So nice to see the trails on the island ready to ride. Thanks for breaking trail. Enjoyed the tour!

lol we plow through more snow than that...wayyy more..lmao.. thanx for the great video tho!! greetings from 🇨🇦

Wow Greg. That’s a lot of snow. You’re going to have to park the sled and break out the snow shoes!

Good thing there's a bit of a trail there

Sorry about the angle of the camera. I should have had it facing up a bit. At least you can see how deep the snow is. I really bury it at the end.

Looks deep enough to shovel off the roof

Sorry about the snow on the camera for the first part of the video. I have to learn how to edit these videos. The return trip is a bit better.

Boy that brings back memories. Bought my first sled in 1985. I think it was $2100. Ski-doo tundra 250. Orange hood. Worked local transport company in high school to pay for it. Used at our remote family cabin. Had road access but with a hill and the cabin right on the water a quad or sled was prefered. We bolted 3 tires together (triangle) with a draw bar for grooming. Had 2. One with smaller tires ( 1st one) and another with large narrow truck tires for a wider path. Most times you could start with the wider set. Lots of snow you started with smaller. Family also had access to a culvert machine. We would start with a corrugated sheet 48" wide I think and roll just the end up and around 18" diameter like an old wood toboggan. Weld on a draw bar and handles and tie points at side and back and it worked like a charm. Could put a non running/track locked up sled on it and it pulled like a dream. Had another with a wood stove welded to it on back with storage up front for 4 feet of pipe, cooler, pots/pans, wood and table. We would pull it out ice fishing or for a fun community (sledding club) event and the 4 feet of pipe kept the smoke up and away. Made for good draw and roaring fire too. I would suggest making your path out onto the lake as wide as possible. Minimum 4 sled widths just where the slush is would help with getting the cold down and freeze some slush. It never goes away, comes up and down depending on the temps. We had access to plastic pipe and would cut 3 foot sections and staple on a reflective strip on top. We used them to mark the trail. For trapper line stuff we just used pine boughs from shore. Need to be able to see the trail in the worst dark blowing conditions. Even the '85 headlight would light up the plastic poles for half a km in clear weather. Like a highway. We kept old plywood to put down at the shoreline. Ours received sun so the shoreline would melt while the lake was still good to go. Best part of that 85 doo it was 28" wide. I would go into the smaller bays that filled up with snow and place my right leg on the sleds left running board and carve turns like I was on a jet ski on the water. The sled would be almost on its side. :) I would stick my left leg out as far as I could and dip my boot in the snow. What a pattern. lol Later I would try that with my 270cc tundra II and i found myself head first into the snow. The pogo style front end allowed the right ski while up in the air to tip forward and when it got back into some snow it brought the sled to a full stop. I kept going. lol You know that 270 tundra II was the best trail breaking sled. Perfect power to get on top without spinning the track and sinking. We had wide track polaris for grooming and everything in between but in deep powder breaking new trail in a high snow year there was nothing like it. We had opening up parties with 20 guys and only one sled broke trail because it was the only one that could. With my ability in deep snow I just waited at each downed tree and when it was cleared off I went. I'll tell you for a kid I sure felt important. lol Reminds me we would walk down and open up the cabin. Many times opening doors and windows until it was warmer inside. We would look out onto that beautiful white blanketed pristine lake with not a mark on it. 30 minutes later with my sled and Dads 2 going (later was his 4 and my 2) just for a little warm up fun before even getting the cutter and car stuff it would look like 1000 sleds had been around. With snow and wind that magic would occur again the next weekend. lol My last sled I bought was a new Apex in 2007 and put 15,000 km on. From the days of single banger 250cc 2 strokes to 4 strokes getting 20 mpg putting out 150 hp with turn key starting it sure changed. First yamaha and now I hear Arctic cat is out. At one time there was over 400 snowmobile manufacturers. I cut my teeth on a '68 scorpion mark II. Notice where the carb is? Not the most encouraging thing for a kid watching dad try to start it belching starting fluid flames out the carb. "You want me to put THAT between my legs?" Haha My older brother told me if I got close to the ice fishing holes I would fall in. Dad wondered why I never went close. Yes I felt shame when he told me the truth. Cheers! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXjdYWWFmM5oi9Ufeature=shared

You got out! LOL Nice work cheers from Port Mcnicoll

I am out

Should have bubbled a lot earlie...plus blanket your motor

Needs a set of plugs.

My first sled was a 1986 skidoo tundra 250. Not even the LT. 320 lbs. The only sled better in breaking trail in a heavy snow year was the tundra II 270cc. Little more power but still not enough to spin the track. The singles were the way to go. The heavy 24" wide track LC sleds were a dog breaking trail. Takes 3 people to lift them out of a hole when stuck. I saw it start in early 2000 mostly with ice fishing guys. Buying big sleds and putting racks for gear and ice auger mounts. It got to the point it's 1000 lbs of sled and you hit slush your done. Cut up some spruce bows and mark the trail for white out conditions or at night. We used plastic poles with a red light reflector material stapled on. Looks like a lit up highway at night but you never lost your way. With all the different trails everywhere having it marked was important. In spring the poles fall over and can be picked up. We tried green color but the moose were chewing them. Not joking. lol Also ride beside the slush trail and never over it a second time. Once is enough to let the cold down. 3 or 4 wide and with spruce bows to mark it and your good for the season. Looks like fun and brings back lots of memories. :)

What a winter 👍

That is wild stuff! I'm across the pond in Michigan, is it worth a visit sometime? I've heard great things about the Georgian Bay!

Should put some spacers between the metal and the tongue & groove

Crazy snow. Wish winter was like this every year

Ah yes the old white knuckler keep on the throttle run across the open ice lol. Be sure to bring your ice picks!

Return trip was the best. Awesome spot bud!

That poor motor.

Happy NewYear Greg and your lovely wife.

your outboard motor is frozen in the water , what are you doing , that's not good !

I HOPE YOU KEPT THE DOG...WHAT A CUTIE!

Just from the voice I can tell this guy is handsome

Watch ou for turkeys. Lol

location?

The Ice breaker dude

Did the turkeys help you? They were on the deck.

Good night 🌃

Nice video ❤❤

Healey lake is not northern Ontario, it's in the Muskoka's. Must be from Toronto.

nice spot, and with wild turkeys to boot

What was your temperature on this day? Great looking weather. I have many great memories when the weather appeared just like this.

Haha I never wondered how you knew ice thickness Following ❤

You are smart to do that.

Checking the ice thickness after 24 hours of complete ice coverage.

Is there an Airboat in your future?

Why would you leave your boat in so long. I guarantee you that winter comes every year around same time.

I bet that hill won't last long.

It's a Canadian ritual thing, just don't walk on it.

Ice fisherman alike must just hate you for breaking the ice up. You wouldn’t be doing that on our lake or you’d find your boat on the bottom next time

Good job winterizing your boat 😂

Yes. It's-8c now. Hopefully the lake freezes over tonight.

Just in time for the cold snap.. Saturday night will be -25.C I think .

This guy's a little late, I think!

We are on Healey Lake just south of Parry Sound. I will be pulling the boat today after I take my nieghbors out . Weather looks pretty good for freezing up. Hopefully we will be snowmobiling in a week or so.

I love the machine. Even though it's 154 track you just point where you want to go and it goes. Sits on top of the snow and has low end power. I cut all my firewood in the winter and haul it with my sliegh.

Friend of mine used to have to do this. He would pull out all of his bigger boats and motors, and for the period where the ice wasn't thick enough to walk on, he used a small aluminum 12 footer and would drop a tiny outboard on it. He used to leave his work boat in a bit longer, but too many impellers froze in the thing. So, for that period, he dealt with hauling a 12 footer up on shore, and putting the outboard inside to remain above freezing. He did this even when he had to lean over the bow and use an axe to smash a trail ahead of the boat. Finally he bought a used 2-person hovercraft. That solved a lot of problems. Only needed the HC for that period until the ice froze thick enough to walk, then drag toboggan, then snowmobile, then pickup truck. In his early days there, he wanted a septic tank put in, so as Winter set in, he worked on building an ice road. When the day came for the backhoe and the truck carrying the concrete septic tank to cross the road, they flat out refused. He himself drove the truck over first, then the backhoe operator figured if a 3-axle truck with a tank on it could make it, he would give it a try. His hovercraft gets used very occasionally in the summer, but it makes so much noise. Half the places are deserted in the winter, and the other half keep all their doors and windows closed, so the noise isn't so bad for them. He can carry himself and one passenger, or himself and the groceries. Only one incident where someone knocked the drain plug out while boarding. That could have ended badly, but they turned around soon and made it back to shore. Re-inserted the plug, and off they went, quick like a bunny, home to dry socks and a warm fireplace.

That's pretty impressive that the tundra can groom with that much powder.

Looks like McGregor Bay, !