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Under a cloudy sky with a little snow/-2C we made this ride yesterday January 6, 2023 in St-Zenon area through the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve starting from St-Gabriel de Brandon As a drop point we chose the parking lot of the Multifunctional Center 111 Chemin du mont Lanaudière (it's the road just past the Highschool) which is an official parking lot for trailers and the trail pass just aside. We arrived a little late and parked on the roadside in front of it. Despite the last thaw there is still a lot of snow, the conditions are good here in the field in St-Damien. Even the big hill in climbing on the mountain was nice with barely a couple browning snow spots , otherwise very good. Given the traffic there were a few bumps but it ride very well. We passed the Renard Bleu outfitter The road is plowed farther this year but has been widened and our trail is next to it. We just have to cross it a couple of times as the trail change of side otherwise it's fine. the snow cover is very good From the #23 we then took trail #350 east. After this thaw I was expecting to ride on very hard trails but no there is a good layer of loose snow on top , thick enough that the skis were not even bite the trail hard base most of the time. Very good conditions Passed the junction for the #23 towards the Cabanon we continued on the #350 towards Koubec with even better trail conditions We stopped for lunch at the Relais Koubec (Outfitter Mastigouche) It's been a while since we stopped eating there. It was very good and quick and their huge double-sided fireplace in the center of the dining room always impresses me! After the lunch break we continued in the Mastigouche reserve. I did a round trip stretch on #23 eastbound. We passed the junction for the trail to Gaston (#350 towards Lac Blanc) Before turning around and continuing on #23 westbound The section of #23 which comes to reconnect on the #345 (towards the Taureau dam) is less used and as usual it did not disappoint us with its good condition and beautiful fast sections. There had been more traffic on the #345 towards the Cabanon. The snow cover remains good even if there are a few spots of more brownish snow in the few km that leave the forest road and which had been reworked with a bulldozer just before the season. We stopped to fuel up at Auberge Le Cabanon And we went back down to our starting point via #23 trail Real Masse outfitter, which had major problems with their plumbing and water distribution system during an extended power outage (christmas storm) is not open and the trail goes straight, trail not groomed yet the #23 south of #350 was weared from traffic and was bumpy on the way back south, especially in the section maintained by St-Charles club The last section groomed by St-Gabriel club was better but the traffic had still done its job. With the announced cold and grooming, it will come back good because the snow cover is good. To summarize, the storm of December 23 had left impressive amounts of snow, the following thaw packed it down to give us a solid base for the trails and the last snow put some cream on the cake which gives very good conditions. There are still a couples of not frozen small ditches and you can still see the remains of fallen /damaged trees but the ride we did was very nice overall. Trail opening and grooming is still underway, I know that from St-Zenon or Mattawin it is possible to go to Pourvoirie Repos. Kanawata wrote their trails was open (4January) and Alliance du nord club that groom norther on the #83 state that they finished opening trails and are at grooming them. Many places in Parent/clova were starting their operations this weekend. Latuque snowmobile club also state their trails opened. With the cold announced I expect that the open trail network will continue to expand and connect rapidly in the coming days Happy 2023 season! Alain

Here is the ride we did last Sunday With the good snowfall on Friday followed by a mild temperature night, we already knew that the trails conditions would deteriorate quickly under the effect of traffic, so we postponed our departure to Sunday. We launched directly from the home in St-Thomas de Joliette on Sunday morning under a beautiful sun and a temperature of -15C. Superb winter conditions, very hard frozen groomed trail giving ideal conditions. Here on #3 towards Berthierville The wood sections were very snowy Nice encounter on this winter morning The La Chaloupe river is ok but stay in the marked trail! We continued on #3 to the east with perfect conditions Another great encounter! they weren't nervous at all, just happy to run outside In the St-Barthelemy sector where the trail get souther the snow was a little swept but on an icy base it ride very well I chose to keep #3 and go through Maskinonge village instead of #63 which goes through St-Justin. It's good but there is a section of 500' swept away where you can see the dirt. In the afternoon we came back by St-Justin on #63 instead and it's more snowy Here Ste-Ursules sector We are used to heading between #3 and #63 via St-Sévère but the Rivière du Loup that we have to cross direct on the ice is not safe yet so we opted for #63 trail We took a break on the beautiful site of the Magnan Falls in Charette The falls are usually completely frozen but this year you can still see the water flowing We continued on #63 And took the #3 towards St-Étienne And crossed the St-Maurice on the #3 at the height of La Gabelle. A few slush spots but it's marked and rides well The east side of the St-Maurice was a little rougher but still ride well and the snow cover is very good We stopped to eat at pizzeria du Lac at Lac à la Tortue near Grand-Mère. After a good meal break we left and retraced our steps on the same route with a few exceptions. Here in the area of Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel We did a pitstop in St-Étienne. Unlike past years where the trail passed in the yard between the gas station and the BRP NC dealer, the trail this year passes behind NC and you have to take a very short trail to go to gas or at NC We saw this impressive dogs team on the way back, there are 2 wide... We took a break again at the Magnan Falls in Charette but at the top of the falls this time As I said at the beginning it's rare to see the water in the falls it's usually all hard frozen We then continued west. The trail conditions had deteriorated a little since our lunch but from the fork of the #350 St-Paulin sector it became very beautiful and fast again until St-Cuthbert. Here a snow bridge not far from the village of Ste-Ursules We took the #63 to go through St-Justin, it was superb We came across the Dozer de St-Barthelemy without the drag which was at finishing some work on the trail We went through St-Norbert to come back, the trail was more bumpy from the traffic but it was ok We were back home around 4:30 p.m. with 322kms (200miles) of happiness on the meter! I know that most of you won't ride that south but the good news is that the trail network enlarge and is getting more and more connected to spread the traffic through. There are few rivers mostly along the St-Laurence river that are not ready yet. St-Maurice river is crossable but the trail on the river is not ready yet. The interactive map seems pretty accurate now on the trail condition. If we can keep getting January like temperature it will be perfect... Bye! Alain

here the ride we did Sunday January 29 under a temperature of -12C with snow Left St-Thomas near Joliette around 9:00 AM to go have a lunch at the Lac Blanc outfitter near St-Alexis des Monts. Despite the snow, the visibility in the distance was correct, we could easily see the stakes, but it was difficult to see the relief of the trail. Luckily,all trails had been freshly groomed and with the deep cold night the conditions were perfect. As usual in these snow conditions, visibility was almost perfect in the woods Since the snow had just started, we chose to do the most fields section in the morning before there were too many snow blades. Here on #3 in St-Cuthbert. This weather reminded me of when I was a kid and the school closed due to snowstorm and i was spending the day at playing in the storm. It ride extremely well, perfect trail. We went through the #63 and then took the #350 in the St-Paulin sector. To note in this sector, the gas station in the village of St-Paulin is closed on Sundays. The trail was nice and beautiful snowy scenery We arrived early around 11:15 for lunch at the Auberge du Lac-Blanc It was wise to arrive early, the service was fast and impeccable and it was more busy when we left an hour later. Although we had to come back home early for a family dinner, since it was still early we were able to stretch the ride a bit by going north on the trail à Gaston (#350 northwest). Again, very cold temperature helping, the trail was mint and the beautiful 3" layer of snow that gave a smooth ride in powder The little 900 ace is a lot of fun to ride in these mint wooded trail conditions. The snow cover is getting impressive in Lanaudière/Mauricie, in the good ones that we have had for several years We quickly pass by Koubec And went back down south via trail #345 which was perfect. We went through the Mandeville sector I was tempted to take the marked trail on Lake Maskinongé but with the snow and the wind my sweetheart was not very comfortable with my plan so we kept on the land trail The trails were a bit more rough in St-Gabriel sector but I was not surprised because I had read they had a major breakage on one of their 2 dozers at the end of the week and they only have one left to groom their entire territory. We went back down to the St-Cuthbert sector where we resumed the morning trail path to return home. There were more snow blades in the fields but it was still riding well We were quickly back home around 3:40 p.m. with 232kms of happiness on the meter The season is now with outstanding conditions and we finally have some real cold to freeze the trails and make them more solid. I expect the few rivers that were not safe yet to be ok by the end of the week with the weather forecast ahead. Gentlemen, start your engines and go!

On the road again... back in the saddle. 🤩 Last year I had an extremely short season due to my injury which healed fine, but it took its sweet time all summer during my paddle board season. Anyway here we are finally! Les Escoumins, for some reason I love this area. When you hear ''Oh I'm going on the Côte Nord'', you often think or hear Mont Valin, but there is so much more than there to be explored. So as Lover said we left Trois-Rivieres, Monday at 12:30 and got here just in time before the supermarket closes. We hit nice weather to drive up here, was quite a change than the past three days we had at home. Lots of snow, lack of cold. So gotta go ride where it's good during my school break. When we plan a trip we have two main goals in mind, look for groomed trails and less traffic as possible. One of my personal goals is to pay attention at the landscape, it's sooo pretty. I know that most people ride for the miles, but I sure look around and I'm so thankful to get to see mother nature's beauty. Late morning departure since usually there is a 6-7-8 kind of schedule. I think was close to 9:30. We rode to St-Anne de Portneuf for gas, then took a mint local trail. Lover always says that the local trails are the best, I must say that I agree so far. I was scouting the rivers for my summer riding season because we were along the water for a while. On that local trail we cam across a nice little warming hut. (see photos) I don't know for you, but each season I have to get accustom once again to the whole snowmobile tralala. It takes me my first day to get comfortable once again. Then we stopped at the relais Les Bouleaux for a small snack. Most of it was nicely groomed except for one part, which we knew, but now I know I don't like to ride on fluffy snow. 😂 I guess I would not be an off trail candidate. We didn't see many people, except once we got close to the relais. Oh we saw lots of places where trees were cut down, but it seems like it doesn't compare to Mauricie, Outaouais, and other places hard hit by big snow and wind. Many clubs are struggling to find volunteers to cut all the trees that had fallen and blocking the trails. Here you can follow along our ride with the pictures I took today. https://www.relive.cc/view/vNOP43YrP2O

We are just back from our sled week therapy in Gaspesia: sled/eat/sleep...&repeat 😄 I don't have the time to put together a big report but this will be a pretty good summary of how it goes: This 6-day/1000 miles ride in known territory for us (5th time) went well and even if it was a bit cold/windy, we had no snow storms or mechanical breakdowns, which gave us a very nice easy trip However the current context have changed the planning requirements from the past years: I have never seen so many snowmobilers in Gaspesia and the accommodation offer is probably a little less than usual... anyway all the places where we stayed were already booked full when we arrived. We booked our overnight stays 2 or 3 days in advance and the only shot we delayed at the night before for New Richmond, the 2 hotels there were already full and we had to extend our trip to Carleton sur Mer where we booked the last room. So you really have to book sooner this year Day#1 Mont-Joli/Cap-Chat passing by St-Pierre mountain total 176 miles. Here's the St-Pierre mountain belvedere under a very cloudy sky We had a lunch in Amqui and slept at the Auberge Grande Nature in Cap-Chat, just at the foot of the Chic-Chocs. Day#2 Cap-Chat/Grande Vallée via trail#5 total 148 miles It was a cold and very windy day. There has been a lot of logging between Cap-Chat and La Martre since our last visit in 2018, so the wind is even stronger on the trails. The cold has overcome my gopro (external power wire broken) and unfortunately I could hardly shoot while riding during the trip. I was deceived because I was hoping to capture the very panoramic segment of Rivière à Claude/Mont St-Pierre/Mt-Louis, but that will be for another time... We tried to have a lunch at the Mont St-Pierre motel restaurant which was the only one open but it was full with people waiting standing for a table so we continued and found a woody spot sheltered from the wind for a side trail snack break instead. A couple of hours later, we were able to take a real break in an heated place at the marvelous relay of the Snowmobile Club rapide blanc. Large and well equipped with even a toilet for the lady who greatly appreciated this luxury! We stayed at the Marée Haute motel in Grande Vallée. Even the motel looks basic the food was a notch over the bunch at that place Day#3 Grande Vallée/Percé by #597 trail Murdochville total 200miles So we retraced our steps on #5 trail to get the #597 and go down to Murdochville We had this surprised encounter there! They took the wrong entrance when they left the gas station after filling up and got stuck there solid...hope no one had need an ambulance in the next hour! It was too early to lunch there so we picked up some food at the convenience store and went to eat at the junction #597/local trail that join #5 trail to the east. Very nice fast ride pleasant to do We had some visitors for lunch: Several small black-capped chickadees came to beg us for lunch It was the first time those ones came to eat in our hands. We are well used to the gray jays and there were also some there who did not hesitate to claim their food too We went down to the #5 trail and then to Barachois to refuel and admire the rear view of the perce rock which is less common to see and I like much We then took back #5 trail, crossed the small detour near the emerald river (not so bad) and continued to take the local trail for Percé... the trail of the shame as some call it: 12 miles of big bump to do twice is the penalty to be able to admire the rock! Being already there we reach on the mountain behind, I like well the different views of the rock, including this one We stayed at Camp de base in Percé. We had to follow a non-federated trail to get there but it was pretty easy with the instruction given and imotoneige and the stay there was nice in this historic and unusual place Day#4 Percé/Carleton sur Mer via trail #5 total 178 miles We took #5 trail which we held the whole day. As I mentioned a lot of sledders in the Gaspesia right now so the trails wear out faster and we encounter good and less good trail conditions and this time our morning unfortunately was quite rough. Here the Grande Rivière bridge Here the Chandler snowmobile tourist information relay We slept at the Baie-Bleu hotel in Carleton sur Mer Day#5 Carleton sur Mer/Cap-Chat via trail #595 total 181 miles We retraced our steps on #5 trail and took trail #595 to the north. This time we got top notch conditions, trail just groomed during the night. The "moment" of the trip followed with a brief round trip exploration on Mount Lyall located on the Chics-Chocs trail, 6 miles from #595. We have been there several times but never seen the place like this: mommies as far as the eye can see! Going back down to the #5trail we saw some impressive snowdrift We then stopped to refuel at La Cache which was pretty crowed. We waited for the gas but no way I would wait for a lunch there. We just continued on #595 and stopped in a not too windy spot for an outdoor snack... we begin to be used to this! We then went back down to #5 trail. Kristine was anxious to encounter the famous moose that we saw on video beating up a sledder but we had not seen it. We then turned right towards Cap-Chat again but this time to stay at the Motel Nanook Day #6 Cap-Chat/Mont-Joli via trail #5+locals total 162 miles We left on trail #5 trail to return to Mont-Joli. Here the footbridge of Cap-Chat that many will recognize... We did a short round trip on the local trail to Les Méchins to shape up the ride a bit and then came back west on #5 trail. We stopped for lunch and a last fuel-up in Matane and then continued on #5. It was another very windy day and the wind there is really strong! We arrived early near Mont-Joli and we went around the town a bit via local trails to shape up the ride a little more again. Just before arriving we passed this dozer We finally got back to our starting point around 3:45 pm with a total of 1046 easy miles for the 6 days. Also, we slept twice in Mont-Joli. Before our first sledding day and on the last day at mon Joli motel and the Quality Inn hotel. I would like to point out that Mon Joli Motel offers a free parking for the week and breakdown service in the event of a problem on the ride. You leave them your truck keys and in the event of a problem they can come and pick you up with your own vehicle, which can be extremely nice in the event of a problem along the trip and it brings appreciable peace of mind even you don't need it. This concludes my 2022 Gaspesia trip report

The search for snow and open trails for the first ride was very limited this year. Then all the problems with the Pandemic didn’t make it any easier. We live in Ottawa which is considered a orange zone so if we want to stay together in a condo or cabin it will have to be in a orange zone. Lucky to see Sacre-Lecour is yellow zone and with the new restrictions put in place two days earlier it will be considered a orange zone and the trails are groomed and marked green. Bam book a cabin at 5 Ferm Etoiles for Friday to Monday. We leave Ottawa all loaded and ready for our eight hour drive at 5am. Great ride up all the way, 640 to bypass mtl, through Quebec City and up to meet the Ferry at Tadoussac. As we pull up to wait for the Ferry we are stopped by the QPF. Asking us what our intentions are and where did we come from. We are a orange zone traveling to a orange zone. It’s discouraged to travel but can’t stop us, on we go. As we pull up to Sacre-Lecour there is now a road block. Same procedure and questions as before. We arrive at our cabin around 2pm, unpack, get sleds ready and off for a short 100km ride before coming back for dinner. Leaving the small trial out of Le Ferm 5 is a bit thin but as soon as we get a little farther up the 93, it was snow heaven. We took the Tq3 to Relais Escoumins, had a snack and beverage and then back to the cabin. Saturday morning up and adam we are on the snow for 9am, plan is to ride up the 93 to La Chappell, get gas, take the 267 to the Bras Louie and lunch at the out door smoke cookers at Destination Mont Valin. As we were on the 267 we stopped for a break halfway there and some other guys coming from there said the Bras Louie is down to dirt due to logging. We turn around head back to the 93 and head to Des. Mont Valin. Lunch was friggen awesome, sun was out and lots of people. As we are coming to the ski hill the Fcmq had a trail stop checking for compliance. After lunch it was back to La Chappell for fuel taking the secondary trail to get there. From there we took the long loop up towards Les Escoumins and back to the cabin. Back to the cabin late, 8pm with just over 380km for the day. Sunday was going to be a easier day of riding as we were all a bit sore. Sunday we rode to Les Escoumins, a small loop out of there, then Relais Escoumins for a drink and back to the cabin for a total of 220 km. It was a great trip. Left Monday morning for Ottawa. Hoping for Val-Dor towards the end of January since we still have no snow back home.

Day#4: Matane/Forestville A day that started early to be on the wharf around 7:15 a.m. for boarding the 8:00 a.m. ferry to Baie-Comeau Once boarding done we go upstairs in the passenger section for a 2.5 hours to relax. We had plenty of time to visit this infamous boat which has caused so much talk for the wrong reasons, but in our case everything went well. It is therefore a little before 11:00 am that we begin our snowmobile ride on the north side of the St-Lawrence river. and we went west on #3 trail The Manicouagan River footbridge is very impressive Very high in the air, it offers us a very nice view of the surroundings (to be seen in the video) We stopped at Chute-aux-Outardes for lunch and then continued on #3 trail, which we kept for the rest of the day. Being a mountains, lakes and rivers lover, I really like the north coast. The famous section of #3 trail in the Pessamit sector which was closed for almost 2 seasons is now reopened and apart from a few 50km/h signs we barely recognized it and realized that we had already passed when we arrived at the Betsiamites river bridge We continued to Forestville where we arrived around 4:00 p.m. with 181 km on the clock to spend the night at the EconoLodge I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this fourth day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing. Day#5: Forestville/La Malbaie We start our ride at 8:00 on the trail from the Econo Lodge in Forestville because we had a good day ahead with a gray weather and a little snow. Beautiful mountainous and wooded sections on trail #3 We decided to not going down south to les escoumins to keep the day's milage reasonable and cut through by the local trail bypass Approaching Tadoussac We ate there before taking the ferry of the Saguenay River. Here, leaving Baie Ste-Catherine It was more snowy in the afternoon but it was riding well We took trail #378 which goes further north instead of keeping trail #3 which went down along the river. The route is beautiful but it was more bumpy on the 2nd half, we regretted it a bit. Arrived at the petit Manoir du Casino around 4:30 p.m. with 290 km on the dream meter The services on site are very good and the 2 spa areas, especially the Spa O'Quartz with its tropical decor and its many pools and waterfalls, is an exceptional place to relax after a good day on the snowmobile. I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this 5e day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing. Day#6: La Malbaie/Quebec An outstanding sunny day awaited us for the last day of our trip, seen from the hotel on our way to breakfast... We stayed closer to the St-Lawrence river to continue west taking the locals and trail #378 Here's the view at Baie-St-Paul We took #3 trail further west. The trails were all very nice. We took a lunch break at the Relais Ste-Anne, happy to see that it survived the covid's time well. We resumed after lunch for the last segment, still on trail #3 west Here crossing the Montmorency River on the west side of Quebec city As we expected a little, the trails were more bumpy when crossing Quebec city, especially west of this small bridge (St-Charles River I believe) where my wife seriously think of just walking through it ! But it got back to normal maybe a 12km further just after Val Bélair and we quickly returned to our starting point a little after 3:00 p.m. with a little less than 220 km for the day. We were impressed to see the foot of snow accumulated on our van and trailer and had a good snow removal job to do, but despite the 2 hour drive to do, we came back home for dinner very happy with our trip and to relax in our stuff. So an another very nice trip for us without problems which filled our heads with beautiful memories that I try to keep even more present with the help of my videos that I put together for each day. Here's the last one, Day#6 La Malbaie-Quebec which is very nice with the beautiful sun we had. Set sound and quality to 1080 for best viewing. Hope you enjoyed the ride! Alain

So tonight we’ll shake things up a bit, you’ll read about our today’s adventure through Mrs.Ice’s eyes. Hope you like it. 😁 After hearing Mr.Iceman’s melodies all night long, we opted for a late departure since we’re only riding to the mummies and the surroundings to be back at Quality Inn for a second night. 10:30 it was. Started on 5 to 591. At the beginning, near the hotel, I have to admit that we’re missing some snow. However, only 10 minutes up the mountain and it’s much better. Snow is somewhat loose, so a little shaky but for sure rideable, I just need to adjust my driving. I don’t know about when you’re riding, but I love to look around at the nature, see the fresh snow in the pine trees and sitting on all the branches. Oh, how I was spoiled in today’s sightseeing so early in the season. I kept stopping to take pictures for me, for you, so you see it for yourself, but a picture never truly represents what your eyes can see on the spot. Anyway. I guess I was stopping too much... someone’s patience was challenged, hahaha. 😅 Trails were really great all the way to La Redemption. Only saw a few sleds, you know when you can count them, but lose the count because they’re too far apart... gotta love to have the trails to yourself. 👌 I realize that I dislike to be tilted on one side due to an incline on the terrain, we were in the fields at that point, good to ride on, but lack of snow to ride straight on flat. Lover said it was good practice for me. I guess. But I also need to tell you that I do not enjoy big downhills, but I did encounter a few on Cote Nord last week and I’ m sure will see more this trip. I’m getting used to them slowly, gaining confidence each time. I get good advice. I know i’m In great hands. 591 to 587 now. Got to see the beginning of the mummies’ formation, how nice it was to be in winter’s wonderland. My Hands froze up there because I took too many pictures, Oups. It was worth it though, so beautiful. I can only imagine the look in February. Wow. Then, we saw a sign marked canyon about one km off the main trail, 587. Up we went, It was impressive as well. Sketchy trails for us to get there, but we managed. Lover said there are tracks, we can go. Afterward, we came to a point where I was asked if I wanted to go back the same way as this morning or this other trail, little longer he said. Apparently was 30 minutes, 40 some km more. I said you pick. Junction of 591 and a local orange trail. It goes towards St Paul. So off we go on that new trail. Some narrow and twisty parts, which I don’t mind because it warms me up. Then here it it, some sort a wide trail on a dirt road. Perfect to go a little faster, just a little. 😉 It brought is all the way back to trail 5, we completed our loop from the east. We made It to home base near 4:30. It was a good 240 km. Overall, it was a lovely day, not as nice as it was in Escoumins last week, but for January 2nd, it has advanced pretty well, can’t complaint. Forgot a thing or two that I will add here. We do have radios to talk to each other, lover warns me for things to look out for and sleds coming. However, if we’re too far apart I’m on my own. So I’m working hard for my turns to be sharp and tight on that right. I try to be more on my right than him. 😜 not easy. Last, we came back in the dark, it has been a long time since I rode in the dark. I was flashed by another sled once no clue why, until lover told me I had big lights on. 😬 Mrs. Ice

Hi guys! The rain and personal engagement had delay my first ride but finally here it is! Here the path of this first ride in the Mastigouche reserve It was one of the rare ride I did without my best half so no pics but nice video shots. I met my partner Snowcruiser at 10:00 am at Cabanon parking lot and we explored a bit toward south before going to lunch at 11:00. Lacks of snow toward the St-Zenon village especially in hills, many toctocs in the skis. We hit the trail again at noon and went in the Mastigouche reserve, toward Koubec at first. It was very nice, flat hardpacked/ icy base with a 3' of powder on the top and no rocks. We need sharp carbides to be safe and those who are not studded should take care and add some distance for braking. The trail base is nicer in the reserve but it really snowed more(take a look at the picnic table in the first video) and the overall conditions were nicer than many time in full winter. I put together 3 short videos, as usual put the sound on and crank up the quality to 1080 if you have a big screen here the first one and this one starting from Koubec and the third one really better conditions than I was expecting, Even if the souther trails are not as good, the trail network begin to enlarge, it is groomed from today St-Michel/Repos and from Pourvoirie du Lac blanc to connect in th Mastigouche reserve. More details on the trail conditions/opening here https://www.snowmobilecountry.ca/en/conditions/ So the snow condition is shaping up but the covid's situation in Quebec for this last week is worrying. No change at the border actually(Canada jurisdiction) but the Quebec government close yesterday all the schools, bar, movie theaters and cut by half the restaurant dining rooms capacity and limit party size for the next weeks so it is something to watch actually. We pass from few hundred daily cases in late November to 4 to 6 thousands daily in the last week... there is some panic in the boat at government level right now!

Haven't heard much news about QuebecRiders getting new sleds this year. Bought mine today. Last four sleds were 900 ACE's, needed something different. Maybe at 70 I needed one more hot rod before I get too old. '24 MXZ 600R two stroke short track (129).

3-16 Day 30 Back to the Delta. The 355 trail was perfect except for one terrible section of plowed, sun dried sand and gravel that went on for too long. Not so long as having to stop to cool sleds but still too long. Nice lunch as usual at Auberge Eva. Where we were first introduced to by no other than Saguenay Bill. Thanks for everything Bill. Along the lake the snow was very thin. Around the frog to the Delta, trails are mostly good. Of course road crossings are mid March road crossings. Wheels around the Delta make life easy. We rolled in mid afternoon, and only sleds in the compound. After dark there were almost 30 between the compound and sleds out front. I hope you've enjoyed my "wordy" read. And hopefully someone will be able to use something from my info. I know I've always gotten a lot of my info from you guys. Enjoy your summer, Jeff and Sandy

More pics other days

We stopped in Hotel central in Parent, had dinner with slyvia's cousin, he said she is at home and doing well, her eye is going to be OK and is now open. The idiot that did this is most likely going to jail, as far as I council tell he should consider that protective custody, he is not welcome in this area and it would be quite wise for him find a new place to be if he would like to stay whole. We left a 100$ donation for her fund on behalf of Quebec rider, these folks are very nice people and have been very good to our community for decades, support them when you are in this area.

Finally, here's the report of our first ride of the season did yesterday January 20, 2024 We could have ridden last Sunday but it was an after a foot snow storm day with mild weather and we knew well that the trail conditions would not hold and be hard for us 2up so we waited until yesterday and were not disappointed . The cold of the last few days has been very good for the trails and the ice... it's about time! We were able to start directly from home in St-Thomas near Joliette, the trails are open and there is more than 2 feets of snow and it increases over 3 feets in some spots on the route that we did. Here in the fields near St-Norbert. The sky was very gray with a little snow at times which makes the pics less attractive but it still allows you to see what it looked like. We strategically chose to do the wooded northern section to start the ride and to return via the fields to the south which remain nice for longer under the effect of traffic. Here north of St-Gabriel de Brandon. And here at #23/#63 junction in St-Damien 5 km north of the Renard Bleu outfitter, the trail turns 90 and takes a new route to connect to #350 this year due to logging in this area. there are a couple of kms to go on a plowed road but it ride very well Then we are on the road path which is snowy for a long section it ride really great, I really appreciated this new path groomed wide After the #350 west junction there is 1km where the trail passes either next to the plowed road or a new path in the woods that the club is at finishing but it is very short then we return to the usual #350 path which was really very nice and fast We quickly passed in front of the Koubec And we went up #345 towards the north which was as nice and fast And we continued on #23 towards the east which was just as beautiful, just the last 2km which goes up the mountain before reaching intersection #350 which seemed to still be on the first dozer pass... This #23/#350 junction(Gaston's trail towards Lac Blanc) was our expected meeting point with our friend Snowcruiser who was leaving from Trois-Rivières airport to meet us with the plan to eat together at Lac Blanc. It's a bit ambitious to arrange meetings in the middle of the woods like that... especially on the first season's ride. We had 140km to go and he had around 70km to get there but we had agree that we would wait a little and at worse we would crossed each other while riding, but we were lucky with our estimates that were spot on. I was stopped for less than a minute when he showed up! After a bit of chatting we got back in the saddle to try to get at Lac Blanc before noon to beat a bit the lunch crowd. The #350 going back down to Lac Blanc was still very beautiful, just a little worn in its big hills and very panoramic in terms of snow, it's impressive We arrived at the Lac Blanc Auberge at 11:40 a.m. with 165km done from the morning. We obviously weren't the only ones who had this idea! Given the size of the crowd we wondered how things would go for the meal inside but I have to take my hat off to their extremely quick and efficient organization which was ready. We didn't wait a second to be seated in the dining room and we had our meals in front of us less than 15 minutes later! I was impressed. After this good meal break and a refueling we left under the snow a little after 1:00 p.m. towards the southeast on trail #350. The view from the lake when we left! This trail was starting to get pretty beaten up by traffic but was not that bad on our side of the trail heading south. We tested our suspensions up to the #63 junction where we took a break. I was able to chat a little with Jonathan Doucet from Randonnée Motoneige au Québec on Facebook, whom I had recognized and briefly meet as I left Lac Blanc auberge The trail condition came back nice on the #63 and we were able to ride good trail all the way back home. Snowcruiser left us to return to his trailer via St-Léon/St-Sévère and we continued on #63 and #3 for the return The Bayonne River is already solid and the trail passes over it without problem near Berthier We got back home early around 3:45 p.m. with 272 km for the ride, very happy with this season's opener which had been a long time coming. The trail network is pretty much open and connected in Lanaudiere and Mauricie minus some rivers that are not ready yet. The cold we just had in the last days helped alot for this and I hope that mother nature will continue to cooperate in the next days to complete the puzzle. Have a great riding season! Alain

Saddle up, Quebec open for business 😜

We were due for a crazy day ride... It's a 300+miles loop ride running on both side of the St-Laurence river via a ferry and bridge that get around the large Montreal city, this doable from the porch of my home. Having done it before we already knew it was an ambitious day ride, way more than doing a 300 miles in norther area. There are many roads and highways and rail road crossings+ the ferry and "the unexpected" that insure a very full day ride. So we started from home at 8:00 am to catch the 9:00 ferry in St-Ignace de Loyola. Freshly groomed trail to warm up... Arriving at the first river trail path, it was a bit scary The St-Laurence river level got a bit higher in the night and cause water to rise on the ice on the sides. It is more scary than dangerous because the trail snow bank already cover the immediate side of the river where it can be dangerous and the small water pool we got is over the full river ice cover. It's been so cold since the beginning of the season that this ice is for sure thick enough to support the weight of a Yamaha so no worries we are on a BRP! We got at the ferry at 8:45 This ferry is one of the cheap option to cross the St-Laurence river: $7,60 for a sled and his driver and $11,35 in our case for an old married couple +sled There is actually 2 ferries that offer crossings every 30 minutes on each sides during most of the day(see the web site for full schedule) Our ferry had an hard time to accost because of the ice. It had to move back and forth many times to clear/crush all the ice along the dock and the 10 minutes crossing turn to over an half an hour one. We got back on the south shore trail at 9:45. The first stretch along the river to get out of Sorel city was rough but we cross the groomer that was about to solve that We quickly got on the #5 trail that we follow most of the path up the west of Montreal city. Not a lot snow but good conditions. We could feel few earth bumps in the skis on some very windy pass but the trails were overall very good You need to not be allergic to road crossing, especially highway crossings. I quickly counted and we cross the #30 highway 5 times, the #20 and #10 then the #15 2 times also the #640 and #25 and this on or under viaduct and even with a tunnel for the #640 We stopped there for a small break around 11:30 Here a first video(of three) that summarize this first part. you can always push the reader 4 arrows icon to pass in full screen Continuing on the #5 trail we could saw St-Hilaire mountain that we usually view riding by car Here after #20 highway crossing, good conditions It began to get worse after the #15 highway crossing. Last Friday fluffy snow had been more generous there and with the very strong winds we had there was a lot snow blades/drifts in the trail. The visibility stayed good but the bumpy drifts slowed down us to keep in the safe and comfortable zone. We even crossed a groomer that flatten our route for a few miles but the drifts were forming again quickly behind We also had something I don't encounter often, a long train that gave us a 12 minutes break before clearing the way We left the #5 trail in St-Michel area (west of Montreal) to cut toward St-Louis de Gonzague(bridge). We had few trail changes to make so I pointed my destination on the Gps to make it easy but a change between my map version and the real world trail glitched my gps that route us on the wrong side. I figured something was wrong by seeing directions for villages that we had already pass before. I got my cell phone out and made a check with Imotoneige that locate us and confirmed we were out of our route. We stepped back but it add some miles over an already busy ride. Here the 2nd video that summarize that part of the ride We finally reached our ticket to the north shore at St-Louis de Gonzague around 4:00pm. It's a 3/4 miles long car bridge over Beauharnois canal were snowmobiles are allowed to cross for free. The bridge is also almost snow free so I did as usual and throw some dish wash soap on my track slides before starting the crossing to help our mule to move our 2 ass on the other side of the bridge without overheating too much. It went very well. After crossing the Beauharnois canal we were needing next to cross the other half of the St-Laurence river that is done directly on ice. Even not groomed it ride nicely We then continued to catch the #33 trail, The day was already well advanced We got on the long Deux-Montages lake a bit past 5:30pm. A bit bumpy but it was ok and was riding good. We missed our target to cross it at daylight... here brief turn to admire the sky behind us We stopped for a real supper break at Île Bizard snowmobile relay around 6:00pm. We were near alone there but the people who operate the place told us they were crazy busy from the morning up to the end of afternoon and had depleted most of their food stocks. I took a good club sandwich with a cheese slice in place of the tomatoes and it was delicious! Nice authentic people there, I recommend it! We got back in saddle a bit before 7:00pm to do the remaining 90miles to get home The sony flash was in strike The trails in this area were pretty worn out and I adjusted the beat to go forward but safe given our day fatigue and the conditions. Our way home went well and we also got the chance to hit some freshly groomed trails on some sectors Here the 3rd and last video that summarize this last stretch We finally got home at 10:15PM with 340miles in our butts for the day. The small 900 ace did it flawlessly even if my old venture/expert-x miss missed us in the rough sections. We didn't needed to get rocked to sleep that night! Another nice good big ride for us ! Alain

What a LONG 23 months of government legislated abstinence from my happy place of Quebec in the winter! My last day of snowmobiling there was March 15th 2020. The border shut 6 days later. That is finally behind me now!! Well they talked about a big nor’easter coming in last Thursday into Friday. Time to change my plans by 24 hours. Changed my flight to 1 day earlier to Wednesday and took a 7AM flight from Florida to New Jersey to get my truck. My son Jason from NYC met me there & we scrambled for all our gear & hit the black trail at high noon. I always try to avoid snow and ice on my drives up and back in the truck. Of course I got my every 2-4 years speeding ticket on I 87 northbound in the high peaks for the Court of Chesterfield New York. Oh well. I have a tight schedule to keep! Crossed border at 5:15PM. Very very easy. ArriveCAN is simple & works great. Got thru in 10 minutes & no Covid test given to either of us to take post entry. Drove to Trois Rivières to pick up my fully serviced trailer & sleds. Then drove another 90 minutes to Lac-a-l’eau-Claire for our lodging. Arrived at 8:30PM in our condo. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to NJ to Saint-Alexis-des-Monts in 13.5 hours!! Long day but mission completed. It’s full on peak season conditions here! Yippee Ky Yea!!! To be continued………………

Its been to long!! How can one be deprived of the Monts for an entire season? Well thats the way its been thru all this. Today that changed, the border crossing ....after following " their process " was uneventful, kind of like normal years! The drive up after the border was normal, snow over the highlands, a little snow in the Sag valley, and good early snow in the Monts. The snow conditions in the immediate area of KM 31 are a solid 4/6" hard base capped with 10/14" of powder. Now that doesn't groom out to much but its a great start and for our mostly woods road riding, we will be fine! A quick 20 miles this afternoon, more over the next week plus! Think snow, and start planning a trip to Quebec, hoefully the border stays open🤞 RR

Going to give you a bit more. Then bedtime. we are going nowhere it’s out n back 2 days from here Universel.. Got some new hardware and trying it out while getting mrs ice some much deserved seat time. (She gets very little) nature of the game. Sena 50s awesome. Group mesh and love it. CKX Mission Carbon helmets. Why I waited till now i do not know. Game changing comfort and vision. Badass. Wheels down February 9 at RDL. This is a special year. That’s it. It is what it is and if you want to ride you can make it happen simple as that. Bitching about it or wondering how it will hold up is a waste of energy. Close to hotel is boney i have seen worse and rode worse returning here before. Not far out much better we left with no set plan. Following what felt good. 526 to TQ85 to First orange we can find. Let’s Go. early morning TQ85 nice and then orange fresh groomed. Beautiful. up orange to 544 another beauty very few sleds and great trail. new helmets are sweet. now 571 and another stunner. Real nice. Then to TQ5 to the trail of the day 518. WOW WOW WOW, never rode this it is spectacular east n 518 to local orange down to Fabien sur mer. To a scenic overlook just niot the best day for the views. But awesome riding. Gassed on the orange there right on the 132 been by on the road never on sled here. to be continued

Here is the ride we did on sunday March 12th it's one of my classics ride but I admit that this season with the St-Maurice river closed and the detour in the Mauricie wildlife reserve on the #360 it added some body work to an already big day ride. We left at 8:30 towards St-Zénon. The trails near my home were just groomed but very hard in the morning, scratcher mandatory! There is still a lot of snow even in the south of the area. I had put on the roller skis to do 2 shorts side of the road sections but no mud to start the day. Here in the maple grove in St-Norbert For the rest, no roadside or marginal section to go north. Here's a guy who holds his right to cross!!! Beautiful trails going up to St-Zenon. We fuel up at the Cabanon before continuing towards the Taureau dam on perfect grooming We went through the dam. The reservoir level is already very low. And started the #360 to the east. It was not freshly groomed but still nice and fast Riding the #360 in these conditions on a blue bird day like this is near the peak of snowmobiling happiness!!! We took a first real break at stop #440, our usual spot The 2 picnic tables... there's still snow there! The 2nd part of #360 to Mattawin had been groomed overnight and was perfect The beautiful Mattawin River We finally arrived for dinner at Marineau at 1:30 p.m. with 245 km on the meter. The lunch rush hour was already passed but despite this superb day and conditions there are already fewer sledders on the trail. We took a good lunch break (still so well received by Marie-Josée at Marineau) refueled and continued on the #360 which was perfectly groomed Past the #355 junction, the #360 to the south had not been groomed recently and was less good. Near St-Joseph de Mékinac village on a plowed road section the groomer will really have to built us a little sidewalk on the side of the snow bank soon, there is way enough snow for the groomer to do that. To the south of the village there is another short short plowed road section and then it becomes quite nice On the #23 to the south the rivière des envies is holding up and was solid but this one is always to be watched at spring It's not the snow that is missing there! The St-Maurice was still solid, no slush We then took back #3, a little bumpy but still going fast. There is a short section of plowed road in the power lines which would also require a small sidewalk to not play in the mud! Otherwise it was riding fine We crossed the St-Maurice at the Gabelle and it was still very good We fueled up one last time and took a little break in St-Étienne before continuing on #3 trail. A little bumpy at first in the woods but nice and fast in the fields. The whole rest of the trip was nice with a good snow cover We finally got home around 7:45 p.m. with 475 km on the meter, very satisfied with our ride but haven't took long to fall asleep that night! Despite the impressive snow cover, the season is already well advanced. Some outfitters in the north, such as Repos and Kanawata have announced that they will close after this next weekend which is quite usual for them. Some others continue to operate until the trails close... There is still great snowmobiling to do, it's often the best conditions of the year so enjoy these last weeks of sledding Alain

Beautiful sunny Sunday with winter temperatures (-15C at start around 9:30), we did this ride: a kind of Taureau reservoir loop with a fuel up at Marineau Mattawin! We parked the trailer in the parking lot of Pub 111 in St-Michel des Saints, the trail passes through the parking lot. We left a little late around 9:45 and headed off on #63 towards the Cabanon. The snow base held the thaw good but there was a bit less new snow on top around the village of St-Michel. The big slopes facing south near the village are the only place that suffered and some rock has risen to the surface and is mixed with the snow. the little snow we got today and forecast this week will help getting this spot better This pic is not very representative and unfortunately I had not a lot of photos at the start of the ride because my Gopro didn't want to cooperate and we are at testing with a new camera to replace Kristine's old Sony which is about dying(the camera 😉). You may notice some photos of a different look in my reports. We rode up to Auberge Le Cabanon and then took the #345 towards the Taureau dam. It had not been regroomed overnight and Saturday's heavy traffic day+warm weather had sculpt the trail shape! .The lady behind me was swearing into her helmeth... that's why we don't have communicators!!! We took a little break at the dam. We see that the reservoir level has started to drop down... And the water output flow is still high... We then continued on #360 east. Grooming was much better despite some bumps to watch in the curves up to #345 junction (towards Pourvoirie Lac du Repos) We then got superb, almost perfect trail conditions on the #360 up to Mattawin. I like this very panoramic section the snow cover is even much better going toward Mattawin This is one of the most beautiful section of the #360 with a fast trail along the beautiful Mattawin River. We took our usual little break at stop 440 to admire the river which is currently flowing at high flow. we then continued east... As many of you know, the M20 trail (and M21) are not done this season due to logging, which requires plowing the road of the usual route of these trails to get the wood out. Here the M20 path which is closed to snowmobiles this season The Zec Chapeau de Paille road that we usually use for the continuation of the #360 towards Marineau is also plowed, so the club made detour trail further north. It's a bit winding at the beginning especially the first miles but it quickly becomes better and then very good for the 2nd half with beautiful nice stretchs The detour joins the usual trail at the height the Zec entrance and we continue on familiar trail path To finally arrive at our refueling point around 12:45 with 93 miles on the meter After a good meal break at the auberge, we left in the opposite direction a little before 2:00 p.m. for the second half of our ride. It bugged me to not be able to film in such beautiful conditions and by dint of trying I managed to find a way to convince my gopro to stay alive in the afternoon and I finally have images in the bank for a future video. it was really good and nice ride We took a first and only break at #360/#345 junction (towards Repos) and surprisingly we had a little beggar who came to ask for his food! After all these years in Lanaudière, we have often had gray jays come in our hands, but black-capped chickadees this is the first time here. We had some last spring in Gaspésie... they may have spread the word about us!!! We then continued and once near the dam held the #360 to loop around the reservoir on the west side It was riding very well, just usual season beginning ruts to watch out for. There is a short section less than one miles where the club had started to groom the trail next to the road path where we usually pass?? The trail became even nicer from the #33 junction which had been groomed the night before. We were quickly near the Auberge du Lac Taureau and chose to cut across the Taureau reservoir to return to St-Michel. The snowmobile club had published earlier last week having marked it out after testing the ice at 15" thick. The level of the reservoir is still high enough so that the ice cover is still almost flat on the whole length, riding this was like a creamy cherry on the top of our day ride We finally got back to the trailer around 4:45 p.m. with a total of 188 miles/302kms on the meter to say it's pretty much the same distance either way of the reservoir So a 2nd great ride in the last 3 days for us which kicks off our snowmobile season this year. I expect that the trail network will continue to grow rapidly with the actual cold and snow ahead and also that the information on the interactive map will become more up to date as there are open places that are not shown on the map actually but also several other places that the clubs are at finish opening. Everything is finally falling into place for a great 2023 snowmobile season!

Our final day was yesterday, so awesome to ride with Markus and Dooright for those days they were up. Another great season opener, conditions improved steadily day by . Hopefully more snow will be on the way soon🤞. http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2022_12/908596A7-BCB2-498D-B605-54E509D61F8A.jpeg.3f605172a09e543bdd697c873b60ff01.jpeg

Here the trail path of my last ride 29January22 going to LaTuque from Trois-Rivières round trip My friend Snowcruiser had invited me to join his group that were going to LaTuque for the lunch round trip. I bring another partner with me to start the ride from Trois-Rivières airport parking when Snowcruiser was starting from his home with his crew. We planned to team up at Lac a la Tortue. It was the first time that I was starting from Three Rivers airport. The parking is very wide with easy acces by the road by car and to the trail by sled. Our old sony have not appreciate the -21C at start of the ride and misfired a bit like on this pic of the airport. Freshly groomed trail to start around 8:20 We quickly arrive at St-Etienne des Gres The St-Maurice river crossing at la Gabelle was ok and gave us a quick drive on the other shore of the river East side also freshly groomed And we quickly were at our meeting spot at Lac a la Tortue Ultramar's and Snowcruiser team arrived with a near perfect timing 2 minutes later than us! The completed team then went for the 20miles run on the St-Maurice river. The river ice is frozen nicely flat but there are very hard snow drifts and bumbs that make the ride pretty rough on the first 2/3 of the river path. My partners riding solo were able to push and fly over but I had to slow down to keep Kristine with me on the sled. Back on the shore the #360 was perfect The first #355 Gazoduc section was lightly bumpy but the snow is good and the riding was fine. Past the #351 junction going north conditions came back perfect Here the tall ferry bridge of rivière du Milieu I put together a video showing the ride from Grand-Mere to LaTuque Put the sound on and enjoy the virtual ride (You can click the 4arrows icon on the reader to pass in full screen mode) Here along the LaTuque airport at 30km/h And the legendary LaTuque snowmobile traffic light I won't detailed our lunch time but just tell that we found our way to not being cold on this last restricted weekend for the restaurants. From today 31january22 the dining rooms can finally re-open! It will really improve the trips and ride time. We then returned under a gray sky on the same path up to the #351 that we took through the Tawachiche Zec. It's a more narrow and twisty trail but it was in perfect conditions with a nice snowy scenery The sun found is way under the clouds at the end of the day And leave us an outstanding sky after leaving the horizon with this colorful view We took a last break at relais de la Station in St-Severin And we then quit the Snowcruiser team to returned at our morning drop spot with our partner. I was expecting to "pay" a bit our nice day when coming back on the #3 trail that got the day traffic in but it was not bad at all and we were even more lucky to cross the groomer few minutes after having leave our buddies Even more lucky on the west side of the St-Maurice river to also left the first track on freshly groomed snow on most of our return path We got back at the trailer around 6:45 PM with 234 miles on the dream meter, a bit tired but very happy with our day ride. A special thanks to Snowcruiser for the invitation and to all those ride buddies that share this day with us. We are in full winter conditions and with the reopening of the restaurants dining rooms it is really the perfect timing to get the best of Quebec trails riding. Alain

Arrived at Windigo with 226 on the clock. We are the first Amaricans in 2 years. February 2020 we were here last before the border closed. Beautiful day, started cold at two above zero got colder down to about -6 and we end of the day at +6 overall very very nice. We left Saint Michel early this morning and headed off across the reservoir up to the 33, the reservoir was very nice. 33 was groomed all the way to where it crosses the water, no complaints there. They groomed at both directions. Arrived into Repos at roughly 930 with 60 miles on, I harbor no ill will against the place and admire that they’re still hanging in there. Like a lot of these places I know that they for sale. We did have plenty of gas so we could’ve bypassed it but we bought gas there and bypass Kanawata, it made more sense for us. If you had a gas situation or a time situation, you could easily have took the road all the way to Kanawata. Most riders are still using the road for 10 miles outside of Repos, including us. The trail doesn’t really have quite enough snow yet. Needs another groom and it will be fine. Everything has a fresh 4 to 6inches they just need to mix it in. The next part of the trail on the way to the Kanawata intersection is very nice, very well groomed wide and in great shape, you get there in a hurry. We skipped Kanawata and buzzed up to Casey, as most of you know this section of trail is wide open, super smooth, and amazing. We stopped in to the new place in Casey, Casey de base. We met Norman and he made us some chicken soup and hamburgers and a few refreshments before we headed out. He says next year he will have fuel but not this year. We then headed up to the intersection at 83. We took a right to Weymetaci, going into Weymetaci is a hit or miss. It’s plowed all the way to the intersection, though they have a new trail put in for most of it so you go on and off the road. Getting into a Weymetaci for gas is no trouble at all, very friendly though they did stop us at the gate to ask what we wanted. We then buzzed the remaining 60 miles into Windigo. Tomorrow we have an off trail excursion planned to get to barrage Gouin. We have given the appropriate people access to our GPS and satellite coordinates so if we stop moving they can send in the rescue team. There is a lot of snow up here, I am a bit worried with that but I think we will be OK. We will check in tomorrow if we were successful in getting to barrage going, if I don’t check it and you will know we were in the woods somewhere. We toasted the first drinks tonight to all of the Americans that haven’t made it back yet. I don’t want to rub it in at all in what you were missing, but the hassle crossing the border is way, way, way, way, way worth it. Love the trails up here, and love the people more. We were lucky enough to get a trip up early December to Mont Valin with the Team Maine and Rack up at 700 miles in three days, a month delay was too long to be back up here.

We leave our bed early this morning for a 155 miles ride around the Taureau reservoir -25C at 9:00 when we started from Lac Blanc auberge trailer parking lot. It is a bit limit on snow near the auberge but when in the mastigouche reserve it was freshly groomed: perfect We did the north side of the loop first so toward Taureau dam. The #23 section that have been plowed earlier in December was now perfect This water look very hot!!! Fresly groomed on the north side of the reservoir We cut on reservoir by the local trail from l'auberge du Lac taureau to the St-Michel village that was nice and fast. The reservoir level is still high and the ice cover had almost no drops yet. A foursome was playing golf on the court near the village of St-Michel We fueled up at St-Michel and then stop at an old view point on the top of the mountain for lunch. There are some potatoes in the big hills but the rest of the trail nice. The sun was nice but it was for the strong one to eat outside today! The #63 toward Cabanon was nice and the #23 in Mastigouche Reserve even more The last strech toward l'auberge du lac Blanc was a bit bumpy. It miss some snow but will be ok with grooming. They install a wood stove with tables and bench around to heat up and eat at the Auberge and take out orders are available like last year. So an easy 155 miles for her first run to Kristine and 2nd for me. I have tried some video but my camera setup have hard time trying to withstand those temperature. I will check at what I recorded and probably be able to put something together for later. So the season is really started there. let's enjoy! Alain

Figured I’d post on here in case anyone wants to follow along or is curious of conditions. Trucked up from PA up to Amos at the Amosphere 14hr run but bluebird day made travel easy. Pretty good amount of snow here considering how crappy a year it is grooming map shows lots of activity, so should be some excellent riding. Just doing day trips and big loops each day from Amos might head to Mattagami tomorrow will post report and pics.

Yesterday Sunday February 18, 2024, we rode from St-Michel des Saint to Marineau Mattawin round trip for a 306Kms total After the last weekend thaw(11-12 feb) the south of my area was very thin and some clubs had stop grooming waiting for new snow. It was still possible to start riding from home but we wanted to ride some nice, wide and faster trail so we did a trailer run and dropped at the village of St-Michel des Saints. In St-Michel village it's thin but rideable and we directly reached the Taureau reservoir to take the trail toward auberge Taureau. The ride on the reservoir is rather rough, there was traffic when it was slushy and it refroze like that. If you have the heart strong enough to move between 100 and 200 feet away from the stakes it is very nice and flat and a new path formed there with many tracks but there is an associated risk and I cannot officially recommend it to you, the safe option is close the stakes. The reservoir is not at its lowest yet but must be lowered by a good 25-30 feet already Trail #33 past the Taureau Auberge is a little brownish in the short section that is near the beach but when you enter on the forest road just a little further it is very nice There are some short spots with dirty snow or a few rocks but 95%+ that's it We went around the Taureau reservoir on the west side and continued on #360 towards the east. The trail base was very hard with a thin layer of loose snow and new snow, very fast conditions but icy enough to have to be careful in some curves The Mattawin River has decreased in flow a bit but it hasn't been very cold this year and there are still long sections at clear water We took a break at 440 halt, my prefered break spot. Beautiful view on the river The whole old path of #360 is very nice. When you enter the woods at the height of the old M20 there is some dirt in the snow on some curves but still beautiful overall, the same thing on the fast sections of the detour further on which come to join the edge of the river before the point of view The section in the woods after the viewpoint up to the bridge was a little less beautiful but OK. The bridge was quite dry so we took out the rouskis We left St-Michel at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at Marineau at 12:30 p.m. with 153km on the dreameter We had a very good big meal there, love this place! As luck would have it, I also met a retired work colleague and his wife who I hadn't seen for ten years! they live on the south shore of St-Laurence river and were passing there by car, a great unplanned encounter! We took the same exact route for return, The sun had hidden and it was snowing a little. Here the point of view. We went at the edge of the Taureau dam for a short break and we started it again towards St-Michel We came across the St-Michel dozer which was starting its grooming run a few kms north of the Taureau Auberge. I have to take my hat off to these snowmobile clubs, in this case St-Michel and Mattawin who work hard and do miracles with the little snow they have to give us beautiful trails... Thank you!!! And we were back to the trailer around 4:45 p.m. with 306km for the ride, very happy with our run. It had a bit of new snow yesterday there and at home as well, and even a bit more in Mauricie where my partner Snowcruiser told me around 6 inches of new stuff. We would need more than that to optimize all the trails but at least it help to greenish the trail map on Imotoneige! We were hoping for better at mid february but it's hard to argue with mother nature! We still hope for more snow and cold but in the mean time the groomers do miracles with what they have and it's still possible to do some great sledding. My video camera cooperated very well during the ride and I should be able to post some video footage from this ride soon. Alain

Fer A Cheval was awesome. Clova was PACKED!!! Trails were mostly very good also 😏

I don’t post offen usually for help planning trips. I have been reading Quebec Rider forever and riding Quebec longer, since 1987 to be exact, and it’s hard to think of a trail or area I haven’t rode. This years final trip was to do the complete figure 8 of the Gaspe, which I have done many times. The weather was warm but overall conditions were good, a little snow starve around Carleton. For this trip my grandson, Hunter was able to go over college break with over crew, which at my age this was very special to me. My riding crew, Dennis, Chuck and Tommy all have known Hunter before and we had a great time. Chucks sled 900 turbo ski doo started acting up 30 miles before our stay at the Caribou hotel, but he was able to limp in with. So this is where the other special part of this trip gets me to post. At the Caribou we meet several Quebec rider members I have read over the years. First we met Linda sled girl and her husband Joel and have a visit and she sends a pic to our old friend Saguenay Bill who I haven’t seen now in a few years. Onto the restaurant after settling in and we met Iceman and NH Moose and Snohorse. These guys were very friendly and most helpful with our sled problem. Turns out to be exactly what NH moose though it might be, the sock filter in the fuel pump. Great visit with Ice and crew at dinner and breakfast then off to BRP dealer in Gaspe. Great service here folks, took Chucks sled right in and had the fuel tank off and pump out within 45 minutes replacing a nasty looking fuel sock and very dirty in line fuel filter as well. Probably got some bad fuel somewhere. Price was reasonable and the folks at EM ski doo Gaspe were top shelf. Then onto Murdochville for the night, but not before meeting Iceman and crew again on the trail, another meeting with them the next day on local 150 north of New Richmond. I have always had great responses to questions I have asked on Quebec rider in the past as I plan my next adventure, but I must say it was special finally meeting some of the folks that have helped me on the site in the past. Just when you think you have rode every trail along comes Icemans private trail the 150 which was perfect and that brings me and our crew to the end of another season. To all have a great summer and stay healthy and safe, Fred

Here is our last ride path It is under a very cloudy sky and a little snow that we left Saturday morning around 9:00 am from Champlain (east of Trois-Rivières) to go having a lunch at La Tuque accompanied by our friend Snowcruiser. The trails were very nice at start, here in the very long straight stretch on trail #3 Once near Grand-Mère we got on the St-Maurice river... Because of the temperatures that have been too mild so far, the 28kms marked trail on the St-Maurice River north of #23 trail has not been done yet, not safe. So we made it on land through #23+#360 trails towards St-Joseph de Mekinac. For those who doesn't know, this bridge we pass under is on the #155 (road between Trois-Rivières and La Tuque) and have been closed last year during 7month after being inspected and realized it was not safe anymore!. Here we can clearly see the steel pillars and reinforcement cables that have been installed on the bridge(had just concrete before) to reopen it at the end of last summer. It is a temporary fix and a new bridge construction is supposed to start at spring 2023 and last 3 years! We passed through St-Tite The famous Rivière des Envies which took a long time to freeze is now crossable and safe just before switching onto #360 trail at the junction there was an SQ police checkpoint. I thought I would have to dig off in my pants to get all my papers out but no, we mustn't look too suspicious, we passed through in less than a minute with only a visual license plate check and a brief chat. Here just leaving, my partner Snowcruiser on his new Enduro The #360 was superb and very fast The #355 on the Gazoduc section was a little bumpy but it still ride well The next section of #355 between the junction with #351 and Lake Wayagamac was very ruff, good snow cover but just really due to be re-regroomed, Kristine had not liked it. We notice that the lack of deep cold and the general mild weather+ frequent new snow since the beginning of the season affect the grooming efficiency and trail toughness compare to what we are used to in january. We took a break under the Railway Bridge of Riviere du Milieu Past the junction south of Wayagamac lake the conditions came back correct and it was riding well Arriving in La Tuque, the trail is on the pedestrian bridge instead of the river which is not safe yet... We stopped to eat at Marineau auberge at the entrance of the city around 1:00 p.m. with 180 km on the meter It was our first ride with Snowcruiser this season and the lunch break pass like flash by chatting in very good company! We then went to refuel in town, here along the endless 30km/h zone along the airport. And here in town... We had 2 options for the return, either to retrace our steps on the #355 and then take the #351 in the Zec Tawachiche or take the #73 and do the Zec Jeannotte / Rivière à Pierre which is longer run. It is my back seat passenger who made the decision and we set off for La Jeannotte around 2:30 p.m. Here along Lake Wayagamac The jeannotte did not disappoint us even if the detour in the center was a little more bumpy, very beautiful and fast It was beautiful up to the ZEC entrance Then, the traffic of this Saturday had done its job and it was getting more rought as we went down Like an oasis in the desert, we crossed our first dozer just before Rivière à Pierre The track towards St-Raymond was ok But #353 was very rought. We took a little break at the #23 trail junction which we then took east towards St-Alban and it was really better. We had a couple more rought stretches but were also lucky enough to cross 2 more dozers on the way back. We crossed St Anne and Batiscan rivers which are both staked and safe and finally returned to our starting point around 7:30 p.m. with just over 220kms in the afternoon for a total of just over 400kms for the day. I admit that we slept very well that next night!!! So another great ride for us this season, the trail network is almost complete and the snow is here, I hope for even more cold in the next few weeks to optimize the quality/solidity of the trails. The weather forecast is really promising, hoping they will be right. Bye Alain

Arrived at Cabanon yesterday evening. Place pretty full. Border was easy Peasy like others reported. One in our group of 6 got tagged to do a secondary covid test. Cabanon has spotty Wi-Fi so he did his test via video while in Montreal and was given a place to drop it off. As of now have not heard back on result. Did a easy route today to Mattawin. Trails freshly groomed and slot car shape as it was -10f when we headed out this morning. 150 mile sunshine day. So glad to be back in Quebec. Last year was first time since 1985 I missed coming here.

Wake up Sandi. It's later than we usually sleep. We are on vacation Jack. Remember, vacation. A time to relax. Oh yea. A little breakfast. Get the machines out of the garage. How do I get dressed? Which layer goes on next? Oh, two years is such a long time. Maybe I should put numbers on my clothes so I know which one goes on next. OK. We are good to go. We are dressed and the gear is on the snowmobiles. We head out of the parking lot. The spur from the Sag is not groomed yet. Other sleds have gone in and out from here. Following the sled tracks but some are dead ends at a gulley. We make our way thru the parking lots and the edge of the woods to the Ultramar station. Both sleds are empty. We fill up both sleds and the caddy. $124 Canadian. A Frenchman walks up to me and speaks in French, of course. I don't know what he is saying but with a little sign language and some guessing, he is going to be our caboose. From the Ultramar out to trail 83 is fine. Ahh, the groomer has made a pass on 83. We turn right and we are on our way. To where? I don't know. We are just going to poke along today. Some grass in the corners and some rocks here and there. Early riding is better than no riding. A few changes in trail 83. Its easy enough to follow. We get to the "T" where 83 goes left to Jonquiere and right is 367 to the two dams. The front desk said trail 367 may not be open but it looks like the groomer has made a pass. A couple that we see at the Sag every Christmas trip is stopped at the intersection. I point towards 367. They turn right and now there are five us in our group. This is pretty good. A little ways before we get to the aluminum bridge, there is a "T". Left is marked to Jonquiere and right is marked to Shipshaw. This is before the old junction that was at the top of the hill where the trail crosses the road to the aluminum bridge. Lets go right and about 2 km later we drop down into the little parking lot at the aluminum bridge. This is on the opposite side of the road that we used to come down. This is a nice change. It eliminates that bumpy rock climbing section. Off we go. Good trail. The groomer has made a pass between the bridges. We turn right on 134. A little beat up here. At the water tower. the trail still turns right away from pickle park. There is more snow on this side of the river. Good riding. The fast stretches before St Honore are just as fine as ever. We stop at the gas station in St Honore and the ladies take a break. Back on the sleds and off to the airport. All really good riding for December. We get to the big junction of 83 and 328 at the base of the mountain. We are not going to make this a big day so we turn left on 328. The trail is still pretty good. Thru St David and up to the junction with 134. Turn left here. I really like this section of trail. Nice and flat, pretty straight and not much traffic. It is a good place to let the horses run. The cold air, the snow dust in the air and the smell of gasoline. What could be better! The five of us just cruisin' along. At the junction with 93 and 134 in the field with the big power lines above, a check point is set up. They have ten sleds already pulled over and it looks like they are checking everything. We slow down but the security is busy with what they already have. Security doesn't even look at us. We slow down and look around. Nobody is asking us to stop so we carefully go around and continue on our way. All of us have our trail passes. Back to the two bridges and the trail gets a little rougher. A few more miles and we are at the Ultramar in Chicoutimi tanking up. Not a huge day but it sure did feel good to be back on the sleds. I haven't looked at the groomer site yet or even watched the weather. I have to get back into all this other stuff. Time for supper and some rest. Boy is it good to be back in Quebec! 🤗 Jack & Sandi

Yeah, it's a new season that is just pointing ahead! It is looking so much better than at the same time last season. We can expect I think a "near normal" season, at least in the new normality parameters of having to show vaccination proof here and there and wearing a mask at some points. For now the covid19 situation here is under good control and the restrictions are slowly releasing which is very encouraging. With the border being already reopened the whole picture is really promising for now From what I have been told almost all outfitters/service points are planning to be there for us in Lanaudiere and Mauricie, no big issue yet that I am aware of. For now we are waiting for snow! The last year season's opening having been so late, the mark won't be hard to beat this year! Hoping to left my first tracks in the beggining of december like the 2 seasons before... I left you this video from 2018 opener, it was with my old camera setup a bit more shaky but the scenery was pretty impressive in the Mastigouche wildlife reserve It was a 1st december... like in just a month! Alain

Rolled into LeCabanon yesterday with my buddy about 1:30 with this on the odometer. All from this winter with a brand new 1200 left over. I feel EXTREMELY lucky to have been able to do this this season. Just in the “nick of time” too. It was sad leaving yesterday but the memories will last forever. Seasons come and go but THIS ONE is one that will NEVER be forgotten. It was like a cumulation of years of riding that all pulled together and enabled me to have the BEST year ever. Lifelong friendships were made and the riding was beyond spectacular. I want to give a “shout out” to all the people who made my winter so enjoyable: ”André” my soul brother in Quebec who puts up with me for going on 20 yrs. Thank you mom ami You ARE the best Jeff from Dansville, NY ....my BFF riding partner. I promise I will try in the future to get us in before dark. Especially when it’s 30 below Glenn from Vermont....the guy who I have laid down the most miles with over the years. May we have many more my friend Kenny from Pikogan, My native soul brother who hooked me up in so many ways. Can’t wait to see you again my friend Jeff in Joutel for hosting my crazy ass for two nights while i assaulted the 396 trail mercilessly Samuel, Alex & Elphonse (half-ounce) in Miquelon for some of the CRAZIEST partying I have ever done. You guys ROCK !! Nancy in Desmairsville for being the sweety she is. Thanks SO MUCH for your hair dryer Isabelle in Chapais for hooking me up with the locals and providing a GREAT place to stay Kenny Loon in Mistissinni for the EXTREME hospitality and showing me the native culture and food Clifford & Brian (the “Twin Towers”) from Oujé-Bougoumou for letting me camp out and have a fabulous moose steak dinner Andre & Jeanie in Parent for having a 4 star place to stay while in town.....and letting me use your garage to work on my sled...LOL All the peeps at the Parent depanneeur. Cynthia, Elodi, Alice, Veronica (Tony’s fiesta wife)& Karine. And Tony.....the worlds best groomer. Thanks for that 10 mile late night groomer ride brother. Yann from Parent. One cool dude. Had a great time partying with you. ”Popper” the 40+ yr Skiddo mechanic from AB Sports in Senneterre for taking care of me multiple times Jack and “ little girl” from Lac Faillon. You two literally made my winter. One seriously AWESOME dude Jean-Guy from Haltaparche. This man is what Quebec is ALL ABOUT. Your hospitality is sincerely appreciated!!!!! Can’t wait to see you again my friend. And to all the GREAT fellow QR members I got to meet and spend time with this season: Cobra......we WILL lay down some tracks in the future Pipeman & Ike.....two seriously great dudes (and riders) had a BLAST hanging and riding with you guys p.s.......that shower in Ouje was appreciated more than you know....LOL Blueblood....we live WAY too close to not get together this summer. Fantastic dude. Bring your wife. I owe you guys a couple Captain & cokes Je me souviens ....great guy and crew from Plattsburgh Iceman....what a fu&* up I was. Next time I WILL wait no matter what.....LOL Quebecbob.....your “one in a million” (maybe two).....look forward to seeing you again my friend But the MOST thanks goes to my wife Sandy for supporting me (and us) while I pulled this crazy stunt off. I LOVE you honey !!!! i wish EVERYONE the VERY BEST off season and HOPE to see you all again next year.

Twas the night before Christmas.....still can’t ride from the house. Not a groomer out working down here in the south. The helmets are hung by the chimney with care. In the hope that the groomer soon may pass here. The sleds all nestled snug in the shed. While vision of more snow and groomed trails danced in their heads. Mrs. Iceman in her kerchief and I in my cap. Had just settled in to take a little nap. When out in the driveway there arose such a clatter. I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash. Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below. When what to my wondering eyes should appear. It’s the men of Team Iceman I’ve been waiting all year. First out the trailer who could it be? On the 154” was easy to see. It surely is Quick Nick none faster than he. He turned and called to the rest of the Team. He whistled and shouted and called them by name. Now Snohorse! now PLAYHARD! now NHmoose! and Scorpionbowl! On Iceman! To the trail, to the trail. Now Ride. But not yet. Merry Christmas Stay Naughty.

Day 6 Saturday Cold this.morning. Not sure what was the temperature but a cold start. Cold makes white asphalt. I happen to admire white asphalt quite a bit and we saw lots of it Exception being the local trail from La Dore to TQ83. But the local orange was still ok. Just not perfect. Joined up with the TQ83 and at first was not liking it. Quickly changed at intersection to local trail south. Fast run down as the top of the TQ83 they are grooming the road as the trail for a god part of it and it’s fantastic. Gas and Late lunch after the rush at Relais 22. Out of there we got places to be. More sleds out today, but duh? It’s the weekend. Even so, we only caught uo to 2 sleds we easily got by. Only the second pair we had to deal with in front of us in 6 days. Sweet. Quick burn to Windigo and wrapped up a stellar day with a stellar night reminiscing and breaking bread with our brothers Team Vermont. Always great fo be at Windigo with Martine Stephanie and Daniel….even better on a Saturday night……and even better with the plan coming together to meet up. Lots to catch up on and that we did. Sure wish we could do this so much more often. Great times with Great people.

Day 1, word of the day….Thin! Got 2” overnight made it nice leaving RDL. Never seen it so thin here in February. Trails pretty smooth, not enough snow to be rough. Snirt is gone with the fresh snow. Get out of town and take 5 East. Rimouski Club says stay on 5 for best conditions. Hasn’t been our experience but let’s try it. Away from town coverage not bad. Once we get to Trois Pistoles it’s actually pretty nice. Continue on 5 to the 35 outside of Rimouski. Traffic is light all day groomers are doing their thing. Meet back up with 5 East to 587 short cut to 5 at Padoue. Took the 5 all the way to Matane to the Riotel. Very scratchy in town, basically blacktop and dirt.

Day 3. Escoumins to Baie Comeau. 175 miles. Another sunshine day made for mild temperatures in the high teens. Trails were very good, except for about 30 miles, which were OK, but had chop in all the turns.The building by the water in the last picture is our hotel for the night. Le Manior

Myself and two friends completed a Clockwise Gaspe loop this past week. The three of us first did this trip in 1997. Hard to believe it's been 26 years. 300 mile days were the norm then, 200 is appropriate now. We unloaded in Monticello, Maine Tuesday the 7th, and rode to Fort Kent. Wednesday morning we crossed the border into New Brunswick and headed West until we grabbed the Quebec 561. This trail hadn't been done in a while, but was good going. We hit the 35 and made our way to Mont Joli, and stayed at the Quality Inn. Good trails and weather all day. The next day we continued East and stayed in Mont St Pierre at Le Delice. Good trails all day. This place seems to have declined a bit over the years. I never stayed at the other hotel, but I have understood that the Delice is nicer. Friday we continued East in light snow, trails were great , but the weather blocked some of the most beautiful scenery of the peninsula .As we got out to the end of the peninsula, the snow became heavier, and visibility was poor. The snow became deeper in the trail. We headed into Riviere Au Renaud for fuel. The trail through the long field is not staked and was invisible. Fortunately I had been there before, and my GPS showed us the trail. The trail into the gas station was completely drifted in. We decided not to risk that, and took the stump trail to the Caribou Inn. We were able to get a room, so we stopped there for a short day. We took the road up to the gas station for fuel and essencianial beverages. The food at the Caribou is very good, rooms are just ok. The next morning it was still snowing. It appeared that a total of pretty near a foot had fallen. We hoped that the crew of big sleds would break trail back out to trail 5 for us, but they weren't moving. We decided to try it around 0900. We got out of there without issue, and trail 5 had been broken. We quickly rode out of the snow into Sunshine, and the trails were great. When we reached Chandler, my 2021 Viper threw a "C1600" alarm. We pulled into the Motel Chandler. It looked deserted. Beatrice came to the door, and I asked if I could use the wifi. A quick google search revealed the code had to do with an open circuit for the thumb warmer. Everything else worked , and all fuses were good. I was satisfied I could just run it. In the meantime, Beatrice called the dealer, who was closed on that Saturday afternoon. She was making other calls for us. By this time it was after three O'Clock. We had already determined that there were no rooms at two hotels we called in New Richmond. We decided to stay there. While we were enjoying a "Pepsi" in the room, Beatrice came to the room with information from one of her call backs regarding the thumb warmer, and to run it. The restaurant at the hotel was closed. Beatrice drove us to and from the Dixie Lee for supper. Very nice lady that went out of her way to help. We tipped her well. One other note about that Saturday. We rode into the Skidoo dealer in Gaspe around 10:30 to find it closed. No store hours were listed on the door, and three vehicles pulled into the parking lot apparently expecting it to be open. This suggests that this is not the norm, but it wasn't very convenient either. We were able to get some Skidoo oil at the fuel stop in Grand Riviere. Sunday was breakfast on the trail at a club house, and spectacular trails all the way to Pointe-A-la-Croix. There is a poorly marked intersection just East of the city that can easily put you on the orange trail bypassing the city. We had a nice room and meal at the Interprovincial, and fell asleep with the Stupid Bowl tied at 35. Mundles towing took across the bridge after breakfast. New Brunswick 17 was perfect for an hour or so. 37 Klick East of Kedgewick , the trails turned to junk for a couple hours. Disappointing after a nice week in Quebec. Probably just bad luck, but New Brunswick never seems to fail to disappoint. We crossed the border at Van Buran Maine, and zipped down to the Hampton Inn Presque Isle on good trails. An Hour flat to the truck Tuesday morning . Stopped at the Yamaha dealer in Topsam, a Tech came out and separated the plug in the center of the handle bars, and determined no power going to the thumb warmer from the switch. This makes the switch suspect, with all fuses good. If anybody has ideas on that, I would appreciate it. Overall great trip. I don't get tired of that region. Some photos at the link below. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZV7t71fobf8xD1r89 http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_112053478_HDR.thumb.jpg.f36d6ca9de10625ca7ebefaeacb447c4.jpg http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_112117742_HDR.thumb.jpg.a47ad492f05631160c4343fdd40124d6.jpg http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_122832758_HDR.thumb.jpg.31cc159607cf6beb7a47e1543638489f.jpg http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_122839865_HDR.thumb.jpg.0c335b6633ef15480043ffb456bfc504.jpg

Today from Lac Failon to 100 Lacs was unreal, best I have ever hit it , no one’s riding apparently. Also there is a new warming hut before Balbuzard.

JUST FINISHED TRIP, MONDAY ROQUMONT TO DELTA VIA LETAPE ALLGOOD TUESDAY DELTA MTVALIN TACOUSAC BACK TO DELTA ALLGOOD .WEDNESDAY DELTA UP TO TOP OF LAKE TO LADORE FOR LUNCH THEN TO ROBERVAL ALL GOOD BUT AROUND TOWN OF ROBERVAL IN NEED OF SNOW.THURSDAY BACK TO ST RAYMOND VIA LAKE EDUOARD TO PIERRE ALL GOOD , ALL TRAILS IN GOOD SHAPE

Hello all snowmobilers and arm chair riders! Another snowmobile season is here. I thought it would never come. It was a busy year at work for Sandi and I but now it is time to enjoy the Quebec winter. We drove up yesterday, Tuesday the 27th, as we normally do. A little snow on the ground in St Johnsbury and the further north we went the coverage got better. A good drive except for 20 miles before Quebec City. The traffic was very heavy there. It took an hour to get from St Apollinaire thru Quebec City which would normally be 20 minutes. After that, the drive thru the Park was nice. We are at Hotel Sagueneenne for the week. A few trailers here and a foot ± of snow on the ground. Maybe I should say less snow than more. So it is Wednesday morning and a couple that we spoke with rode Mount Valin yesterday and said the mountain was good. The parking lot at Valinuet is not plowed but you can park there. They are heading there today. Sandi and I are going to try riding out of the hotel. Nothing big today. Lets go out and stretch our legs a little and get back into the feel of things. We are on the sleds and out the back of the hotel. The trail hasn't been broke but that is typical right after Christmas. We are expecting 83 to be OK. On the spur going to 83 by La Cage and behind the businesses, doesn't even have a sled track on it. We poke thru the parking lots and the sidewalk by Route 175 working our way to the Ultramar station. We tank up with some fresh fuel and follow the sidewalk behind the tire shop. A big pine tree fell across the trail. Turn around and go thru the parking lot behind the tire shop and by pass the tree. Now we should be all set. Cross the railroad tracks and we get to 83. Yuk! One sled track and nothing else. Sticks and hay growing up thru the little bit of snow that is here. This isn't looking good Sandi. Lets turn around and take the truck and trailer somewhere. So we are back at the Sagueneenne and loaded up. In the truck we head to the Delta. Yes the groomer that lives just down the street from the Delta has been out. Lets unload here and give it a try. The Delta is the same as last year with truck parking in the big lot and the fenced in area between the buildings for the sleds. On the sleds and off we go on 83 west. The trail has been broke. Sled tracks on it and the groomer may have made a pass but probably without the drag. I'll say it is rideable but not good. No dirt areas but the snow is thin and there is snirt and sticks in the trail. We turn right on the first local trail that heads up towards Spence SkiDoo. Some parts are OK but most of it is marginal. There are other sleds out taking a shot at the early riding. We loop back to the Delta on 383. Not our kind of riding. No sense in beating ourselves up when there maybe better trails across the river on Mount Valin. Short day today. Tomorrow we will drive to Valinuet and ride from there. As much as I would prefer riding out of the hotel, a short trip in the truck to what should be better riding is worth it. Be safe and ride safe. Jack & Sandi

Cool photos from yesterday 2 guys out fishing, the icebreaker was stopped and had coast guard personnel on the ice next to ship. They allowed these guys to approach and take these pictures. impressive

*********** video added on the post #8********************** Here is the trail path of our last Saturday ride 25 January 2020, before the last snowfall We took advantage of the chance we have to be able to start our ride by sled directly from home and took #43 trail south from St-Thomas de Joliette in order to explore the south my area. Very mild temperature around -2C. Here along a windbreaker tree line near home We then took the #3 east. Beautiful and fast trail with correct snowcover The Chaloupe river in Berthierville is good and staked We then continue on trail #3, here in the St-Barthélemy sector. There were some spots with brownish snow but it was before the 6-8 inches of new snow we received in Saturday to Sunday night I usually take the loop on the #63 east of St-Barthélemy which takes us a little further north, away from St-Laurence river(ie more snow) but this time I kept the #3 which was correct Just before St-Ursule I wanted to take the 2nd loop of #63 but it has changed places (the interactive map is up to date) and it is only a dead end which leads to the Cascades pizzeria at the old location of the intersection. We must continue a bit less than 1 mile further to get to the new junction of the #63 trail This new trail path connect on the #350 trail path of past years in the power lines We continued straight to keep #63 to see the Magnan falls in Charette A little further, a big wild turkey crossed the trail in front of us When you see one, there are more... the rest of the herd was right next to the trail, not shy at all We then arrive on the site of the Magnan falls in Charette The falls themselves are frozen hard but this place is always nice , a good spot for taking a break. Just downstream from the footbridge, the river forms a sort of large pot. One day I should walk to see the fall on the other side ... And the view upstream from the bridge We then continued towards Ste-Etienne. It was very mild and the trails were starting to get soft. Here in an atv shared section a side by side had swung in the ditch. They were already well installed with 2 other vehicles which were pulling with winches to bring it back into the trail. Good for him because is a lot harder to unstuck than a snowmobile! The trail being soft it was already starting to get bumpy We refueled just before crossing the St-Maurice river near the Gabelle dam On the other side, trail #3 was particularly worn. We got shaken up to the junction for Lac à la Tortue that we took. We then took a dead end before the St-Maurice river to go to the Pizzeria du Lac where we ate very well as usual After lunch we continued and got on the St-Maurice river. The sky was geting more cloudy We went up to the intersection with #23 trail and saw that the M19 trail (the one that ride on the river toward Marineau) was closed. The club closed it on Friday because of water accumulation. We for our part turned on #23 west A few bumps but good condition. We feeling of passing through a tunnel here! The snowcover is good and it was riding well. We passed near the Vallée du Parc ski resort in Shawinigan And then continued west Here passing near the l'auberge du Trappeur Here a small bridge with a beautiful view, we always stop when we pass there We found ourselves in front of that at the #349 junction for St-Alexis des Monts It bothered us a lot. I did not know if the detour was to go through the Koubec (#350 trail farther) which would have push me tight for the gaz, so we took a break there hoping that someone who would pass could inform us and that's what happened. About 10 minutes later, a group of 3 sledderss stopped and they were coming from St-Alexis and had just made the detour, so they explained to us what we needed to know. The reason for the detour is the repair of a bridge. The interactive map is up to date but not my GPS map ... I really need to install Imotoneige on my phone ... Here is a screenshot of the interactive map concerning this detour where I surrounded in yellow the closed intersection and green the new. Just be careful because the signage coming in the direction like we did is not the best and you have to look backward to see the detour sign. This is before the Pin Rouge entrance of the Mastigouche reserve, so if you got up to the Pin Rouge entrance and didn't seen the junction, turn back. You can't miss it coming from the other side So we easily reached St-Alexis des Monts village where I refueled full but it was already 5:00 pm and we were still far from home! It was late enough for the dozers to had start their runs so we rode on a freshly groomed trail up to the Pouvoirie du Lac Blanc. We did a short very rought segment, then got quite decent conditions in the Mandeville club where we crossed the dozer midway We cut on Lac Maskinongé staked trail to reach St-Gabriel de Brandon where it started to snow hard very suddenly. It was not too windy so visibility remained acceptable on the low beams. So we came back under the snow and arrived home around 7:45 pm with 215 miles on the dreammeter A other great ride for us but the mild weather did not help the trail condition and with the chosen path which was slower in the afternoon it gave us a big day. We discovered ourself new muscles sunday morning which we didn't know existed!!! In summary, the snow cover is good everywhere and will be even better with the snow that we have just received. The snowmobile season is at his best and now is the time to enjoy it. For details on the trail conditions here is the place to look: https://www.snowmobilecountry.ca/en/conditions/ Alain

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.

Day 5 from Manicouagan reservoir back to km 31, pushing miles and miles of snow, snow was really sticky and we were chewing up fuel and oil faster than whimpy eats burgers. Arrived last night into km 31 around 7 pm with 300 miles for the day a big day for sure. The teamwork of this group led by Team Maine’s Early Rider is nothing short of amazing. After 1,000 miles of extremely adverse conditions not being on any marked trail this is truly an adventure not for the faint of heart. Take care signing off from km 31. 603 Backcountry

Wasn't expecting this. Dropped them a quick thank you note and they put it in their news letter. Thought that was pretty cool.