Family snowmobiles from Kawartha Lakes to New Brunswick

Kirkfield camp beneficiary of fundraiser

It’s not often that a hard-core snowmobiler will change their plans because of too much snow. But that’s what happened to Jeff Boutin and his high school-aged sons, Hayden, 17, and Keaton, 15, a few days ahead of driving Jeff’s truck and trailer with snowmobiles onboard to The 1000 Mile Challenge 2025 held in Tracy, New Brunswick from Feb. 24 to March 1.

As Boutin explained, the event is not a timed, rider vs. rider competition. “It’s not a race. You challenge yourself to see if you can ride 1,000 miles in an amount of time you set for yourself. And it’s a fundraiser. Prior to this year, over $400,000 has been donated to send kids to camp.”

However, days before the Boutin’s were to leave, the 30 x 60 foot “coverall” storage structure on his property collapsed under the snow load, damaging his truck and trailer inside. Boutin, with donations and sponsorships lined up, remained fully committed to the event, and after considering different options, decided to ride his snowmobile to New Brunswick for the challenge with his two sons.

The new plan changed things for the older son. Hayden, in Grade 12, has a heavy semester at Fenelon Falls Secondary School and didn’t feel he could afford to miss the extra time the trip would now take. So, he elected to ride with his dad and brother as far as the Quebec border and let them continue to New Brunswick without him.

So, on Feb. 23 after carefully mapping out stops for gas, meals, and overnights, the trio left from the Kawartha Lakes Snowmobile Club equipment shed with 2,400 km of trail ahead of them.

“The first 300 km to Pembroke were good, but between there and Quebec they were pretty rough. They had a couple of big storms and it was tough for them (groomers) to keep up.”

The bigger inconvenience for Team Boutin however came when they reached the lodge they were going to stay at in Fort-Coulonge, Quebec. Despite several prior calls confirming the reservation, no one answered the door when the Boutin’s arrived at 9 p.m. “We ended up backtracking an hour and three quarters and getting a room in Pembroke. My son made several of the calls needed to find new accommodation, and locate gas stations, so it was a good problem-solving exercise for him. He complained less on the trip than I did.”

Once they regrouped and got to Quebec City, they had to negotiate the city streets between where the trail terminates near the airport, and where it resumes on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The solution was to hire a flatbed tow truck to winch the sleds on, and then squeeze in the cab for the ride to the next segment of trail.

Boutin gave the trails in Quebec and New Brunswick top marks. “They are often on abandoned logging roads, and you can get up to 110 km per hour and stay there for 30 minutes without having to slow down for a rock or a turn like you do around here. We were able to make up some time in that section.”

Around 9 p.m. on Feb. 26, Jeff and his son stopped on the trail about 20 minutes from Woodstock, New Brunswick to decide if they would push through the final two hours to get to the event, or if they would stop for the night. As they talked it over, a truck stopped where the road crossed the trail, and the occupant got out and started walking towards the Boutin’s.

“I didn’t know what to think…what was going on. He comes right up to us and says, ‘Are you Jeff? I have a donation for you.’ He had been following our progress on the GPS location map at the 1,000 mile website and tracked us down.”

After covering about 500 km per day for four days, the Boutin’s logged 630 kms on their last travel day and got to the event at 10 p.m. on Thursday night, joining participants from Maine, Michigan, Ohio, New Brunswick, Indiana, and Ontario. Organizers agreed to recognize the distance they covered just to get there as part of their total. For their efforts they received certificates for “most miles” and “bravest.” He adds, “I don’t know if that last one should have been “bravest” or “dumbest.”

The Challenge began five years ago when two friends in New Brunswick decided to see if they could cover 1,000 miles in one day of snowmobiling. Posts on Facebook before and during that first trip created a buzz, and friends and other snowmobilers started donating money to help pay for gas and food during the ride. When it was over, they donated the unexpected windfall –amounting to about $20,000 – to a local bible camp.

After that grassroots start, the 1,000 Mile Challenge will donate at least $163,000 to summer camps this year. The final number will be higher after raffles and last-minute donations are finalized. Riders can select the organization they support, and Team Boutin will donate to Camp Kirk for neurodiverse kids in Kirkfield.

Team Boutin raised more than $5,000 this year and Jeff Boutin already has plans in the works for next year.

“I’d do it again, for sure. Maybe with a detour up to James Bay first.”