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Ride 1 Gotta Love snowmobiling, year after year the off season seems oh so long. Yet I remount my trusted machine and seems like just yesterday I patked her for the off season. So nice to be back on the trail seems like I just left it. Like riding a bike they say and oh so true, you never forget how it’s done. This trip came together as most, kind of a last minute deal. But as I have said in the past when the boss (not the wife) asks if you want to go to Matane for a ride or stay and work? Hmmm let me think? Not a very tough decision. The boys will have to manage things without me until Friday and do without my big truck as they are not authorized to touch it. They have their own trucks they can work with those. Boss Man mon ami Alain arrived at 1pm Sunday at chez Ice. My sled already in his trailer as he had picked it up fro Moto Thibault Friday afternoon.(more on that after) Snow had stopped in Shawinigan area by now and we hit the road enroute for Matane. Nice ride all the way to just near Montmagny here we hit more snow and wind still I have seen much worse but this will surely affect our travel time. Further east we go the more snow and wind. After Rimouski is onto the single lane stuff and a bit more white nuckle. We finally arrive at Matane 7pm not bad only one hour longer than a day with zero weather issues. Our issue was the other people scared to death driving like they never saw snow. For us not an issue. Into Hotel and only six other sleds here. I am very surprised. Now the fun begins. Unload gear into room and time to drop sleds. I open trailer go to start my sled and realize straight away, Houston we got a problem. Mon ami left my key on when he loaded my sled. She is dead. Like that Iranian general, seriously dead. Well not to mention the wind is howling and still snowing albeit not alot. Oh joy. We drop it on the ground. With the With the battery not very accessible on the grand touring of Alain We decide to use the truck the F250 will do just fine. We put the mini booster cables on it and let the truck charge it up a bit. She fires up and we park it for the night knowing fair well we are to repeat this process again in the morning. The real question is will it be ok after I ride it to La Cache and shut if off there? We shall see. Had a nice dinner and chatted it up with the other gang of riders from Nova Scotia on their way back to the trucks in Point a la Croix. They came up the 595 yesterday and were going back through Amqui today. Day 1 Monday Matane to New Richmond TQ5 to 595 to TQ5 Up early at breakfast at 6:30 dressed and out at 7:15. Yup gonna need to jump it again. We get my ride breathing and hit the trail. 7:30am. Beautiful conditions and just after the bridge here in Matane fresh groom on TQ5 it’s delicious. Great run all the way to St Paulin and onto the 595. Super conditions. Crossed the River Cap Chat on the new ice crossing made by club to bypass a bridge that is gone. Surely 595 will be cut off on that end sooner than usual when Spring has sprung. Saw one moose and one nice sized coyote. Arrive at La Cache it’s 10:30am. Took the gas and since the Relais is officially open as of this past weekend we go inside. Lots of time on our hands. So far we have seen zero other sleds since hotel parking in Matane. ZERO. Gas super is $1.69.9 litre. Pay up. We chat it up well mostly me as the Relais is owned by First Natiions people and they speak perfect English. They have owned it since 2017. We start talking and the manager pulls up with a truckload of groceries as they just opened and had nothing. I help them bring in the stuff as I was doing nothing else anyway. We met Josh the manager, Justin is the chef, Dennis pumps the gas and helps with everything else. I start to explain Quebecrider to Josh the manager and he looks at me in wonder. He says we have been hearing stories from other communities about a guy named Chris Snowmaster2112. You are not him are you? Now I had two options here. My mind is racing do I say yes? Hmmm? Maybe he has beaver and a 60 pack of Bud and a hidden chalet. Well, honesty got the best of me, plus knowing Alain is not gonna be venturing off on any adventures to a chalet with these guys beaver or no beaver, I would but surely not Alain. I said no I am not. He said thank god we have been told he eats all the beaver and most of the beer. But they love him in the north and kids are writing songs about him and I think they will name the new school in Miquelon after him. Damn word travels fast. Anyway I think I convinced them to come onboard as an advertiser we will see if I get a call from the owner next week. Just as we are getting ready to leave 2 sleds arrive from the south. We chat with a couple. Guy with his girlfriend from near montreal. He first day in her life on motoneige first trails ever. She is loving it. I told the guy she won’t want ride anywhere else after this. He said I chose here for her first ride so she is guaranteed to Like snowmobiling. Smart man. Uneventful run down and into Hotel Francis. Just 2 deer near Pin Rouge Trails beautiful no other sleds none. One groomer headed up 595 close to New Richmond. No other sleds at hotel. Lots of Jack Daniels in my bag. Well there was alot. Not as much tonight, that’s why no report yesterday. Sorry. Day 2 New Richmond to Chandler TQ5 No hurry today was planned this way to relax today with all day to go a half day’s ride. Just what Alain wanted and fine with me and Jack. Went to breakfast at 8:30 thats like noon time on a regular day for Alain. But we are making exceptions this run. TQ5 flat frozen and fast. Beautiful. Not far along we see the first sleds coming at us since leaving Matane one group of three. Maybe 10 minutes later two more coming. That was it no others all the way to Chandler. Trail was so frozen in one spot I had to deploy my scratchers as my temp light came on. Not for long maybe 5-6km. Then put them back up. Came across a gang of club volunteers cutting branches back just before Port Daniel. Then we cruised on into the Relais at Chandler. 1pm. Day all but finished. Here we are the only ones they have seen all day the bartender was happy to have someone to talk with besides the chef. We eat and the operator of the surfacer arrives to prepare the machine for his run tonight. His name is Marc. He says for sure alot less snow right now then this time last year but the snow is frozen nicely and makes his job easier. Left relais at 2:30. Petro Canada for fuel then backtrack to Motel Fraser. Done. Alain needed his easy day because tomorrow is a big day for him. 320km from here to St Anne des Monts thru Murdochville and Mont St Pierre.

bonjour !!! went to albertville quickly this morning ...stopped at the clubhouse for a min ....waitress gave me money .... just to say thank you to that person who offered me a glass of wine !!!.....merci !!! few random pics from last few days !!! grey sky .....0c !!! jean-guy

On the news last night was a guy responsible for the certification training of the guides. this guide received his certification 10 years ago. Anyway does not matter unfortunately we will probably never know exactly what happened here bottom line very sad day for snowmobiling in Quebec and especially the families who have lost loved ones

Day 3 Left Chandler on perfectly groomed white asphalt 7am. Groomed all the way to 597 absolutely unreal. 597 groomed the same. Just to first warming hut. Saw 2 moose on trail, we stopped and let them do their thing for a bit then they sauntered off and we continued. Here’s where problems start. Been smelling antifreeze on and off for 2 days but no visible leakage anywhere. Took off panels looked all over saw nothing. 30km out of Murdochville temp light on, not good surely is not frozen trail as there is fluff on trail. Stopped and I am engulfed in a cloud of vapor. Not good. Game Over. No choice we hook it up. First time for me on this end of the rope in many years. Not a happy camper. Off to Murdochville. The 900 turbo Grand touring does a fine job pulling my beast and me to Copper. Within 5 minutes of arriving Jaques has a guy enroute to drive us to the truck in Matane. We take the time to eat while we wait for our ride. He arrives just as we finished. 2 hrs 10 minutes later to Matane.Then 2 hours back in truck to Murdochville load sleds and 2 hours 20 later back in Matane. Done for now back to the real world. Sled to doctor tomorrow. Probably gonna need surgery. Trails here empty and in top shape surely that will change in the next week or two as more people go for their Gaspe Tour. 3 sleds here at Matane 4 at Copper when we left there. conditions incredible.

Five of us arrived at motel St Come Wednesday afternoon. Trying a new spot to launch from other then Shawinigan being this is a western run. Reasonable place $45 each a night, only draw back the town is shut tight! No food! The owner ended up cooking us a fettuccine Alfredo, awesome! Morning plan is to head to point Le Daived on the baskatong. Out of the gate head in the wrong direction. 40 miles later back on track. Trails pretty woopped around Mt Laurier. Warm temps and traffic taking a toll. Into la point Daived just as it’s getting dark. Beautiful place with a saq! $116 a night for a suite with breakfast and dinner, can’t beat it! Headed towards belle tier in the morning. 230 miles

You betcha. Luckily she don’t read my posts and I know my secret is safe with you.

Doable yes, but if you are used to 220 then 310 at 30% more will be a stretch. You cannot easily add MPH to your speed. You will have to leave earlier, less stops, shorter lunch and get in later. You have to figure out how to "gain" 3 hours on your normal riding day.

Mrs. out front not sure. Not if I can help it. She follows I lead.

It happens to the best of us it doesn't matter if it's an old machine or a new one sometimes they let us down. At least it was in the morning not too far away from town .

It's very nice to read you again on here Don! love your report. sorry to read that you got this antifreeze leak problem that interrupt your fun... but it's part of the game! seems you managed to get out of the trouble nicely 👍 Wish your old girl will be back on the trail soon 💪

Here is the map of our first 2-day ride from Champlain to Lac-Édouard and then St-Raymond Saturday morning we left Champlain (east of Trois-Rivières) accompanied by our partner Snowcruiser under a cloudy sky and a temperature of -21C . Just decent snow along the St-Laurence river but it quickly improved as we ride toward north and the trail base was hard and well groomed. We went up to Grand-Mère where we took the trail on the St-Maurice river We rode few miles on the river up to the #23 trail junction which we took north. The long trail that continue up on the St-Maurice river is also already open and marked. Under good conditions we passed St-Tite village Just before crossing the Des Envies river, we stopped to give some help to bring back on the track a snowmobile that had gone straight into a curve. Fortunately no injuries but plastics are not tought at -20C when it stops on a tree ... We then continued on the #23 whose path is improved this year to make less roadside We stopped at Ste-Thècle to refuel and continued via trail #351 to go to dinner at the Tawachiche relay just at the entrance of the Zec After a good warm up and meal we continued north It was riding well even in this part where the trail base is really uneven, just barely a few bumps still present. I do not know the reason but the trail is actually diverted in the wood on the part just before connecting with the #355 instead of staying under the power lines like by the past years Here a rear view at the #355 junction, looking towards the Pipeline section further south. There was a lot of wood cut on the right! We then continued north. Here near the big railway bridge over the rivière du Milieu The conditions were very good on #355 and we see more snow to the ground as we go up. Before Lake Wayagamac, we forked on the local trail Lt1 on the right We then took the #73 east and finally the #355 for the last stretch towards Lac Édouard. The trail was a bit bumpy but the snow cover is impressive We missed the junction for the lake trail and finally ride the whole path on the land trail And we arrived at our destination at Gite d'Edouard just before dark with 150miles on the dreammeter. It is a place that we have visited few times in the past years and the owner Nicole has again received us as well with great hospitality and generous/delicious meals. We had a real good time there after our day ride and we had relax and chat alot before a good night at warm On the next morning, a little layer of fresh cream was on our sleds We had retraced our steps on the #355 trail. The groomer was passed overnight leaving us a perfect trail to start our day We then switched east on the local Lt2 trail. There was only one sled track in the 3-4 "of new snow at this place and we had great fun to play in this nice powder We took a short break near the relay at the entrance of the Zec Jeannotte And then continued on #73 trail east We took another short break near the "Marmitte" We passed Rivière à Pierre and continued on the #73 towards St-Raymond and my Kristine managed to catch this beautiful action shot at trail speed. We then stopped for lunch at St-Raymond and ate well at the Paquette pizzeria. We then continued south, our goal being to loop back in west direction to Champlain. We had a little overestimated the progress of the trails opening in the south in this sector and our first try proved being unsuccessful: we tried to take the trail to Ste-Christine just south from St-Raymond but after a couple miles in an AtV shared trail under the power line, the ATV trail turns left and the snowmobile trail.... well it was just not done yet. Here right after we turned back. So we took the #23 trail east to loop a little farther south east. They had made a first groomer pass but the trail was not so good. Near St-Basile the #3 trail was even worse and we really think to turn back but after talking with a guy coming from the opposite direction we were knowing that is was better a bit farther and it was not a dead end so we kept going forward at very low speed. We cross some people that were at installing stakes and signs When we were near Portneuf Station, to get better conditions, instead of keeping on the #3 we went up on #23 to make a loop a little further north. The trail base was good and although a little bumpy it was perfect after what we had rode just before! We took back the #3 trail just a little before St-Marc des Carrières The rest of the trails further west toward Mauricie were all good and the 5 to 6 inches of new snow allowed us to ride at a very good pace We got back at our starting point in Champlain around 5 pm with 165 miles for the day and 315 miles for the 2 days. An other great ride for us!!! The snowmobile season is finally off to a good start and with the snow fallen in the weekend it is only a matter of a few days to have all the south trails completed and the trail network fully connected. It's now finally the time to enjoy it and hit the trails for saddlebagging trips. The best of the season is just ahead us! To see the state of the trails in Lanaudière and Mauricie, here the trail conditions site: https://www.snowmobilecountry.ca/en/conditions/ Alain

Yes, The guys at Hotel Copper are very generous and have helped with emergency logistics for years, They are really great folks.

In Matane now back to Murdoch with truck and trailer to get the sleds season way to short and my patience even shorter i got a spare bullet in the garage at home (if the wife let’s me ride it she has adopted my second apex as her own)

Day 3 started nice is over in Murdochville my machine is down. Headed to Matane to get the trailer. details later. Problem anti freeze leak. Cannot see where from. but i am done at Motel Copper Jaques and Bernard to the rescue

My sled arrived at Hospital Moto Thibault at 11am. Surgery began at 1:30pm. The patient is out of danger and has been stabilized, no permanent damage. She is awaiting a transplant. Should be released Monday. Leaking from reservoir where radiator cap seals on it. Awaiting new reservoir and will put new radiator cap. No damage to motor.

Amen

That sucks for sure Don, not a good way to start the season. Hopefully not much damage is done and the rest of the year will we trouble free. Our group is planning to launch a Gaspe trip from the Universal in RDL. Hope to be there Sunday night heading out Monday

What's better/worse?... Seeing the Mrs. in the mirror, lifting the beast's inside ski coming out of a turn? Or seeing the Mrs. out front, lifting the beast's inside ski coming out of a turn?

Just a little. No photoshop here in first photo guy is standing in middle of road. Holy drift.

Didn’t the trail use to be marked around the outlet, we used to do that years ago, seems it was something like this. What a tragedy, thoughts a prayers to the families.

I call that a Vacation!!! or Retirement! GutZ

Very heartwarming story about your daughter. Glad she bounced right back and is doing well!

Makes sense Mike. We go thru St Pamphile first to gas up then cut over to Tourville for lunch...then start heading back toward RDL direction after lunch.... we usually head back toward 35 to the 571 over to Club Hiboux...then wing it back. Funny how we all get used to certain patterns. As you know we did Mt Valin QB at Christmas...awesome...and will do some Jackman to Beauceville area then loops a few times this year again. We will be in RDL I think 2/28 for 4 days. We have 4/5 days in Caribou booked on 2/8 that could switch to somewhere in Quebec. Thats evolving now. The more We ride up there the more I want to. 🙂 You know our problem is work gets in the way of making the travel time worth it...but when it happens its the best. Retirement cant come soon enough.

Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.

Thank you Alain. You and your wife have brought us along through words and pictures on another great ride. Are you doing a big week long tour this year? I still remember the epic meeting when you and your wife met up with GTRider and his wife. A historic international meeting of two snowmobiling couples from both sides of the border with a passion for riding. mike

Always a pleasure to see your pics and report.👍

Hi Alan, thank you for the report, as always we all enjoy your reports,

Now we need Team SnowMaster2112 Stickers, "The Beer and Beaver Tour" !! IceMan, Great Pics! Thanks GutZ

What a needless tragedy! Prayers for all the victims & their families.

OMG! What a tragedy! Prayers for all the victims & their families!

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/sq-helicopter-crashes-during-search-for-missing-snowmobilers-1.4779043

I'm now reading one of the rescue helicopters has crashed and pilot has been taken to hospital.. 😯

That is my understanding. The gas station is on top of the hill in St Henri. Trail 93 drops down and skirts the edge of the lake heading back towards Alma, well marked. 93 gets back on land and there are usually a few tracks that continue on the lake but near the shore. I always figured locals used it going home a little further on. It sounds like the guide may have continued on, maybe to take a shortcut to Alma or missed the get off point at night? The map Mark posted shows the N-FED trail going out on the lake and then dead ends. This cuts across where the lake is draining into the Grande-Decharge and then into the Saguenay River. A very sad situation for whatever reason. Jack & Sandi

A horrible tragedy. We can only guess because the guide is gone but at night, on the lake and it isn't a designated trail? Our prayers are with the families. Jack & Sandi