dkarwh

Type in FCMQ and click on it, scroll down a little and you will have trail conditions for all of Quebec. They up-date them every Thursday and they are pretty accurate.

Went to bed last night with an inch or so of snow on the ground. Woke up this morning and I had to kick the door open to get outside. About 2 feet of snow and no exageration. Got another 5 or 6" during the morning. Only one thing wrong that I can see, it is about 300 miles to far south. I have my sled, have my pass, have some money for gas and other goodies but NO snow. How the heck did they get Hancock out of Quebec? Must have been a big party last night. Tried riding today and believe it or not there was too much snow. Couldn't stop it from coming over the windshield. Come on Mother Nature, please get it together. Snow north of the border, anything you want south. Just try and keep the roads clean so we can get there safely!!!!!.....

We left Lac William and headed to RDL and rode in heavy snow all day. Probably 18 inches on the ground for the last fifty miles. Parked sleds, got rooms in the Universal and called it a night. I think we were on the fourth floor and you could hear the wind howling all night long. Up the next morning and yikes, no sleds could be seen, they were trying to clean up the yard and it was still snowing hard. One of the guys wanted to continue east and I didn't think that was a great idea so we turned south and headed toward Cabano. Spent the next 3 days there breaking trails. What a blast, the snow was 3 to 5 feet deep and stable enough so you could go through it but not get stuck. We rode up to Trois Pistoles relais for lunch on the second day and met a group that came from Rimouski. Took them most of the day! They said they got lost, couldn't find the trail, got stuck etc., etc. When we were leaving the area the groomers were just beginning to make sense of the trails so we had a fun ride back on 548, 35 and the rest of the trails to Lac William. One of the the top ten trips up north of the border!.

Hi Jean Guy. I like the looks of the snow ahead of the groomer better than a thirty foot drift! Both of them are very interesting though. Your pics look like the winter of 07-08. I went for a nice walk that year and the snow looks familiar! Hope you have enough to groom pretty soon. I don't have my new ride yet so no big rush. Should have it by the tenth or so. Thanks for your good work. Karl

attachment=6979:image004trucks in snow drift.jpg]

Groomer, what will happen with the season's pass IF the farmer's don't give permission to use their land. Will the club's return the money? I know it is far fetched but stranger thing's have happened. I will be getting the pass from you. Do you have my info from last year or do I need to re-send it? Hope your enjoying the respite before the grooming starts! Karl

I agree that it would be unlikely that they would issue a ticket but there is always the cop that wouldn't want to hear the reason and write the ticket anyways. I haven't heard what the fine is yet. It may be more zoned in to the drinking crowd, lots of accidents occur after the bars close! I wonder if our season's pass will be a third less? After all, we are losing a third of a day to ride! Every year the noose gets a little tighter..

My highest ever total was between 12 and 13,000 miles. I don't think my wallet could stand that many miles in one season anymore. (Hell, I don't even know if I could stand it). Even doing 7,000 last year was rough. Especially noticeable were the few 500 miles days. Pushed a lot of snow on one of them and used at least a barrel and a half of gas. Somewhere around 300L. I saved the slips at the time but haven't seen them lately. Soooooo! Mileage aside I hope everyone gets as many miles as they can, but SAFELY. Please ride according to conditions and slow down a little if need be. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to everyone.

Does anyone remember what heated shields did for snowmobiling? I thought it was the best thing that ever happened and the second best was snowtrackers. Changed a Yamaha Apex from a POS to perfection with no other adjustments.

Just a reminder, don't forget about the weather. I have been out around the Gaspe leaving from most everywhere there is to leave from and seen some brutal weather. In a blizzard out there when the trail goes south you might as well find the nearest motel and call it a day. When the groomer has passed it is no problem finding the trail but put a foot or more of windblown snow on the ground and you can spend hours trying to find it. Stayed in Bonaventure for 2 days waiting for wx to clear (4 to 5 feet on the ground) and remember 1 other time we rode the road from Mont St Pierre to Capchat because the trail had 6 to 12 foot drifts. I always plan two extra days, 1 for wx and the other for a breakdown. More often than not we used them. Have fun!

64160 + 7008 = 71168

I have said it before and I will say it again, hand signals convey USELESS INFORMATION! When I pass the first sled I always expect more sleds coming and drive accordingly. When you get the last sled routine and the next corner you meet the next group ??????????? Do as the man says, both hands on the bars and stay in your lane,

Hey guys. I wish you all the best for the upcoming 2009 Cain's Quest. I thoroughly enjoyed following the race last year and also talking to you at the NH drags. Also glad to hear you have a couple of real sponsors. Be careful, keep the shiny side up and try and stay out of the wood sheds! Karl

The Cabin on the hill is closed. The trail has been rerouted and doesn't go by it anymore. I think it closed last year. Too bad, always was a nice stop! Karl

I also have never seen tracks on that part of the river. You can ride the Riviere Cruche(sp) up to the village of La Cruche which is a nice ride if you like a crooked river. If there are no tracks then I don't go. When you see tracks and then broken ice it probably wouldn't make for an enjoyable day, expecially for the person that went through! Karl

Also my favorite area, adding Cabano and extending to Amqui and northern New Brunswick. Went to St Michel on tuesday because of the unfavorable reports on the trail conditions south of the river. Trails were in pristine shape there but still prefer Bas St Laurent. The ride up to Repos and Kanowata was 10+ on sunday. Passed maybe 10 sleds all day. I don't know how the trail system can survive with no one riding it but it will be nice for the die-hards as long as it lasts. I had a few serious conversations with old friends up there and they said after going down-hill for the past 3 years if business doesn't pick up this year the trail system will suffer big time. Trails are closing now because of low traffic and more will follow. Too bad!

I am very glad to hear that there is at least one person that bought Yamaha's and didn't get it shoved you know where. I am not that hard to please, especially when it comes to snowmobiling but they really tested my patience. The dealer that I bought the sled from went belly up 8 months later so I am sure that didn't help. The guy I ended up with, Scott Brownell's at Brownell's Yamaha in Easton, NY was so sure how to handle any warranty. Guess his head is way up there also. I spent over $800 bucks for the full shot warranty which as it turns out wasn't worth 10 cents. Somebody said to me, jeez, you have 18,000 miles on the sled, what do you expect. With no mileage limits I expected Yamaha to take care of the fucking junk for the life of the warranty which including the first year was 5 years. After they changed the first set of idler wheels they told me they wouldn't be warranteed anymore. I still have the junk wheels and I think I will throw one through the window of every Yamaha dealer I come to. I could go on and on but I won't. Having put way over 18,000 miles on other sleds I know they are capable of doing it. Going back to an 05 chassis may be a little tough at first but I'll get used to it. I have tons of miles on T-cats which is basically the same thing. Just a thought, the day the second axle broke a guy from NB stopped and asked if he could help. I told him not really unless he owned a helicopter. He told me that mine was the fourth Yamaha with a broken axle he had seen that day. I wonder how many more broke that day! Karl

I would be the last person to say that ANY snowmobile is any good. If you go back ten years and think about all the goofs that all 4 of them have made nobody in their right mind would ever buy another. Problems are inherent to the sport but when you get jerked around by a bunch of ass-holes that work for the company involved and evidently treat customers the way Yamaha wants them treated it can get under your skin. The first time the axle went it took out the track, bearings and a bunch of other shit. The jack-ass told me that if I didn't move it there would have been way less damage. I asked him if they would have paid the helicopter to lift it out. He laughed! I could have left it in the woods and maybe groomer would have picked it up, but when? They are full of shit if you ask me. K

I would like to add my 2 cents worth about Yamaha. If the guy that posted above expects to get 28,000 miles out of his new 09 Apex he had better bring his lunch! I also hope he didn't buy the worthless extended warranty. That is the biggest rip-off I have ever been involved in, having to fight with them to honor a claim. I waited 3 months to get paid 3/4 of the bill and had to call them 50 times. The deal with 2 different companies in NA is the stupidest thing I know of. The handling and hand warmers were a huge joke. the japs don't like to admit mistakes and to pass the issues on to the customer that has paid over $10,000 to have a piece of shit snowmobile that still didn't work right is un-acceptable in my book. The entire crew that sits in the warranty department could slide into the ocean out there in California and it wouldn't bother me a bit. I have their names if anyone is interested. I would like to see those fuckers pulling a sled out of the woods for fifty miles with no brakes. At issue of course is the drive axles, first one at 12,000 miles and the second one at 16,000 miles. Check the Yamaha part #, it is the same axle that goes in most Yamaha's and they have had an issue since the 03 1 ton. The second one broke in Feb and I still haven't been paid for the repair, 3 nights in a motel waiting for repairs etc. etc. Came to about $700 bucks total. I have called the dealer in Easton who told me how he wanted to handle the warranty IF I had another problem. Did exactly what he said, dragged the broken axle back and gave him all the receipts etc., have called him repeatedly and no response. What the fuck did I pay for an extended warranty for? I am going to file a claim in small claims court next. I think there will be a lot of people trading back to what they rode before, I personally know of a half dozen guys that are as sick of the bull-shit Yamaha-ha-ha company as I am. The exhaust issue (3 times), the drive axles, the hand-warmers, the thumb warmer, the suspension arms and mostly the attitude of the warranty department is down-right ridiculous. I must have heard 20 times that they couldn't understand how (I) broke the drive axle. This is after thousands of them broke before mine did. Fuck you Yamaha, I wouldn't own or recommend Yamaha to my worst enemy if I had one!!!!!

No passport required. Driver's license (picture ID) and birth certificate is all that is needed for now.

To Team Maine Racing. Congratulations to all of you, drivers, support, suppliers, parts chasers, etc. etc. etc. for a fantastic job. To survive the beginning and totally take charge at the end must have been very gratifying. I wish the race had been 2000 K's. The 100+ K's would have won the race for you. Have a safe trip home, great job!!!!!

The last time I was there I took the trail and it was groomed without a sled track on it. Also the club in Biencourt is grooming from 548 to the New Brunswick border which when I went through was also without a sled track on it. The only bad thing is you have to run the side of the road by the lake for 4 or 5 miles. No big deal as long as it has snow on it. It comes out at the ski hill in Biencourt and 548 goes through the parking lot. They are snowmobile friendly and a good place for lunch. Take a left and it goes to Squatec and a right goes towards Rimouski. If you ride it Friday or early Sat it will be good. Stopped in Moose Valley two weeks ago and it was difficult finding a parking place for the sleds. A place that has caught on wicked. They also have it signed better, last year it was kind of like following your nose.

I broke in Kedgewick River, axle again and wasn't very happy. Sat around until Monday to get it fixed and then got caught in the blizzard on Wednesday so I never made it back to Tony's. Don't know what I am going to do now. Should have traded it last fall but figured it was good to go after the last axle in March of 2007. I don't like it much when the sled breaks, don't suppose anybody does but the damn axle goes and no brakes. It is a major accomplishment getting it out of the woods without making it worse, either the tow sled or the one being towed. When Chad's engine went at least he had a way to stop it. Foot dragging doesn't work to good!

When I was in Kedgewick River 2 weeks ago they said 2 sleds were stolen the week-end before. I think the pickings are way down this year and taking chances with what's left aren't as easy as before.