On Assignment- Snowmobiling Algoma

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With winter in full swing, it's time to load up the sled and camera gear for a trek north. As an adventure photographer, winters are spent pursuing images depicting Ontario's amazing snowmobiling scene. With an incredible 30,000 kilometres of groomed snowmobile trails crisscrossing the province, if you have yet to experience Ontario's snowmobile scene, you must. It is hard to describe pulling into a Northern Ontario hotel or restaurant and seeing more sleds than cars; so cool.

Let's roll

My first stop is to pick up my ride for the trip, a 2022 Ski-Doo Expedition 600R E-TEC, at Giesler Marine in Powassan. As a snowmobiling photographer without a snowmobile, I am dependent on the assistance of others, and I appreciate so much the help from Mark and his crew at Giesler Marine.

2022 Ski-Doo Expedition at Giesler Marine

Back n the road

After a five-hour drive that took nine, thanks to winter, I pulled the sled off the truck and parked it amongst others at the Dunlop Lake Lodge. Located a short distance west of Elliot Lake in Ontario's Algoma region, with comfortable rooms, an onsite restaurant and live entertainment on the weekends, this popular snowmobiling destination is our starting and ending point as we take on Algoma's North Shore Loop. With COVID restrictions easing, it's so good to enjoy a good time in the company of others again. This good time includes the Intrepid Snowmobiler crew and YouTubers, the SledAddicz.

Getting loopy on the North Shore

Day one destination is Sault Ste. Marie, via Elliotlake and the Lake Huron North Channel, at 600 kilometres over two days; on paper looks easy-peasy, add a bunch of cameras to the mix, and time ticks away at a rapid pace. The North Shore loop is 446 kilometres, plus an extra 160 kilometres to get to and from Sault Ste. Marie.

I love the easy packing with the Ski-Doo Expedition. With a 90-litre trunk behind the seat, open the lid, toss in the bags and off we go, love it.

The ride is fantastic, along perfectly groomed trails. We take in the big views of the North Channel and enjoy an equally big lunch at Bobbers Restaurant in Bruce Mines. We finally dropped our bags at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in the Soo well past dark; long day but awesome.

Day two is the same but different; with fresh snow overnight, the trail twists and turns through the dense forest. Once beyond city limits, we have the trail to ourselves with lunch and a gas stop at Black Creek Outfitters, our only brush with civilization. We managed to beat the setting sun back to Dunlop Lake Lodge but just barely. A couple of days on Algoma's North Shore Loop, it's a good one.

• Read the Intrepid Snowmobiler's North Shore Loop write-up with my photos - Exploring Algoma Country's Premier Snow Adventure.

• Watch the Sledaddicz video here - Ride the North Shore Loop, Algoma.

• Accommodations for nights one and three at Dunlop Lake Lodge

• Accommodations for night two, the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Sault Ste. Marie.

Adventures on Ice

Time to move on; I bid farewell to my sledding companions, load the truck and hit the road. My next destination is pretty close, as the crow flies, but nothing in the north is close if you follow the road. That said, a couple of hours behind the wheel later, the sled is back on the snow, this time at the Snowshoe Camp Cottage Resort. 

I meet up with good friend and fishing guide, Adam from Angling Algoma. The plan is to spend a couple of days chasing trout beneath the ice of the local backcountry lakes. If all goes well, the result will be the ice-fishing trout trifactor, landing a brook trout, lake trout and rainbow trout all in one day. 

This adventure is the main reason I am so excited to have the Ski-Doo Expedition with me, big track, big skies and the ability to tow a big ass sled that turns into a fishing hut and all the gear for the day across frozen lakes, deep snow and skinny trail, what a workhorse. How did we make out? 

• You can read my write-up on our ice-fishing adventure here The Trout Trifactor.

• If you want to experience a backcountry ice fishing adventure, Angling Algoma can make that happen.

• Accommodations - Snowshoe Camp Resort 

Back on tour - Destination Hearst

What's next? Back at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in the Soo, the plan was to ride the 1400 km “All The Way There” tour from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst. Issues with some of the trail between here and there, and we have to pivot to plan B. In the company of a few local sledders and Snowmobile Club members, the day starts at the doorsteps of the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott and makes its way for 169 km through the Highlands, aka Soo Highlands Loop.

The Highlands Loop, Algoma

The Soo Highlands Loop done; we load up the trailer and drive two hours north to Wawa, where we resume our destination Hearst plan after a night at the Wawa Motor Inn. For the next four days, we register 720 kilometres on the odometer. We ride under sunshine and blue skies and snowstorm whiteouts. Visit the northern communities of Dubreuilville, Hornepayne and Hearst along a perfectly groomed trail we seemed to have all to ourselves. What a ride, Ontario snowmobiling at its best.

From Wawa to Hearst and back…

• You can read my write-up on the ride here - The Algoma Corridor Ride.

Accommodations along the way:

• Fairfield Inn, Sault Ste. Marie

• Wawa Motor Inn - Wawa

• Agich's Riverside Cabins - Hornepayne

• Companion Hotel Motel - Hearst

• Magpie Relay - Dubreuilville

Just another day at the office…

That's a wrap, ten days and around 2000 kilometres; all that is left now is a nine-hour drive home, 1000 images to sort through, and a few thousand words to type up; I love my job.