OSM 37.4 Travel Guide

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IT’S BEEN A RIDE

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Rider: Jordan Hammack

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LET’S RIDE!

Well the snow only got better throughout the season, where the ice seemed to be a little late in most parts this year, but it looks like we will have a deep run into the Spring.

If you’re considering trying a new trail system, new area, or new hospitalities, we hope this book will assist you in planning your yearly adventures.

If you’re looking to go for a ride in New Brunswick, Ontario or Quebec, there are maps and or editorials featured on those areas to give you some great insight. You can map out your proposed sledding excursion routes; check out

trails to give you an idea of what is available. Check out our buyers guide for some great products available to make your snowmobiling adventures even better.

Sit back and enjoy the issue, plan some new trips for the coming year and read about some great places to ride. Hope to see you out on the trails!

Ride Safe, Ride Smart!

Richard

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Few words were spoken as we drove north on Highway 400 from southern Ontario, but you could tell what was on the minds of everyone in the truck by how often we looked out at the passing scenery. There was a layer of snow that covered the fields in a light dusting. Had it been Christmas Day, we could have claimed we’d had a white Christmas—but only just. You could have walked across these fields in running shoes without getting your socks snowy. And yet here we were, heading north with three sleds for a snowmobiling adventure that seemed to be missing one ingredient: Snow.

As far north as the French River, snow remained sparse. Enough to build a snowman, but that’s about it. Certainly not enough to ride a sled on. But then as we began to arc overtop Lake Huron to the west, the weather became a lot more serious. As in seriously snowy. In Espanola there were drifts at the edge of the road. In Blind River there was more snow. Through Iron Bridge, Thessalon, and Bruce Mines the snow intensified. By Echo Bay we’d entered a different world, and not far after that, as we pulled into Sault Ste. Marie in a snowstorm, we knew we’d hit the jackpot.

After we settled into our rooms at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, we met John and Mary Breckenridge—our guides for the trip—for pizza and beer. John is president of the Sault Ste. Marie Trailblazers, and Mary, we would discover, is no less enthusiastic than her husband about snowmobiling. To whet our appetite for snowmobiling

in the Soo, day one of our three-day excursion would be the 170 km Soo Highland Loop.

Every snowmobiler has a list of little— and not so little—elements that elevate a ride from good to great. And one thing we absolutely love is when we can ride straight from a hotel parking lot onto the trail system without running roads or trailering to a trailhead. With a huge parking lot and the trail running right out the back of the hotel, the day got off to the best possible start.

After fueling we cut north of the city, and within five minutes, had our first pleasant surprise of the trip—a sighting of a halfdozen bald eagles who watched us with at least as much curiosity as we watched them. It was going to be a good day. Just after the eagles we had an example of the effectiveness of organized trial systems. Overnight, a groomer had dislodged a

piece of steel that poked out of the snow at an ominous angle. It didn’t pose a threat to life and limb, but it could have been very cruel to a track and skidframe. John immediately pulled to the edge of the trail, retrieved his phone, and within minutes a groomer operator had the offending angle iron removed from the trail. Your trail permit dollars at work.

Speaking of trails, my, my, these trails are good. Smooth, well-marked, and

EVERY SNOWMOBILER HAS A LIST OF LITTLE—AND NOT SO LITTLE—ELEMENTS THAT ELEVATE A RIDE FROM GOOD TO GREAT

varied enough that there’s no time to be bored. Our first rest stop was at the Robertson Cliffs. Overseen by the Algoma Highlands Conservancy, the rocky outcrop that towers overtop the trail is a haven for hikers, Nordic skiers, and, of course, passing snowmobilers.

For those of you who’d like to replicate our ride, it’s easy to navigate. Head north on the D130 to the Top D trail and head in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. (For the record, we went clockwise.) For lunch we stopped at Searchmont ski hill—pack your

snowboard if you want to do the double of snowmobiling and snowboarding on the same day—then we took a jaunt on the SSM5 trail before rejoining the Top D and continuing back to Sault Ste. Marie.

If snowmobiling was created for no other reason than to give you the best possible night’s sleep, it’d be a worthy pursuit. But we all know snowmobiling is much more than that. Day two of our Algoma experience dawned bright and early, and we trailered up to Driftwood Valley Chalets, which is a stone’s throw from the ski hill where we had lunch yesterday. We could have easily ridden from our hotel to our day’s destination, but filming for Snowmobiler Television means we need to be mindful of our distances due to the extra time we take—you, of course, don’t have these kinds of restrictions.

Few words are as overused as “epic,” but it’s the only word that properly described our ride to Halfway Haven, the day’s destination. Sitting in what can only be described as smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, Halfway Haven is a charmingly rustic lodge and refueling post that sits—as its name suggests—all by its lonesome in the woods between Sault Ste. Marie, Wawa, and Chapleau. And that, folks, is our definition of remote.

If you’re a southern snowmobiler, there’s usually a road or farmhouse nearby in

FEW WORDS ARE AS OVERUSED AS “EPIC,” BUT IT’S THE ONLY WORD THAT PROPERLY DESCRIBED OUR RIDE TO HALFWAY HAVEN, THE DAY’S DESTINATION.

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case of mechanical failure, but in the north woods you can ride for an hour and not see so much as a hunting cabin. Fortunately, the Sault Ste. Marie Trailblazers have a series of warming shacks along the route to Halfway Haven. Fortunately, because the temperatures for our ride dipped overnight to the minus 35 range, and hovered near minus 20 for highs. And although the sun was tantalizingly bright, it had as much heat in it as the dashboard lights in your truck. And before you ask, no, there’s no cell phone service in these parts, but don’t despair, the warming shacks have emergency radios—the Soo Trailblazers have thought of everything.

This kind of snowmobiling—in true northern wilderness on the way to Halfway Haven—is something every rider should experience. The remoteness is intoxicating, and the trails are beautifully groomed, well designed, and, relative to trails in more populated regions, lightly travelled. The latter, for obvious reasons, is a blessing. But lightly travelled trails have a downside. Especially when the trails are this good. If you’re the leader of your group, it’s essential you be on the lookout for sleds travelling in the opposite direction. The tendency—and most of us have caught ourselves doing this—is to get into the zone and use the entire width of the trail as if we were cutting hot laps at a racetrack. Assume an approaching sled is around every blind corner and you’ll be just fine.

We’ve reached the point in this story where we’d typically tell you about our night at Halfway Haven. Of sitting around the fireplace on a soft sofa with a stiff drink. Of shooting the breeze with Halfway Haven owner Darrell Hoag, a big man with a big beard who looks as if he should be cast in a movie about a man who runs a remote northern lodge. It’s that perfect. But we won’t share these stories with you because Halfway Haven is now closed. Yes, closed, but don’t worry. You can still make the trip, as long as you’re prepared.

Once you leave Searchmont on the Top D trail, the next place for fuel, now that Halfway Haven’s pumps are closed, is approximately 235 km away in Wawa. Unless you’re absolutely positive your sled has that kind of range, packing extra fuel is essential. For our part, we’d rather travel in groups of at least three and ensure everyone carries plenty of fuel. Range anxiety in itself is enough to take the sheen off any trip. Don’t take the chance.

Our final day dawned bright, clear, and extremely cold. While the two-stroke sleds in our entourage reluctantly started, the four-strokes made it abundantly clear that they weren’t moving. Which was fine with us—secretly we were all relieved we had an excuse to head back inside, cozy up to the fireplace, and pour another cup (or two, or three) of coffee.

Eventually, with the help of hair dryers and old blankets tossed overtop the sleds to keep the heat in, the reluctant four-

strokes groaned to life and we retraced our route back to Sault Ste. Maire. The ride was as good as any one of us could remember taking—and that’s no exaggeration. As we went to sleep the night before, the groomer operator—who’d been sleeping during the day at Halfway Haven—set out back to Sault Ste. Marie. Which means we were the first to ride freshly a freshly groomed trail all the way home. It simply doesn’t get any better.

As long as you’re sufficiently prepared—and we’d guess the majority of you reading this magazine are experienced enough to know how to mitigate risk—the Algoma region is one you should experience at least once in a lifetime. While it’s a shame Halfway Haven is no more (cross your fingers for its return), its closure is no reason to prevent you from taking the trip of a lifetime.

THE ALGOMA REGION IS ONE YOU SHOULD EXPERIENCE AT LEAST ONCE IN A LIFETIME

ow keen of a snowmobiler are you? Are you a big-mileage rider? Do you rate the success of the weekend by how many kilometres you add to your odometer? If you’re that kind of rider, we understand. Because we’re that kind of rider, too. There’s no better feeling than hitting a Sunday afternoon and looking down to see that you’ve added half the distance to the moon in just two days of riding. But despite our love of hard riding, we also appreciate the more laid-back days in the saddle. And that’s exactly what we did when we visited the Simcoe region of southern Ontario late last winter.

The Simcoe region stretches from Collingwood in the west, to Schomberg in the south, to Midland and Severn Falls in the north, to just east of Orillia. It’s a lot of land with, as we would discover, a lot of really good trails. But before we saddled-up, we headed out on the town—in Collingwood, to be exact.

One of the benefits of this region of southern Ontario is its proximity to amenities, which means if you’re travelling with say, a partner who doesn’t think 300-kilometre days are normal (apparently such people exist), then our weekend plans are sure to appeal to them.

Known for its ski hills and popularity with the monied crowd up from the city, Collingwood, to the surprise of many, is also a welcoming town for snowmobilers. On the night before we departed on our ride, we hit Collingwood’s hopping downtown for dinner at Northwinds Brewhouse, where most of the beer is brewed in house. And most of those beers are named after local attractions. Like Three Stage, named after a mountain biking hotspot. Or Pretty River, named after a local river that’s, well, very pretty. If you make it to Northwinds, be sure to give the duck fat fries a try. They’re sinfully delicious.

And then it was off to the hotel to rest up for the next day’s ride. After breakfast at

EVERY SNOWMOBILER HAS A LIST OF LITTLE—AND NOT SO LITTLE— ELEMENTS THAT ELEVATE A RIDE FROM GOOD TO GREAT

the hotel, we departed on trail 703, which winds straight into downtown Collingwood, right next to the Canadian Tire, and straight across the road from our hotel. It couldn’t have been easier. Very few things in a snowmobiler’s life are as gratifying as riding straight from a hotel parking lot, onto a trail system.

Trail 703 wrapped around Collingwood, wound through apple orchards, forests, and fields, and led us southeast to the town of Stayner, where, a few kilometres south of the village, we jumped onto the B111, then onto the gorgeous B211, which dropped down into the valley to the village of Creemore. Now Creemore isn’t your usual small town. There isn’t a strip mall in sight. And you can buy Scandinavian housewares at a shop named Lagom. Or beer from the Creemore brewery, which is how most people are familiar with the town. And the restaurants range from very, very high end, to causal and comfortable. We chose the latter, and had lunch at the Old Mill House Restaurant before hitting the trails again and working our way back to Collingwood and our hotel. One of the appealing aspects of our route is its proximity to the Niagara Escarpment, which

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propped on an oh-so-hip shipping container refashioned as a beer fridge, was a vintage Moto-Ski Mirage that looked as if it’d lived a full life ditch banging. Ah, those were the days—actually, no they weren’t. Have you ever snagged a ski in a culvert and landed on your head? We have.

No visit to Collingwood is complete without a visit to main street’s best kept secret, Gibson & Company. It’s a little hard to find, but don’t fret, just look for the small sign next to the laneway beside city hall. Gibsons has one of the best whiskey and wine selections in town, and the espresso cannot be surpassed. After our nightcap, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for day two of our Simcoe getaway.

For day two, we wanted to sample the western reaches of the Simcoe trail system, so we trailered east to hook up with OFSC trail 421 in the Horseshoe Valley. (Next time we’ll add a third day and ride from west to east to link our two rides together.)

It didn’t take us long to realize that 421 southbound from the Horseshoe Valley ski resort was one of the best trails any of us had ridden—a smooth, flowing trail under a canopy of towering trees. And trail conditions were perfect. Groomers had been out overnight and if there were bumps beneath us, we couldn’t feel them. Through bush and across fields we rode, connecting with the 422 eastbound that flowed into the

201. And then it was northwest on the B trail.

And it certainly didn’t hurt that the sun was out and that the temperature hovered just a few degrees below freezing. An ideal winter day. For lunch we returned to the Horseshoe Valley ski hill (as much for the food as to work in another ride on the trail that led to it) before we headed back out on the trails.

If you normally spend your time hammering out the kilometres on wide open northern trails, or on decommissioned rail lines, running local (for us, at least) trail systems is a welcome alternative we’ve grown to appreciate. Staying down south also means more time riding and less

Later, as we soaked in the sun and the afternoon began to fade, we paused on a bluff overlooking Highway 400. Oneby-one we watched pickups pulling sleds on trailers coming back down south from weekends in the north. But we were all less than an hour from home. In fact, we

LATER, AS WE SOAKED IN THE SUN AS THE AFTERNOON BEGAN TO FADE, WE PAUSED ON A BLUFF OVERLOOKING HIGHWAY 400

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ITwas a great moment. The trail, that had wound through a tight and twisty wood, suddenly opened onto a long, thin lake. Everyone on the team recognized the moment. In unison, we straightened our legs, tilted our chins up to soak in the warmth of the mild morning sun, and followed the trail markers past cottages, fishing huts, and kids playing hockey on shoveled-off ponds. It was a pitch-perfect Canadian moment in the most Canadian of places: Sudbury. Yes, Sudbury.

We can safely say that Sudbury isn’t what it used to be. In the summers (we went last year) the lakes were clear, the countryside was green, and the cafés and microbreweries were welcoming. And for traditionalists, the old draws are still there. The big nickel, of course, and Science North, where you can check out turtles and snakes and the history of the region as a way to warm your toes after skating on plowed and groomed Ramsey Lake skate path, just behind the building. But enough talk of what to do on a down, off-the-sled day, because it was now time to pile on the miles.

Our day began in the best possible way, with strong coffee and a great breakfast at the Windy Lake Motel and Restaurant, which is a drive of less than an hour on winding route 144 northwest of Sudbury’s town center. At breakfast we met our guides for the day, Pierette Prince—president of the Onaping Falls High Riders— and Joel Brosseau, president of the Sudbury Trail Plan. If you’re like many of us who buy trail permits and don’t much think about the logistics of keeping a trail network in tip-top shape, the conversation with Joel was an eye-opener. Comprised of ten clubs in the area that fall under the OFSC’s district 12—including Pierette’s High Riders—the Sudbury Trail Plan has

EVERY SNOWMOBILER HAS A LIST OF LITTLE—AND NOT SO LITTLE— ELEMENTS THAT ELEVATE A RIDE FROM GOOD TO GREAT

hundreds of volunteers, 1,800 kilometres of trails, 35 groomer operators, and 13 groomers that run round-the-clock to keep everything in tip-top shape. It’s a well-run organization that puts its OFSC dollars where you can see them—on the ground beneath your track.

If you’ve never seen the inner working of a volunteer organization as large as at the Sudbury Trial Plan and its member clubs, it can all seem a little overwhelming. As Joel explained to us, something that looks as straightforward as a simple bridge is anything but. A bridge over water means that the natural habitat in the river or stream beneath must be considered, which requires the go-ahead from organizations taxed with overseeing the natural habitat. This means studies and detailed plans must be vetted and approved long before a shovel ever hits the dirt. (And here we thought getting a building permit for a shop on the back forty of our property was a challenge.) Talking with Joel and Pierette leaves you with the direct impression that we should all count our blessings that ac cess to such a trail system can be had for the price of a trail permit.

we mean the trails are dotted with legible signage, and the trails themselves have a thoughtfulness in their design and layout that rivals the paved roads in the province. All this means broad trails cleared of underbrush and built on solid, smooth ground. And when you consider that Sudbury Trail Plan trails cut through dense forest and all those lakes, it makes the accomplishment all the more amazing.

And who started the rumour that Sudbury and its environs are flat like a prairie? When the trail winds between massive rocks and big trees, you have to wonder if the people who say such things have ever been to the area. (We’re guessing not.) Our ride on C111D takes a break at the Onaping River bridge, one of those simple-looking structures we talked about earlier that, due to the stringent regulations that surround brides and

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At the intersection of trail C111D and trail 56 sits the mother of all fire pits, and even though the temperature hovers around the freezing mark, warmth from a fire is always welcome. Especially when it includes lunch prepared by local club members. After lunch we hit the trail again. For a day’s ride, you can’t do much better than continuing down trail 56 to trail 51, then a westward ride on the D trail before hooking up with the C111D again, then back to the Windy Lake Motel and our starting point.

With our sleds packed away in the trailer and our thanks to Pierette and Joel complete, we headed back east to a place that will forever come to mind should someone utter the words “rustic lodge.” The Sportsman’s Lodge, on Lake Kukagami, is just too perfect. When we walk to our rooms after check-in, we can hardly believe the perfection of where we’re staying. Imagine a multi-story lodge built entirely of pine—the tallest all-pine structure in the province of Ontario. We don’t know

about you, but as kids we wanted to live in a tree fort, and that’s exactly what the main lodge of the Sportsman resembles—if a tree fort had heat and running water, of course.

For our second day of riding in the Sudbury region, we met up with Sudbury Trail Plan vice-president James Saville and Dave Bolton, long-time volunteer with the Nickel Belt Snow Spirits, and himself a former president of the Sudbury Trial Plan. Now before we get into our ride, it’s worth noting that Dave, who’s got a few years on all of us, has the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager. Could it be that the secret to the fountain of youth is volunteering with your local snowmobile club? If so, sign us up. Dave and James planned a ride that would head north from the Sportsman’s Lodge on trail C206D toward the Wolf Mountain Lookout, which offers a stunning view across pristine landscape in glorious morning sunshine. Very cold sunshine, true, but when you’ve got the proper gear, beating old man winter at his game brings nothing but pleasure.

C206D is a winding, wonderful trail, and the short but steep ride to the lookout lets you know something special is on tap.

The C206D is a high loop that, after Chiniguchi Lake, begins to head back down south again. Eventually, we run into trail 71 which takes us across Lake Wanapitei to Rocky’s for fuel and food. With belly-warming chili and a robust fire burning outside, Rocky’s is the tonic we need to keep our energy levels up for the ride home. And Dave Bolton, to the surprise of

DAVE BOLTON, TO THE SURPRISE OF NO-ONE, CUTS A BRISK FIGURE ON THE TRAILS—WE SWORE THE MAN IS THE SNOW-GOING VERSION OF A CAMEL THAT RARELY REQUIRES FOOD OR WATER.

no-one, cuts a brisk figure on the trails— we swore the man is the snow-going version of a camel that rarely requires food or water.

What’s most beautiful about the morning’s loop is its wildness. You don’t cross any roads, you rarely see another sled (even though the Sportsman’s Lodge was packed with sledders), and you ride through 300-year-old, old growth forests. And a note to early—and late—season riders; due to the trail’s northern orientation, it’s usually the first to receive snow early in winter, and the last to lose it come springtime. As always, consult the OFSC interactive trail guide for up-to-date trail conditions.

After Rocky’s, we continued south on trail 71 before cutting north on the 77, which took us back to the C206D and the lodge. Again, as it was with yesterday’s ride from Windy Lake, the trails are clearly marked, and we particularly appreciated the stakes on the lake to warn us of ice

heaves, which can be deadly if unmarked and you’re unfortunate enough to hit one at speed.

But before we headed straight back to the lodge, we did something we’ve begun to do on many of our trips; end the day not in a hurry, but at a relaxed pace. The tendency at the end of a ride is to beat out the last hour or two at a pace that resembles someone fleeing the police. But why such a hurry to end days that are so wonderful? When we made it back to the Sportsman’s Lodge, we bypassed the lodge entirely and followed the trail onto Lake Kukagami toward Shaw Island, and then over to Chambers Island. As the day began to wind down, we hung out on the lake to watch the sunset, which was a glorious red against a high blue sky that was so dark, it was almost black. Through the trees we could see the warm lights of the lodge. We checked the time - dinner was soon. Could there have been a better end to a perfect day?

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Respect Landowners, Stay on Trails

Snowmobiling in New Brunswick is created with a multitude of facets all coming together to create a snowmobiling experience that we all get to enjoy. One of those facets is a snowmobile trail. To create this trail network to use, you obviously need snow, but not so obvious is the need to acquire landowners’ permission. In order to use any land, for any reason, we need to secure landowner permission first. Simply put; landowners are at the base of our sport; no land, no trail. Volunteer club members must deal with securing local trails with local landowners. SMNB deals mostly with securing provincial lands. No matter whose piece of land it is, we start with acquiring permission from that landowner. Landowners can range from various entities, be it government departments, private companies, or private landowners. No matter who the landowner is, they are first and foremost the essential ingredient for snowmobiling. Securing landowner permission is more easily acquired if the trail, or the corridor desired, does not become an impediment to the landowner. It is vitally important to all concerned that we treat and respect landowners as if we were using our own private land. The Off-Road Vehicle Act is clear that there should be no modification to

the exhaust system and only the factory installed exhaust is acceptable by law. Even with a factory exhaust, gunning the engine can cause noise pollution that can threaten snowmobilers use of the trails.

Using public or private lands is not a right, but a privilege that allows us to snowmobile on their property. Whether it is through the middle of the woods, or through a farmer’s fields, landowners will set down ground rules that we must abide by. Most of the issues are usually within the spectrum of the amount of land to be used, to times of the year we are allowed to use it. Any disregard for these issues that are important to landowners can hinder future use of their lands.

One of the first rules SMNB promotes is to stay on the marked trails. This is an extremely important safety rule, but it also helps our landowners. They have given all of us permission to use their land, but in certain areas only. There are various reasons for being stringent on specific areas of use; forestry work, other user groups, farmer’s crops, etc… it really doesn’t matter what the reasons are, we need to use only what was offered to us, and therefore staying on the marked trails will assure landowners that we

are using only what they offered.

Secondly, good will can go a long way. A measure of good will towards our landowners is to make sure “you leave it the way you found it”. It can become very difficult to negotiate future permission if vandalism and littering became an issue for the landowners. These types of actions can make or break a trail network. And, as stated earlier, it is a privilege to use, not a right. In essence, the landowner makes the final decision on the routes of our trail network.

Thirdly, if you have the opportunity, thank your landowners. Many clubs have organized dinners in honor of their landowners, but your gratitude will be felt by respecting the landowners. Respecting landowners will protect our trail system and assure us a place to snowmobile. You can respect the landowners by: staying on marked trails, by leaving it the same way you found it, by improving, not destroying, and by being thankful they’ve allowed us to use their land.

This land can be for you and me if you realize it was lent to us by landowners with good faith and appreciate it with that in mind.

Snowmobile – Motoneige NB

Respectez les propriétaires fonciers : Restez sur les sentiers

La motoneige au Nouveau-Brunswick est la création résultant de la conjonction d’une multitude de facettes mises ensembles pour créer une expérience de motoneige dont nous jouissons tous. L’une de ces facettes, c’est le sentier de motoneige. Afin de créer ce réseau de sentiers pour l’utiliser, il nous faut évidemment de la neige, mais ce qui n’est pas aussi évident, c’est qu’il faut obtenir la permission des propriétaires de terrain.

Afin d’utiliser n’importe-quelle terre, pour n’importe-qu’elle raison, il nous faut d’abord obtenir la permission du propriétaire. En d’autres mots, les propriétaires sont la base de notre sport : pas de terre, pas de sentier. Les membres bénévoles des clubs doivent s’occuper des sentiers locaux en parlant d’abord aux propriétaires. La SMNB s’occupe surtout de l’obtention des terres provinciales. Peu importe de quelle parcelle de terre il s’agit, nous commençons d’abord en demandant la permission de son propriétaire. Les propriétaires sont différentes entités : soit des minitères du gouvernement, des compagnies privées ou des particuliers. Peu

importe qui sont les propriétaires, ils représentent l’ingrédient essentiel et fondamental pour la motoneige organisée.

Obtenir la permission du propriétaire est plus facile si le sentier, ou si le corridor désiré, ne devient pas un obstacle pour le propriétaire. Il est d’une importance cruciale pour tous ceux impliqués de bien traiter et respecter les propriétaires, comme s’il s’agissait de notre propre terrain privé. La Loi sur les véhicules hors route est claire qu’il ne devrait y avoir aucune modification au système d’échappement et que seulement l’échappement installé à l’usine est acceptable selon la loi. Même avec un échappement original, faire tourner la machine au-dessus du régime recommandé peut causer de la pollution sonore qui peut menacer l’utilisation des sentiers par les motoneigistes.

Utiliser des terres publiques ou privées n’est pas un droit, mais plutôt un privilège qui nous permet d’utiliser nos motoneiges sur ces propriétés. Que ce soit en plein bois ou en traversant les champs d’un fermier, ce sont les propriétaires qui déterminent les règlements de base qu’il nous faut observer et respecter. La plupart des enjeux se limitent habituellement au montant de terre à être utilisé, ainsi qu’aux temps de l’année pendant lesquels nous avons la permission de l’utiliser. Si l’on ignore ces enjeux qui sont importants aux propriétaires, cela peut nuire fortement à l’utilisation future de leurs terres.

L’un des premiers règlements sur lesquels la SMNB insiste, c’est de rester à l’intérieur des sentiers balisés. Il s’agit d’une règle de sécurité extrêmement importante, mais cela aide également nos propriétaires. Ils nous ont donné

à tous la permission de traverser leur terre, mais seulement dans certains endroits. Il a différentes raisons d’être sévères quant aux endroits spécifiques à utiliser ; travaux forestiers, utilisation par d’autres groupes, cultures du fermier, etc… peu importe les raisons, nous devons seulement utiliser ce qui nous est offert ; donc, en demeurant sur les sentiers balisés, cela assure les propriétaires que nous n’utilisons seulement que ce qu’ils nous ont offert.

Deuxièmement, la bonne volonté peut faire beaucoup. Une démonstration de bonne volonté envers nos propriétaires, c’est de « laisser les choses telles que vous les avez trouvées ». Il peut devenir très difficile de négocier une permission d’utilisation future si le vandalisme et l’abandon de détritus deviennent un problème pour les propriétaires. En bout de ligne, le propriétaire prend la décision finale sur le trajet de notre réseau de sentiers.

Troisièmement, si vous en avez l’occasion, veuillez remercier vos propriétaires. Plusieurs clubs ont organisé des soupers en l’honneur de leurs propriétaires, mais votre reconnaissance sera ressentie en respectant les propriétaires. Le respect des propriétaires va protéger notre réseau de sentiers et nous assurer un endroit où faire de la motoneige. Vous pouvez respecter les propriétaires en : demeurant sur les sentiers balisés ; en laissant les choses telles que vous les trouvez ; en améliorant au lieu de détruire ; et, en leur étant reconnaissant qu’ils nous ont permis d’utiliser leur terre.

Cette terre peut être pour vous et moi, si nous comprenons qu’elle nous a été prêtée de bonne foi par les propriétaires et si nous apprécions tout cela en le gardant bien à l’esprit.

To advertise your business in this section call: 1-888-661-7469

NEW BRUNSWICK

Bathurst

Atlantic Host Hotel

1450 Vanier Blvd.

Bathurst, NB E2A 4H7

Toll Free: 1-800-898-9292

Office: (506) 548-3335 • Fax: (506) 548-9769

thehost@nbnet.nb.ca • www.atlantichost.com

Known to all sledders as the place to stay in Bathurst. Located on Trail #19, or take exit #310 on Rte 11. Loading ramps, indoor sled parking, heated repair bays. Fuel on-site. Excellentaccommodations,excellentrestaurants,pub-style lounge, heated indoor pool, sauna and whirlpool. And did we mention we’re the only hotel in New Brunswick located directly on NBFSC trails?

Right on the D111 trail, free continental breakfast, Royal Distributing close by, special rates & park’n’ride packages, rooms include fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and we offer extended stay kitchenettes.

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