Creating a Cross Canada Overland Route

[deadly99]

Have we seen the section north and NW of the GTA yet? You ARE going to use the Old Nippissing Rail trail... right? What about the Park to Park trail, which includes much of the Seguin trail... right?

Man, I need to get a rack system for my bike. And a big fuel tank. And a turbo.

Yes and yes. A section of the Seguin will be used (technical option due to whoops and water) and the Nippissing Ghost Rd will also be used north from where it meets the Seguin. After Noth Bay the route follows 600 km's of gravel roads through the town of Shining Tree and Timmins. North from there to the Abitibi Canyon before heading back south to Kapaskasing and points west :smiley_drive:

Most of that section has been routed and we plan to spend a few weeks in August test riding it. We're also planning to attempt a northern passage above Lake Nippigon. From what we can tell one fellow has t tied three times and made it once. Collapsed bridges and wide rivers will be the challenge..
:smiley_drive:

 

[deadly99]

Sweet deal.Just what I am wanting a rough country driving vacation without to much hard core stuff.When I go that far from home I don't wanna worry with hard core crawling breaking my junk.

No worries, the main route is primarily gravel roads, lots and lots of gravel roads. Throw in about 10 percent paved roads and maybe another 10 percent of easy double track and you have the main route. We as well are traveling these roads and trails and also have concerns of breaking our bikes and trucks way out in the middle of nowhere along ways from home and have taken these concerns to heart when designing the main route. In all there looks to be about 30 technical sections that are optional.

We have come out with a rating system for the tracks, that along with the guidebook and we believe people will be able to make an educated choice on wether or not to drive the technical sections or just stick to the main route.

A few areas left to route but it is looking like the TCAT will be around 15 000 kilometers in length and will offer a very wide range of cultures, scenery and geographical landscapes :smiley_drive:

 

[ben2go]

No worries, the main route is primarily gravel roads, lots and lots of gravel roads. Throw in about 10 percent paved roads and maybe another 10 percent of easy double track and you have the main route. We as well are traveling these roads and trails and also have concerns of breaking our bikes and trucks way out in the middle of nowhere along ways from home and have taken these concerns to heart when designing the main route. In all there looks to be about 30 technical sections that are optional.

We have come out with a rating system for the tracks, that along with the guidebook and we believe people will be able to make an educated choice on wether or not to drive the technical sections or just stick to the main route.

A few areas left to route but it is looking like the TCAT will be around 15 000 kilometers in length and will offer a very wide range of cultures, scenery and geographical landscapes :smiley_drive:

:luxhello: I am on edge just waiting for the finishing touches.I know it will be a year or two before I can take some real time away to do some extended traveling. :smiley_drive:

 

[Paladin]

Make sure you drop me a note when you are going to be doing any runs in my area in the spring. Bike or truck. Either way.

 

[x32792]

We have come out with a rating system for the tracks, that along with the guidebook and we believe people will be able to make an educated choice on wether or not to drive the technical sections or just stick to the main route.

Guidebook?

 

[deadly99]

Guidebook?

Indeed, the GPS files will be ditributed for free and we are writing a guidebook for the route. It will cost a few bucks and we hope to make enough to help support the website costs.

The guidebook will have relevant information for folks coming to Canada, some history, flora and fauna, and a breakdown per track file on terrain, etc along with photo's and maps of each track. The intent is to create a book that you can sit down with each evening and see what the next day has in store. The maps will be in color and accurate and should also help people in seeing the big picture. We have found that when following a line on a gps screen that it becomes easy to loose the big picture of where you are. Maps will be provided for the entire route, then broken down by province and then further by each gpx file.

The guidebook may also be bundeled with a 40 minute DVD on the route along with a few other bells and whistles.

:smiley_drive:

 

[x32792]

Indeed, the GPS files will be ditributed for free and we are writing a guidebook for the route. It will cost a few bucks and we hope to make enough to help support the website costs.

The guidebook will have relevant information for folks coming to Canada, some history, flora and fauna, and a breakdown per track file on terrain, etc along with photo's and maps of each track. The intent is to create a book that you can sit down with each evening and see what the next day has in store. The maps will be in color and accurate and should also help people in seeing the big picture. We have found that when following a line on a gps screen that it becomes easy to loose the big picture of where you are. Maps will be provided for the entire route, then broken down by province and then further by each gpx file.

The guidebook may also be bundeled with a 40 minute DVD on the route along with a few other bells and whistles.

:smiley_drive:

Good for you! I'm subscribed to this thread and enjoy going long so I'll be on the lookout for your Guidbook, GPS files, etc... Your Trans Canadian Trail could be in my future?

Ah...Will my '01 TJ (or 2012 JK with new Pentastar motor if they ever go on sale) be suitable?

John

 

[deadly99]

Good for you! I'm subscribed to this thread and enjoy going long so I'll be on the lookout for your Guidbook, GPS files, etc... Your Trans Canadian Trail could be in my future?

Ah...Will my '01 TJ (or 2012 JK with new Pentastar motor if they ever go on sale) be suitable?

John

Sorry I can't say what will be suitable (I don't play the brand game or this model is better than this). The main route is primarily just gravel roads with a bit of pavement where needed and a few area's of easy double track. I believe any truck-suv would be suitable as long as it's reliable and well prepped. The route is looking like it will be about 10, 000 miles. A vechicle should be well prepared to take that sort of abuse. There are 20-30 technical sections that are optional. Some are too narrow for trucks and some are very challenging but 'doable" for trucks. If you read through this entire thread you should get an idea of what these optional section entail.

That help?

 

[ben2go]

Indeed, the GPS files will be ditributed for free and we are writing a guidebook for the route. It will cost a few bucks and we hope to make enough to help support the website costs.

The guidebook will have relevant information for folks coming to Canada, some history, flora and fauna, and a breakdown per track file on terrain, etc along with photo's and maps of each track. The intent is to create a book that you can sit down with each evening and see what the next day has in store. The maps will be in color and accurate and should also help people in seeing the big picture. We have found that when following a line on a gps screen that it becomes easy to loose the big picture of where you are. Maps will be provided for the entire route, then broken down by province and then further by each gpx file.

The guidebook may also be bundeled with a 40 minute DVD on the route along with a few other bells and whistles.

:smiley_drive:

Any ideas on a rough cost of the bundle?My GPS doesn't do gpx files.It uses klm files.Is there away to convert gpx over to klm?

 

[deadly99]

Any ideas on a rough cost of the bundle?My GPS doesn't do gpx files.It uses klm files.Is there away to convert gpx over to klm?

No idea on cost at this point, if I had to guess I'd say 60-100 bucks for the book, dvd, maps and a some decals.

I'm not familiar with klm files, kml files are Google Earth files.
This web site does a lot of conversions and we have had good results with it:

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/

In all honestly I would recommend buying a gps that does tracks. The Garmin 60 series can be found for about 200 dollars these days. We choose tracks as opposed to routes as some of the roads and trails so not show up on many GPS maps and the auto re route features are bound to be a pain for something like this.

Gpx tracks are visible by many programs, can be converted simply and are easily manipulated. I do not pretend to be an expert on gps units and associated files, we have a GIS fellow who is making our maps and gpx files for the project.

 

[ben2go]

No idea on cost at this point, if I had to guess I'd say 60-100 bucks for the book, dvd, maps and a some decals.

I'm not familiar with klm files, kml files are Google Earth files.
This web site does a lot of conversions and we have had good results with it:

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/

In all honestly I would recommend buying a gps that does tracks. The Garmin 60 series can be found for about 200 dollars these days. We choose tracks as opposed to routes as some of the roads and trails so not show up on many GPS maps and the auto re route features are bound to be a pain for something like this.

Gpx tracks are visible by many programs, can be converted simply and are easily manipulated. I do not pretend to be an expert on gps units and associated files, we have a GIS fellow who is making our maps and gpx files for the project.

Thanks for the info.

No roads is why I use the set up I have that runs Google Earth.I can use it on my boat.airplane,or offroad.I checked and it appears that my system will run gpx with a little tweaking.

 

[x32792]

Sorry I can't say what will be suitable (I don't play the brand game or this model is better than this). The main route is primarily just gravel roads with a bit of pavement where needed and a few area's of easy double track. I believe any truck-suv would be suitable as long as it's reliable and well prepped. The route is looking like it will be about 10, 000 miles. A vechicle should be well prepared to take that sort of abuse. There are 20-30 technical sections that are optional. Some are too narrow for trucks and some are very challenging but 'doable" for trucks. If you read through this entire thread you should get an idea of what these optional section entail.

That help?

After looking at the photos in this thread, I'd say your TCT is much like the TAT in that a 4x4, even a short wheel base one like an old TJ Jeep is unsuitable for the single track sections.

To the poster suggesting a GPS unit which does tracks (also read direct vs auto-routing) amen...The Garmin soccer mom type GPS units have a 'back to the nearest paved road' default setting which will really mess you up off-road. Use a chart plotting type GPS with 'direct' routing capabilities.

John

 

[Paladin]

The Garmin soccer mom type GPS units have a 'back to the nearest paved road' default setting which will really mess you up off-road.

Au Contraire. Last week my soccer mom GPS (borrowed from my wife) tried to send me down a road in my little car that had me wishing I was in my truck! :Wow1: You know when the little voice tell you "Turn right on dirt road" you're in for some interesting times. :smiley_drive:

I'm somewhat familiar with most of the route through Ontario, and I expect any kind of serious off-roader, Land Rover, Jeep, etc. should be able to do the route if you're experienced. Assuming the trail is wide enough, which is never a good assumption... but it's worth trying. I know for sure I've lead stock JK's down sections that were deemed too hard for even the "technical" sections. (ie: Lingham Lake)

The reality is, some trails that are hard for bikes are easy for trucks, and vice versa.

I imagine Ted will try to vet all the sections for truck passibility before the whole thing is launched.

 

[x32792]

Garmin Soccer Mom GPS Units

While running the Eastern portion of the TAT this Spring, my Nuvi gave me what you see above in TN, took me in long sweeping loops and sent me down dead end roads.

On the levees in MS, it displayed multiple magenta lines back to the nearest paved road.

In NM, it completely lost its mind and directed me to turn on roads that didn't exist.

Off pavement, I wouldn't used one again and strongly suggest something more robust unless you just enjoy the thrill of being lost, misdirected and such.

John

 

[ben2go]

Use a chart plotting type GPS with 'direct' routing capabilities.

John

That is pretty much how I use my laptop gps with Google Earth.