decee
02-06-2003, 01:56 PM
I loaded up the sled and headed for our camp near Chapleau. Luckily I scored for gas in Toronto @ 65 cents.
I was running the logging roads around our camp to make sure everything was OK before I set out on my great adventure. I ran out of gas after only 86 miles in the middle of nowhere and had to walk 5 miles before a logging truck picked me up and dropped me off at Mooseland near Foleyet. I couldn't understand it as I previously ran 120 miles on a tank. A million thanks to Justin of Foleyet who drove me along with fuel back to my sled in his pickup. A bolt also fell out from the rear of the trailing arm on my brand new sled. So much for PDI!!
The next morning , Jan 30, I strapped on a spare 5 gallon tank and my back pack, tank bag and a bunch of maps and set off up the same road. Temp -27'C. I made it to Mooseland with all kinds of fuel to spare. Go figure.
Turned right onto 101 and up the trail to Timmins. When I approached Timmins I ended going up the trail that I thought was to Timmins but ended up at some Lake Kamiskotia where there is a sign that merely states "End of Trail". 36 Miles round trip out of my way. Boy was I ever mad. I got back to the intersection in time to warn two more sledders that were headed for the same mistake. I filled up in Timmins and skirted around the city and up the C trail to Cochrane. Now That is a trail You can motor up there at full speed. You are far enough away from civilization to assume that those pesky OFSC wannabe's OPP wont be standing there with a radar gun.
I rolled into Cochrane at about 5:30 PM. The trail leads right into the North Adventure Inn. I have been there before. I was there last year when the Hot Tub burned down and the the hotel almost went too. This year they replaced the wood fired one an electric Hot Tub. I stayed there. It is a nice place but at $90 a night I don't think I'll go back. Total 270 miles for the day.
Up bright and early, filled up with gas and headed west to La Reine P.Q. Cochrane is not BS'ing when they say they have the World's #1 trails. They are excellent. Well signed,well groomed. The trail was groomed to Quebec but there was about an inch of overnight powder on the trail. I was the first one through. Never saw another sled. If you are familiar with it, Steel mountain was deserted. 101 miles to the gas staion in La Reine. For those of you that don't know, the majority of this trail runs along an abandoned Railway line. You can motor, no pesky OPP's. The Polaris made it with 5 litres of fuel to spare. I filled up, had quick beer and headed back. After about 2 miles into Ontario BOOOOOM. I figured that was it. A OEM Polaris belt with about 900 miles on it went right through the belly pan and knocked the belt guard off. I changed the belt and now had no spare so it was a leisurely 40 mph all the way back to Cochrane. There is not as much snow as last year in Cochrane and a lot of the trails now are plowed for logging purposes. I think it will be an early spring for that area.
I stopped at Bourques auto sales which is the Polaris dealer in Cochrane. I cannot recommend this dealership highly enough. They will bend over backwards for you. I meet some guys in the parking lot that had just returned from a trip to Moosenee. All were sporting frostbite burns on their faces. They said it was an excellent trip but at $450 per machine, that was a little rich for me. It was dark so I spent the night at the Chimo hotel which was only $60 and the bed was just as comfortable. 220 miles for the day
Saturday
This was to be long distance day. Again got up early, gassed up at 84.9 and headed west. Not much to report because I was not stopping to smell the roses. I found it neat though that all the little clubs up there have "Clubhouse's". They don't have those down south. I never stopped at any but there was a whack of sleds parked in front of each of them. Just before Hearst I found a Club official who I asked about trails after Hearst. He said that it was groomed as far as Pagwa but after that he did not know because it was Longlac's responsibility after that. He told me NOT to follow Highway #11 but to dip down to Hornepayne and across. A lot of this trail follows the same abandoned railway track I mentioned earlier.
I stopped at Bambinos Truck Stop for fuel and asked the Lady if the trail was groomed to Longlac. If any of you have been here, you know it is quite the place as well. Kind of a Petticoat Junction. She went in the back and asked someone. She then said it must be because people are coming from Longlac. I filled up the sled and Jerry can at 88.9. I asked her what time she was open to and if I had to come back would she have a room for me. She chuckled and said yes. I decided not to heed the Hearst trail keepers advice and head straight for Longlac along Highway #11. It was 4:00pm.
It was good running west along the same railway bed. I had to come out to Highway #11 at Pagwa and run along the highway over a bridge. On the other side of the bridge was where Longlac trails started. I couldn't find the trail any where. I drove up into some abandoned cabins and from up on a hill I saw the trail on the other side of the highway. From Pagwa west the trail follows a pipeline and is smooth sailing. I made it into Longlac at 8:00 PM. There is gas available at Klotz Lake AKA Mid Canada lodge.
I made all the way from Bambinos to Longlac on the gas in my tank.. I stayed at the Four Winds Hotel for $65. A very nice place. Met a lot of nice people in the Bar next door. 340 miles for the day. Excellent run and trails straight from Cochrane to Longlac.
Sunday
I originally planned to run down Long Lake to Terrace Bay but all the locals said it was not staked so I decided to head to Nipigon along highway #11. It was a rough wiggly trail to Jellicoe. The guy in Jellicoe said they dropped their groomer through a beaver pond and it is broke.I made it to Beardmore looking for gas. Beardmore is a depressed little village. Everything is for sale. I get to the Gas station and the sign says closed until Feb 13!!!!!!! I asked two sledders sitting in the parking lot and they say no gas here or within 25 miles. Great! They suggested that I go back to a place called the "Newfoundlander" which is a little house turned into Bar/Restuarant. They owner there said he could sell me gas but asked where I was going. I told him where I'd been and that I was headed to Nipigon and follow the north shore of Lake Superior back east. He says "You can't get there from here, bydujesus!" Seems there is no snow about 30 miles past Beardmore. "Lordtunderin, yagotta head back down the road to Longlac and true Manitowadge" I made it back to Jellicoe for gas and back to Longlac for another night at the Four Winds. 210 miles for the day
Monday
Up early watching the weather channel. Big Storm coming. I mean big! 30 cm predicted, blowing winds, approaching from the south. Yea right I say. When they say 30 cm, usually that means 15. It was a good trail down to Manitowadge but a little lonely. Well groomed. From Manito, I headed straight south to Hemlo and then followed the D trail into White River. This trail traverses some rough country. Up, down, up, down, up, down, .... It also runs through about 40 miles of forest fire. My plan was to head to Wawa but the kid in the gas station said big storm coming and it was starting already. I got out the trail map and phoned the Heritage Inn in Dubreulville. "Oh yes, we have one room left but it has no TV or phone but it has a bed." He said $40 so I booked it and headed to Dubreulville. As soon as I left White River club territory and passed the sign welcoming me to D'ville territory the trails turned to crap.. Nothing but washboards for mile after mile. I made it to D'ville just at dusk. No Heritage Inn to be found. I asked at the Tourist Info place. She says that the Heritage Inn is right next door, They just haven't changed the sign since they changed the name of the place. I checked in and was shown to my room. It was the old girls locker room with a cot. Concrete floors, lockers but no lock on the door. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. There was a group of guys sleeping in the furnace room as well.I went next door for dinner and met a couple of guys who were headed to Chapleau the next morning as well. They actually were planning to try and make it to New Liskeard the next day. Boy were they in for a surprise! We exchanged a few stories as well and I went home to bed. 260 miles for the day
Tuesday
I woke up around 7 am and from the basement I could here the wind howling outside. I walked up to the lobby and looked out while it was still dark and couldn't believe it. About 20 sleds that were parked up right alongside the hotel were completely covered in snow. I am talking about 5 foot drifts. It was blowing so hard you couldn't see the street. Well better get motoring I thought. I dug out my sled and headed to the F trail leading to Missinaibi and beyond. It was still snowing. It has been a long time since I saw snow like that. There was a good foot of fresh powder on the ground. Was I ever glad to see that someone had gone before me. It wasn't long before I caught up to them. It turned out to be the two guys I met the night before in the restaurant. They didn't have a clue where they were going as they were breaking trail. We got all balled up around Localsh. We saw a trickle of smoke coming out a chimney so we stopped for directions. They people there were running a lodge but it looked abandoned from the outside. They were very very helpful and I am sorry that we didn't need to buy anything there. Stop in if you go by. I think it was called "Sometimes Snowed Inn" How true! We stopped at Ernies for Gas and Coffee in Missisinabi. Ernie was very helpful.. I filled up the jerry can as well. Off the three of us went right down the middle of highway #651 covered in a foot of snow. I knew the roads up to the Chapleau Game Preserve and then it was breaking trail along the F trail. My sled started to run like krap and was drinking gas. I used all the gas in the tank and then the jerry can and still ran out after about 90 miles. One of the guys was a mechanic and we couldn't figure it out. We thought it was snow ingestion or a frozen slide or a frozen choke. I ended up siphoning gas from their sleds. If it wasn't for Pete I would have had another long walk. We finally rolled into Chapleau around 3:30 pm on fumes. They decided New Liskeard was out so they stayed at Chapleau and I headed another 30 miles to where my truck was parked. When I got to my camp I poured a kettle of boiling water slowly over the carbs and that solved the problem almost immediately. It even ran great the next day. 150 miles for the day.
I think someone was watching over me/ us that last day. I f I hadn't met those guys, I would have been in big trouble. They said the same thing to me. If you do not know where you are going beteween D' ville and Chapleau, you can get lost very easily and it is a lot of wilderness there. They have just changed the trail so there are no signs.
After all was done I had travelled 1450 miles. I hope you gathered that I was travelling solo. Some people said I was nuts. Others took their hat off to me. I don't think what I did was that crazy. I just couldn't find anyone to go with me. I travelled right down the trail. No excessive speed to break things. Well equipped.
I met a lot of great people. I made some memories. I can say I did it.
I plan on doing it again in about 3 weeks and am looking for sidekicks. This time for 2 weeks and deep into Quebec.
Comments are always welcome.
DC
:D
I was running the logging roads around our camp to make sure everything was OK before I set out on my great adventure. I ran out of gas after only 86 miles in the middle of nowhere and had to walk 5 miles before a logging truck picked me up and dropped me off at Mooseland near Foleyet. I couldn't understand it as I previously ran 120 miles on a tank. A million thanks to Justin of Foleyet who drove me along with fuel back to my sled in his pickup. A bolt also fell out from the rear of the trailing arm on my brand new sled. So much for PDI!!
The next morning , Jan 30, I strapped on a spare 5 gallon tank and my back pack, tank bag and a bunch of maps and set off up the same road. Temp -27'C. I made it to Mooseland with all kinds of fuel to spare. Go figure.
Turned right onto 101 and up the trail to Timmins. When I approached Timmins I ended going up the trail that I thought was to Timmins but ended up at some Lake Kamiskotia where there is a sign that merely states "End of Trail". 36 Miles round trip out of my way. Boy was I ever mad. I got back to the intersection in time to warn two more sledders that were headed for the same mistake. I filled up in Timmins and skirted around the city and up the C trail to Cochrane. Now That is a trail You can motor up there at full speed. You are far enough away from civilization to assume that those pesky OFSC wannabe's OPP wont be standing there with a radar gun.
I rolled into Cochrane at about 5:30 PM. The trail leads right into the North Adventure Inn. I have been there before. I was there last year when the Hot Tub burned down and the the hotel almost went too. This year they replaced the wood fired one an electric Hot Tub. I stayed there. It is a nice place but at $90 a night I don't think I'll go back. Total 270 miles for the day.
Up bright and early, filled up with gas and headed west to La Reine P.Q. Cochrane is not BS'ing when they say they have the World's #1 trails. They are excellent. Well signed,well groomed. The trail was groomed to Quebec but there was about an inch of overnight powder on the trail. I was the first one through. Never saw another sled. If you are familiar with it, Steel mountain was deserted. 101 miles to the gas staion in La Reine. For those of you that don't know, the majority of this trail runs along an abandoned Railway line. You can motor, no pesky OPP's. The Polaris made it with 5 litres of fuel to spare. I filled up, had quick beer and headed back. After about 2 miles into Ontario BOOOOOM. I figured that was it. A OEM Polaris belt with about 900 miles on it went right through the belly pan and knocked the belt guard off. I changed the belt and now had no spare so it was a leisurely 40 mph all the way back to Cochrane. There is not as much snow as last year in Cochrane and a lot of the trails now are plowed for logging purposes. I think it will be an early spring for that area.
I stopped at Bourques auto sales which is the Polaris dealer in Cochrane. I cannot recommend this dealership highly enough. They will bend over backwards for you. I meet some guys in the parking lot that had just returned from a trip to Moosenee. All were sporting frostbite burns on their faces. They said it was an excellent trip but at $450 per machine, that was a little rich for me. It was dark so I spent the night at the Chimo hotel which was only $60 and the bed was just as comfortable. 220 miles for the day
Saturday
This was to be long distance day. Again got up early, gassed up at 84.9 and headed west. Not much to report because I was not stopping to smell the roses. I found it neat though that all the little clubs up there have "Clubhouse's". They don't have those down south. I never stopped at any but there was a whack of sleds parked in front of each of them. Just before Hearst I found a Club official who I asked about trails after Hearst. He said that it was groomed as far as Pagwa but after that he did not know because it was Longlac's responsibility after that. He told me NOT to follow Highway #11 but to dip down to Hornepayne and across. A lot of this trail follows the same abandoned railway track I mentioned earlier.
I stopped at Bambinos Truck Stop for fuel and asked the Lady if the trail was groomed to Longlac. If any of you have been here, you know it is quite the place as well. Kind of a Petticoat Junction. She went in the back and asked someone. She then said it must be because people are coming from Longlac. I filled up the sled and Jerry can at 88.9. I asked her what time she was open to and if I had to come back would she have a room for me. She chuckled and said yes. I decided not to heed the Hearst trail keepers advice and head straight for Longlac along Highway #11. It was 4:00pm.
It was good running west along the same railway bed. I had to come out to Highway #11 at Pagwa and run along the highway over a bridge. On the other side of the bridge was where Longlac trails started. I couldn't find the trail any where. I drove up into some abandoned cabins and from up on a hill I saw the trail on the other side of the highway. From Pagwa west the trail follows a pipeline and is smooth sailing. I made it into Longlac at 8:00 PM. There is gas available at Klotz Lake AKA Mid Canada lodge.
I made all the way from Bambinos to Longlac on the gas in my tank.. I stayed at the Four Winds Hotel for $65. A very nice place. Met a lot of nice people in the Bar next door. 340 miles for the day. Excellent run and trails straight from Cochrane to Longlac.
Sunday
I originally planned to run down Long Lake to Terrace Bay but all the locals said it was not staked so I decided to head to Nipigon along highway #11. It was a rough wiggly trail to Jellicoe. The guy in Jellicoe said they dropped their groomer through a beaver pond and it is broke.I made it to Beardmore looking for gas. Beardmore is a depressed little village. Everything is for sale. I get to the Gas station and the sign says closed until Feb 13!!!!!!! I asked two sledders sitting in the parking lot and they say no gas here or within 25 miles. Great! They suggested that I go back to a place called the "Newfoundlander" which is a little house turned into Bar/Restuarant. They owner there said he could sell me gas but asked where I was going. I told him where I'd been and that I was headed to Nipigon and follow the north shore of Lake Superior back east. He says "You can't get there from here, bydujesus!" Seems there is no snow about 30 miles past Beardmore. "Lordtunderin, yagotta head back down the road to Longlac and true Manitowadge" I made it back to Jellicoe for gas and back to Longlac for another night at the Four Winds. 210 miles for the day
Monday
Up early watching the weather channel. Big Storm coming. I mean big! 30 cm predicted, blowing winds, approaching from the south. Yea right I say. When they say 30 cm, usually that means 15. It was a good trail down to Manitowadge but a little lonely. Well groomed. From Manito, I headed straight south to Hemlo and then followed the D trail into White River. This trail traverses some rough country. Up, down, up, down, up, down, .... It also runs through about 40 miles of forest fire. My plan was to head to Wawa but the kid in the gas station said big storm coming and it was starting already. I got out the trail map and phoned the Heritage Inn in Dubreulville. "Oh yes, we have one room left but it has no TV or phone but it has a bed." He said $40 so I booked it and headed to Dubreulville. As soon as I left White River club territory and passed the sign welcoming me to D'ville territory the trails turned to crap.. Nothing but washboards for mile after mile. I made it to D'ville just at dusk. No Heritage Inn to be found. I asked at the Tourist Info place. She says that the Heritage Inn is right next door, They just haven't changed the sign since they changed the name of the place. I checked in and was shown to my room. It was the old girls locker room with a cot. Concrete floors, lockers but no lock on the door. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. There was a group of guys sleeping in the furnace room as well.I went next door for dinner and met a couple of guys who were headed to Chapleau the next morning as well. They actually were planning to try and make it to New Liskeard the next day. Boy were they in for a surprise! We exchanged a few stories as well and I went home to bed. 260 miles for the day
Tuesday
I woke up around 7 am and from the basement I could here the wind howling outside. I walked up to the lobby and looked out while it was still dark and couldn't believe it. About 20 sleds that were parked up right alongside the hotel were completely covered in snow. I am talking about 5 foot drifts. It was blowing so hard you couldn't see the street. Well better get motoring I thought. I dug out my sled and headed to the F trail leading to Missinaibi and beyond. It was still snowing. It has been a long time since I saw snow like that. There was a good foot of fresh powder on the ground. Was I ever glad to see that someone had gone before me. It wasn't long before I caught up to them. It turned out to be the two guys I met the night before in the restaurant. They didn't have a clue where they were going as they were breaking trail. We got all balled up around Localsh. We saw a trickle of smoke coming out a chimney so we stopped for directions. They people there were running a lodge but it looked abandoned from the outside. They were very very helpful and I am sorry that we didn't need to buy anything there. Stop in if you go by. I think it was called "Sometimes Snowed Inn" How true! We stopped at Ernies for Gas and Coffee in Missisinabi. Ernie was very helpful.. I filled up the jerry can as well. Off the three of us went right down the middle of highway #651 covered in a foot of snow. I knew the roads up to the Chapleau Game Preserve and then it was breaking trail along the F trail. My sled started to run like krap and was drinking gas. I used all the gas in the tank and then the jerry can and still ran out after about 90 miles. One of the guys was a mechanic and we couldn't figure it out. We thought it was snow ingestion or a frozen slide or a frozen choke. I ended up siphoning gas from their sleds. If it wasn't for Pete I would have had another long walk. We finally rolled into Chapleau around 3:30 pm on fumes. They decided New Liskeard was out so they stayed at Chapleau and I headed another 30 miles to where my truck was parked. When I got to my camp I poured a kettle of boiling water slowly over the carbs and that solved the problem almost immediately. It even ran great the next day. 150 miles for the day.
I think someone was watching over me/ us that last day. I f I hadn't met those guys, I would have been in big trouble. They said the same thing to me. If you do not know where you are going beteween D' ville and Chapleau, you can get lost very easily and it is a lot of wilderness there. They have just changed the trail so there are no signs.
After all was done I had travelled 1450 miles. I hope you gathered that I was travelling solo. Some people said I was nuts. Others took their hat off to me. I don't think what I did was that crazy. I just couldn't find anyone to go with me. I travelled right down the trail. No excessive speed to break things. Well equipped.
I met a lot of great people. I made some memories. I can say I did it.
I plan on doing it again in about 3 weeks and am looking for sidekicks. This time for 2 weeks and deep into Quebec.
Comments are always welcome.
DC
:D