BEAST Trails Update – 22 Jan 2022
Good morning,
The club has been receiving a few emails with regards to when certain trails will be available for use. I thought I should give everyone an update as to what has been done this week.
The grooming teams have been hard at work since the big snow this past Monday. All 3 groomers have combined for more than 100 hours of work. The initial groomer pass on the trail takes much more time to do than just grooming mid season. The operators have to basically build the trail by filling in ditches, levelling snow banks from municipal lowing operations, clearing driveways, etc. etc. All these operations take time. Roughly 25% of the grooming hours on the first pass is used up doing these operations. It all takes time.
For those passholders who live north of Carleton Place, all the trails have been opened to yellow. The exceptions being the last few Km’s to White Lake, affectionately known as the Rocky Mile. It should be available at some point this coming week.
Up to this morning, the Mississippi Lake crossing on the E104A is not staked so showing as RED. It will be staked this morning so it will become available as YELLOW at some point this afternoon. Follow the OFSC ITG to check when it’s ready.
For those passholders those live South of Carleton Place, the E trail from Smith’s Falls to Perth is not opened at this time. Our neighboring club, Snow Road, had to reroute a section of this trail close to Perth and they won’t be able to open it until sometime this coming week.
For those passholders east of Ashton, the 206 (Ashton Swamp), is opened. When grooming it last night the groomer broke through in a couple places on the west end of the swamp. It is marked with CAUTION tape and is passable by sled. The TCT is groomed end to end. The brushing work club volunteers did this past summer made a huge difference. As I write this message the Richmond groomer is making its way north on the A trail to connect with the grooming that was completed to Flewellyn Road. The groomer will also be taking care of the Munster area. Again, it all takes time. As a side note you will notice a change in the A trail between Fallowfield Road and Flewellyn Road. The trail now runs along Dwyer Hill Road. This will allow us to get off Flewellyn Road which is becoming more and more a challenge each year with development. Better sight lines and safer for all.
All the trails around Richmond are opened with the exception of the 203 and the 303. They should be ready this weekend at some point.
The A trail heading north from the TCT has been opened. Unfortunately there are a couple of plowed fields the trail must cross and they are rough. Please be careful.
The final thought on this message to the passholders.
The OVRT through Carleton Place and Almonte is under intense scrutiny from locals within the towns. There is a adhoc committee called “Safe Trails for Lanark County” who recently made a presentation to Lanark County Council outlining a need for motorized vehicles to be forbidden to use the sections of the OVRT through Carleton Place and Almonte. This group spent a lot of time last winter collecting data to emphasize the need for this change. For now we are permitted to use the trail.
This is what needs to happen. If you pass through these towns slow down, be respectful of other users, and don’t draw attention to yourselves. If you have modified exhaust on your sled, I would suggest not to pass through these towns. The OPP will have an enhanced presence this winter and have been instructed to deal with these problems. The club is supportive of these actions and welcomes more police presence.
Stay well everyone and we will see you on the trail.
Ian Edwards
BEAST President
Message us or contact info@thebeast.ca if any questions.
Please follow the OFSC ITG at ofsc.evtrails.com/# or use the Go Snowmobiling App, to see what trails are open (YELLOW or GREEN). Please don’t go on RED trails, it’s trespassing and not safe.
Off-trail riding is also illegal and unacceptable.