14th great northern ride

Never has a group this large snowmobiled this part of the country!

What makes this ride special is friendships and raising funds year after year. The GNR (Great Northern Ride) Charity stayed in their home province of Ontario this year. This incredible fundraising group has raised more than $1.5 million for handicapped children over the past 14 years, and they achieved this through their passion of snowmobiling.
This year they traveled more than 2,000 km in five days. They rode through OFSC Districts; 12 STP, 13 Algoma, 14 TATA and 15 Northern Corridor, covering a lot of trail all in the name of fundraising. The riders who make up this group mainly hail from Brantford, Ont., but there are others that join in on this charity ride from all over. There are Rotarians and businessmen from all walks of life participating in a group of 70 riders strong, but one thing clearly stands out, this is a fun-loving group of snowmobilers who really enjoy what they do. In the past, we have ridden across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland, and all over Ontario and throughout Quebec. But this year’s ride was different. It had bigger mileage than in previous years. So big a ride it scared some of the past riders away, but attracted a lot more enthusiastic newcomers.

The journey begins
In the last week of February, the coldest week of the winter, the GNR started this awesome journey in a well-known hot spot called, the Sportsman’s Lodge. This snowmobiler’s haven is just outside of Sudbury, Ont. It was a Sunday and everyone had trailered to this location. They came in at different times throughout the day; there were a lot of friendly greetings upon arrival. It was here the GNR had their Kick-Off Meeting later that evening outlining the week’s event ahead. And it was the Sportsman’s Lodge that also served as our staging area and our return destination at the end of the loop.

Seventy riders hitting the trails at the same time can be chaotic, but this group uses a different formula. They start off in smaller groups of three or four. A few travel in larger groups, but nothing more than 10. After a hearty breakfast everyone started their trek north. Leaving the Sportsman’s was tricky with all the different trails available, watching the trail signs was key as we weaved through the Nickel Belt Snow Sprit’s trails. This area is scenic, lots of frozen lake crossings, swamps with portages in every direction. This part of the ride on the C206D was tight and had lots of twisties, until we came to the Hydro corridor heading north to Timmins. This TOP Trail C, was groomed wide and it zig-zagged across the corridor most of the way to Shining Tree, a small, quaint village with a population of 30. They were ready for us. It was good thing we called ahead!

The day’s ride gave the impression of real wilderness. There are few roads to cross or any signs of civilization until we approached the Timmins area. However, we did find the occasional hunt camp and outfitter. The trails here were groomed well, scenic and everyone enjoyed their first day of riding and made their destination, the Cedar Meadows, in good time. Our group was greeted with the local media, snowmobile clubs and the local Rotary Club. They all heard we were coming, and it was a very warm welcome.

The next day’s ride to Cochrane was excellent. The group travelled on groomed double-wide trails. They were long, straight and occasionally sneaked in and out of the hydro line corridors. After finishing the TOP C trail, we turned left and went west on the TOP A trail towards Hearst. As we cruised along the top of the Ontario trails, we came across the Moonbeam Snowmobile Club’s club house right on the trail. There was a surprise here, our group was welcomed with applause as we entered the building. This is a great lunch spot and highly recommended. We ate so much it was hard to move afterwards, but there was more trail to cover this day. This section of TOP A follows along Highway 11 and goes through several towns with lots of services. As we approached the town of Hearst, there was a special welcome sign trailside just for us.

A cold snap sets in
With the biggest distance ahead of us on day 3, we also faced extreme cold, -35C. Even the sleds were hard to start. It was almost like the sleds were trying to tell us something. We weren’t listening.

The TOP A trail continued west, until we found the D108A trail which brought us back south. Traveling this wilderness trail was like traveling through a Christmas tree farm with all the new green growth. The trails wove through the bush with a few big trees and great scenery, after all, this trail goes through the Nagagamisis Provincial Park. We braved through the extreme cold and made it to the town of Hornepayne, to fuel up.

Our next stop was the town of Dubreuilville, our lunch stop. Everyone was still talking about the cold over lunch, some more than others. We also filled up on fuel in this old mill town and continued south. The wind started blowing snow around in the afternoon and made trail sighting difficult at times. It’s a good thing signage was well marked in this area. Not far out of town, we noticed the trail was peppered with lots of moose tracks. When we rode over this large section, it caused the sled to vibrate, so much so, one would think there was a serious mechanical problem. With our eyes peeled for wildlife… we saw nothing.

We travelled the groomed trail out to a lake crossing at Missanabie. The drifting snow made visibility and navigation difficult, but we found fuel and directions to get back on the trail. A group followed us into this fuel spot with excitement, wanting to know if we saw the moose on the trail. They, too, saw fresh tracks in the blown snow and thought we saw them for sure. Bottom line here is nobody saw moose that day!

Later on, the trail turned into a groomed logging road, almost all the way to Chapleau. This was a good thing. With a group this size travelling over 500 km this day, things needed to be smooth. And it was, the trails were groomed the entire way. The town of Chapleau, is a large logging town and has a lot of services. With the trails going through the middle of town, you know that snowmobiling is a way of life here, as it is in many northern towns. Our group stayed at the Aux Trios Moulin.
Thursday’s ride also proved to be cold. It was like the cold followed us everywhere we went. Chapleau was the coldest place in Ontario during our stay. After a warm breakfast, our group got an early start and headed south on the TOP Trail F. This trail follows alongside Highway 129. You seldom see this highway from the trail, but it’s known as the “Canadian version” of the “Tail of the Dragon”.

This section was a highlight of this trip. Spectacular scenery and the challenging trail seemed to never quit. There are sections here cut through the trees forming a square tunnel of heavy shade, unique for sure. Timing was good, too, as we pulled into Black Creek Outfitters in Aubrey Falls midday, Thursday’s lunch stop and the only fuel stop. Jean and her team had us warmed up with soup and chili, so we were ready to go onto Elliott Lake, our day’s destination. Elliott Lake is known as a retirement community.

This area is well known amongst outdoorsman.

Our final ride day was also REALLY cold. How cold was it? So cold there were many machines having trouble starting at -40C. The ride south on TOP F Trail was interesting and picturesque. But once we headed east, towards Sudbury, the trail followed along Highway 17. It weaved back and forth through the different communities. This section of trail also offered choices of land trail or lake trail most of the way to Sudbury.

The GNR final day was a short ride back to the Sportsman’s Lodge, and the week ended with no injuries. There were some mechanical break downs, as to be expected, but everyone was thrilled with the ride. During the Wrap-Up meeting, Bob Cassie, the GNR organizer said, “This year’s trip was so great, we should do it again, only backwards!”
Having only met a couple of sleds along the trail this trip, it was clear, traffic is not a problem in this area. We were fortunate to ride with great people and new friends on perfectly groomed trails the entire distance. Very few venture into this part of the country, and this is why these parts are one of Ontario’s best kept sledding secrets.
The next time you’re planning a session, maybe your last ride of the year, look into the conditions in Northern Ontario. Take the Snow Challenge and do the Northern Loop. You won’t be disappointed!