snowmaster2112

Found this on the net. Was shocked to see just how big Matagami really is. Someone did a nice drone video over the whole town. If you pause it at 1:34 seconds you will see the Hotel and two depanneur's as well as the trail we come in and out of. Thought it was kinda neat.

Ice, this is obviously a French guy (Patrice St-Amand) and not a Native or American right ? Wonder if any online searches show more of his pathetic life.

I thought I remember people saying it was either closed for the holidays or had reduced hours or something. Best thing is to call the Opemiska as 99% of the time Isabelle speaks perfect English and she could tell you. I never had a need to go to the restaurant.

The two most popular snowmobile destinations in those areas are the Hotel Forestel in Valdor and the Amosphere in Amos. Both have other options as well but those two seem to be the hot spots.

I remember many, many moons ago sleeping in LaTuque above a real shady strip bar. Slept with the bibs and sneakers on all night. No chit !

Forgot to mention too....I bought a frozen pizza up at the grocery store and cooked it in the common kitchen area one night (they even had a pizza cutter in the drawer) and also brought some chili (frozen in a bag) that the wife made me before the trip. She has bowels/plates and cooking utensils there for you. If you or anyone else are truly gonna make the Mistissini run, PM me as I can tell you how to save a little money. Just dont feel comfortable doing a public post.

Hey Blueblood....whats that hanging down above the muffler??? Airbag went off too ???.....LOL....LOL Damn that sucks. I would have let it burn to the ground personally. But if I didnt have full coverage on it because it was a 2014 then I would have panicked ...LOL

Just breakfast and it's a serve yourself kinda thing. She has fruit/yogurt/cereals/hard boiled eggs all ready to go/toasts/beans/cretons etc.. she even has some pre made pancakes in little bags in the fridge. You can also cook fresh eggs she has there on the stove the way you like. All kinds of juices, milk and of course COFFEE There is also a super nice grocery store 200 yds up the street with all kinds of good stuff including rotiseri chicken. Then you always have the Chapais Clubhouse about 4 miles back on the trail. I think they are open till 8pm every night and 9 on saturday. How many in your group and I'll give a recommendation on what room you would want there? Make sure you tell her Chris from Rochester , NY said "Hi"

Snobeeler.....you have know idea how much I wish I was in that restaurant when that went down. I would have been the "bad guy" in the end and probably at the jailhouse in LaTuque but this lady wouldnt have suffered what she did. There's a special place in a Turkish prison reserved for these F*&Ck's I will actually be in Parent in about 5-6 days and though I dont stay there will be sure to go over and offer my condolences !!!!!

Ditto !!! and......you guys just re-elected "Justin"........

I just saw on Alliamce du Nord club website that was updated on the 2nd as ......Parent-Clova very good and would be grooming that day. nothing has shown up the groomer updates now or so far at all this hear as I have been keeping an eye on it. wouldnt it be rare that a groomer is operating without the GPS in operating condition nowadays ?

Anyone know what’s up in Clova ? See they finally rolled a groomer to the west today/last night but have seen zero activity between there and Parent so far this year. Snow can’t possibly be an issue. I hope it’s not trees down everywhere. maybe a call into Dominic is in order soon

Steve, now I remember something about a Chinese restaurant but thought someone was pulling my leg. I just can’t even fathom something like that in that setting. Your damn right about the parking lot on a Saturday night, you were literally tripping over sleds. A buddy and I actually stayed in one of their little hotel rooms out front one night. Very basic & VERY small. I had some good times in that place and remember they had some crazy good food and a buffet type thing or salad bar there. With the business they appeared to do there I can believe the place went under. Sad.

My bad.....Chez Roger was in St Prosper.....I’ve not been to the Chez Gerry Rogers was a fun place and packed with people and sleds on a Saturday night. What ever happened to that place. The trail 3 I believe ran right through it.

What a beautiful little dog. I’ll bet the two Peanuts would have loved each other. Very sorry for your loss as well and hope to meet you someday.

Chez Roger ?? You mean????

We were in LaRein last wimter and while the three of us were sitting at the end of town looking towards the west an older fellow pulls,up on a skidoo. Start telling him about the runs I used to do years ago on the A105 into Cochrane and wanted to show my buddies. He says the trail is permanently closed AND that they ripped out those bridges out there. Said the only people that go out there now are boondockers some of which go down in those big ravines and up the other side. They can have it. I have my memories.

Doubler ...did you check out Arctic Cat gear. I don’t know what they make for women but I have the same problem with a 29 inseam for myself. They has smaller inseams than Klim and for 180 bucks they are really nice bibs and I’m on season two now with no complaints Klim can kiss my ass on there altering fees on top of their already handsomely priced bibs

Thanks Ice !!!! She was super special for sure. We called her “Special Pea”....and believe me she knew it....LOL wife and I don’t have any kids so she got lots of extra lovin’

I’ll second and third that mon ami !!!!!

Did you ever own a Skidoo 1200 in the XS chassis? They put out an extreme amount of heat (but yet your water bottle will still freeze in the glove box) i didnt get a chance to vent it yet and was riding her pretty hard. Plus it was warmer than usual Quebec riding temps. Just trying to cool the young girl down a bit.

One last post on this crazy thread. I want to thank ALL OF YOU for following along and commenting. If you enjoyed it as much as I did reading your responses then we all made out good. something no one (except my wife and best friend know) until now is this ride was for and dedicated to Peanut she was our beloved cat that was our baby girl for the last 10.5 years she had chronic asthma and was on hi doses of steroids which finally took their toll on her. We had to put her to sleep less than 24 hrs before I left for this trip. She is (and has been) for years on my “splash” screen on my Garmin GPS. So when I turn it on the first thing I see is “Peanut” We miss you baby girl and will see you again someday. here Peanut in her better days

Funny....I was just thinking of you the other day. We need to phone talk. It’s been quite awhile now. i still have the occasional nightmare and wake up sweating thinking about the “moose ass 1300” tour

Thanks Chris. I don’t consider it “guts” though. My first Quebec adventures began 98 or 99. I connected with some fellow NY riders on the then new thing called the internet...LOL. I was instantly blown away and captivated beyond comprehension. I couldn’t get enough of it. So much so that I was wanting to go more than I could connect with people. At the beginning I would stay around more populated areas but that didn’t last long as my love for the “bush” (and beaver) took me deeper and deeper into the Quebec wilderness. It was around 2001 or 2002 that I walked into the Relais 22 one evening for the night solo. As I’m eating in the common area at a table by myself I see these two Quebecers looking my way with a little bit of bewilderment. Finally the one tall guy gets up and comes over and says “you all alone my friend” ? I said ya....kinda crazy huh. His name was André and that meeting has literary changed my life. I wound up riding with him and his cousin Pierre around LSJ for a couple days before we departed but not without exchanging our contact info. Fast forward 18 years and Andre is one of my dearest and best friends in life. A finer individual you WILL NOT meet. Andre, (lives In Sherbrooke) his parents in St Jean de Matha and brother in L’ephinie have treated me like family ever since. They have a nice camp up on Lac Chapeau de Paille at the end of the M21 trail that we all go to winter and summer. It’s a very, very special place. Shortly after meeting André my confidence level increased as well as my experience and familiarity with how Quebec touring works. I would go at times with André but he only had limited opportunities to go. That’s when I met fellow QR member “Easyrider” on the net who also loved coming to Quebec and needed a riding partner. He’s from Vermont and lives 2.5 hrs south from André in Sherbrooke. Well it wasn’t long before all 3 of us were BFF”s. In the early and mid 2000”s Easy and I took many a bag trip around Quebec but he too only had a finite amount of time. It was about this time that in between trips with him and Andre I would fill the void with solo trips around the Gaspe, the 83/93 loop (1125 mi.) and Abitibi into northern Ontario and back runs. I averaged over 5000 miles a season for over a decade. In the last 5-6 years now my dear friend Jeff from NY (lives near me) has joined the “team” and he too has been inducted into the “Lac Chapeau de Paille” Hall of Fame. All four of us (I absolutely REFUSE to ride with more than three others) are heading up to André’s parents this Thursday for a nice 5 day trip. Two nights (first and last) will undoubtably be at the camp up on M21 and a couple others probably in Parent and maybe 100 Lacs. Besides these last two trips I can’t remember when my last solo trip was. Probably at least 7,8 or 9 years ago now. But for me to throw the sled in the back of the truck and take off alone isn’t even a second consideration. I’m more confident than I’ve ever been with my riding abilities. My machines are always newer and top notch condition. I’m more mature and level headed than when I was younger. I’m more prepared (albeit a sat phone or SpotX) as my true feelings are that it would take some of the thrill out of it for me. I make constant mental notes in my head while riding remote areas alone like where the last structure I could take refuge in was. I carry enough food to get my fat ass by for days if needed. Yes I guess that there is some very slim remote chance I could have an accident but if anything ever does happen I d be willing to bet that won’t be the cause. Like I said above this wasn’t my “first rodeo” riding alone. And not having done it in a lot of years I loved many of the benefits it does have. Friends and family back home know my whereabouts and we keep in constant touch. Plus I have found that doing these long trip threads about the travels actually helps me in some way deal with the solitude. At least one more big trip alone will be done this season. I missed and enjoyed it that much. several fellow QR members have recently reached out to me with offers to go riding. I really appreciate that and wish I had the time and money to ride at least once with everyone on this site but here’s the reality. There is myself and the above three mentioned individuals that make up my core group. If it ain’t all four it’s some combination of either two or three. I have spent years breaking in/ training these guys on how to deal with me...LOL...I’m a different kind of dude. That and my rekindled love of taking long solo journeys probably doesn’t allow much time for new riding partners, at least this year. But we’ll be sure to see each other on the trail.

Winner winner ....chicken dinner. I was wondering how I got through this whole trip and thread without someone commenting on the Goldwing sticker. It’s just a parody to the Skidoo 1200 Enduro. What I consider the closest machine to resemble a “Golwing for the snow trails”