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Riding North out of Searchmont without Halfway


AC+YA

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1 hour ago, Rich Saul said:

We will be coming from thunder bay  area.

 

See if you can get a room at the Relais Magpie, in Dub. they may be full with the mine people, and march break. you may have to stay in wawa. Ski

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25 minutes ago, skidooboy said:

See if you can get a room at the Relais Magpie, in Dub. they may be full with the mine people, and march break. you may have to stay in wawa. Ski

Good point about the rooms.   Just talked about it at breakfast..

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To better clear up the distance between points along a ride from Searchmont up to Dubreuilville I am going to post some more distances.  If you open the ITG Map posted by the OFSC you can touch all segments of the official trails and add them together to get very accurate distances. 
I used the free Polaris app on my phone to monitor distances which proved to me that the ITG is good to use.

My start from Searchmont was at the Driftwood Valley Lodge. 
D Trail north to split at the D201F Trail to Black creek  30 miles 

D Trail to split @ C101D to Chapleau  31 miles 

D Trail to Halfway  21 miles 

D Trail to split @ Wawa5 Trail  56 miles 

Wawa5 Trail to split @ D Trail  9 miles 

D Trail back towards Wawa to split @ Wawa7 Trail  2 miles 

Wawa7 Trail (continue past split @ Wawa6 Trail) to Dub5 Trail at Magpie River  6 miles 

Dub5 Trail on Magpie River to D Trail  19 miles 

D Trail to Dubreuilville via Green Lake 8 miles 


Just over 180 miles from Searchmont to Dub using OFSC Trails. 
 

Using the same route to Wawa Motor Inn or gas without scraping all around the city trails just stay on Wawa7 towards Wawa Lake and then across the lake to Wawa.  This minimizes the street running.  Just turn into the trail past the school and then turn right.  It dumps you out at the Motor Inn.  Part way through cut out at Wawa Retal and circle through to the Petrocan station for fuel.  
 

The total distance to Wawa gas is about 140 miles from Searchmont by these trails using Wawa Lake. 
 

We carry the LINQ 4 gallon extra can on our Doo’s which are 4-stroke Turbo Sleds plus we have and additional 2 gallons in our saddle bags for safety.  Our 800 Cat only carries 3 gallons extra because the tank is much bigger. 
 

You need to know your sled and carry what gives you a safety margin.  Do not plan on this if a blizzard is forecast.  Watch the ITG for conditions of the trail.   Spring time conditions are coming into play around towns, but that is just part of riding in warmer conditions. 
 

We plan to ride out of the Driftwood in Searchmont this coming Thursday March 16 mid-afternoon.  Running up to Chapleau to start a loop around the top. 


Searchmont to Chapleau   Thursday 

Chapleau to Cochrane        Friday 

Cochrane to Hearst.            Saturday 

Hearst to Dubreuilville         Sunday 

Dubreuilville to Chapleau    Monday 

Chapleau to Searchmont    Tuesday 
 

 

 

 

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Thanks for the updates on your routes. It has been so long, since we have been south of Hawk, I forgot about the firesands trail, and linking back to hawk, wawa, magpie that way. I really miss the Surluga road trail, that was one of the trails I remember the most when we rode wawa a lot. Starting to feel human again Scott. we will be up but, I think by the time you get to Dub, we will be on our way back to Michigan. sorry we will miss one another again. I might take the group down the F trail, to dog lake, then to Manitouwik, and to hawk, then back the D trail, or magpie. havent been on the lake loop in years. beautiful scenery thataway. enjoy your trip! Ski

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On 3/11/2023 at 1:02 PM, Ox said:

 

 

Is there someone living at Halfway for the winter?

I see two vehickles that I'm purty sure weren't there in October.

 

???


I don’t think so, but saw many tracks into a cottage closest to the generator garage.  The vehicles have been there for a long time.  Saw another pickup stranded next to the trail/road heading up the power lines north of Halfway.  
Only the sled trail leads to and from Halfway.  The road leading to Hwy101 was pure and not touched. 

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On 3/11/2023 at 3:08 PM, skidooboy said:

And I was told the loggers are chewing up mile road out side of Dubreuilville, heading to the West, toward White River. you would have to run approx 4-5 miles of plowed, sanded, dirt road, that the log haulers do not want us on now. this all took place, YESTERDAY. only way to make it to white river, Manitouwadge, or Marathon would be to start at Hammer lake,  (fishing moose lodge), or drive and start to white river. no bypass to road 12. just a heads up. Ski


There are 4 wet spots past Hammer Lake going towards White River.  Only some good cold temps will fix them. One was a pretty big one.  The guys I talked with last Monday had gone to White River last Sunday.  I always research the water issues on that part of the trail before heading west since the last time I went to Marathon.  The water issues need to be fixed in a way to hold the trail all season or the trail will continue to be hit or miss.  Too bad because Marathon guys work hard to connect it every season.  It was groomed back in January and it looked good from the road as I trailered to Hearst, but the water issue kept it from opening.  That was before Hornepayne opened trails. 

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they fixed the big wet spot with 3 culverts about a mile east of Hammer lake, a few weeks ago. we were there the day they received the groomer, and were going to fix it. we went up, to hunt for a bypass around it. I made the bypass, then the groomer fixed the washout. then the next 2 days, they made two grooming runs between snows (4 total passes), making the trail great from Dub to Hammer lake. now, the loggers want to haul on the road, and that kills that trail. I am really bummed for Jeremy and Cynthia at Fishing Moose Lodge on Hammer lake. they have not been able to open since before covid. imagine trying to make it in business, losing 5 or 6 months of business. Ski

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1 hour ago, skidooboy said:

they fixed the big wet spot with 3 culverts about a mile east of Hammer lake, a few weeks ago. we were there the day they received the groomer, and were going to fix it. we went up, to hunt for a bypass around it. I made the bypass, then the groomer fixed the washout. then the next 2 days, they made two grooming runs between snows (4 total passes), making the trail great from Dub to Hammer lake. now, the loggers want to haul on the road, and that kills that trail. I am really bummed for Jeremy and Cynthia at Fishing Moose Lodge on Hammer lake. they have not been able to open since before covid. imagine trying to make it in business, losing 5 or 6 months of business. Ski

Fishing Moose Lodge has a picture of you and your wife on their website. I just googled the lodge to find out more information about their accommodations. 

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8 hours ago, AC+YA said:

To better clear up the distance between points along a ride from Searchmont up to Dubreuilville I am going to post some more distances.  If you open the ITG Map posted by the OFSC you can touch all segments of the official trails and add them together to get very accurate distances. 
I used the free Polaris app on my phone to monitor distances which proved to me that the ITG is good to use.

My start from Searchmont was at the Driftwood Valley Lodge. 
D Trail north to split at the D201F Trail to Black creek  30 miles 

D Trail to split @ C101D to Chapleau  31 miles 

D Trail to Halfway  21 miles 

D Trail to split @ Wawa5 Trail  56 miles 

Wawa5 Trail to split @ D Trail  9 miles 

D Trail back towards Wawa to split @ Wawa7 Trail  2 miles 

Wawa7 Trail (continue past split @ Wawa6 Trail) to Dub5 Trail at Magpie River  6 miles 

Dub5 Trail on Magpie River to D Trail  19 miles 

D Trail to Dubreuilville via Green Lake 8 miles 


Just over 180 miles from Searchmont to Dub using OFSC Trails. 
 

Using the same route to Wawa Motor Inn or gas without scraping all around the city trails just stay on Wawa7 towards Wawa Lake and then across the lake to Wawa.  This minimizes the street running.  Just turn into the trail past the school and then turn right.  It dumps you out at the Motor Inn.  Part way through cut out at Wawa Retal and circle through to the Petrocan station for fuel.  
 

The total distance to Wawa gas is about 140 miles from Searchmont by these trails using Wawa Lake. 
 

We carry the LINQ 4 gallon extra can on our Doo’s which are 4-stroke Turbo Sleds plus we have and additional 2 gallons in our saddle bags for safety.  Our 800 Cat only carries 3 gallons extra because the tank is much bigger. 
 

You need to know your sled and carry what gives you a safety margin.  Do not plan on this if a blizzard is forecast.  Watch the ITG for conditions of the trail.   Spring time conditions are coming into play around towns, but that is just part of riding in warmer conditions. 
 

We plan to ride out of the Driftwood in Searchmont this coming Thursday March 16 mid-afternoon.  Running up to Chapleau to start a loop around the top. 


Searchmont to Chapleau   Thursday 

Chapleau to Cochrane        Friday 

Cochrane to Hearst.            Saturday 

Hearst to Dubreuilville         Sunday 

Dubreuilville to Chapleau    Monday 

Chapleau to Searchmont    Tuesday 
 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for the details. Did you run the 180 miles from Searchmont to Dub on the cat 800 with only the 3 extra gallons?

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9 hours ago, AC+YA said:

To better clear up the distance between points along a ride from Searchmont up to Dubreuilville I am going to post some more distances.  If you open the ITG Map posted by the OFSC you can touch all segments of the official trails and add them together to get very accurate distances. 
I used the free Polaris app on my phone to monitor distances which proved to me that the ITG is good to use.

My start from Searchmont was at the Driftwood Valley Lodge. 
D Trail north to split at the D201F Trail to Black creek  30 miles 

D Trail to split @ C101D to Chapleau  31 miles 

D Trail to Halfway  21 miles 

D Trail to split @ Wawa5 Trail  56 miles 

Wawa5 Trail to split @ D Trail  9 miles 

D Trail back towards Wawa to split @ Wawa7 Trail  2 miles 

Wawa7 Trail (continue past split @ Wawa6 Trail) to Dub5 Trail at Magpie River  6 miles 

Dub5 Trail on Magpie River to D Trail  19 miles 

D Trail to Dubreuilville via Green Lake 8 miles 


Just over 180 miles from Searchmont to Dub using OFSC Trails. 
 

Using the same route to Wawa Motor Inn or gas without scraping all around the city trails just stay on Wawa7 towards Wawa Lake and then across the lake to Wawa.  This minimizes the street running.  Just turn into the trail past the school and then turn right.  It dumps you out at the Motor Inn.  Part way through cut out at Wawa Retal and circle through to the Petrocan station for fuel.  
 

The total distance to Wawa gas is about 140 miles from Searchmont by these trails using Wawa Lake. 
 

We carry the LINQ 4 gallon extra can on our Doo’s which are 4-stroke Turbo Sleds plus we have and additional 2 gallons in our saddle bags for safety.  Our 800 Cat only carries 3 gallons extra because the tank is much bigger. 
 

You need to know your sled and carry what gives you a safety margin.  Do not plan on this if a blizzard is forecast.  Watch the ITG for conditions of the trail.   Spring time conditions are coming into play around towns, but that is just part of riding in warmer conditions. 
 

We plan to ride out of the Driftwood in Searchmont this coming Thursday March 16 mid-afternoon.  Running up to Chapleau to start a loop around the top. 


Searchmont to Chapleau   Thursday 

Chapleau to Cochrane        Friday 

Cochrane to Hearst.            Saturday 

Hearst to Dubreuilville         Sunday 

Dubreuilville to Chapleau    Monday 

Chapleau to Searchmont    Tuesday 
 

 

 

 

From the OFSC online map, I got 153 miles going from Driftwood to Wawa using Wawa Lake, or 150 running D into Wawa. Sounds like we'd better off going into town off the lake?

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big snow forecast on Friday, in the Algoma region. be safe! https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/weather/ontario/wawa

 

Ski

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12 hours ago, skidooboy said:

Thanks for the updates on your routes. It has been so long, since we have been south of Hawk, I forgot about the firesands trail, and linking back to hawk, wawa, magpie that way. I really miss the Surluga road trail, that was one of the trails I remember the most when we rode wawa a lot. Starting to feel human again Scott. we will be up but, I think by the time you get to Dub, we will be on our way back to Michigan. sorry we will miss one another again. I might take the group down the F trail, to dog lake, then to Manitouwik, and to hawk, then back the D trail, or magpie. havent been on the lake loop in years. beautiful scenery thataway. enjoy your trip! Ski

That is a cool ride. I was on Dog several yrs ago w my son doing the big loop…When it went across Dog to Chapleau. Went south on Dog and could not find trail to Manitouwik. On last day of loop went east of Hawk onto Manitouwik and met a local fishing out at far end said trail across to Dog hasn’t been cut through for few yrs. I know you know that area. I would love to get back and spend a week just exploring. Beautiful area w lots of off trail adventures. 

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6 hours ago, J Feces said:

That is a cool ride. I was on Dog several yrs ago w my son doing the big loop…When it went across Dog to Chapleau. Went south on Dog and could not find trail to Manitouwik. On last day of loop went east of Hawk onto Manitouwik and met a local fishing out at far end said trail across to Dog hasn’t been cut through for few yrs. I know you know that area. I would love to get back and spend a week just exploring. Beautiful area w lots of off trail adventures. 

 

That's a good ride through there!

 

 

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16 hours ago, AC+YA said:


I don’t think so, but saw many tracks into a cottage closest to the generator garage.  The vehicles have been there for a long time.  Saw another pickup stranded next to the trail/road heading up the power lines north of Halfway.  
Only the sled trail leads to and from Halfway.  The road leading to Hwy101 was pure and not touched. 

 

 

Well, I hear that they had troubles with a squatter a cpl years ago...

(other than the bear)

 

 

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9 hours ago, J Feces said:

That is a cool ride. I was on Dog several yrs ago w my son doing the big loop…When it went across Dog to Chapleau. Went south on Dog and could not find trail to Manitouwik. On last day of loop went east of Hawk onto Manitouwik and met a local fishing out at far end said trail across to Dog hasn’t been cut through for few yrs. I know you know that area. I would love to get back and spend a week just exploring. Beautiful area w lots of off trail adventures. 

 

I have the gps coords for the inlet, and outlet on the portage between the 2 lakes. It is very difficult, from the Dog Lake side to find it, if you dont have tracks going to it, or have the gps coords. they used to stake it (DOG, to the portage) years ago. that lake is nothing but, big endless bays, very easy to get turned around. add some wind, and driven snow and fugetaboutit! Manitouwik side is easy... just keep heading north til the lake ends, and find the portage. but, as you say, if it isnt trimmed or open, it is 1-2 klicks of thick bush. 

 

 

we have had to cut it open before but, I would bet many locals utilize this yearly. so, if you didnt go early season (like we did when we had to open it), that portage would be trimmed as a single track portage, just about every year. Ski. 

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2 hours ago, Ox said:

 

That's a good ride through there!

 

 

 

If you take the park road out of dub 30k, you can get on Wabatongushi, then dog, then manitowik, then hawk, then wawa lakes, riding water almost the whole way. you can start even further north and come accross oba lake too. there is a heritage trapper trail route from Hearst, to wawa via the river, and those lakes. so remote, and so beautiful. one day, I will learn it all. with help, or not. Ski

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... one day ....

 

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3 hours ago, skidooboy said:

 

If you take the park road out of dub 30k, you can get on Wabatongushi, then dog, then manitowik, then hawk, then wawa lakes, riding water almost the whole way. you can start even further north and come accross oba lake too. there is a heritage trapper trail route from Hearst, to wawa via the river, and those lakes. so remote, and so beautiful. one day, I will learn it all. with help, or not. Ski

 

I have a pc of alum broke up, but not taken time to doo anything with it yet (like my LH throttle....) that should be able to mount up to 4 fiver's on the sled.

I have a sleigh, but towing sucks!

 

Waiting for that big economy crash that they have been promising....

Maybe then I can have time to ride?

Currently more back-log than ever!

 

I wouldn't have wanted to make that run this year anyhow.

Way more open water and slush than normal this year for sure.

 

.

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need a sleigh like Mylene from Follow her North utilizes, for fuel. bring one workhorse sled, and a sleigh, everyone take turns driving it throughout the trip. give up your sled with no extra weight, for a run on the sleigh sled, for a section, then back on your sled, and someone else takes the sleigh. or take someone who doesnt mind, driving the exxon valdez, and let them drive that for the trip. Ski

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3 hours ago, Ox said:

 

I have a pc of alum broke up, but not taken time to doo anything with it yet (like my LH throttle....) that should be able to mount up to 4 fiver's on the sled.

I have a sleigh, but towing sucks!

 

Waiting for that big economy crash that they have been promising....

Maybe then I can have time to ride?

Currently more back-log than ever!

 

I wouldn't have wanted to make that run this year anyhow.

Way more open water and slush than normal this year for sure.

 

.

Ox, do you think in 5 years from now, anyone is going to care if you took a weeks holiday? Any of your customers that would begrudge you a holiday may not be worth keeping anyway. JMHO

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I don't think that you want a sleigh on the southern Missinnabi. (I don't!)

I believe that you will be on and off the river way too much for that.

Up and down the banks too often.

You really wouldn't git that so much north of 11. Lot fewer rapids.

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too many roads, trails in there to just use the Missinnabi. hence the workhorse and sleigh idea. Ski

 

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On 3/11/2023 at 3:08 PM, skidooboy said:

And I was told the loggers are chewing up mile road out side of Dubreuilville, heading to the West, toward White River. you would have to run approx 4-5 miles of plowed, sanded, dirt road, that the log haulers do not want us on now. this all took place, YESTERDAY. only way to make it to white river, Manitouwadge, or Marathon would be to start at Hammer lake,  (fishing moose lodge), or drive and start to white river. no bypass to road 12. just a heads up. Ski

Looks like this trail is red now - I assume because of this.

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That would be part of it, for sure. you will have to run close to 5 miles of plowed sanded logging road to get between the 2 sled trails. The loggers do not want us on that road at all. if, you try it stay to the far right of the road, mind your manners, and call Jeremy at the Fishing Moose way prior to you going. They are not open for service, due to all of this. they are not prepared for guests, for food or drink. Then you need to worry about, due to the warm ups, has the 4 holes opened up between Hammer lake, and White River, that @AC+YAdescribes above. with another warm up tomorrow, and Thursday, with a big dump of snow Friday. and understand, I think the last time the Hammer Rd 12 trail to White river was groomed, would have been valentine's day week. have you decided where you are starting, or staying at yet? Ski

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