revrnd Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 you didn't go through oba proper but, you were in the vicinity of it, as you went from the kabi area, toward jogues. same area of real estate. Ski OK 10-4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 One trip thru there I remember crossing 1 bridge (the 1 pictured). Then another trip we crossed 2. The 2nd (further west) had been decked for truck use & had a deep "trough" between the planks. It was just wide enough for you track to drop into. We weren't impressed. I think the year we rode to Longlac was the last time the trail used the railbed. If it wasn't so far away I'd like to check out that area w/ the Ranger. BTW, for those of you that have read us mentioning Bambino's, you didn't miss much. We never ate there (not needing or wanting to) but did gas up. The restaurant was pretty scuzzy. It reminded me of a run down truck stop on I-79 between Erie & Pittsburgh that I was in years ago. YUCK! The planked-up bridge over Skunk River (middle of the 3) was built that way for vehicle access to the new power dam that was just North of the railbed, about 3 or 4 km's. The dam was on the Shekak River, the eastermost bridge. I hunt birds in there all the time. There was a lot of equipment went in and out of that road over that very bridge while building the power dam .... I'm sure it would cringe just a bit when they were hauling the shovels in and out ... some dummies burnt part of it a couple of summers ago, I managed to catch a few pics of it from about 18km's away, just a little plume of smoke ... then I saw the big yellow water bombers and bird dog plane putting it out ... pretty tough to get those pics, from the box of the pickup 18 km's away on the Hornepayne highway .... Bird dog plane up in the top left, bomber is the yellow spot, and the smoke visible about 2/3 over to the right .... I remember once we were just out for a winter drive around the area, we came around the corner where the trail jumps South off the railbed heading towards Bambino's, and there was a pile of sleds sitting there taking a break... had to be 5 or 6 for sure. Hell .... for all I know it might have been you guys .... ever remember seeing a grey F150 regular cab around there in mid-winter ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Not that I recall LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Well none of those locations are only about half the size of a wide spot in the road anyway, but yeah - the trail (logging road) comes out of the bush at a corner of the road near Oba. It ducks (ducked) right back into the bush right away, so no idea if there was a town right there or not. I think we came out a little north of there tho. It could have been closer to Boone. The first town that I recall would have been possibly Mead. ??? But we were in the bush for some time before getting up there, so ??? The old route wasn't any further than from Dubre up to Hornepayne. If you can make it to Hornepayne, you should be able to make it to Hearst. The old route was still in use for the '97/'98 season. Not sure how much longer than that. ??? The new route is rumored to be full of stumps, but I've never been on it. I could see them cutting the new path for the sake of ATV traffic tho - as those don't float accrost the KB much easier there than they doo down by luke. But when we were up there with the ATV's in 2001 (?) we were told that it was too stumpy. Not sure if I stopped to look at it or not? Wheelers were in the truck. We unloaded and rode down about 20 klicks (?) N of Hornepayne for that day. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 I drove into Mead in '14. It's the end of the paved road The vacant area from a sawmill & an office is all that is there. I recall from the trips that way we paralleled the ACR for quite a ways before hitting the bush to head SW towards Hornepayne. This scan is from the '97'98 OFSC map: I'll be the 1st to admit that the accuracy is poor as it was several years before the accuracy was improved. More or less someone drew a line from point to point w/ a crayon. The next map that I have is the '04 version & it's about the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Yeah - exactly - the crayon drawing is about right. If I recall, there is a cpl diff routes on the E side of the river that they could have used. I was looking at a Google map of Hearst when I said Oba, and I got to thinking that Oba is way out in the middle of no-where, on R/R only territory near as I could think... So then I blew the map up more today and see that what I was thinking was a logging road on the map was the R/R. But I don't find a tight curve on the map of the road either. It seems to me that the trail came right out to the plowed road at what must have been a 45-60* turn left when heading S. I would hafta git the TOPO out and drool over that for a while, but it doesn't matter... and if I recall correctly, even when drooling over the TOPO it was not obvious to me which way we went. When we went through there - Hornepayne was groomed to the river and we went out with Brian to check the ice on the river. I asked how deep it was as he was making a big deal about it. We had just made first tracks over the KB 160 klicks downstream earlier that day - and they were slushy tracks, but ... Brian said that "It's deep enough to drink standing up". He said the ice was OK and so I took my sled accrost it and up the other side and turned around and came back. No slush at all. So - it seems to me that if you can safely cross down between Dubre and Hearst, then this crossing is going to be fine, so the ice thing shouldn't have been much of an issue. Next day we buggered off to the river, crossed it and then it took the rest of the day to break trail to Hearst, down a trail that was hardly marked as we were making first tracks, and they said that the moose like to knock the signs down off the trees over the course of the year, and we had never been on before. We would come to a concession and would look at the angles of the roads, and usually it was in the shape of a "Y", so it seemed pretty obvious to us which way to "turn". But we would go for many clicks w/o seeing any signs or anything, hoping to God that we aint headed out into deeper bush, then finally I would see a "TOP" sign post barely sticking above the snow line and finally get some reassurance that we were right. It was -30* that day, and -40* that night. We really didn't want to be sleeping in the bush that night. Checking Ice with Brian: I liked Brian, he went out of his way to be good to us. My Grand Touring in front: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I think the last year for the old A trail was 2001, cant remember exactly. we were all on skidoos, I had a 99 the wife had a 97, the kid had a 96. Gene Belanger (former mayor of hornepayne) was on an anniversary 2000 millennium doo two up, with his wife Darryl. we all went to Hearst for an over night, up one A trail, back the other. was a memorable trip for all. Ox, Brian, was one of the good ones, for sure. always enjoyed our time with him. he taught me how to groom in the br 180, at cedar point in hornepayne. GOOD TIMES. I always knew when Brian was the groomer operator, from the cleanliness of the trail. not to take anything away from the other operators but, he made a BIG DIFFERENCE, in trail quality, when he was an operator. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Yeah Oba is in the middle of nowhere. ACR & CN cross there. I think there is access to it via logging roads. Funny you ride a green couch. Check this pic from 2000: LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 One of the things that seems crazy that they aborted that trails use is that in the fall of '96, Hornepayne had cut several klicks of new trail starting right after the bridge accrost the first river. "Trail crossed the river on the plowed road, but by the time the trail was open - the river would have been easily tight enough to cross there. Then the new trail was cut into the bush on the N side of the plowed road, and it was not just harvested either, They had been in there with hoes or dozers to clean out the stumps - I'm pretty sure, It was wide and smooth! I guess once the A went up on 11 to Longlac that this section prolly lost TOP status and it's not like they ever seen enough traffic clear up there to justify all the loops, so .... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Funny you ride a green couch. Check this pic from 2000: Rode. That sled slowly morphed closer and closer to a Summit every year. (same chassis the previous year) More track, more track, less gear, etc... (should'a went to less gear a long time before I did tho. I had a bog that I just couldn't figger out) Yeah - I've seen that pic before and thought - hmmm, was I there that day? But I don't think so in 2000. I was there in '98 alone, and a cpl guys that I had rode with the day before came up the second day, and they both had 900 (?) Cats.... clambering on about how they thought that they could make that run up there in an hour. You guys reading this these days? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Pics from our '01 ride heading towards Hornepayne I don't recall a river crossing. I do remember a long right handed turn w/ a small lake right beside the trail. I remember it because a rider on a long track had passed us a few minutes before we got to the lake. We could see the tracks where he jumped on the lake & pinned it across to where the trail went back into the woods. He had dug quite a trench thru the snow. I had gotten a liter of oil @ the 'doo dealer in Hearst & there was a Summit on display. I had never seen 1 before & wondered WTF would they be trying to sell 1? What I saw later basically answred my question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 That grove of trees was all white in '96. They were too small to stick through the snow. I was amazed at how big they had grown in just a few years when we had went through there again. That first yr when we were there we kept hearing about "not getting lost in the "open areas"". ??? Now that was a HUGE cut right there! Just going through there at night was hard to navigate, and I slipped off the trail and down in the ditch. My light pointing towards Heaven! Kan't imagine trying to push through there in a snow storm! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Summits are 1/3 of our business these days. 1 short track every 2nd year by comparison. I hate summits .... We drove into Oba one time ... in from Levesque road and out by Mead. A friend works for Wagner at Mead .... his daily commute. There's still a bridge crossing the Kabi river and another at Shekak towards Hornepayne .... no water crossing required if there's a trail near those 2 bridges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Do they still yard logs @ Mead in the winter? It was empty the day I drove in (same day I stopped in to see you). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techdenis007 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Yes they do ... busier sometimes and quiet others. They cut in there every year, depends on market, demand and quotas. They also parcel out the land in sections during hunting season and you can rent a block for a week or 2. Run by a 3rd party, the BIL used to hunt moose in there for a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Fired up an old 'putor to see some pics. Looks like the last that we went through there (on the old sleds) would have been early '99. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidooboy Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 that open area was probably the area that had the BIG FIRE, the locals called it the burn. it was HUGE! The last time we were there approx. 2009-2010 you couldn't see over the trees, they were so tall. they grow fast up there. love seeing and hearing about this area, we have GREAT MEMORIES, AND GREAT FRIENDS THERE. Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Groomer Guy Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 They are planning to built a new road to Oba, the road will use some of our trail, the northern part of the 100miles loop. the trail will follow the D108A on the Hornepayne side then cross over the Kaby river and follow our trail then head back north again to oba. the reason for that they want to bypass the Private land and there is a big bridge that needs to be replaced and the Private land owner don't want to fix. we should be able to go to Oba if they do not put us restrictions. MNR and remote base outfitters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 we should be able to go to Oba if they do not put us restrictions. MNR and remote base outfitters. Doo the bush pilots still have the same amount of pull that they used to? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Groomer Guy Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Doo the bush pilots still have the same amount of pull that they used to? . unfortunately yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I love hearing those stories about fly-in fishing. The bush planes go wide west out of Wawa, so that the customers think they're going into unchartered territory. Then, once the customers are dropped on a lake, the planes fly the most direct route, along the highway and over towns. Customers don't know how close they are to towns. Too funny (and sad). "God's country" is accessible to so many communities by logging roads and trails, but Ontario prevents access to benefit the few. Anyhow - great info on trail distances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Groomer Guy Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I love hearing those stories about fly-in fishing. The bush planes go wide west out of Wawa, so that the customers think they're going into unchartered territory. Then, once the customers are dropped on a lake, the planes fly the most direct route, along the highway and over towns. Customers don't know how close they are to towns. Too funny (and sad). "God's country" is accessible to so many communities by logging roads and trails, but Ontario prevents access to benefit the few. Anyhow - great info on trail distances. That's what they do... bastards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 There's a stretch of trail east of Opaz (I think) that used to stay east of Hwy 11. TOP A now crosses the highway & tracks & heads south. For a couple of years you could see the old trail going east just north of the road allowance. After that it had pretty much grown in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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