Quinton Neufeldt
Words and Photos by Quinton Neufeldt
There’s a certain appeal of off-roading in the winter. The backcountry becomes a majestic white wonderland and there’s a peaceful stillness on the trail that can’t be experienced during any other time of the year. Wheeling through the wet, white stuff can be just as exciting as it is in the summer, but it can also be more challenging as we discovered early last March in Mattawa, ON.
Mattawa is approximately 350 km (220 mi ) from where I live near Toronto and is a rural northeastern community located at the junction of the Mattawa and Ottawa rivers in the Nipissing region. One natural attraction that makes it a popular area among wheelers is the Voyageur Multi Use Trail System (VMUTS), which consists of 300 km (186 mi) of mapped and marked trails for all types of off-road vehicles.
Quinton Neufeldt
The entrance to VUMTS at Kearney Road.
What I like about wheeling is all of the outdoor activities that can be enjoyed during a trip. Since you can get to Mattawa by taking Hwy 400 to Hwy 11 and then east on Hwy 17, I decided to take my nordic skis to get in some cross country skiing in nearby Algonquin Park. I encountered many trees and branches on the groomed trails that had fallen due to a recent storm and as the temps began to dive and wind picking up, I called it a day and continued to Mattawa where I stayed at the Welcome Inn Motel and Cabins for the night.
The next morning at Myrt’s Family Restaurant, I chatted with a local resident, ‘Mattawa Matt,’ who knew all about the snow and ice conditions in the area. When I explained I was driving my F250 on the VMUTS trails, he advised that certain areas could still be very deep (despite a recent mild spell) and impassable for non-tracked vehicles.
Quinton Neufeldt
Looking north up the Mattawa River.
Prior to leaving for this trip, I had contacted some wheeling friends and my buddy George agreed to meet me in Mattawa at 10:00 am in his new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. Once we met up in the cold conditions (it was -17°C (1° F)), we bundled up in our vehicles and studied our wheeling options on the GPS.
The access points to VMUTS from Mattawa were Kearney Lake Road or the Forest Access Road off Route 533, which is just northwest of town. While the latter had been plowed, it was glazed with ice due to the recent mild weather and refreeze. After airing down our tires, we ventured into the trail system. We quickly came to a power line corridor where we could test our rigs in the snow. Unexpectedly, we spent more time getting unstuck than driving.
Quinton Neufeldt
The statue of Canadian folk hero Joe Mufferaw at Explorer’s Point in Mattawa.
Following a few hours of powering through the snow, we stopped for a break before deciding to continue. The trails consisted of packed snow and were quite narrow. At one point my F250 slipped off to the side of the trail near a creek. Even though I wasn’t that far off the route, my rig was in a pretty good jam. George came over to help me shovel to clear the tires and we then tried the forces of my Hi-Lift jack, with no success.
Having all the appropriate gear is essential when winter wheeling and our snowshoes made it a heck of a lot easier to move around the vehicle in the deep snow. I then decided to air down the tires even more and we began winching the F250 with a snatch block using branches and planks for traction. This finally did the trick and I was able to crawl back to even ground.
Quinton Neufeldt
George running his new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon.
At this point, continuing didn’t seem to be an option as it was getting late. Then came another challenge. After recovering my vehicle, I tried to back up but the truck’s rear wheels had a mind of their own. The vehicle kept veering off to one side of the trail due to it being so narrow. When I drove forward to get back on, it would then slip off to the other side, making for very slow forward progress. This went on for about 20 minutes until George hooked up a couple of straps to pull my F250 back onto the route.
Despite these setbacks, our off-road and recovery skills were put to the test and it ended up being a very fulfilling day. After taking a break, we drove back into town for dinner, had some laughs and then called it a night and returned home the next day.
See you next time!
Quinton Neufeldt
While exciting, running through the deep snow proved to be challenging at times.
For more information about the VMUTS in the Mattawa area visit vmuts.ca to learn about the trails, permits, safety information and more.