Techdenis007 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Took the 670 out for a solo ride tonight after supper, did about 100 km. Thought I'd update you on trail conditions on the various trails I was on. A trail West of Hearst is well groomed and smooth, I stopped at the intersection of the A / L163 / L169 and continued North, but locals are saying the A is beautiful all the way out to Mooseland. A trail East of Hearst is perfect, for the 5 or 6 km's of it I rode tonight, I suspect the rest of it is the same. L163 to L171 is only packed by the groomer and brushed. L171 to Cloutier Rd. North (near the Marina) is single track and just barely passable for the West half, East half is brushed and partially groomed, but not very rideable. L171 from the Marina East to the L159 is brushed, groomed, and Awesome ! I'll try to get info as to when the Marina opens, one of our favorite winter lunch stops, and let you all know. L159 to L115 and South to the is in top shape, ready to go. Great conditions, despite considerable local traffic. L155 South of Hearst, is packed and groomed, at least a first pass was done for sure. I did about 4 or 5 km's on it to sample it, looking good, despite still being red on the OFSC map. I wouldn't be afraid to ride to Mattice, doing a North / South loop. I'll try to keep this up to date as I've sampled the area more, hope it helps anyone that's looking for some riding up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbill Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 sounds like the club has been hard at work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nunz Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks Denis, Too bad we weren't able to meet up with you while we were up there, We rode a few of those trails and had a blast!!! Looking forward to our next visit up your way again this winter.. Take care. Nunz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte1214 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Heading up next week, and can't wait. First time riding up there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nunz Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Heading up next week, and can't wait. First time riding up there Have a great time!! You will love it up there, Where r u staying? Make sure you get out for a ride on the 171 and 159 trails, it was amazing riding.. any questions give me a shout... Nunz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks Denis, Too bad we weren't able to meet up with you while we were up there, We rode a few of those trails and had a blast!!! Looking forward to our next visit up your way again this winter.. Take care. Nunz Yes, sorry we couldn't meet up. Had a coupla issues at home, wife sick and company in town. Maybe next time ! Heading up next week, and can't wait. First time riding up there! I'd hate to say wait for a while, until the rest of the loops open up, but they're just not in shape yet. Some are rideable even if closed, other than river crossings being a safety hazard. When the loops are all open you could ride a couple of days just around town. I'm hoping to take a longer ride either West or East on the A this weekend, calling for milder temps and sunny. We'll see how things go, I'll advise what I saw ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte1214 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 We're staying at The Westway. We've got about 1100kms mapped out. Pretty sure we'll be on 171 and 159 but the Canyon will be the highlight. Have a great time!! You will love it up there, Where r u staying? Make sure you get out for a ride on the 171 and 159 trails, it was amazing riding.. any questions give me a shout... Nunz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Little update. We did a little loop last night, L159-L115 loop has a couple of drifted spots near the lake, nothing serious. 2 or 3 inches of fresh powder, loop not re-groomed yet, they were out on the A East it seems grooming that. They've opened up the L159 that heads East and North of town, towards Mattice, it's showing Green on the map but in fact it was JUST packed with the groomer (the beginning at least that I could see in the dark). The other day when I went it was just a cow path single track wide from sleds passing on it, I had gone down the logging road for my ride, and there has been no activity other than sled tracks on the road. I wonder how they get away with marking a trail as Available when in fact a groomer hasn't been down the trail once ... I might go for another ride tonight and explore some other trails and loops to see if they're actually rideable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 L159 is now groomed to the L165 intersection, L165 is packed to the river. L163 is groomed to the intersection of L171, which is also groomed full length. Looks like a couple of new loops are going to open up soon !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Just about every loop is groomed and rideable, I was out early this morning ... -26 I didn't do the whole loop I wanted, cut it short instead. Trails are beauty nice and well groomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrtkat Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Just about every loop is groomed and rideable, I was out early this morning ... -26 I didn't do the whole loop I wanted, cut it short instead. Trails are beauty nice and well groomed. sounds good denis zrtkat and crew will be in hearst Monday eve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Denis, is the Mattice clubhouse open this winter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 No it isn't, and wasn't last winter either. There's little point in having it open, if the restaurant isn't doing something. And without a cook or a volunteer in there to keep it open and warm, they won't open it. If I ever win the lottery, I'm buying the whole works and moving in .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Saul Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Just got done booking for the feb 21st at the companion, will see if you have time for beer or 2 sat night, Just part of the 12 - 14 day tour planned, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 No it isn't, and wasn't last winter either. There's little point in having it open, if the restaurant isn't doing something. And without a cook or a volunteer in there to keep it open and warm, they won't open it. If I ever win the lottery, I'm buying the whole works and moving in .... That's too bad. It's been hit or miss when we've been thru there. The last winter the Opaz' clubhouse canteen was open a girl was running it. Her father was there keeping her company. She had gotten her trapping licence so was probably going to be busy doing that the next winter. Bro & I had quite a chat w/ her about what they trapped in the area & the "sets" they use. That night our buddy asked what we were talking about. When we told him he was puzzled how we knew anything about trapping. We told him we had spent a lot of time on a trapline w/ the father of 2 of our friends in Apsley when we were teenagers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Just got done booking for the feb 21st at the companion, will see if you have time for beer or 2 sat night, Just part of the 12 - 14 day tour planned, PM me your cell # maybe I'll meet you there ! We told him we had spent a lot of time on a trapline w/ the father of 2 of our friends in Apsley when we were teenagers. Great sport trapping is, it's something I wish I had gotten into as a youth. Not going to start now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Great sport trapping is, it's something I wish I had gotten into as a youth. Not going to start now. I usually lead our groups, so if I see marten sets (wooden box on tree) along the trail, I know that bro' will have to slow down & check it it out. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Bringing this back for the guys coming up from the South. Rode to the Hornepayne Snobears warm-up shack at the Hwy intersection West of Hearst, trails were beautiful, other than not being groomed since the last snowfall Friday night / Sat morning. Probably a good thing as there's lots of powder on the edge to get into to help cool the slides and exchangers. My temp gauge was lower today than it has all winter, likely due to the fresh loose snow. There was only one issue on the ride, about 5 minutes this side of the crossing between the Eagles Earth thing and the Forde Lake bridge. It's where you cross the highway onto the North side, when coming East from the shack, 5 minutes East of the crossing there's a little dip with a small ditch-type water crossing. Anyway it was caved in a bit, and is less than a sled-length wide. Hopefully it doesn't worsen with todays' mild temps, and they're calling for below freezing all this coming week anyway, so I don't think it's an issue. Regardless, when you pass that little Forde Creek bridge, it's not far from there when heading West. (note to self, make a waypoint next time ....) Last weekend we rode to Mattice, the South trail going, and the North (A) coming back. Great trails, no issues, except for us having an oops while reading the direction signs near Val Cote, we should have turned South to follow the L155, instead we went straight onto a single track trail. Ended up in the right place, but wasn't pretty with only one track and lots of fresh snow, with night falling..... Just make sure you're actually on a trail, unlike us ..... I saw the groomer had gone out on Friday, but don't know which trail(s) they did, haven't gone up on the North trails this week yet. One way or another trails are still beautiful. Just FYI (and I wouldn't worry about it yet) I did notice that the river crossings of the 2 big bridges (Kabinakagami and Shekak Rivers) are still in great shape, however there's still access to the highway about a hundred yards on either side of the river. They're not open at this time (no tracks on them) but are clearly visible and would be easily accessible to sleds. I'm sure they'll be cleared next time the groomer gets out, I believe they always cross the rivers on the bridges, explaining why there's no embankment visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viperules700 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Thinking of coming up next week! You think it would be worth it to ride to dub and back from Hearst, or should I just ride Hearst kap cochrane area's? Never been to any of these area's. Kap looks like a nice spot to base out of and can ride either way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Doo Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 We will be in Cochrane Thursday night. Heading to Hearst on Friday, then back to Cochrane on Saturday. Conditions are looking great.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronOrange Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 It's a great ride, whatever your decide to do. Bambino's to Hornepayne is one of my favorite trips, fast, wide and scenic. I recommend it to everyone. As a side note: I understand a group from Longlac is planning a trip from Longlac to Hearst on the old A107A trail, I would be interested in any information you (Denis007) could provide about their trip. I would love to be able to that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viperules700 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 What is Bambino's? Is there food in hornpayne too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimrr Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 We are planning on going up there next week on the 18th of March . Do you guys think I will be okay without ice scratchers on my skidoo 1200 renegade? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronOrange Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Bambino's was an old truck stop where the A trail heads south from the highway. It used to also be the junction of A107A and A. It's a beautiful ride from there to Hornepayne. On the way, about 20 miles outside of Hearst, there is gas available in Calstock. It's not very well signed on the trail but there is a sign on the road indication the turnoff. Follow the road north about 2-3 miles until you reach Calstock turn right just after the railroad tracks and go another mile to Norm's Gas Bar. At Least that's the way it was 3 or 4 years ago. There is food in Hornepayne at Uncles Cabins. There are signs on the trail or just ask at the Esso station. There may also be a restaurant across from the Esso, but I'm not too sure, we typically don't stop in Hornepayne except for gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Doo Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 We are planning on going up there next week on the 18th of March . Do you guys think I will be okay without ice scratchers on my skidoo 1200 renegade? Thanks I would not get too worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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