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Another nice looking morning. 93 was groomed last night from St Honore to La Chapelle. Lets take that. 93 is usually pretty beat but being a Tuesday it should stay good. Across the two bridges and right on 134 to 93. 134 was groomed too. 93 to St Honore is perfect. Up the mountain we go. There is a fluff to the snow up here. Down below the snow is more sugar snow. Even around Valinuet 93 is fine. This is just a few miles past the ski area. The blue Canadian sky is gorgeous! Just keep on rolling Sandi. We pull into La Chapelle. More sleds here than at Mt Apica. It looks like all Quebec plates. We go inside for lunch. I think this is under new ownership this year. The interior has been changed. There is a bar where the kitchen was. The kitchen is to the right. The old seating area is the same. Pea soup, hot dog and a cheeseburger will do. The pea soup must be homemade. There is some onion and bay leaves in it besides the peas and ham. Very tasty. This could be a meal on its own. Early in the year there are 3 or 4 steps coming out of that entrance. Now the snow is up to the entrance. Hi Sandi. After lunch we run back down 93. Bras Louis wasn't groomed so lets stay on 93. We wind our way down the mountain. It is getting overcast this afternoon ahead of the storm that is coming in overnight. At the 328 intersection it looks good to the right. This was groomed last night too. Sandi turns right and off we go. Nice riding here. Just before the 134 junction there are many signs saying permission fragile, stay on the trail. I remember someone posting a facebook clip about this landowner being very upset. Sleds are not staying on the trail and running thru his property. We behave. Turn left on 134 and run back to the Delta like we did the other day. Another nice ride today, very little traffic. Tomorrow we will wait and see how much snow we get. It will make the conditions better than they are now even though they are already great. Jack & Sandi

Buenos dias! The new Gizmo is having BIG fun burying big brown's toy! (Not sure we should have let them out?)

We'd been watching (obsessing) over the weather and believed the heavy snow band was passing across the south, so we decided to come up to Kanawata from Shawini yesterday over the park thru Mattawin & Repo and the new MINT go-around that passes Chateau Vert. Definitely no need to take the sanded road and miss such a great ride. Three of us are leaving Kanawata this morning, 60mi to top gas at Wemo, 60 more to top @ 22, then 60 more to Odanak. That's our story. Beside! Mario here says: "Snowmobiles... are for snow!"

I start a saddlebag trip tomorrow. Looks like we are breaking trail

Your way more than an average riders Jack .. lol 😁😁

Time for a side note: How fast do you ride or what is your average speed? Comes up occasionally. The typical answer is around 30 mph. Which of course sounds slow. Everybody rides faster than that. I thought we rode faster too. Over the years Sandi and I will comment on a particular day or someone else's trip and it does seem to be around 30 mph. Yesterday the old 850 hit 400 hours on the meter. Now is a good time to check. 400 hours times the 30 mph should equal 12,000 miles. I took a look at the total miles and it read 12,018 miles. I couldn't believe how close it was to the 30 mph theory. I guess we are just a couple of average riders! Jack & Sandi

I book all mine from the comfort of my house. Others do it on the fly. Depends on your destinations. If its a Fri or Sat I would book at least a week ahead. If its a outfitter they can get full from groups. Its easy IMHO to change reservations if needed on the fly. I also prefer the nicer hotels, so if you could care less as long as there is a bed than on the fly is fine.

Hey Slick its Hoover's nephew, good kid and has his shit together planing things I'm way too old and cranky for foul-ups LMAO

Parked in Roberval...leaving for chibougamau today. Trying to avoid as much as possible this storm. That's why we changed our itinary. No more st-raymond. We rode on hard trails for the past 4 days. Great conditions and gas consumption at its best.

Looked like a great trip. The ‘little camera’ took nice pictures and must have functioned well in the cold - unlike most of our phones. Thanks for sharing.

The M20 trail is one of my favorites. Your trip sounds awesome, enjoy!!!

I booked everything 2 weeks ago, we prefer to stay at really nice places with great food, hot tub/sauna/pool, and spa for a message if possible . Here is our itinerary: Day 1 Le Village Windigo to Pourvoirie Windigo(13 North to 83 East) Day 2 Pourvoirie Windigo to Auberge Du Lac Taureau(73 South to 355 South to 360 West to M20 to 345 South to 360 West to 33 South) Day 3 Auberge Du Lac Taureau to Pourvoirie Meekos(33 North/West to 100 Lacs to orange feeder trail South to Meekos) Day 4 Pourvoirie Meekos to Le Village Windigo(319 West to 13 South to Devils Mountain Lookout and then back to the truck/trailer and drive home)

T&B map is wrong from Clova to Martins, correct from Martins to Obj, and incorrect from Obj to Barrage Gouin.

bonjour !!! back roads pics...lac saumon...albertville !!! great day for riding !!! jean-guy

Lunch time

We did yesterday our classic big tour Joliette/Shawinigan/Mattawin/St-Zenon/Joliette 287miles. Here a small sample, best view on large screen at 1080p and crank up^the sound! Alain

On the drive up yesterday, we stopped at Performance NC Sherbrooke. I needed two stroke oil. No comments on two strokes now. While we were there, Sandi mentions they have fur boots and they are having a sale of 30% off. My old boots I've noticed have split on one of the seams and the liners are coming apart also. I might have to resort to duct tape again. OK. I'll go look. Hmm! These are just like yours Sandi. They feel pretty good. The sales girl says they are very warm and they will last a long time. They do feel good. Let me try on those regular boots. They are half the price of the fur boots. These feel good too but boy those fur boots sure are tempting. I put the fur boots back on again and walk around a little. Sandi and the sales girl are smiling. They know I like them. OK. I'll splurge. Out comes the credit card again. Ka-ching and I'm the owner of a pair of boots. Here's a pic of them at Relais des Lacs. I will say they are warm. It is like sitting on the couch with my slippers on. Toasty! A crazy side note is appropriate here. My old boots for whatever reason would slip on my heel a little. By the time I would walk from the hotel room to my sled, my socks would be down around my ankles. This would drive me nuts. I can't take the boots off every time I walked so I just put up with it. I don't know if anybody else has experienced this irritating boot slip but I have. Trying to walk around with my socks around the arch of my foot, annoying. How do the younger ones walk around with their pants below their butt I'll never know! The new boots don't slip and boy is it nice. Jack & Sandi

Day 6- Leave Val-D’Or to Louvencourt for breakfast don’t have that kind of time to do the Forestel. Have reservations at Le Classic couldn’t get anything for Saturday anywhere near Rebaska or the outfitters in that area everyone booked solid Saturday gonna be crazy keep right gang! Head down 386 trail to the Reservation trail still exciting with the hills and the way the trail leans to the ditch. Gas at the Reserve and head South trail in pretty good shape the lower half we are running along the road because it’s plowed. In to the Verendrye lodge grab a late lunch and make tracks for Domaine. Trail needs grooming not rough but narrowing up and there is a water hole 25 miles before Domaine on 63. Gas at Domaine and on to Lytton to the Classic. Groomed from the Domaine to LeClassic thankfully C527E3F1-7BDD-4B99-8322-C7B251FC76EC.MOV 506310F5-FAF8-47C9-BD4F-EDA57E4A9FA3.MOV

Le Domaine - Kitsisakik +- 115 miles using the bypass.

Did it last two yr's. both ways, it cuts off approx. 20-25mi using the bypass (old trail)

Day 5- Leave LaSarre still pretty cold -7F and 4” of fresh snow. Head down 93 and cut over to the Western loop. Heading to Duparquette to warm up and get breakfast, no deal both restaurants closed. Continue on to Rouyon Noranda gas up and get some breakfast, trails not too bad so far just some loose snow on top. Take the local cutoff to 83 heading east all groomed up until about 1/2 way to Preissac then gets a little rough and in need of grooming. From there take the local to the Manior des Rapides gas up and take a break, good food nice spot. Continue on the local to 307 for just a short section then back on the local to LaMotte and through to 309. This section of local trail was pretty rough back on the 309 all good again. Took the 309 into Val-D’Or for the night at the Forestel. Been here before great place to stay but the dinner takes way too long call St. Hubert lol

Some things will never change. This is one of those things. The consequences are minor if any are caught. Which they never are. So it will go on. Outlaw tracks longer than 146” on trail, no lugs bigger than 1.6”. Just like they are tough on modified exhaust they can do same thing with this. By all means allow it up on Mont Valin maybe near L’etape and Chic Chocs. But everywhere else NO WAY. If caught sled impounded and (drivers liscense suspended for QC residents) penalty needs to be something that will deter this behavior. Personally If it were up to me public shaming would be in order and a good old fashioned flogging. Trails are for trail sleds. Very simple. No need to cater to these off trail guys who cannot respect private property.