scorpionbowl

You can get them at Walt's [skidoo delaer] in derby before you cross the border or the skidoo dealer just outside of Magog on 55.

Welcome QR's newest advertiser, Hotel Matagami. There probably aren't many people that travel the Baie James area that aren't familiar with Hotel Matagami. It's located at the base of the road to the James Bay. By snowmobile, it's at the peak of the 396 loop north of TQ93, due north of Val D'or and due west of Chibougamau. The shortest way by trail is about 80 miles off of TQ93, with nothing but a relay on the way, so when you do this loop, you've likely planned to stay at the Hotel for the night. The Hotel, and the town, have everything you need and would expect for your snowmobile stop-over. This is a favorite of many of our members, so feel free to share your experiences and welcome them to the site. Thanks go to Iceman for getting them on board...

Welcome QR's newest advertiser, Motos Thibault. Those who ride Yamaha may already be familiar with them. They are located in Trois-Riviere ( and not associated with the one in Sherbrooke). I'm fairly sure every member here on QR has at least one story of a dealer going beyond your wildest expectations to keep you up and running and on the trail...this is a perfect example of one of those dealers. Pierre and his staff will do everything possible, to do just that, keep you riding. Many members here are long time customers of Motos Thibault, and no doubt will chime in with their own experiences. Thanks go to Playhard for getting them on board...

Not possible, you or someone must have reset the hour meter at some point over 17k miles.

Sounds like a great plan, looking forward to the updates...

For sure everyone appreciates the live updates from the trail. For those who don't realize it, they aren't the easiest thing to do after you've been on the trail all day, then you need gas up, unload, check-in, shower, have dinner, catch up on what you've missed during the day, plan the next days ride and you're tired as hell and need to get up early the next day.

Out at 10 in at 4, hope u brought a PlayStation for John and nick...

I’ve done plenty of stupid stuff, just not those two, lol. I’m an old man now, I like those 9:30a starts and 200 mile days, and using less oil frees up space for more vodka. How many times have we done that 400 mile chibougamu run in a day? ill bet mont st Pierre still has tube TVs...

I don’t think I would have shield problems or go down the wrong trail for 30 miles, otherwise we’re twins, lol. Love all the storage on that long track though. I miss the 70s decor in matagami, do they have flat screen TVs yet?

Probably 10 years ago now, but that gas station used to be floor to ceiling with cases of Budweiser.

That’s the best way to do it, doesn’t need to be TD, just check your bank. Usually $500 Canadian is $380 these days on my bank statement. I try to use mainstream banks and not the ATM at Petro Canada or the Danseuse.

MasterCard won’t get your dead sled out of Clova or kanawata, so at least $500 cash is a must.

That's a good list, i carry a fair amount of that stuff. I'm guessing you just forgot to mention various fire starting supplies. i also carry a shovel, 50' of high strength rope, volt/ohm meter, spare batteries [for gps], 3rd belt, spare helmet shield, body warmers, protein bars, fuses, relays, pliers, wire cutters, extra carbides and scratchers, and probably a few things i'm not thinking of.

message an admin or moderator and we will remove it. we usually fix them when we see them...

Just did RDL to Levis, via 55, 270 miles. It's the longest way, 35 is shorter, and 5 is shorter than that.

tbk!

Tom, why don’t u take that first dollar u ever made and put a down payment on a sled that isn’t older than your kids...

M20/21 are some of the best trails u can ride.

Not sure this is advice, just what I do. For sure, any glove with a built in liner is useless, try getting wet/moist hands into them, not easy. Maybe a separate liner into another glove is a good idea, but I haven’t tried it. When it’s cold, say 10F or less, i use gauntlets with thin gloves like manzella. This has a lot of advantages, thin gloves make the hand warmer very effective, during most stops you can leave the gloves on (maps, pictures, etc) and most importantly, I can keep one finger on the brake for extended periods of time. Maybe gauntlets are another debate, and u need the right ones for sure. Once above 10F or so, I use slightly thicker wind proof gloves alone that still allow easy one finger breaking. Either way, I always carry gauntlets in case I need them, or a thick pair of gloves in case the hand warmers break. Except the one time I forgot my gauntlets on a very cold railbed run and Florida Snowman loaned me his gloves till his hands got too cold, lol.

But that was probably a lost day riding, which is priceless. Marty's sled was fine today, one time it took a few tries but we only have one more day to go. Got us thinking, why can't you tow the sled to start it instead of the rope?

Hi Jack, that's a funny thing because Marty's 850 did the same thing yesterday, but didn't have a problem on day 1, both similar weather days. I had a similar problem years ago with my 600 Etec. Grime must get in the starter, and it won't always pop out to engage the gear on the clutch. Starting a couple times usually ends up working. When it gets bad you can spray grease on it while starting it or give it a tap with a make shift hammer.

Levis to RDL, 270 miles. 75 to 55 to 35 to 5 all perfect 10 except for minor drifting in the fields. Beautiful day, wicked base on the trails, pulled out 2 Canucks. if u think it's cold u picked the wrong sport. We usually only stop for gas, but I was able to get one pic, didn't get a pic of the amazing sunset into the hotel.

I want to say 16" is the only width for the 137" skidoo ice cobra, so you may get it by default. Mine is 3 years old, so maybe they have both now...

I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that cheap, maybe they raised the prices on the burgers, lol.

I’m surprised more people haven’t had these encounters given all the high mile riders here. It is surprising that more of these encounters happen here in the US, specifically NH & VT, I have no experience in ME, but presumably it’s because in Quebec the wilderness to civilization ratio is so large compared to the states. For sure the Quebec gold mine for moose on snowmobile trails is the 595 on the Gaspe, North of La Cache, the moose crap on the trail is evidence enough. Everywhere else I’ve been in Quebec, it seems more like a random encounter. Here’s what I do and recommend, but will appreciate other thoughts. Most of the time when u first see the moose, stop as soon as possible, and most of the time he will start running away from you, down the trail. The one time this didn’t happen for me was in VT on a small trail to a mountain lookout, it was a beautiful warm blue sky day and a young moose was sleeping in the trail. Once he got up, I nudged him along the trail, starting and stopping several times until we got to the top and it was easy to wonder off, maybe 15 minutes for a mile. For most cases, when the moose starts running away, maybe 75% of the time, they will dart left/right into the woods in a 1/4 mile or so, great for everyone. The other 25% or so is the problem, and is usually an issue when the snow is very deep. In this case, there are four options, first is the topic in this post, chase it till it dies, second encourage it to get off trail, third drive by it, or fourth turn around. Encouraging the moose off the trail seems to work well for me. Once he starts running away from you, stop and wait, preferably when he gets over a hill or around a corner where he can’t see you. After a couple minutes at least, start up the sled and ride up on him again, he will likely just continue down the trail. Keep repeating this until he gives up and goes in the woods or you give up and resort to the other options. Only twice did I need another option, once was on the 595 on the Gaspe, I believe that trip was with smclelan (?) and it wasn’t a long encounter till an open field where it was somewhat safe to pass. The worst was by club scott where starting and stopping went on for well over a half hour with no end in sight, at that point you know the moose a little and take a chance at passing him on the trail in full stride, not knowing if he will dart right into u as u approach when he gets startled. It’s scary, but at least it’s almost a fair battle between man and moose, we would either both get very injured or both walk away. I can’t recommend that technique, it’s just what I chose. The other cases I can’t speak to are, during the encounter the moose charges you, this seems to happen to groomer often, lol, or a sled arrives from the other direction.