Sled Report for the Weekend

Well I bet we are in for a busy weekend. Our trails are pretty much as good as they get. Highland Rovers opened up trails 78-79 for us and its listed as limited. Also limited is trail 77W from Tally Ho to Dwight. It is still a bit rough in some ares due to the tree canopy not letting the snow to get to the ground. All others are good to go. Any road running has pretty good coverage and with the predicted snow each day should keep it that way.




Thanks to Tim, of the Algonquin Snowmobile Club, for this 'up to the minute report' on the local trails!  Conditions have been such that now that we have the snow, there are a lot of keen sledders hoping to get out there!

Tim writes:  " Well I bet we are in for a busy weekend. Our trails are pretty much as good as they get. Highland Rovers opened up trails 78-79 for us and its listed as limited. Also limited is trail 77W from Tally Ho to Dwight. It is still a bit rough in some ares due to the tree canopy not letting the snow to get to the ground. All others are good to go. Any road running has pretty good coverage and with the predicted snow each day should keep it that way.


The warm weather we had, wet snow and cold nights have made for a great trail base. I went for a ride on Oxtongue Lake and was surprised it was in better shape than the last ride a few days ago. It has firmed up but still a bit wet near shore. We have not staked it yet, hopefully after this weekends traffic and some more cold will firm it up so we can stake it.
 

Just another reminder about our Chili Cook Off this Saturday on Trail D101B just north of the Shelter. Be sure to stop by and vote for your favorite. Hope to see plenty of ASC Members throughout the day.


If you are in the area, trail 76 is must trip and also trail 65 from the Shelter around towards Dorset. Trail 74N to D101B to Oxbow should also be on your bucket list. With the logging that went on this summer its an awesome ride, even in the groomer. "

Thanks for the update, Tim, and huge thanks to all the volunteers and Club members who work so hard to ensure our local trails are shining stars in Provincial network! There's just no place better to be!

Over the Hill and onto the Trails!

My timing with the camera has been off this week.

Either that, or the battery was drained.  Which meant that I spent the week just missing the best photos of the year so far.   I have fingers crossed that our guests will bail me out, and email me some of their photos!

We had kids having a total blast on the toboggan hill.  We had a group that snowshoed up the mountain (and I kick myself for missing THAT photo -- three of them, bright spots of colour, seen through the leafless trees)  And this week we had the Over the Hill Gang here, snowshoeing, skiing and hiking.  Although we had rain on Monday, that soon turned to snow, and Brian was able to get the trails groomed and gorgeous.

But you have to take my word for it... because my timing with the camera was bad...

For anyone thinking of coming north to see what a Canadian winter should look like, to try skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, or just enjoying a sunset across a frozen lake, North Muskoka has what you're looking for. Winter's here.

Winter Colour

I've been 'disconnected' from the Internet for a few days while we worked on the system to improve the overall access for our guests at Bondi. 

So I am a few posts behind, for those of you who read this Blog with any regularity (and, gosh, we love those of you that do!)

So, check out THIS sky!  I went up to the arena with a student, and the day was coloured in winter whites and sky blues with hints of forest green.  We came out of the arena an hour later and walked smack into this breath-stealing colour.

By the time I had walked down to the lake by Clover cottage, the colours were muting. Sunsets change by the second.

Still, this colour palette was just as lovely, with the lake ice a shade that I think is described as Cobalt?  I should ask Napster... artists usually know the correct names for colours!

That little dot out there, past the boathouse, that's the BMD's Fish hut.  And that gleam of light under the boathouse, that's a product of the ice away keeping the water open.  More on that, later...

Dwight Bay -- not only where the ice is, but where the fish are too!

 That fine looking fish hut belongs to our cousin, Ross Tapley.  He's got a couple of them out on Dwight Bay this winter, and if you are staying here with us at Bondi Village, you can rent from him, and spend the day cosily waiting for fish...

Of course, those of you who prefer not to fish can leave the fishermen to have at it, and spend the day on our ski and snowshoe trails instead.  Or curled up by the fire with a lovely cup of tea and a deer looking back at you from the lawn.

Or you can all saddle up the snowmobiles -- yes, trails ARE open (but be super careful on lakes -- most of the lake trails are not open yet.)  You MUST know the ice conditions (Ross knows!)  Dwight is blessed with two rivers entering the bay, making it a great site for fishing at any time of year.  Located just five minutes away from us, it lets the fishermen enjoy their sport, while the 'rest of us' play with the snow in the great outdoors.

The snowmobile trails are all posted on the Muskoka Snowmobile Region website.

Thanks to Gloria Woodside for these pictures, snapped yesterday.  That's the Dwight Dock, all covered with snow, at the public beach at Dwight.  this is an iconic dock for the Muskoka region -- once upon a time it was a prime stop for the big lake steamers.  The roofed section ensured that folks waiting for the boats were sheltered from all weather.

Here's Looking at You Looking at Me

We had a lot of guests here this week -- much snowshoeing, and hiking, and cross country skiing were the orders of the day.

Some of our guests went into Algonquin Park, enjoying the beautiful trails on offer there.  We asked them, as they returned the Park Pass that we include for all our guests to enjoy, if they had seen any wildlife.  The answer was negative, with the exception of birds. (which count, really they do! )

But they had seen plenty of wildlife here on our own property.  That included the red fox who was circling the Chicken Coop yesterday, trying to find the entrance to the Drive-Through Take Out.

And the deer, who have packed their own roadways through the snow and can be found at almost any time of day along the lakeshore. 

These guests paused at the top of the slope going down to Lantern cottage, to enjoy the sight of the deer gazing back at them from the lakeshore.

Last year, when the Ancient Mariners Canoe Club was here for their winter excursion, there was great excitement because they spotted a Bald Eagle while on some of our ski trails.  This year, the excitement continued -- but this time it was a Golden Eagle.  Those are a little more common, but still rare enough to cause a stir here.  Two confirmed nesting sites were located in Algonquin Park last year for Bald Eagles, who seem to be making a bit of a comeback.   And some guests this morning coming in to ski our trails reported a deer-kill site near the Port Cunnington Road, which was heavily decorated with Ravens.

The presence of that deer-kill indicates that the Wolf Pack is back in town.  We were out looking at the winter constallations this past week as well -- Orion is at its very best this time of year.  Next time, we'll have to have a little Howl, just in case the pack is close enough to answer our call!

Moving Matters

Moving snow is serious business.

We remember well visiting friends in London, England years ago.  It was early February.  An ivnitation came to come up and see friends in Northampton, which seemed like a great idea.

Except that it was snowing.  First of all, the concierge at the hotel advised us that we would not be able to make it even as far as the Train Station.

Unequipped with a map or GPS, we were in no position to argue, but we were Canadian, and made of stern stuff. Besides, there was less than an inch of snow on the sidewalk.  Grumpily muttering about Colonials, he called a Taxi.  The driver whereof explained in great detail that the roads were so bad he didn't know if he would be able to get us to our destination.  In the middle of his "godawful roads, national crisis, unprecedented snowfall' diatribe, I offered to drive.

As it unfolded, we discovered the dang station was only two blocks from the hotel. We could have easily walked it, on the mostly deserted streets (all inside, hunkered down waiting for Apocolypse).  We boarded the train.  Departure time came. And went.  And went a little farther along.

Finally the plummy voice on the p.a. announced that the tracks were frozen, trains were shorted out, and there would be as short delay.  Enough time passed to read all of War and Peace, in the original. For plum trees to bloom in the spring. At least, it felt like that. In reality it was only a few hours.

When the voice came back on, it announced that Thanks to God and British Rail, transit could be resumed. I'd prefer to leave God out of that, since I'm fairly confident it was Brit Rail that designed tracks and trains that could be shut down by an inch of snow, without any input from any Diety.

When we arrived at Northampton, we were greeted by ther cheery news that the Gritters were out, so there was a fighting chance we could get where we needed to go.   Britain, with tiny, narrow roads and congested cities, suffers from that over-arching issue of having no-where to put snow, so any snowfall can be of consequence.  

Here, Brian has a solid grasp on the need to have places to put the snow.  Ways to move it off the travelled areas, and leave room for the ploughs to work.  One of the weapons in his arsenal of snow moving equipment is the snowblower, pictured here.

Rural Ontario, particularly up here in the Northern regions, has a firm grasp on this principal as well. Weather conditions that cause mayhem in the cities to the South often pass with barely a mention.  There is a Lake Effect in Ontario that can blast snow in blizzard conditions across the Province near Barrie, so that is a notoriously tricky bit of highway in winter -- but once north of that, driving conditions tend to be pretty darn good.

Except that we are still working on convincing folks that having 4 wheel drive is not a license to drive at speed on winter roads.  4-wheel drive may help you claw your way back OUT of the ditch -- it will do nothing at all to prevent you sliding off INTO it.  Winter tires, driving within the limitations of the conditions, allowing more time... these are your best friends in winter. 

Tracking Trout through a Blizzard

It was ever so slightly reminiscent of the Scott Expedition to the Antarctic...

They set off boldly, through the snowstorm, in search not of the Pole, or (at the other end of the globe) the Northwest Passage, but of fish.



Although the adventure is in the trip. As the old saying runs, Better to Travel Hopefully.

This was Day One of actual fishing use at the hut this year.  It is just possible that the weather conditions were not optimal.

Real fishermen are not daunted by the weather, however.   Nor do they limit themselves to fishing only from within the sheltering walls of the hut itself.

As the afternoon progressed, the snowstorm grew ever stronger. Winds were persistent. Or, as Mike called them, "Gale Force."  Visibility, shall we say, diminished.  Finally, Dave and Mike called it a day, and came home for a dinner that, sadly, did not include fish on the menu.

Never mind. They had better Fish Stories to tell.  And -- as they pointed out -- you just couldn't beat the view!

Yep, that's the hut, out there... somewhere...