Does any know if the Cougar Trail (Ok, I know there's a joke there) has been groomed to the Manitoba border?

The Sunset Trail Riders trail work party (OFSC Trail L103) is planning on heading that way on Sunday. Time allowing, we could ride up to Nopiming for lunch/supper.

Thanks

toban, hows the snow around Kenora,Black Sturgeon,Redditt, loading up going down

From Redditt North, the report I am getting is that there is appreciably more snow all the way up to the Manitoba border. That is our L103 trail. However, yesterday afternoon I went for a ride and found the trail blocked between Black Sturgeon and Ena lakes.

We plan to be active with regards to work parties on that trail and that is why I'm looking for information on whether or not anything has been happening on the Cougar trail.

It could take a few days of work to clear the trail completely and then sign and stake etc..

As for the snow around Kenora - in a few words - not much. The Kenora town corridor is basically a drive over the Canadian shield. Lots of rock protrusions. However, the riders are active on the Lake Of The Woods area where there is more snow. Work parties are earnestly working on the trails in that area (staking and signing) as posted on the "Daily Trail Reports" message board. I would suggest that trucking/trailering is the best, safest and least damaging way of getting your sled onto the Lake Of The Woods for now.

Anyone coming from West Hawk Lake to Kenora - KEEP THIS IN MIND. When approaching the Keewatin Bay and Darlington Bay areas, watch the trail closely as we have had quite a few reports of vandalism in this area. Stakes are being run down or removed and closed and slow signs have been removed. If you are not totally familar with the area or are not paying VERY close attention, you could run into open water. So please, keep your heads up and easy of on the throttle while passing through that area.

Hey Toban,
Best bet is to call Blaine at Nopiming Lodge. 204-884-2281
There's been no update on their website, so I don't think they've done any grooming.

Thanks PD. We did in fact call Blaine and he and his Mom did something very nice for us. I'll elaborate more in a bit. But, we did break the trail from Kenora to the Manitoba border. More later. It will be on our website first.



Thanks

hopefully they get the f out and groom everywhere!!!! they have sat on the pass money long enough!!! winter is too short for any excuses snoman!!

On December 31st, we had a group of six riders travel L103 from Black Sturgeon to the Manitoba border. The ride up to Ena Lake was pretty rough, especially going through the swamps which are very shallow or dry. We ran into a five foot high beaver dam, but there is a ride around it about 100 feet to the West. There is also a logging crew working in the area from the old gravel pit (abandoned road grader) heading East. From the North end of Hunting lake the trail is also a rough ride. Beyond that there is heavy snow on the lakes. Little Sand, Big Sand, Vermillion, Snook, Gosshawk all have anywhere from eight to twelve inches snow cover. We broke a 10 to 12 foot wide trail on the lakes to about three to four miles North West of Halley's and ran into an ice ridge with open water. Just about 50 feet North of the ice ridge is another pool of open water. We broke trail to the Manitoba border, but also wandered around a bit.

The Cougar trail condition is unknown as there weren't any reports from riders available. There may be some grooming done this coming week.

There is some slush on a few of the lakes. Going is sluggish as the trail is soft due to lots of snow and needs to be ridden and packed in preparation for grooming.

Many thanks to Blaine and his family for taking the time from their family holiday festivites to provide us with a hot bowl(s) of soup, coffee, and fuel. These are great people with a great little restaurant. The Sunset Trail riders would like to thank them again for their generous hospitality. You have to taste their beef vegetable soup. It really is like Mom used to make, and coincidentally, it was prepared by Blaine's Mom.

Note to TURBO-ON-FST..........The snow cover has greatly improved with the snowfall over this past week end. Crews are now working full tilt on the trails as ice condition is getting better and we can now move over the lakes.

Also, there is a new 2007 trail map of our trail area, available on our website for download (2 pages, double sided). You can get there by going to www.strkenora.com and clicking on the "Trail Maps" link.