through the logging on it?

Maybe it wasn't 16, it wasn't marked.  It was 64 to something.  We ended up on one of the Hawk Lakes to "B".  The lakes were fine; how bad can a lake be until you hit water?

 

Trails leaving Kearney were good.  All of "B" and "D103B" were terrible and the trails "B" and B103, weren't  even trails.  No effort whatsoever had been made to groom them.  They really sucked.  If I were a club member there; I should be embarrassed.  I tell it like it is.  They were terrible.  Perhaps we have different expectations of sucked!

[Canadoo]

Maybe it wasn't 16, it wasn't marked. It was 64 to something. We ended up on one of the Hawk Lakes to "B". The lakes were fine; how bad can a lake be until you hit water?

Trails leaving Kearney were good. All of "B" and "D103B" were terrible and the trails "B" and B103, weren't even trails. No effort whatsoever had been made to groom them. They really sucked. If I were a club member there; I should be embarrassed. I tell it like it is. They were terrible. Perhaps we have different expectations of sucked!

yep you took 16... And its marked. There are 2 maps at that intersection...

There was 1 goat path down it, 100% your fault. Own it.

I can understand why you're pissed, its nearly 20k of very tight winding trail with much of it logged, but again you made the mistake of going down a closed trail, that was OBVIOUSLY not groomed.

Of the 170 miles you road, most were groomed Saturday night and in very good condition, I know; I was out riding hem Saturday and Sunday.

I take offence to reports like this as a local club supporter, when the exaggerations are obvious and details lacking.

If you'd like to get more specific, please do. Where did you stay in Haliburton exactly?

[AkronOrange]

yep you took 16... And its marked. There are 2 maps at that intersection...

There was 1 goat path down it, 100% your fault. Own it.

I can understand why you're pissed, its nearly 20k of very tight winding trail with much of it logged, but again you made the mistake of going down a closed trail, that was OBVIOUSLY not groomed.

Of the 170 miles you road, most were groomed Saturday night and in very good condition, I know; I was out riding hem Saturday and Sunday.

I take offence to reports like this as a local club supporter, when the exaggerations are obvious and details lacking.

If you'd like to get more specific, please do. Where did you stay in Haliburton exactly?

Absolutely no maps at the junction.  I know how to do all of this.  There was a map at D103B and 64.  I don't b!tch about signage.  It is up to me to figure out where I'm going.  Perhaps its our opinions of "very good" that differ.  I might expect that...  If they're your trails; they sucked, ride up north if you want to experience very good trails.  This will will be my last response on this topic.

[Viperules700]

did you actually ride 16 from 64???

Where were the bad 150 miles? I rode part of that area Sunday, it was great! the d101b was groomed sat night through Algonquin down to baysville, and the 64 was groomed all the way too. 16 has maybe a handful of tracks down it, its closed for the season due to logging. I believe there were signs as well. I couldn't imagine trying to ride through the logging on it?

I rode thru russel landing and picked up the lakes back to little hawk lake. Rode thru ox narrows all was fine. Way better then riding 16!

[SlowTouringGuy]

yep you took 16... And its marked. There are 2 maps at that intersection...

I can understand why you're pissed, its nearly 20k of very tight winding trail with much of it logged, but again you made the mistake of going down a closed trail, that was OBVIOUSLY not groomed.

Of the 170 miles you road, ......

Glad you understand it. Yes, that's exactly what he said. It was not groomed. Thanks for confirming his disappointment.

And, I think he rode 170 miles but not all of it on road.

[Canadoo]

Absolutely no maps at the junction. I know how to do all of this. There was a map at D103B and 64. I don't b!tch about signage. It is up to me to figure out where I'm going. Perhaps its our opinions of "very good" that differ. I might expect that... If they're your trails; they sucked, ride up north if you want to experience very good trails. This will will be my last response on this topic.

"my trails". No. I support many clubs throughout the province. I don't maintain the trails. Ibdo support the volunteers I know groomed most of those trails on Saturday night. 16 wasn't one of them, it hasn't and won't be groomed all year. Its obvious.

I've ridden 10s of thousand of miles in Ontario and Quebec. Likely far more than you have. I merely challenged you to add more detail and you haven't, you got your back up. The trail numbers you mention dont really add up, but I dont expect a visitor to know al of them. What I do expect is if you are going to rant and rave about how bad they are, take a look at the map and learn what trails you took. That way maybe the clubs could at least address the issues you're having?

There is a map board at 16 and 64. There is also cell service in the area so access to the online map is possible as well. Carrying paper maps isn't a bad idea either when traveling unknown areas...

I was there on sunday and if you are someone that has ever snowmobiled before you'd know what a groomed trail looks like. It was obviously not... Its also not the only way to haliburton. You could have continued on 64 to kennisis lake and ran the lakes.

Your tone explains a lot. You messed up, didn't plan properly and on your outdoor off road adventure ran into some problems. It happens to every sledder, especially in a low snow year like were having.

I know the msr office has gotten calls from "irate" sledders on some of the conditions. Shame on them. Pure

Ignorance.

Glad you understand it. Yes, that's exactly what he said. It was not groomed. Thanks for confirming his disappointment.

And, I think he rode 170 miles but not all of it on road.

there are thousands of goat paths that run off the trails around the province. He took one of them. It is closed for the season with a single sled track down it. Its that simple. You have been around long enough to know this.

[Reved]

Deep Breaths. Mellow. Ha Ummmm. Ha Ummmm.

[AkronOrange]

I must admit.  I'm new at this, far less experienced than most.  Canadoo can only be right here.  It must be my fault; my sole purpose here is to sabotage the efforts of those hard working volunteers. 

[Wildbill]

isn't that special 

[revrnd]

AO, it's too bad that your 1st tour southern Ontario was less than stellar. Most of us have had to deal w/ "surprise" reroutes. Some clubs are more proactive when signage is corrected. 

 

Before your trip there was a lot of online griping about the clubs in my area having no green trails when neighbouring clubs were green. Well some of the trails went yellow. Now people are griping because the trails haven't been groomed. How do you groom 8" of snow in the terrain that we have w/o making a mess of what little base that there is?

 

If it had been me preparing for a RAP tour @ the same time as you, knowing the snow cover (or lack of it) I would've pulled the plug until a later date.

 

Finally, this province can see wide swings in snow cover. Huronia & Muskoka can get dumped on where nearby Haliburton can be bare or thin. 

[Nunz]

X2 guys

Deep Breaths. Mellow. Ha Ummmm. Ha Ummmm.

[Chandos_rob]

When doing the rap/muskoka area and going east I usually run the lakes out of dorset, the 63,68, 64 to 62 to Kennisis is normally great.  Tuesday 62 was brutal the whole way, luckily had seen some grooming, because much better on way back thursday afternoon.  To AkronOrange's point, there are far too many trails that have poor signage when hitting roads or T intersections.   I took a few wrong turns this week on trails I've ridden before because of missing signs.  No reason when hitting a road that there isn't a arrow.  And there was a section of the E just east of the 601 that I think just got opened up on Monday afternoon that I did thursday, that is bad for a couple K's then logging for a couple K's that is/was brutal.  Got better after, but far better to take the B hydro run though Algonquin for the RAP currently (ran it monday and tuesday).  Didn't see too many dorks out this week, though did have to help a guy on the D north of Kearney who ended up 30 feet into the woods, funny thing, he was last or second last in his group, guess trying to catch up.  Oh yeah, and my friend who got the right ski into the soft stuff and ended up in the ditch and destroyed the bumper of my sled I lent him

 

Trails (old hastings/bancroft and west and north to Bernard lake) were mostly very good monday-thursday.  

[bbakernbay]

Just had a guy get back to me who did RAP last Monday to Friday and said 90% of trails were very good.

He said TOP B logging section was brutal and Trail 16 was closed which required them to use B.

I will post his report once I get permission.

[AkronOrange]

When doing the rap/muskoka area and going east I usually run the lakes out of dorset, the 63,68, 64 to 62 to Kennisis is normally great.  Tuesday 62 was brutal the whole way, luckily had seen some grooming, because much better on way back thursday afternoon.  To AkronOrange's point, there are far too many trails that have poor signage when hitting roads or T intersections.   I took a few wrong turns this week on trails I've ridden before because of missing signs.  No reason when hitting a road that there isn't a arrow.  And there was a section of the E just east of the 601 that I think just got opened up on Monday afternoon that I did thursday, that is bad for a couple K's then logging for a couple K's that is/was brutal.  Got better after, but far better to take the B hydro run though Algonquin for the RAP currently (ran it monday and tuesday).  Didn't see too many dorks out this week, though did have to help a guy on the D north of Kearney who ended up 30 feet into the woods, funny thing, he was last or second last in his group, guess trying to catch up.  Oh yeah, and my friend who got the right ski into the soft stuff and ended up in the ditch and destroyed the bumper of my sled I lent him

 

Trails (old hastings/bancroft and west and north to Bernard lake) were mostly very good monday-thursday.  

 

Glad to hear your ride was better than mine, sorry to hear about the mishap.  As Rev mentioned; part of my problem was planning, I planned a tour-like ride in a high traffic area for a weekend expecting good trails.  I will not make the same mistake again!

[bbakernbay]

Hey Brian,

I just wanted to let you know that we completed the RAP tour on Friday. We started Monday 1/26 from Pembroke and road to Mattawa, and then North Bay that day. The trails in Pembroke were thin, but groomed flat and were good. Some bumps around Petawawa, but not bad. From Mattawa to North Bay on the secondary trails was a bit bumpy but not bad.

Tuesday we rode Top A up and back – about 160 miles total and was spectacular!

Wednesday we left North Bay and rode to the Edgewater Lodge on Sand Lake, and the trails were awesome!

Thursday was a bit rough. Left the Edgewater and left for Haliburton. We didn’t realize that trail 16 was closed, and had to find the alternate route to TOP b. Top B went through some logging operations and they were brutal, and the trail in other spots was rough. But we finally made it to the Pinestone that night.

Friday we left the Pinestone and headed back to Pembroke. The trails were awesome the entire day.

So we did 750 miles in 5 days, and had a blast. I would say that 90% of the trails were very good to awesome, and 10% were bad to awful.

All in all we would take that every day!

Thanks for your feedback to our questions – and have a great season..

[revrnd]

Hey Brian,

I just wanted to let you know that we completed the RAP tour on Friday. We started Monday 1/26 from Pembroke and road to Mattawa, and then North Bay that day. The trails in Pembroke were thin, but groomed flat and were good. Some bumps around Petawawa, but not bad. From Mattawa to North Bay on the secondary trails was a bit bumpy but not bad.

Tuesday we rode Top A up and back – about 160 miles total and was spectacular!

Wednesday we left North Bay and rode to the Edgewater Lodge on Sand Lake, and the trails were awesome!

Thursday was a bit rough. Left the Edgewater and left for Haliburton. We didn’t realize that trail 16 was closed, and had to find the alternate route to TOP b. Top B went through some logging operations and they were brutal, and the trail in other spots was rough. 

Do you recall if that stretch of logging was between Ox Narrows & Big Hawk Lake? If yes, that seems to be an annual problem in that area since '09.