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Stonecliff to Deux Riviere?


paulslund

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Has anyone been out there since the warm up on Tuesday?  I hear Sudbury trails were hit with some rain (but not like here in the south) and are pretty hard now..  Anyone know if this section (A trail and the Club trails) got hit with the rain too? I don't have scratchers and don't have time to get some.. 

 

They are showing as green but so is most of Sudbury.

 

Thanks!

Paul.

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Our group went to Suds last Friday.  First thing Saturday, we could not figure out how to get out of  Chateau Gauy.  Trail south not groomed for weeks for 22 km we were told.  Trail north officially closed but being used.  No grooming. No signs.  Lucky to run into Soupkids and he helped us to D trail.  Went west to do Moose Loop.  Missed a turn and wound up in Narnia. Police check after lunch.  He said he checks for a pass.  Rode lakes back to C trail.  Lakes were good.  C trail brutal.  Trail back to hotel even worse.  Always hearing the carbide hit granite on the D rail line and on C.

 

Sunday did Moose Loop properly.  Trails north east of Windy Lake were good.  Trail to Rockys rough.  Took lake from Rockys.  Two ice cracks to get over.  First one had open water hole.  Got back to closed trail and it was barely rideable.  Monday morning with freezing rain coming, we had enough and loaded up and went to Timmins were there is snow.  Had a fabulous ride to IF, Cochrane, Smooth Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Did the local loops.  Timmins trails were very fast.  Polar Bear trails needed grooming.

 

My opinion is stay out of Suds.  Don't wreck your machine.

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18 minutes ago, Big Pussy said:

Our group went to Suds last Friday.  First thing Saturday, we could not figure out how to get out of  Chateau Gauy.  Trail south not groomed for weeks for 22 km we were told.  Trail north officially closed but being used.  No grooming. No signs.  Lucky to run into Soupkids and he helped us to D trail.  Went west to do Moose Loop.  Missed a turn and wound up in Narnia. Police check after lunch.  He said he checks for a pass.  Rode lakes back to C trail.  Lakes were good.  C trail brutal.  Trail back to hotel even worse.  Always hearing the carbide hit granite on the D rail line and on C.

 

Sunday did Moose Loop properly.  Trails north east of Windy Lake were good.  Trail to Rockys rough.  Took lake from Rockys.  Two ice cracks to get over.  First one had open water hole.  Got back to closed trail and it was barely rideable.  Monday morning with freezing rain coming, we had enough and loaded up and went to Timmins were there is snow.  Had a fabulous ride to IF, Cochrane, Smooth Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Did the local loops.  Timmins trails were very fast.  Polar Bear trails needed grooming.

 

My opinion is stay out of Suds.  Don't wreck your machine.

I found after living for 12 years on the trail in Sudbury grooming was poor most of the time. You had to plan your day based on where they may have groomed at any given time, and the entire system would never be groomed at any given time, ever. this is due to the association controlling where and when groomers go out, and not individual clubs. When you have this type of system, it would appear that lots of grooming is going on, but in reality some areas are ignored for weeks at a time. The good news is the spot system is on display so you can chase groomers and find a route to ride that is mostly groomed on any given day. Your rides are planned in the way for the most part when you live there. Now, being in a motel, and wanting to do certain loops, you may be out of luck when it comes to finding groomed trails on the route you want when you want it. years ago, there was a set schedule for each trail to be covered, and that eventually turned into an arbitrary system controlled by one or two people. The grooming got progressively worse during our 12 years of living there. This year it would appear that the groomers are doing the trails never more than once per week and often in certain areas longer than that. The trail east out of the motel you were at has been on the back burner for years now, it is ignored and no matter what the club has said, it just falls on deaf ears. Like I said, if you can ride any day and have that flexibility, you can always ride groomed trails, if you are forced to ride and waqnt to see an area of your choice, you may be on some pretty brutal trails.

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Hi.. thanks for the responses but I don't think I was clear.. I'm only planning a day trip to run the trails between Stonecliff and Deux Riviere or may keep venturing up to Mattawa and back (although they are listed yellow there). I'm not venturing as far as Sudbury or anything. I was using Sudbury as an example of how they trails are showing green but hear that they are actually quite icy and hard.. 

 

Was hoping had actually ridden that section and could provide insight.

 

Thanks!

Paul.

2018-02-23 15_23_22-OFSC - Public App.jpg

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Paul.. you are good to go in the section of map you have shown.... Deux-R  to Rolphton. 

 

The side trails ( 195, 197, 193 )  south towards the Park are all logging roads.. groomed to perfection as there no salt roads to deal with.  The 13x series closer to Deep River is also top shelf. 

 

There is a short power line section near Rolphton that suffers for snow due to sun exposure.. only a few KMs 

 

Lots of park n ride options from Stonecliffe east.. turn on the feature on the OFSC ITG to see them.  Gas in Stonecliffe/general store, and food/gas in Rolphton... that is all. 

 

If you are new to this area... you will be very impressed! 

 

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I changed my Sunday morning plans to Saturday afternoon plans based on the forecast.  Man those are nice trails... wide and big hills... not like my local trails that's for sure.  Saw lots of sledders but didn't feel like I was in a parking lot or anything so that was nice.

 

The trails are very hard packed though and icy.. you can tell it's been rained on . I think that helped keep them nice and smooth as they weren't beat up at all. 

There is a section of the 195 and the A leading back to Stonecliff that was an active logging road.. so very little snow and one area was essentially dirt for a bit.. 

 

I was second-guessing myself on the drive up but once I got riding, all doubts were removed.  I definitely have to plan more day trips next season! 

 

So I essentially drove about 5 hours total there and back, to sled for about 2.5 hours (I didn't stop to eat or anything...  didn't want to get home too late)...  does that make me crazy? 

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Glad you got out, Paul. This morning's weather would have been a nasty experience.

Looking forward to riding Missing Link with you as soon as possible!

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2 hours ago, manotickmike said:

Glad you got out, Paul. This morning's weather would have been a nasty experience.

Looking forward to riding Missing Link with you as soon as possible!

Hi Mike... I'm glad you convinced to head out yesterday..  it certainly wouldn't have been nice out there this morning.. and then driving back in this miserable stuff we're getting! 

I wonder how long their trails will last?  Getting warm weather there for the next 4-5 days but then dropping again... so how knows?  Maybe we'll get out yet!

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3 hours ago, paulslund said:

Hi Mike... I'm glad you convinced to head out yesterday..  it certainly wouldn't have been nice out there this morning.. and then driving back in this miserable stuff we're getting! 

I wonder how long their trails will last?  Getting warm weather there for the next 4-5 days but then dropping again... so how knows?  Maybe we'll get out yet!

I am trailering there on Tuesday, hoping they are still good.

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7 hours ago, zoso said:

I am trailering there on Tuesday, hoping they are still good.

Cool.  Let us know how they are! 

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Lets hope that the Missing Link trails survive the warm weather and remain open through next weekend.  They have a Poker Run scheduled...the "Bowtie Classic".

 

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9 hours ago, jeffgrah said:

If you like the Stonecliffe trails try Swisha to Val Dor did that in six hours yesterday return trip trails were 10/10 and powder.

You mean 6 hours one way?  That’s a 300 km trip.

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Yes returned from Val Dor to Swisha in 6 hours on powder trails, lots of snow through the park. Will be riding there on Friday than the Missing Link rally on Saturday going to be a great weekend for sledding.

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5 hours ago, jeffgrah said:

Mileage is 180K from Swisha to Pavilion La Verendrye and 220 to Val Dor so one way its 400K.

Are there some food/gas stops along the way from Swisha to Pavillion La verendrye? Nothing coming up foe me on the  Quebec interactive map. Thinking of doing this run. Are they big fast trails?

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Pavillon La verendrye  is a outfitter.. food/gas/and nice new rooms.  Nothing but bush in-between it and Swisha.     They have a website and FB. Two couples run it.. very friendly and a great setup.    I am booked to head there again March 10.  It was 100 miles on my Poo odometer and 97 miles on my buddies Poo, from Swisha to Pavillion a month back.  

 

You can hold the speed limit of 70 km/h for a long ways ... yes the trails are open, but not dead flat like northern ON.. but more fun IMO rolling up and down. 

 

Jeff.. 6 hours  to Val D'or does not leave much time for socializing.. more like Iditarod  racing 

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2 hours ago, largedaryl said:

Pavillon La verendrye  is a outfitter.. food/gas/and nice new rooms.  Nothing but bush in-between it and Swisha.     They have a website and FB. Two couples run it.. very friendly and a great setup.    I am booked to head there again March 10.  It was 100 miles on my Poo odometer and 97 miles on my buddies Poo, from Swisha to Pavillion a month back.  

 

You can hold the speed limit of 70 km/h for a long ways ... yes the trails are open, but not dead flat like northern ON.. but more fun IMO rolling up and down. 

 

Jeff.. 6 hours  to Val D'or does not leave much time for socializing.. more like Iditarod  racing 

Thanks for the info large

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It was Sunday and we had to drive home from Swisha so only a few stops along the way. Its a fast trail as you know and not a bump to be had its truly unbelievable how good that trip can be.

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We rode Stonecliff and area on wed and thurs. It was unbelievable, best riding this season. The A trail was perfect from Deep river all the way to Deux Rivieres. All the local loops by Missing Link and NRSA clubs were super as well. Better get up there before its too late!

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11 hours ago, snapper18 said:

We rode Stonecliff and area on wed and thurs. It was unbelievable, best riding this season. The A trail was perfect from Deep river all the way to Deux Rivieres. All the local loops by Missing Link and NRSA clubs were super as well. Better get up there before its too late!

did you also do the 197 trail? how was it?   was going to head to New Liskeard for a a few hundred km final ride sunday to tuesday.....my bro lives in Chalk River...would go to Stonecliff instead if it is good

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On 2/25/2018 at 7:59 AM, paulslund said:

I changed my Sunday morning plans to Saturday afternoon plans based on the forecast.  Man those are nice trails... wide and big hills... not like my local trails that's for sure.  Saw lots of sledders but didn't feel like I was in a parking lot or anything so that was nice.

 

The trails are very hard packed though and icy.. you can tell it's been rained on . I think that helped keep them nice and smooth as they weren't beat 

 

So I essentially drove about 5 hours total there and back, to sled for about 2.5 hours 

 

Our ratio is off this crazy winter winter as well. Definitely not 1:1 

 

 

 

 

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