Winter 2006 Logbook

Recollections of Large's Winter

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Fall 

Was out on the trails on the 4 wheelers doing a scouting trip in September.  Out signing and brushing  every second weekend all fall pretty much. I certainly learnt that it is nice to get the work done while it is plus 10, not minus 10. 

December

First snow arrived in Ottawa in late November... just enough to make things white for a few days. We got nailed with a real good 30 cm on the 16th. This got all the sledders in gear, and Grant and I opened all the gates on  Sat. the 17th to let the troops pack the trails and swamps. We have had a few good nights of -22C, but in general it has been too warm to get grooming underway. I got my first 38 miles in on the 18th, just out to open gates with Carl and do some packing, as we headed out to Golden Line Rd... and opened up the pole line swamp. Next year I need to pack the weeds in the swamp with the 4 wheeler first.

Black Lake froze around the 10th this year, right on the average. There were already planes on it when we were home for Christmas. Drove back to Ottawa on the 27th... lots of snow bt. Mattawa and Deep River, but no signs of grooming activity yet.  Trails are open east of Val des Bois, Quebec though, and calling my name!  We have a hard crusty 8-10" on the ground in Stittsville.  No grooming in the area yet. 

Chris and I trucked to Val des Bois on Friday the 30th, and unloaded at St Denis road 10 min. north of the town. We wanted to take the 43 East but it was not marked, so we stayed on the 315 north. Lots of snow, but no recent grooming. Did find one smooth trail, the 324 to Lac du Cerf, and headed there for lunch. 130 mile day, under sunny cool skies. 

January

Got a good shot of the white stuff on Thurs, the 5th, about 15 cm... actually more than they called for! Groomer made its first run today, up the TCT and Hwy 7 without incident... right on track, as the Rideau Canal is set to open Sat am... these two events are always close to each other.

Got out Sat. for 51 miles, along with a lot of odds and ends work. Carl and Darrell were with me...  and ended up back home around 4 in some light snow for a pint. Then got word the groomer died near Carleton Place. Had to to deal with this Sunday am.  Most trails have been groomed once.. . and are amazingly good as snow cover is very good for this time of year. Lots of traffic. 48 miles on Sunday, as I signed the Ashton trail and headed out to Mississippi Lk. under cloudy skies.

Just listened to the radio, Jan. 13th and it is plus 8!  We had to close the trails on the 11th, after we got 12 cm on the 9th. We had a ton of snow and the groomers rolling... and now back to a rock hard base of ice at best. On a bright note, the new NH 8160 groomer is in, and we are running training on it Saturday. It seems like a pretty sweet unit!  Training got canned as it was +2 with 50 km/h winds and rain.

Jan. 17th, and another freezing rain storm has started. -6 degrees and raining out!  Been down to 20 below last few days. Everything is rock hard. Looking to go to Joncas, in Quebec this weekend maybe in search of snow.  Ended up raining 26 mm.... and up to +6 on Friday. Heading to Deep River Sat. am(Jan. 21st)... trails are open/limited up there. Calling for about 10cm in the next 24hours here and there.... wait and see. 

Woke up Sat. am to 1 cm snow and rain. Luckily, this turned to snow, and we got nailed with 15cm+ of wet stuff. On the riding front,  Mike and Special Ed trucked to Deep River in the snow to meet Rod. Rough trails to Mattawa Golf Course and back. 83 miles each way. The Mattawa base was pretty good, but the Missing Link had only a single pass. Everything was perfect on Sunday as we headed to Pembroke and back. Nice to see Sat. overnight grooming.

Yet another warm week. Had a night or two of -17, but was then +5 Friday and +7 on Saturday, under sunny bright skies. Managed 200 miles on the nose over the weekend around here. The new 8160 had a successful weekend, out every night. Trails were real nice locally. Made it down to Marlboro Forest with Darrell and the Yetti. Did some signage both Sat and Sun. am,  as well as Friday night. Signs will be right someday!  Called for a 20 cm storm Monday that turned into 5 cm. Northern Ont. got hit with 30cm though. This week looks to be 0 everyday once again. When will it end? Swamp trails are still not open.

February

Grant, The Yetti, Doug and I sledded out to the BEAST meeting on Feb. 2nd.  The usual +1, but the trails are in real good shape. Groomed the E103/4 for the first time Feb. 1st.  Rain now, Friday am and +2, but the forecast looks promising after Saturday!

Spent a good 2 hours on groomer work Saturday afternoon under warm cloudy skies. Saturday's 20 cm storm turned into an all rain event... not a flake!  +5 right through to Sunday, Feb. 5th  afternoon. Our trails are in trouble now and closed again. On a bright note, North Bay and Sudbury got 40 cm plus, after 30 cm last weekend.  -12C the  last two nights, so the re-freeze starts again.

Cold all week. -15 to -20 at night, but no snow. Ended up grooming the whole system, and the trails were to our surprise, perfect on Sat am, under sunny skies. Rode a 60 mile circle to Almonte and back. Did some brushing and signage. Awesome morning! Sunday was a great day as well, but spent hung over (Sens/Philli game) and getting the groomer back to Simpson's, as it blew a track at 12:30 am Sat night... Tamara and I had a late night rescue for Zack, the operator.  +8 on the 15th, after 5 cm of snow in the overnight.  Groomer is still down, waiting fr track repair parts. Another freezing rain event coming Thursday, and Tamara and I are off to Sudbury on Sat am. They may get yet another 30cm for this storm up north... which will make a real mess, but sure beats rain!

Spent a great week between Sudbury and Elliot Lake Feb. 18th to 26th. Up Sat. am, and out to Penage Sat. night. Ran to Killarny on
Sunday, through crazy amounts of snow on the lakes. Killarney trails were all groomed up nice since the snow Thurs. night. Back to Black Lake Sunday. Trucked to Elliot Lake on Monday, and I sledded up to Laurentian Lodge on my own Monday, only 25 miles from Tamara's parents place. Trails were real good except the last 10 miles to the Lodge, which were fair. All of us rode to the F trail Aubrey Falls on Tuesday under sunny skies.  Great day.  Back to Black Lake on Wed. and a quiet day. Off to Frazer Bay to fish on Thursday by sled, and back via Killarney trails after a midday snow storm dropped about 7 cm on us.  Friday was a visiting day, and we debated on whether or not to head to Ottawa. Ended up staying, and to The Huddle for Jon Scarf's stag Friday night.... a good shift. Out to Penage again Saturday,  and a sled ride to Lang Lake under mix of sun and cloud.

March

Sunny all week and cool at night. Very nice.  Sledded out to the BEAST meeting on Thursday, after meeting at the Ashton Pub. 101 miles locally on the weekend, cut up the E103 on Sat. and the Ashton trial on Sunday for a few hours. Sunny, windy and just below 0 both days. Last local ride on Wed. the 8th. Took the afternoon off, as the trails were still perfect. Then got to +10 on Saturday and Sunday, and cooled off after that for two weeks... kind of a piss off, as the trails would have lasted had it not been for a few warm days around the 10th weekend.

Pembroke north was still Open as of March 23rd. Read of reports that the Killarney loop was perfect on March 26th still. Also, some guy on HCS(Doobee)  put on 1400 km in Barry's Bay this past weekend. Sunny and +10C every day now, though, so everyone must be losing snow quick. Saw pictures that showed over 2 feet of snow in Rolphton area that 26th.  Missing Link trails were reported as smooth, and the Deep River area a bit more beat up.

- Large

Winter, 2006