Racewife79 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 We're heading to Chapleau tomorrow from Timmins, spending the night at Valentines. Friday heading back to Wawa. We are considering taking the wilderness trail over to D so we can stop in Halfway for lunch and fuel. Anyone taken the wilderness recently? Wondering about it's condition. Or would we be better of heading up the F to Missanabee? Thanks for everyone's input on the forum! It's been valuable on this trip. I'll recap it when we get back. I think we're pushing 700 miles since Monday, everything has been fantastic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 We're heading to Chapleau tomorrow from Timmins, spending the night at Valentines. Love to hear about that ride. Sledding out of Timmins this weekend, and wondering how the trail is heading west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcerget1 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I was wondering if Pinnell lake road or Toll creek road is plowed on the wilderness trail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC+YA Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I was wondering if Pinnell lake road or Toll creek road is plowed on the wilderness trail? I have ridden both sides over the last few weeks. Twice on Toll Creek (North side) and once on Sheppard-Morse Rd = Pinnel Lake Rd. (South side). Then have ridden around the hoop to "D" trail on Toll Creek and the Wilderness trail now brushed and marked clearly last year as Temporary "F" trail. Both north and south roads have been plowed over the season, but both still had plenty of snow to ride. Last Sunday we took Toll creek all the way to the "D" trail. They have brought a road grader way down Toll Creek Rd. and started plowing it open for about 10 miles south of the Wilderness Trail cut off, so I am sure they are going to start logging in there. I would say take the south route and then finish with the Wilderness Trail to "D" trail so you don't meet any big equipment. Note that they have been logging on the south road all season, so watch for trucks there also. When you first cross over Hwy 129 and come to the "Y" sign, look at the roads to see which is being used more. That is how I usually do it. When you get by the logging on the south route, it has not been plowed the rest of the way past Pinnel Lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racewife79 Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Had a good ride on the wilderness trail yesterday. Being novices and leaving out of Chapleau, we had a little confusion finding the Y off of 129. Ended up down the closed section of F trail for a bit before turning around, live and learn! Once we found the Y, we went the north route. Approximately 17 miles of plowed road, but enough snow and soft shoulder to keep sled and hyrax cool. The rest of the way to the four corners had only one lane plowed, the other side was powder. When we got to the four corners, we hung a right instead of taking Toll Creek which was also plowed. We had fresh powder all of the way to the D trail!! Loved it! The only other tracks we saw were animal tracks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC+YA Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Had a good ride on the wilderness trail yesterday. Being novices and leaving out of Chapleau, we had a little confusion finding the Y off of 129. Ended up down the closed section of F trail for a bit before turning around, live and learn! Once we found the Y, we went the north route. Approximately 17 miles of plowed road, but enough snow and soft shoulder to keep sled and hyrax cool. The rest of the way to the four corners had only one lane plowed, the other side was powder. When we got to the four corners, we hung a right instead of taking Toll Creek which was also plowed. We had fresh powder all of the way to the D trail!! Loved it! The only other tracks we saw were animal tracks... That first turn off the F south to head west to Halfway is the trick. There is a small white & red "1/2WAY" sign there at the turnoff. The logging company with the orange building has plowed the cut through and again the cut to Hwy 129. Then right across Hwy 129 and you are on the way to the "Y" sign. Glad you found your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racewife79 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Oops! Sorry about the multiple replies above. Anyway, yes we did notice the little 1/2 Way sign but didn't connect-the-dots with the driveway to the business at first. Of course, once we decided to try the driveway, it all made sense. Thanks again for your feedback, very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Reg Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Oops! Sorry about the multiple replies above. Anyway, yes we did notice the little 1/2 Way sign but didn't connect-the-dots with the driveway to the business at first. Of course, once we decided to try the driveway, it all made sense. Thanks again for your feedback, very helpful! Hi Racewife79, I did fix your multiplie replies. I'm glad you had a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowTouringGuy Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks for the trip report. I've seen others mention the wilderness trail as well but have never ridden on it. What was the distance from Chapleau to Halfway Haven ? How long did it take you ? And Welcome to the Forum !! Hope you enjoy yourself here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC+YA Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks for the trip report. I've seen others mention the wilderness trail as well but have never ridden on it. What was the distance from Chapleau to Halfway Haven ? How long did it take you ? And Welcome to the Forum !! Hope you enjoy yourself here. Distance is about 62 miles using Toll Creek Rd. (35 miles from the Esso using Toll Creek to the intersection with the "F" (wilderness trail). Then 18 miles west on the wilderness trail to the intersection of the "D" trail. Then north on the "D" for 9 miles to Halfway Haven.) There are multiple ways including the trail set up and marked as "F" trail when it was the temp. "F" from last year which adds about 25 miles by swinging way south before connecting to the "F" Trail 20 miles south of Chapleau which is in the closed section running down toward Flame Lake. I ran it a few weeks ago and it was not too bad, but much longer and still used about 10 miles of Pinnel Lake Rd. The shortest way takes 1.5 hours since most of it is very fast when the road has good snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowTouringGuy Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Distance is about 62 miles using Toll Creek Rd. (35 miles from the Esso using Toll Creek to the intersection with the "F" (wilderness trail). Then 18 miles west on the wilderness trail to the intersection of the "D" trail. Then north on the "D" for 9 miles to Halfway Haven.) There are multiple ways including the trail set up and marked as "F" trail when it was the temp. "F" from last year which adds about 25 miles by swinging way south before connecting to the "F" Trail 20 miles south of Chapleau which is in the closed section running down toward Flame Lake. I ran it a few weeks ago and it was not too bad, but much longer and still used about 10 miles of Pinnel Lake Rd. The shortest way takes 1.5 hours since most of it is very fast when the road has good snow. Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
700renegade Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 AC+YA, what do you think the chances are either route is still OK this saturday? I'm starting a week long trip from Searchmont that morning and will cut straight thru to Chapleau ( won't need fuel at 1/2way ). I realize a lot can change between now and then. I want to knock out the part of the trip to Timmins right away Saturday, as the trails from there around to Hearst and Longlac should hold up better. Hopefully we'll be able to make it back to Searchmont on the 24th or so. (train out of Hawk Jct is fallback). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC+YA Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 AC+YA, what do you think the chances are either route is still OK this saturday? I'm starting a week long trip from Searchmont that morning and will cut straight thru to Chapleau ( won't need fuel at 1/2way ). I realize a lot can change between now and then. I want to knock out the part of the trip to Timmins right away Saturday, as the trails from there around to Hearst and Longlac should hold up better. Hopefully we'll be able to make it back to Searchmont on the 24th or so. (train out of Hawk Jct is fallback). That is what I do also. This time of year it is good to start at the Driftwood to be as close to the trail as possible. I would turn off the "D" at Toll Creek Rd. intersection. It is just after that real fast stretch along the hydro lines. There is a "STOP" sign at the intersection. Just turn right and go all the way to Hwy. 129. I think it is still good to ride as it had plenty of untouched snow to ride all the way. Watch for equipment since they started to work in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I would turn off the "D" at Toll Creek Rd. intersection. It is just after that real fast stretch along the hydro lines. Define Toll Creek Road? I have only ever heard that term on here. Is it labeled? Is this the new rd just S of the Cow River crossing? If so - then it is near the end of the fast/hydro section. Not real "just after". ??? If your talking about the traditional Wilderness Trail rd, that is another 15+ klicks through the bush before that intersection. No idea what they call that rd either. We always just called it Chap or Pineal Lake Turn-off Rd. I have never been down the new rd near the Cow, but I ass_u_me that it heads towards Pineal Lake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC+YA Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Define Toll Creek Road? I have only ever heard that term on here. Is it labeled? Is this the new rd just S of the Cow River crossing? If so - then it is near the end of the fast/hydro section. Not real "just after". ??? If your talking about the traditional Wilderness Trail rd, that is another 15+ klicks through the bush before that intersection. No idea what they call that rd either. We always just called it Chap or Pineal Lake Turn-off Rd. I have never been down the new rd near the Cow, but I ass_u_me that it heads towards Pineal Lake? The intersection has Stop signs and was used to haul logs to Chapleau about 5 seasons ago. Toll Creek itself is labeled with a green sign and just after the hydro road section. Just after going over the Creek is the intersection. That is just an extension of the road that goes around the loop to the north side rather than the south loop Pinell Lake Rd. The intersection of Toll Creek and "D" Trail is about 75 miles from Searchmont and about 20 miles south of Halfway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
700renegade Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I finally figured this out..... My wilderness maps ( Bulley Lake 41-O/5 )don't show the new "Toll Creek Road" because it is - well - new! Looking at a new air photo of the area on Bing maps birdseye view I can see the new road cut across the hydro line, and yes it is immediately north of Toll Creek. It goes mostly easterly for about 8 miles ( a guess ) and then turns north between Short Lake and Farewell Lake. It then runs about straight north on the existing mapped road (next to Summit Creek) and hooks into the intersection where Island Lake Rd goes north and Pineal Lake goes east. If you have map 41-O/12, it looks like they turned the road to hook in west of Corrigan Lake now, rather than heading past Keam Lake towards Pineal as mapped. From there on, it's the same two road choices as always into Chap. PM me if you need a scan of the maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 The intersection has Stop signs and was used to haul logs to Chapleau about 5 seasons ago. Toll Creek itself is labeled with a green sign and just after the hydro road section. Just after going over the Creek is the intersection. That is just an extension of the road that goes around the loop to the north side rather than the south loop Pinell Lake Rd. The intersection of Toll Creek and "D" Trail is about 75 miles from Searchmont and about 20 miles south of Halfway. GOTCHA! I completely forgot about that rd/intersection! Then - doo you know where the one just S of the Cow goes to? Or maybe where it comes from is more appropriate? It doesn't bugger off that way? Maybe it hooks around and back into Ranger N? Possibly intersecting with a rd that buggers off from down around Fife Lake? AFAIK that's a dead end? But I never went down it. ??? Pretty sure there aint no hydro line down there, so not much of interest for an Ox... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmxrdr Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 AC+YA, what do you think the chances are either route is still OK this saturday? I'm starting a week long trip from Searchmont that morning and will cut straight thru to Chapleau ( won't need fuel at 1/2way ). I realize a lot can change between now and then. I want to knock out the part of the trip to Timmins right away Saturday, as the trails from there around to Hearst and Longlac should hold up better. Hopefully we'll be able to make it back to Searchmont on the 24th or so. (train out of Hawk Jct is fallback). we rode from folyet to halfway the 15th and down to soo next day. there wasnt an abundance of snow east of chapleau so i dont know how that would have held up last two days by the time we got to soo from searchmont i am sure we are the last group going south of searchmont. The road section of wilderness trail we used because we didnt know any other way was already a mess on the 15th. Only one of our group had scratchers for the mornings and we were having slider issues with renegade XP nytro xtx and a nytro rtx with a 1.75 backcountry on it so if they dont get new snow the cold nights and warm days +5C AT halfway are going to be an issue. That being said we had an awsome ride up thru wawa hearst kap down to chapleau. Young fellow with us wrecked 600XP in a pit outside chapleau and we had it towed down to thessalon so his trip was shortened up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
700renegade Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Just spoke to Steve at halfway this afternoon, everything south of them is really bad, and roads running to Chapleau are toast. Bottom line - don't go there unless it snows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racewife79 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hi Racewife79, I did fix your multiplie replies. I'm glad you had a good time. Thank you Big Reg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racewife79 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Thanks for the trip report. I've seen others mention the wilderness trail as well but have never ridden on it. What was the distance from Chapleau to Halfway Haven ? How long did it take you ? And Welcome to the Forum !! Hope you enjoy yourself here. Thanks STG! I have a hand drawn map from Ross at Valentine Farms. Not to scale, but it was very handy. I believe he got it from Steve at Halfway last season. I'll scan it and post it this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowTouringGuy Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thanks STG! I have a hand drawn map from Ross at Valentine Farms. Not to scale, but it was very handy. I believe he got it from Steve at Halfway last season. I'll scan it and post it this weekend. Terrific ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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