News!!!
March 2008 (By Dom Murphy)
Cramadog AGM was held on March 15th. Here are your new 2008/2009 Directors:
Geoff Scanlan (President), Muriel Stiles, Dom Murphy (Vice President), Gord Angus, Jim Grieve, Ron Gill and Ralph Beaty
March 2008 (by Geoff Scanlan) Cramadog Equipment
After re-reading some of the comments on this chat site, I thought it might be useful to discuss some of the Cramadog equipment and it's uses.
It has been said that we were using snowmobiles to groom our trails. To the untrained eye it might seem so, but in fact, we do not. Cramadog owns and operates 5 BPR Skandic SWT snow machines. They may look like the typical snowmobile but they are designed and built for hauling heavy loads at low speed and are considerably larger and heavier than the one-up or two-up that you are used to seeing on the trails. These machines, 3 of which are 2-stroke and 2 are 4-stroke, have an ultra low gearing and a 24 inch studded track specifically designed for traction and for pulling heavy loads. Cramadog have modified the factory models to include ball hitches, customized tool-carrying jigs, storage boxes and safety flashing lights.
Cramadog has 4 light-duty and 2 heavy-duty cutter/drags. These are not just hunks of steel that are pulled behind a snowmobile to break up the snow. They are Angus cutter/drags and have been designed and modified over the years, by trial-and-error, to cut, move and pack trail snow to take out bumps and fill holes.
When used together, the Skandic and Angus cutter/drag combination is an excellent tool for grooming our secondary trails and for supplementing our grooming efforts on our main trails when conditions will not allow us to use the large industrial-size groomer.
The Skandics perform many other duties as well as the grooming function and include but are not limited to the following: trail sign work, trail brushing, trail inspection, trail patrol, rescue, snow packing and lake staking.
Cramadog has a number of specialty trailers designed to accomplish the many jobs of running a trail system and they include: (1) the transportation, distribution, installation and removal of lake stakes (2) the transportation of the massive tractor tire for the large groomer should it get a flat somewhere on a remote trail (this happened last year) (3) the transportation and installation of trail signage (4) the rescue and transportation of people and damaged sleds (5) the transportation of people and equipment for trail clearing and brushing.
Cramadog also owns several chain saws, brush cutter and ice auger all of which are used each and every season to help prepare the trails.
Much of this equipment has been built and maintained by volunteers at no cost to Cramadog.
Our equipment inventory has increased and improved significantly since our separation from PSSD, the grooming association, and there is no question that the trails have improved in both quality and in safety.
I hope this helps to inform you of Cramadog's equipment and assure you that your permit dollars have been well spent.
Added by Dom
One final piece of equipment that we have is the Industrial Groomer with its drag. This unit is a monster that snakes its way down the trail usually at night when we are sleeping. It is operated by a skilled staff and has on board GPS navigation and Emergency Response Satellite Communication in case it ever arrives upon a medical situation. The operators have been trained in safety operation and response and ensure the trails are the best that they can be. This unit requires the operator to not only drive the tractor but also control and steer the unit via the drag system. It is really something to see. Some day I will be invited to come on a run with them. I look forward to this day!
February 2008 (by Muriel Stiles) Tragedy Strikes a Trapper
Tragedy Hits a Local Trapper
On Saturday, February 2nd Charlie prepared his camp for his departure around noon. His box stove fire had burned down to ashes and coals. His kettles were safely placed on top of that stove. He had his lunch of a sandwich and cold tea, then closed up to head home to Whitestone. Little did he know that devastating news would be passed on to him around 9 p.m. that night - his camp had burned to the ground!
Charlie’s camp is often a pleasurable stop for riders on 600N. They just take a little detour to the right as the second Shanty Bay Lake and follow a narrow, well groomed trapping trail to come upon one of his winter refuges as he manages his zone and harvests and prepares his fur.
When visitors stopped by he would welcome them with coffee or tea, cookies if he had them and he always had a ready supply of candy for the children. His grandchildren started journals at the camp when they were very small – they and their friends would write down the exciting things that happened during their stay with Grampa. He would share his knowledge of the history of the country side, the lay of the land, how animals react to weather – just about anything one might have as a question.
He’s lived and worked in the bush since the tender age of 14. Survival and protection of property, as well as a supreme respect for nature is a way of life. He had a routine and always followed it. His children were raised helping in the bush every weekend. Then it was a learning experience that his grandchildren came to love.
The 600 trail from Wah Wash Kesh to Island Lake (before the formation of Cramadog Club) was locally known as Charlie’s Trail and maintained by him. He used his first automated machine, an Autoboggan, on this trail. In fact Charlie marked the land trail D102C from the Magnetawan River through to the Loring boundary.
As well as losing his shelter, he lost many fur pelts, traps, tools, rifle, antique traps AND the grandchildren’s journals. At 70 plus years he questions “should I be rebuilding, well I’ll soon find out because I’m going to try”.
So if any of you riders are slowed down on the 600 trail by a weathered, outdoorsman pulling a load of material, stop and give him a hand – if it wasn’t for him you might not be enjoying the wonderous scenery in the WWK/Island Lake country.
There is a caution posted in many of Canada’s National Parks – “leave only your footprints”. It is my hope that anyone who visits a hunt camp or a trapper’s cabin on one of their rides, follows the same policy, “touch nothing that is not yours and leave everything the way you found it”.
Muriel Stiles
January 2008 (by Dom Murphy)
What a strange season again this year. We had great snow in December and the trails were starting to shape up. New Years came and "poof" all the hard work down the drain. We had rain and warm temperatures and terrible winds that made the trails un-passable. Once again our Volunteers headed back out to clear the trails and re pack the swamps and do their best to stop the rivers that criss cross the trail system from doing any more damage. We are now making headway and the NS and EW trails are "LIMITED" and soon to ne "OPEN" We are staking this weekend and we expect to be fully open in a week. Thank you for coming by and we hope you enjoy our trail system. Any questions simply drop us a line at contactus@cramadog.com
