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Last day and it was a 10+. Amazing what grooming will do. Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane. Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad. Today perfect. There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow. Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river. Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass! And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs. Not sure what they were thinking... Fantastic trip. 1119 miles in 6 days.

Sm and Playhard, well we didn’t get cheated on our adventure ride for sure! Thursday and Friday did not disappoint us😁. Thursday started out so nice but high clouds up in the Long Range mountain highlands in the distance had other plans for us. As many of you saw earlier in the week, The highlands, a few days ago had a beautiful blue sky, and felt very inviting. 😉 As mentioned , We had heard several stories of trouble and tragedy in these highlands all week. Well we got taste of just how wild it can get. By mid morning our clear view morning ...had changed into a slow crawl, dirty visibility and several dig outs of drifts as we crawled our way up into the highlands. Wow we still got a long ways of to go! This is what its like when the weather goes bad😉 , This is going to be slow going! Just before noon we decided this is not going to work! We had just got to a rough shelter about half way in. This looks like our chalet for the night! 😊 As we settled into our very.........rustic accommodations, some gathered fire wood , others water, an inventory of overnight supplies started popping out on the rustic picnic table in the shelter. A wood stove provided heat, but that was about it. The wind howled all night, but by 3:30 am it seemed like we had a window of opportunity and visibility was better, but we had 10 sleds buried in snow and we needed to get rolling. With winds forecasted to pick back up to levels we experienced yesterday, we knew we had a a narrow window. Robert Gardner and Dixon Clements, both Cain’s Quest Champ’s and old pros at these types of riding conditions , gathered the troops and said well...it’s now ...or ....we most likely will be here another day. So at 4:40am, sleds are all running and we are heading down out of the range, at a crawl. 3 hours later, and 35 miles under our belt, we dropped down into the tree line. Lots of stories and laughs to share, but also a reality of just how quick things can change in the high country! It’s always an adventure. With 10 experienced riders it was awesome to see all the safety and overnight equipment pop out of everyone’s bags. Multiple Garmin in reaches, Spot tracker devices, food, food lines for hanging gear to dry, fire starting equipment, jet boils, tarps, ect. You guys get it because we all tend to carry those items whether adventure riding or groomed trail riding, and at times thinking, wow, do I really need this stuff? Well yes, on occasion you do! The other neat observation was to observe your riding partners under challenging conditions. This group all remained calm and focused. Good attributes for any type of ride, especially when conditions change. As mentioned a few days ago, we had planned to get into the Gross Morne Park, but do “unforeseen circumstances” we ran out of time!! We did get to see territory and ride a regions that even many locals have never done. We catch the evening ferry back to NS tonight. We will be back to the Rock again! This has been another great adventure ride. And many more things to see and experience here! Happy Trails! RR

Waited while it passed. 5AB821C6-3655-422E-A3C3-779731C981F1.MOV

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Nice adventure, enjoyed following along. I think more then a few hours with 10 guys in that cabin would be plenty!

Awesome pictures, another clown driving on the trail with a vehicle🤤 Looks like the Moose is slightly spooked walking by with the hair up on his back. But he's got somewhere to go and he'd rather not walk through deep snow LOL Great report, thanks! 👍

Great to see the trip turned out so good.1 for the books I would think.Great positive attitude a must along w/ a good sense of humor.We are not here for a long time just a good time.

Fantastic way to end the season, great riding partners, great weather and a lot of miles. ( and a lot of laughs at "happy hour"). Thanks Mike, Farmer and Jack for the free guide services. You guys really know how to get around that area. Stress free riding at its best. Nice meeting and riding with Mark & Keith. Gary, thanks for the breakfast! Pleasant surprise. See you and all the Quebec riders I meant and rode with this winter. (on both sides of the river). Have a great, short summer. BTW, you guys got me thinking hard about a 4-stroke. Joe

Glad you had a safe adventure. Thank you for sharing!

Jeepers, is it really that big a deal? You don't have to fill the tank, what is it an extra $10 for fuel in the middle of no where? Ain't a cheap sport if $10 breaks the bank maybe this ain't the right sport! LOL!

Yesterday and today rode with Mark and GKW. Past week was fantastic trails and weather riding with so many great friends like Jak, Farmerold, Keith, & Jack. Even got to briefly see Snowdog. Today was windy and there will be some good drifts tomorrow. We did get back to the brick oven pizza again in Cabano. Few pics of recent days. Also, '19 ACE 900 just went over 6,300 miles. No problems to report. Gas and go. mike

Beautiful place, reading your post is motivation to plan a return trip!

Day 3 started out great. The 597 to Murdochville was perfect. There was about 4” of new snow on it but no bumps. Saw lots of traffic. Gas and lunch at the Copper. Took a look at the rooms and they have been updated-they are nice. The Chic Choc Trail was fantastic-new snow and freshly groomed. It looked like a plowed road the banks are so high. Passed the groomer about 20 miles from the 595 and the traffic and snow showed on the trails. The drift at the end was a monster. Decided to fuel at La Cache. The trail has been rerouted and it is about 10 miles to gas you run the road for a while. The place looks great. Heard they had renovated but didn’t realize how nice it was. A definite stop. The run down to New Richmond was not groomed. Even with very little traffic it was bumped, especially the last 30 miles. Tough finish to a beautiful day.

Tons of snow up here, more than we have ever seen in our 8 trips. The clubs have done a great job grooming and keeping the trails open after the snow and wind last week with two exceptions. Started at the Riotel in Matane Sunday. The weather was clear, a sunny blue sky day. The coastal views were great as always. Stayed at Grand Vallee. Great food and friendly people. Trails were a 10. Day two started with a flatbed to the dealer-fouled plugs caused the sled to run through 4x the normal gas and oil. The 5 of us took the TQ5 to meet him. Had our 3rd “never again” experience in that section. The first 30 miles were perfect then the grooming stopped. The next 30 were bad. A few sections were heavily wind blown. Ended the day with a great run on the orange cut through to the 597 to chandler. The trails were in great shape even with the new snow in top. The 597 is a favorite for sure.

I just got back from Old Forge New York, where we got 40 miles of seat time on the new 2020 sleds. All we rode were models from Ski-Doo. First thing, pictures do not do justice to the Free-Ride Blue, one of the best color schemes on snow...just my opinion that this sled is really beautiful to look at. Next, the new 850 extreme...WITH OUT A DOUBT THE VERY FINEST ALL AROUND SLED ..MAYBE EVER BUILT...PERIOD!! I am not a brand loyalist..just calling it after 2 10 miles rides, and I have been riding since 1966. This is not a cumbersome work sled, you keep looking back at stops and cannot believe 154 inches 20 wide is behind you. Hooks up like nothing short of a studded ice racer, the 850 moves it better than a 600r, although not quite as good as an 850 renegade, but not far behind. It really smooths out the bumps, and handles very flat, less intuitive than a back country, but you can really haul down the trail very aggressively without getting tired or feeling like you are tugging a work sled around. This thing wheelies at will and you actually have to back out of the throttle and learn how far you want to go, get used to it a little bit, fun factor is incredible. This sled will more than put a smile on a 20 year old, a 45 year old and a 65 year old tourer, kind of like a BWW station wagon!! Next was the 850 backcountry XRS, with a 146 track.I just sold a 2018 backcountry with 3100 miles on it, so I know the sled. The XRS model handles way better than the x or standard model, and it felt stronger than the 2018 engine and the 2 inch 154 rumbled a bit down the trail, more of a deep snow sled, ski-doo reps said hard concrete trails are probably not the place for this model, they said cooling and torn lugs are going to be the end result.Polaris looked very nice, quality, fit and finish have come a long way, they have upped their game. Arctic Cat had almost exclusively lime green versions of the new riot, the lines were getting very long and we made a 400 mile trek to be first in line at 8am, so we did not stay around to ride everything we wanted to. The new oxygen helmet was there, this seems to be a very well thought out product, I ordered one. If you get a chance to ride the expedition extreme, just do it, if anything you will at the very least come away with a big smile, Happy trails, Bob.

Bob please put some figures to your theory. Only 12 payments in 24 months? If, being conservative, the new sled costs $13,000 and depreciates $2,500 a year how does 12 payments cover this? I hope your explanation makes sense because I’m gonna stop writing $15,000 checks and use your method.

Wow...thanks for the posts and incredible pictures...especially the ones where it looked like you had to dig yourself into the refuge shack! Crazy how deep that snow drifted.

So, we did the trip as planned.. .Meekos, Kanawata, and CanadaAdventure. 95% perfect trails and awesome weather! St Micheal des Saints was no issue Sat afternoon.. a few bumps the last 30km once the 360/33 met.. but we just ran the Manawan Road between lodges. Smooth and ice covered. The 345 out of Repo was marked as the 33 over and over until we hit the local 20. That thru us for a loop as the paper map we had was incorrect and showed the 33 T off the 345. Gassed up at Auberge Du lac Taureau .... 145 miles from Kanawata... 3 800/850 Poo 40.6 to 44.9L, 800 Cat. 39.9, 850 Doo 34L so the Poo were maxed out with 45.4 L tank. We had spare gas on board if needed. 345 was best trail of the trip IMO. 63 over Tremblant also nice.. but first 25 miles on the east was in need of a groom Sunday AM My 800 Poo died 30 miles from the truck Sunday... 5900 miles... only got 700 miles out of the last rebuild. Super happy this did not occur east of Parent Friday evening! All in all very happy... tons of snow of course, that is a given, and superb effort to groom, and sign the corners.

You guys are pretty hardcore, they should make a TV series out of your adventures...

Moose picture is great. Looks like a very successful trip. Thank you for posting and sharing. mike

Sometimes it's hard to tell where the groomed trail edge ends and the soft-shoulder begins...

good morning !!! just back ...11 hrs run ...bumpy .... thx....-22c '' off the trail '' rider in ste marguerite while having lunch !!! jean-guy

Thank you Bob. It was a pleasure dealing with you. Have fun picking out your new one!!! Mike

I have sledded Newfoundland a couple times, certainly a unique experience. I strongly recommend it to any sledder that likes a challenge or something different As the boys mentioned, a guide is definitely a must.

I was just admiring that there are still 10 sleds in that line-up shot!

Hats off to your troupe! Make mine GT's! (groomed trails) Like many others here, I LOVE riding with you guys, from my couch!

Phone me @ 1-800 - cnc- cash😎

For pure luxury, hospitality and outstanding value, my recent stays at Le Bannik in Duhamel Ouest, and Hotel Lac Carling north of Lachute immediately spring to mind. We were also very well used at Motel La Bell'Villa in Senneterre recently, as well as at Motel Villa Mon Repos in La Sarre (though trail access to the latter would be a bit of an issue once the weather warms up .... quite a bit of sidewalk running to the trailhead).

I'll put the 2-Up seat on this time so you have plenty of room! LOL GutZ

I'm putting together a relaxed, high end, amazing food saddle bag tour and all the hotel recommendations are great! We are going to start and end at Hotel Sacacomie, day 2 is Fairmont le Manoir Richelieu, day 3 looking for 1 more place north towards Mont Valin/Roberval/Lac Saint Jean. What do you guys recommend? Are route is going to be something like this:

La Cache looks great.

Trailblazer, the ice did have a sweet taste , different than just the crown??😁 Today we had a run to St Anthony. Lots of polar bear and Ice berg sightings here over the years. A Polar bear passed thru town just a few days ago. A flat light day today made for limited scenery shots, but still a good run. A mechanical issue due to a rider finding a drift at an unreasonable speed caused us to focus on repairs. A few good contacts here got us fixed and we are ready to head south to Hawkes Bay tomorrow. Last year the school was locked down because a Polar bear was hanging around town! More happy trails tomorrow!

Canadian or USD? I've got Ryobi 18v Impact, I can get one and barely slow down!!! LOL GutZ

I would pay $2.00 cash for one of those trail signs.

Brilliant!! Best regards from Dolbeau! Did the 50 miles from Roberval to the BRP shop over here when the sh#tshow kicked up for real. The mile up the road to Diligence was pretty sketchy visibility, so hats off to the (many) sleds that trickled in the rest of the day and evening! Cote Nord another time. MOV_20190225_1328042.mp4 MOV_20190225_1336166.mp4