Menu
The Buckhorn District Snowmobile Club is based in Buckhorn, Ontario, about 25 minutes north of the City of Peterborough. We are a member club of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs, and are one of seven clubs making up OFSC District 2.
BDSC volunteers and grooming staff maintain approximately 165 kilometres of trails through varying terrain, from the east shore of Chemong Lake in the south, to the Gooderham area in the north.
The bulk of our trails are in the Municpality of Trent Lakes, in an area of beautiful Canadian Shield forest once known as The Five Points Trail System – a throwback to the earliest days of organized snowmobiling.
To the west, our trails join those of the Twin Mountains Snowmobile Club in the Bobcaygeon area. On the east side of our system our trails connect with those of the Paudash Trail Blazers and the Stoney Lake Snoriders, leading to the Wilberforce and Apsley areas.
The 509 has now been cleared of fallen trees from the E108 to Hwy 503!!
Thank you to Perry, Mark J., Phil, Jim, Gord and Dan for going out on Thursday and getting the rest of it done!!! Great job!!💪
It's a nasty trail with many hidden outcroppings of Canadian Shield that can't be seen when you are the first to break trail. However it can be felt!!! Ouch!! It was an adventure/experience and we'll leave it at that!..lol.
E211 and the 501.
We did a short trail inspection ride from the clubhouse a few days ago. The first swamp on the E211 won't freeze hard. Water is still running and the go around is soft. We didn't go too much further than that.
The big swamp on the 501 near the parkette/Mississauga River is very soft and wet! We tried to walk out on it and we were breaking through everywhere. Hopefully the current cold temps will harden it up!
Groomers.
Remember musical chairs as a kid? Always one kid got left out.
It's starting to feel like that with the groomer situation.
Let's see if you can follow the bouncing ball. Pay attention and take notes!! There may be a quiz at the end!😉
BDSC is still waiting for the arrival of our New Holland T6 that was announced at the AGM. It seems to be doing a tour of Ontario before we will get it. Should have many different club's stickers on it by the time it arrives!😢
Groomer operator Al, brought the BR180, which is the only groomer we have been using this year, down to our shop on Wednesday to get the broken cleats addressed(again). While getting the broken cleats replaced, we noticed that the other hydraulic cylinder on the drag was leaking. It was sent out to get serviced but it was determined that it was done/garbage. So a new one was ordered and it is being picked up today. When the repairs are done, it looks like the BR180 will be heading to Twin Mountains as their one year old Prinoth Husky has some serious injuries and won't be available anytime soon.
The Snow Rabbit, which is shared with Paudash and Stoney Lake, was floated down on Wednesday to be our "temporary" second groomer. We had Iron Equipment come and take a look at the fuel leak and it was determined that there is a bad/broken weld on the main fuel tank. The tank is way down front under the cab and should be a "fun" repair. Since it is under warranty(under a year old), it is up to manufacturer to fix it. They will pick it up some time "next week" and they "may" drop off a loaner when they do.
Groomer operator Wib, brought down a New Holland T6030 from Paudash to Trapper's on Thursday to "temporarily" replace the Snow Rabbit which was "temporarily" replacing the New Holland T6 that we haven't received yet. It will need some electrical/wiring work as the lights on the drag are not working properly and it's blowing fuses. It is on its way down to the shop today to address the electrical issues and get a once over inspection(adjust tracks, etc). Unfortunately, it is not an ideal unit to open the rest of the E211 trail or the 509 so it may be a while before those trails open. We'll see.
We are doing the best we can with what we have!
Quiz
Which groomer(s) is BDSC supposed to have?
Which groomer(s) is BDSC actually using now?
Hope you took notes!!😉
Alot to contend with this year. Huge thanks go out to all the volunteers and business that try and keep the trail system at there best. As we can see its not aways smooth sailing dealing with mother nature and equipment not cooperating. So let's take that into consideration when everyone asks why are the trails still red and closed. Because all clubs have the exact same problems and conditions to contend with. Keep up the great work alot of us appreciate the time labor that goes into keeping as much as the system open for sledders to enjoy thanks again.
Thanks so much for the update. Appreciate all the hard work.. Have a good one
Ofsc ar its finest again.
And the lumberjack games continue!!
The BDSC crew were at it again on Monday!! Thank you to Mark, Gord, Phil, Mike, Jim, and new volunteer Perry!!!
The boys were out working on one those "5" numbered trails, specifically the 509 from TMSC 495/BDSC 509 junction northwards.
As always, many trees down. This is our first foray on this trail this year. It's a very rough trail for ATVs so we prefer to tackle it when the snow cushions the ride. For the first time in our recorded history, we had a 60' spruce tree fall across one of our many bridges, the Salerno Creek bridge. We decided that picture should be the new BDSC home page picture, representing the neverending fallen trees on our trails this year! We can't remember a tougher year!
The 509 has been cleared about halfway up to Gooderham. We hope to tackle the rest this week.
It was a tough day for our volunteers, not just because of the amount of fallen trees, but because of the snow depth! It makes it tough walking through knee deep snow to address all that future firewood! Much appreciation!!
We have received many emails about why the E211 from P1 north is not open. There still are some nasty water holes that refuse to freeze over causing some concern. One of the members from our BDSC family, had an issue while doing E211 trail inspections. The sled was traveling slowly, the back end slid, the ski dropped off/broke through the ice and did a slow roll over. No injuries to the person or sled but the same can't be said about their pride!!!..lol.. Nothing better than getting wet in January to retrieve a sled!! See pic!
Remember the trails are yellow. They are not perfect but are decent. A few large water holes on the E108 have frozen over thanks to the work of our groomer operators and some colder weather.
Grooming and groomers.
Big thanks to Wib and Al for working the BR180 day and night!! However, it's taking its toll working the trail through the Canadian Shield. Rock and groomer cleats do not make a harmonious relationship. We repaired a few cleats last week along with a bad hydraulic cylinder on the drag on Saturday. Some repairs done in the shop, some on the trail. We broke a couple more cleats today so we will be dealing with that tomorrow.
The Snow Rabbit groomer that we share with Stoney Lake and Paudash was supposed to be driven down yesterday from Paudash. However it developed a fuel leak from the main tank and was floated down to BDSC today. Hoping to get that fixed shortly and then the Rabbit will used as our second groomer as we are still awaiting the arrival of our New Holland T6.
You guys are truly an amazing crew!! Bring from Niagara, we can’t get up there to help with clearing—believe me, how I wish we could—but we are so appreciative for all the hard work you’ve put in re-clearing all these trails! And sharing all the info with those who call Buckhorn their “home” club!
Thanks everyone!
How come they always fall across and never just along side 🙁 🙁 I hope it didn't damage your bridge too badly.
Buckhorn District Snowmobile Club Give me a call if you ever need a hand clearing trails. I can bring the sled or quad. And help brush anytime. I live over on so foot bay road. Nice and close
Keeps you out of trouble 😘
If a tree falls in a forest, on a snowmobile trail… 😖😉
Never rest for VOLUNTEERS!!
Oh boy
Oh no!!
Did you know that permit transfers are only permitted when (1) changing ownership of a snowmobile to/from another person or (2) to another snowmobile you own? Learn more about transfers at www.ofsc.on.ca/permits/#permit-faqs
Between the ages of 12 and 15? Over the age of 15 and do not possess a valid Ontario Drivers License?
Then you need to successfully complete an Ontario-approved Snowmobile Safety Course before riding on public lands.
