ChrisWright

Very Cool. Thanks for Sharing!

Where are these Mid May Pics???? I want to be jealous.

Looks amazing. Thanks for the pictures. Hoping my riding partner can get away from work this weekend for one last spin!!!

Has anyone ridden out of Maniwaki recently? Wondering if it will hold up for the weekend of the 24th. Looking to stage their and head up towards Gouin and then back down. Know that they have some joint use trails in and out of there. Any insight or recent pictures would be great!

I can't comment on Gaspe, but can on the others. You will find Ontario to be a different experience than what you have seen in Quebec. I personally prefer Quebec over the area you've mentioned in Ontario. These areas in Ontario are very fast riding, many rail grades, Hydro lines, straight and flat. Hearst, Kap, Cochrane, Timmins, are all very large towns, similar to Chib, or larger. Never been down towards the Sault before, WAWA area looks to be a bit more remote. You should be to the point in the season where traffic has naturally lighted, but weekends during peak season are crazy, especially around Cochrane. Conditions have always been pretty decent, but I can say I have experienced many more miles of plowed roads in Ontario as compared to Quebec, so when the sun shines and no snow, it can get tough going. They don't seem to put much effort into trail reroutes for logging operations or necessary vehicle traffic. Also, IMO, Ontario doesn't seem to take snowmobiling quite as serious from an economical impact as they do in Quebec, so there seems to be less emphasis placed on it. I feel like Quebec does everything they can to get the trails open as quickly as possible and maintain them to the best of their ability as long as possible, where in Ontario, it seems like they simply put it together when the weather is fit, with the exception of Cochrane, they always seem to be on the ball. Don't get me wrong, This is not meant to bash Ontario, I like both places very well and there is certainly a benefit to the drive when it comes to going to Ontario, I am simply offering up my experiences/opinions on both. Coming from a guy whose chased snow all over, I would say you don't know what you don't know, get out and try something new, whether it be the Gaspe or Ontario, it's going to be new and different. Keep us posted on your ride!

So are we going to get an update on the remainder of your trip? Very curious to hear about the conditions the last part of the week with the warm up.

Thank you much. Doesn't sound like there will be an issue running this then. Appreciate the insight.

Just wondering about gas between Maniwaki and Senneterre. None is shown on the interactive map. Are there stops on 63/386? Would like to avoid going into Senneterre if possible as we would head east on the local over to 83 and Lac Fallion. Any help on fuel stops would be great. Thanks

How were snow conditions in Maniwaki? Planning on heading there next Thursday and notice a forecasted warm up for a couple days. Wondering if conditions are strong enough to with stand a few daytime temps above freezing. We are leaving and heading in the direction you did, hopefully to Lac Fallion for the first night. Assuming gas is available on this run? Thanks!

Thanks. Off trail purposes is why I am interested.

Hello all. What a great start to the season. For those of you who use a GPS, I was wondering what kind of TOPO Base Map you might use. I have been looking for one and not sure, which one would provide the most detail, including forest roads, etc. Obviously cost is also a consideration. Thanks for any help anyone may have to offer.

Thanks for all the info. I am a member of the Northern FB page and Dan from Allagash indicated that he is maintaining this trail again this year with his sled and sled groomer. He said he has it signed and opened up. That's pretty amazing for one person to do. I hope all who might use that trail give him a huge shout out. Thanks for explaining the gas station thing, I had read that on dootalk as well, but they didn't offer an explanation as to why you couldn't stop, just to make sure not to stop. Probably heading up the last week of January, hoping the great start the area is off to continues.

Well, I guess I hadn't checked to see if the trail is being maintained this year yet. Just starting to plan at this point. Does anyone know if there's a place to get a Quebec day permit near the Jackman border crossing? I think we would like to start there and finish in Estcourt Station. Thanks so much for the info thus far. It's really appreciated. It's been years since I've ridden Maine and I have never ridden this particular part of Quebec.

Hello all, was thinking about running up through Quebec from Jackman Me and crossing back over in Escourt Station. I had a couple questions and was hoping someone might be able to help me out. 1) Looks like we could cross the border in Jackman anytime during the day, but would be limited in Escourt Station. Does anybody know what the open times are? 2) Quebec trail pass, can we pick these up just outside the Jackman border when we cross? If so, where's the best place 3) Lodging in Escourt Station or Pohenegamook, is there any available? If we were to stay on the Quebec side that night with the intent to cross back into Maine first thing in the AM, would a valid trail pass be required to cross? We could make the run up in one day, but likely not much further than that. Concerned that the only lodging might be in Pohenegamook. Thanks for any help anyone may have to offer.

I was on trail 33 on the 5th of January and it was very good. Came back down from being up north on the 9th and it was terrible. They have plowed a significant portion of it down to the dirt. Must be doing some logging operations. There were no signs or indicators present. I actually almost piled my sled up as I come around a bend that was on the way down a hill on a real nice freshly groomed section and the snow plow driver pushed a bunch of snow up into the trail. Launched my sled and almost lost control. After getting through that section, we came across the next section that was actually opened up with a a loader. There was no snow on the sides or left for the snowmobiler. I would continue through Parent and ride another 66 miles and stay at Clova. Neat place, good people and good food. You will need a reservation though. There number is on the FCMQ Map.