How long will the Northern Corridor last?

[lillabellelodge]

The forecast could change but right now it says we will be on the plus side for 4 days starting Sunday. Not really a very good sign.

[Lep]

The forecast could change but right now it says we will be on the plus side for 4 days starting Sunday. Not really a very good sign.

Keep the update's comming.....will see u next week either way.....

[cookster]

cochrane bound sat morning (cottage is calling) for a week, hope weather coperates for all the riders out there. be safe

[Proxrider]

Looks like the mid March ride from KL to Kap could be in jeopardy this year. Can the trails hold up to next weeks forecast?

[lillabellelodge]

If the environment canada weather forecast is right plus 12&13 with sunshine and rain thrown in here and there probably won't be too good. Your best bet would be to call ahead to some of the areas you plan to visit and inquire about the conditions.

[Pappy]

I just got back yesterday from up there. We stayed at Lillabelle's Wed night after the huge warmup. The snow was melting as fast as I have ever seen. We got lucky when we woke up yesterday morning because there was cold temps and enough snow for lubrication for our ride back to Elk Lake. Everything was very hard and there were a few washouts that had to be avoided. When we got to Sesekinika Lake on the A trail it was deep slush the entire length. The six of us took off accross it and I was very relieved to see my wife right behind me the whole way with no issues. I couldn't imagine trying to get any of us out of that slush had we got stuck. We had the same issue when we hit Elk Lake, just hammer down till you reach the other side. Not too many wives would do what mine does but not much scares her when it comes to snowmobiling. I would say the north trails will be toast if the forecast stays the same. Its too bad because when we started our trip last Sunday the conditions were amazing.

[Ox]

We had a few slushy crossings on some swamps last weekend before the warm-up too.

I could feel the back of the sled fall out from under me in some spots (162") but when you looked back it all looked fine.

???

So then I started going slower accrost the swamps and wait untill I feel it, and then give'r, to see what I turn up....

If you watched close you could see a bit of slush in there, but it was mixed with SO MUCH fresh snow that it didn't water-up like we are used to seeing it.

It wasn't all that tight to begin with...

hammer down to the other side

It's known to be a good idea to hit it harder, but NOT hammer down.

You will be less likely to blow a belt if not taped solid to the bars.

(Unless you're just playing in it )

.

[Pappy]

We had a few slushy crossings on some swamps last weekend before the warm-up too.

I could feel the back of the sled fall out from under me in some spots (162") but when you looked back it all looked fine.

???

So then I started going slower accrost the swamps and wait untill I feel it, and then give'r, to see what I turn up....

If you watched close you could see a bit of slush in there, but it was mixed with SO MUCH fresh snow that it didn't water-up like we are used to seeing it.

It wasn't all that tight to begin with...

It's known to be a good idea to hit it harder, but NOT hammer down.

You will be less likely to blow a belt if not taped solid to the bars.

(Unless you're just playing in it )

.

I guess I should have said "keep the speed up" when going through the slush. Your right about not going to the bars on slush. I kept telling my wife to keep her speed up when going through it. We have comunicators and its nice to talk to each other when doing stuff like that. We have gone through slush hundreds of times over the years but we have never experienced slush like this. It was almost like water skipping and there was no solid surface from shore to shore. One of the guys with us damn near crapped his pants!

[cookster]

cochrane not good looking, rained all night and has been very warm. think it is over except for the little local rides.

[sledjunk]

cochrane not good looking, rained all night and has been very warm. think it is over except for the little local rides.

Yuck!

[revrnd]

The Polar Bear Riders out of Cochrane reported on Facebook this afternoon that the Smooth Rock club has closed their trails.

[Rich Saul]

The Polar Bear Riders out of Cochrane reported on Facebook this afternoon that the Smooth Rock club has closed their trails.

Check the map now!!

[revrnd]

At 7 on Facebook, the PBR announced their trails have closed

[Turbo Doo]

^{I definalty think its over guys...}

[Viperules700]

Yeah fat lady farted and warmed the air by 20 degrees. Now it is lingering around. Great lakes will be super warm by July this year.

[revrnd]

Yeah fat lady farted and warmed the air by 20 degrees. Now it is lingering around. Great lakes will be super warm by July this year.

All the people in the GTA that were delighted w/ the warm temps this winter will be peeing & moaning about the heat & humidity this June.

[catinental couch]

And the cottagers will be crying about low water levels.

[cookster]

wow was it hot up north, and i am sun burnt, good last riding thou managed to put on 900km more this trip. and a good day of ice fishing to boot. locals still can ride, as the snow is still there, non maintained back roads and hydro lines and secrete trails. now the wait for snow again :{

[Fred Quimby]

And the cottagers will be crying about low water levels.

The water levels are due to mismanagement of the Trent Severn system..not so much by mother nature. Last Summer the TSW idiots started the annual draw-down in mid June! Many boaters could not launch their boats by August 1st (in the Haliburton area). The fools at the TSW admitted a "flaw" but did nothing to correct it. They do not physically take manual water level readings anymore and rely on sensors and modern technology to send the data to be interpreted. The problem is that the sending units for the data were flawed as was the computer model they used to determine draw down levels. They then send somebody on the small school bus to add or remove stop logs and once again common sense vanishes when performing this task. One would think that they might notice something out of wack when altering stop logs? But no...the kids with the Cooper helmets just did as they were told...remove logs and lower the levels!

[Viperules700]

Alot of jobs have been cut in these area's. There will be water this year, since isn't the pan am kayaking taking place in midland?

[Wildbill]

The water levels are due to mismanagement of the Trent Severn system..not so much by mother nature. Last Summer the TSW idiots started the annual draw-down in mid June! Many boaters could not launch their boats by August 1st (in the Haliburton area). The fools at the TSW admitted a "flaw" but did nothing to correct it. They do not physically take manual water level readings anymore and rely on sensors and modern technology to send the data to be interpreted. The problem is that the sending units for the data were flawed as was the computer model they used to determine draw down levels. They then send somebody on the small school bus to add or remove stop logs and once again common sense vanishes when performing this task. One would think that they might notice something out of wack when altering stop logs? But no...the kids with the Cooper helmets just did as they were told...remove logs and lower the levels!

Up here the TSW has nothing to do with the water levels and even the uncontrolled lakes were low. Georgian bay is too low and we have no control over its level.

[Fred Quimby]

Up here the TSW has nothing to do with the water levels and even the uncontrolled lakes were low. Georgian bay is too low and we have no control over its level.

You are correct as far as your neck of the woods WB, but..over here there was a gross mismanagement of the TSW reservoir lakes last Summer. The TSW needs a major overhaul and proper management by it's own board not Parks Canada who have made a mess out of the whole system. The Trent needs billions of dollars to make it sustainable for the future, a future that may not exist as it is today. Instead of much needed dredging and lock repair and replacement, the short cheap answer is to draw down the reservoir lakes early and allow for more draw down than ever before. This has been the practice since I can recall, yet it got a lot worse last year. In the past decades the water situation was accepted as draw down normally would not be drastic until Thanksgiving or thereabouts. Some Summers due to drought, the draw down happens earlier..or when the freshet is reduced the draw down also occurs earlier, usually in August. This previous Summer the draw down started in late June and created some huge issues. People not being able to get boats off lifts was minor and paled in comparison to those who draw water from lakes for household use (riperian rights). There were some serious navigational hazards also exposed that normally would be of no concern until late in the Fall when most pleasure craft boating has wrapped up. Boat ramps were useless on many area lakes and some marina operators even had issue retrieving boats in the Fall. It was a nighmare! What Parks Canada do not realize is that the draw down has to change. More and more people live here year round and it really is not just a sleepy seasonal Summer area. What used to be cottage country is now home to more and more and the demand for navigable water is higher and higher than ever before. The old draw down needs some major overhauling. Where it used to affect few just ten years ago, now affects thousands and thousands of year round residents.

These fools this past Summer installed solar powered water sensors that in turn fed the Peterborough offices lake water readings. Crews of minions would be sent out to add and most accurately, remove stop logs on manual dams to allow for more water flow. What they did not figure out, was that their sensors were flawed and they were letting out too much water too fast. On Boshkung alone in one week the water dropped over 14" in mid Summer! By the time enough complaints were made and political pundits had their roadside tete a tete's..the damage was done and there was plenty of damage. It was then that Parks Canada admitted a "flaw"? This must have been the same flaw when they drew lakes down a few years ago, and there were some horrendous rains that then flooded Peterborough as the TSW overflowed it's banks and most of Peterborough! They added so much water to the Trent that the influx of rain had nowhere to drain to!

It is no secret that the use of the TSW is in steady decline and has been for years. American money is not coming up here as much and that hurt the system. With the economy in it's state the traffic has been in steady decline for years and years. It is an old dinosaur that needs fixing and likely never will. So the of us who live on reservoir lakes pay the price for this mismanagement and it is devaluing property all over.

[Fred Quimby]

Alot of jobs have been cut in these area's. There will be water this year, since isn't the pan am kayaking taking place in midland?

The games are not till 2015 and the whitewater kayaking is in Minden, not Midland. Close but no cigar!

[Muskoka Man]

we have the MNR jokers looking after the falls in Bala , they rely on the info from Queens park to adjust the logs , again dont think about what your doing just do what we say here in our offices in Toronto and all will be good , WRONG , if they put the proposed hydro dam in Bala the lake levels will go up and down like a wh^#@&se pants

[Wildbill]

You are correct as far as your neck of the woods WB, but..over here there was a gross mismanagement of the TSW reservoir lakes last Summer. The TSW needs a major overhaul and proper management by it's own board not Parks Canada who have made a mess out of the whole system. The Trent needs billions of dollars to make it sustainable for the future, a future that may not exist as it is today. Instead of much needed dredging and lock repair and replacement, the short cheap answer is to draw down the reservoir lakes early and allow for more draw down than ever before. This has been the practice since I can recall, yet it got a lot worse last year. In the past decades the water situation was accepted as draw down normally would not be drastic until Thanksgiving or thereabouts. Some Summers due to drought, the draw down happens earlier..or when the freshet is reduced the draw down also occurs earlier, usually in August. This previous Summer the draw down started in late June and created some huge issues. People not being able to get boats off lifts was minor and paled in comparison to those who draw water from lakes for household use (riperian rights). There were some serious navigational hazards also exposed that normally would be of no concern until late in the Fall when most pleasure craft boating has wrapped up. Boat ramps were useless on many area lakes and some marina operators even had issue retrieving boats in the Fall. It was a nighmare! What Parks Canada do not realize is that the draw down has to change. More and more people live here year round and it really is not just a sleepy seasonal Summer area. What used to be cottage country is now home to more and more and the demand for navigable water is higher and higher than ever before. The old draw down needs some major overhauling. Where it used to affect few just ten years ago, now affects thousands and thousands of year round residents.

These fools this past Summer installed solar powered water sensors that in turn fed the Peterborough offices lake water readings. Crews of minions would be sent out to add and most accurately, remove stop logs on manual dams to allow for more water flow. What they did not figure out, was that their sensors were flawed and they were letting out too much water too fast. On Boshkung alone in one week the water dropped over 14" in mid Summer! By the time enough complaints were made and political pundits had their roadside tete a tete's..the damage was done and there was plenty of damage. It was then that Parks Canada admitted a "flaw"? This must have been the same flaw when they drew lakes down a few years ago, and there were some horrendous rains that then flooded Peterborough as the TSW overflowed it's banks and most of Peterborough! They added so much water to the Trent that the influx of rain had nowhere to drain to!

It is no secret that the use of the TSW is in steady decline and has been for years. American money is not coming up here as much and that hurt the system. With the economy in it's state the traffic has been in steady decline for years and years. It is an old dinosaur that needs fixing and likely never will. So the of us who live on reservoir lakes pay the price for this mismanagement and it is devaluing property all over.

As you know I am more than a little familiar with the fluctuating water levels there. It has always been an issue and likely always will be poor management could make it extremely destructive even to the fisheries as well as the boaters.