Ontario wheelin

Welcome back to Ontario. When the spring comes I should be out all the time. I enjoy the scenic stuff too and since I got rid of the YJ and not have a Grand Cherokee I will be sticking away from the extreme stuff. This summer should be pretty good I would think.

-- Checkout

Back in BC we had published map books for "back country" excursions. They included forestry roads, bike trails (the main ones!) and lots of hiking trails and stuff. Not that I've been looking REAL hard here....but I haven't found any offroad map books here.

Is it just not as popular as back there? Or not as many places to wheel (hope not!)....

sb

Hi Steve!

We used to live out west too. A couple years on the Island up near Campbell River and a bunch of years in the Rockies before that.

I do try to organize a bunch of trips a year for folks from this newsgroup local to Southern Canada, Ontario area, last year was a slow one, I have been laid up due to being a passenger in an accident, but this year should have a bunch of runs happening.

We are running up to James Bay at the end of August. Leaving the 28th from Toronto and planning a return on Sept. 5/6. I made a post about that run last week, am getting a good response so far.

There is a 99% chance we will be bush running for Easter weekend, not sure on the dates yet.

Where are you located?

We do day runs close to The Toronto area on a fairly regular basis and I am getting the broken frame on my CJ7 fixed this coming Monday so look for snow run calls really soon.

I do have a mailing list of folks to notify for runs so if you are interested, I can add you to the list.

Here are some photos from previous runs. These are at Sony's ImageStation site that now requires you join. They used to be an open site. At least they don't spam and if a member you have a place to post your own shots.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Aug02

The books are available here too.

But we are fast running out of places to wheel in southern Ontario. 99% of it is owned and most places close to any city have been closed down recently.

This is putting a lot of pressure on the open areas and the snowmobilers are trying to get all 4x4's banned, not just in the winter on 'their' so called trails across crown land. They are not willing to share, no matter that we come along in the summer and clean up all the crap they leave buried under the snow and clear trails from downed trees. etc.......

Mike

SB wrote:

I wouldn't worry too much Mike Soon because of the insurance companies raising the price 1000 % for the OFSC (Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs) trail insurance and the same Insurance companies refusing to insure sleds over 600 CC engine size. Many people have sleds they cannot insure at all. And also a lack of rideable snow. A lot of people have refused to buy the 195 dollar trail pass. Soon the OFSC will have to close down. Snowmobiling is being killed off in Ontario.

Too bad though, as snowmobilers help the rural economies such as hotels , restaurants , gas stations etc... in the small towns, which other wise would be like a ghost town in the winter.

Mike Roma> The books are available here too.

I think they are missing the boat not inviting us 4x4 drivers into their 'club'.

Like you say, recently the snow cover has been really bad and the last two New Years runs we have done were all ice runs with not enough snow down to even have a snowball fight let alone run a snowmobile on.

There were tons of folks out on the trails still. In 4x4's!

If we were members of their 'club', then come spring thaw and summer, we wouldn't mind getting into trail maintenance and clearing dead fall etc. As it is now, why bother to do any. All we get is bitched at.

I have had the pricks wanting to call the cops on me until I start laughing too loud and one of them clues in that something is up. I only run on 'dual use' trails and have the maps to prove it.

I mean there is one nice cottage my wife and I like to go to and if we show up there in our Jeep when the winter crowd is around, even in the summer that's all we get to hear is them crying about us 4x4'ers getting to use 'their' trails for free and how all the trails should be closed except to sleds.

They should try to get along with the summer users, not fight with us, then maybe their clubs would survive if folks bought 'year round' passes or something like that rather than us wheeling along on crown land only to hit a gate that says only OFSC pass holders only can use this route from this point on to get gas or food forcing us to go some other place.

And you are right about the local economy. We frequent a one pump mom and pop convenience store when we go on runs. We use lots of gas and always need munchies or pop or something and they are at a trail head.

They like seeing us show up and will even open up late for us if I am meeting a bunch coming in late on a Friday night from Montreal or something.

Mike

FrankW wrote:

Mike I hear what your saying Being an avid snowmobiler, I do know atv quads and Jeeps really do wreck the trail the Groomers work hard on trying to make smooth with a good base. But I also know that on crown land roads the trails should be shared. Side by side if possible.

But Quad and Jeep Clubs have to get on it. A lone 4x4er damaging a groomed snowmobile trail is frustrating for us user's who have to pay to use the trails which the snowmobile clubs spend a lot of time and money to make smooth.

It happens in Quebec without too much fuss. (sharing trails side by side) In Quebec (and around Prescot Ontario) the Quad

4X4 clubs have to also groom the trails. Just so they can run the trails without constantly getting stuck.

Lets face it Mike. A Jeep can only traverse in a certain depth and type of snow before the trail is unpassable for trackless vehicles When the snow gets to deep, without the groomers the 4x4 Trucks,Jeeps,Quads etc are not going anywhere I've been driving a stock Jeep for 16 years and know that when the frame gets hung up and you lose momentum , Your stuck.

That's why they invented snowmobiles :-) Heck! I even driven in snow where the Sled keeps getting stuck :-( never mind the 4x4.

Mike Roma> I think they are missing the boat not inviting us 4x4 drivers into their > 'club'.

I know some crown land areas that are still shared trails to certain points and that is where we usually go.

If there is snow pack, we stick on the logging trails, they are usually 'groomed' to a point where our frames stay clear. ;-) Even so we check with the loggers and run the same CB channel if they are working. We have had them ask us not to run on some new trails, they were fresh made 'winter' roads and hadn't set up yet.

The snowmobile groomer trails are actually nasty to drive on depending on snow pack. I got on one once at night without knowing it way the heck in the middle of no where. The side of it collapsed on me and almost flipped me into a beaver pond. It left me hanging on my side with my plastic door about 3" away from open water with an 8 mile hike back to camp that was 20 miles from a phone...

I pay closer attention to the base I am on now, I didn't know what it was...

Mike

FrankW wrote:

There is a run happening tomorrow, Sat. Apr 25 I am thinking on joining up with.

Interested?

It is out in the Raglan Mosport area north of Oshawa and Bowmanville.

From the looks of some of the folks going, you will get a first hand look at the difference between the tall skinny tires and the fat things....

The meeting place is about an hour from my place. I am at Yonge near the 401.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

SB wrote: