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SRSchang

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Everything posted by SRSchang

  1. We don't do the sledders packages. Generally the dinner menu is limited when you get the package, and I always drool over something I'd rather have on the full menu.
  2. Yep, December 26th, I was born in Taylor Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
  3. Well, Merry & I are back home in Jamestown, NY after a 14 hour drive from Rimouski. I wanted to let folks know what we found on our trip. Day 1 - Rimouski to St Anne Des Monts. 171 miles Started at hotel Rimouski, snow was really slim in Rimouski, got a little better a few miles out, but thin again near Matane. Had lunch at the St Adelme club, it's a very nice clubhouse, only a couple sleds there. This was 2:00 Sunday. Stayed at Hotel & cie in St Anne Des Monts. The highlight lodging of the trip. Gas across the street. The first floor rooms are park in front of your door, very convenient to unload the sleds & move stuff 10 feet into the room. Then there's an interior door that opens into the hotel hallway - cool! The hotel was recently modeled, the room, lobby, and restaurant are very nice. The restaurant was very nice, ate at the bar with a guy who was going backcountry riding with a tour group the next couple days. There was another group of guys there from Maine. Day 2 - St Anne Des Monts to Gaspe. 205 miles Again snow thin in the towns, good once we got out of towns. Views around Mont Pierre beautiful as usual, although it was snowing & couldn't see as well as we would have liked. A local guy took us up to where the hang gliders take off in the summer. Very nice. Stopped in Grande Vallee (I think) for gas & lunch. Snow very thin in town, skidded up the highway for a half mile or so from gas to Dixie Lee for lunch. Stayed at the Auberge sous les arbres in Gaspe. It was a very nice B&B, great local breakfast. Unfortunately, no snow in the town of Gaspe, skidding down roads & sidewalks, sled wont turn, lots of traffic. Had to dodge school kids in the morning. I hate those situations. Day 3 - St Anne Des Monts to New Richmond. 191 miles. I wanted to ride through the Reserve ecologique de la Grand-Riviere, it's one of my favorite spots to ride. We had lunch at the Pasbebiac clubhouse, great pulled pork sandwich. It started to snow pretty hard at this point. Somewhere between Pasbebiac and New Richmond the trail was rerouted. Wow, was this horrible. One sled width wide, solid ice bumps, 5 mph tops. Luckily it only lasted a few miles. This was the only point on the trip that the Trakmaps were wrong. Got to Hotel Francis just before dark. The pub there was really neat & busy there, had a great dinner in the restaurant. Met some guys from Ottawa (I think). Day 4 - New Richmond to Amqui. 166 miles Nice sunny riding day, stopped for lunch & gas in Pointe -a-la-Croix. A little more snow in town, things are looking up. The snow got deeper & the trails much better groomed after we left Point-a-la-Croix, & stayed great until we got to Amqui. Stayed at the Ambassador in Amqui, very well marked although weird riding through multiple hotel parking lots to get there. A couple Skidoos were already there, one had a Quebec Rider sticker on the windshield. Who was it? Didn't see them at dinner & they left while we were having breakfast. Had a great time with the bartender as she tried (unsuccessfully) to teach us some French. I guess we now understand that all nouns are masculine or feminine, & you just have to know which is which so you can apply the appropriate adjective. A little every trip I guess. Day 5 - Amqui to Rimouski. 83 miles. Lots of riding in the mountains, tons of windmills. Got lost at one point, as the trail was on a road & the road had been recently plowed. The plowed snow was so high we missed the turn off & signs. The GPS quickly showed that we'd missed a turn, and as we returned, a groomer busted through the snowpile! Tried to talk to him, but our lack of French & his lack of English didn't work. At one point we rode up to a windmill to see it close up. Very impressive! Just a really neat day riding on lots of very deep snow & perfectly groomed trails. Got back to Hotel Rimouski about noon, checked in & went to St Hubert for lunch - our fav! So that was the trip. The Garmin & Trakmaps more than anything else made navigating around towns & at poorly marked forks in the trails much quicker to figure out, especially when snow is thin & what few sled tracks we could see head in multiple directions. Great time, look forward to coming up again some day. Heading to the upper peninsula of Michigan in a couple weeks with my brother from Tennessee & his son (my nephew). My nephew hasn't been on a sled before, but he passed the online Michigan snowmobile class. We'll see how he holds up for the 900 mile loop! Scott
  4. We're up here right now. Rode Rimouski to St Anne Des Monts today. Snow was really thin downtown Rimouski & the fields west of Matane. In fact, the only snow in several fields was the trail! Almost looks like they trucked in snow for the trails! Staying at Hotel & cie tonight, highly recommended.
  5. Great - thanks, we're really looking forward to the trip. This will be our 4th time up there, the first time doing the loop all the way around the outside. We generally cut through the trails in the middle. Not looking forward to the drive, it's 14 hours each way from home to Rimouski. Guess it's the price we pay....
  6. My wife & I are going to loop the Gaspe next week. On our second day, we will travel from Ste Anne Des Monts to Gaspe. I can't find any fuel in between on any maps. Is there fuel available in any of the villages in that section? Scott
  7. Spent four hours at Repos year before last waiting for the fuel truck to arrive. In hindsight, I'm glad I got there early, as I don't know if there would be enough fuel for those at the end of the line. Tons of sleds waiting to fuel up. It wasn't a big truck. I suppose they would have to wait until another truck showed up. Sometimes you just don't have any other choice. Lunch was good and it was warm inside. Just got to Kanawata a little later than we had planned.
  8. Yes, I purchased a pair of heated gloves before last season, I rode ~3000 mile with them last season. I have problems with 3 of my fingers I frostbit in the past, and got to the point that I couldn't ride without heated gloves. So I did a lot of research, and bought the best heated gloves I could find. They are called Chaval, and I love them. A charge will last me through the day. They only have an on and an off button, as the gloves sense the temperatures of your fingers and heat when needed. They are leather, and supposedly aren't waterproof, but I don't put my gloved hands in water anyway. I never had a problem with them getting wet. The downside - $400 US
  9. As long as the definition of senior starts at 57, I'm in!
  10. My wife and I are supposed to head up to Cabanon Saturday. Sounds like I better call & cancel.
  11. My wife and I have been going up between Christmas & New Years for many years. We usually stay at Real Masse, but stayed at Cabanon last year. We've always had really good snow, but we did get rained out a couple years ago. It's tough to drive 10 hours, watch it rain all night, then drive 10 hours home, but you have to try. We've never stayed at Central, and generally don't stay out past 7, so I don't know how crazy it gets. But we always stop there a couple times each year in the afternoon, and it's always been pretty calm. The only problem with staying in SMDS is the worst trail in the region is the trail from SMDS to Cabanon, lots & lots of traffic, often beat down to the dirt.
  12. Linda, what route are you taking through the UP? I've done a saddlebag tour up there for the past 5 or 6 years, interested where you're going. Scott
  13. Probably 10 years ago or so. I rented a Skidoo Rev from them in December 2003 to see if I would like the seating position before I bought one the following year. Scott
  14. Riviere Louvicourt, highway 117. Several trails intersect in the middle of the river!
  15. I have ridden most of Quebec & most of the UP over the years. It's about the same drive for me to the eastern UP or central Quebec, about 10 hours each way. I like to go to Lanaudiere between Christmas & New Year every year as we can generally count on snow, not so much in the UP. I would say that mid week, the UP and Quebec trail conditions are very comparable. On weekends, I think the UP gets beat up more, sort of like the St Michel des Saints area in Quebec. The UP tends to be more runs on long railbeds, sort of like the run from Val d'Or to Chibougamau. Agreed that the directions in the UP are much better than Quebec, but Michigan stopped lots of their safety trail markings this year. You're pretty much on your own to watch out for corners, bumps, hills, etc. I will say that Michigan is much cheaper to ride, trail pass is $45 for the season, and they don't care what sled you stick it on after you buy it. Food is probably a little cheaper in Michigan, gas & booze is Much cheaper. It's hard to generalize, but I would say there are more small towns with more choices for cheaper hotels in the UP than Quebec. I have no problem finding rooms for $70 in the UP, my experience is that Quebec is more the outfitter type lodging, where you will pay $80 or $90 per person for lodging, dinner, and breakfast. I would also say the food is generally better in Quebec, but you pay for it. So, overall, it depends what you want. I enjoy both for different reasons. My wife likes to go to Quebec because it seems that there are more female riders there. In the UP predominantly male riders. I have a hard time finding buddies to ride in Quebec, the cost of the trail pass, gas & beer is just too much money. So I ride Quebec with my wife & the UP with my buddies. For what it's worth. Scott
  16. We'll be on 3 Skidoos as well, two yellow 1200's and a black 1200, all shorties. Scott
  17. I know, but it's the first leg of a loop we're doing next week. I'm bringing my brother from Tennessee, my father from Ohio (he turns 80 this year), and I want them to stay at Barrage Gouin, I think it's a cool place.
  18. Staying at Barrage Gouin Monday night, just made my reservations. When will you be there? We aren't planning to ride the reservoir, just passing through from Real Masse to Roberval.
  19. I'm planning a saddlebag loop next week, and am thinking about starting & ending at the Comfort Inn & Suites in St Jovite. On the trail map it looks like the trail does not connect from St Jovite to St Faustin, I think this is the P'tit Train Du Nord. Is this correct? So to head toward St Zenon I need to go north toward Macaza & around the park, or south through St Agathe on trail 43 & then north? Is there parking for truck & trailer at the Comfort inn in St Jovite? Thanks, Scott
  20. Here's the official rule from the Canada Border Services Agency: An individual is permitted to borrow another person’s snowmobile and bring it across the border into Canada. To expedite the process at the border it is recommended that the owner(s) of the vehicle provides the person borrowing the vehicle a letter authorizing them to bring the snowmobile across the border. The letter should include the name and contact phone numbers of the legal owner(s), the description of the snowmobile (year make, model, and serial number), the name of the person(s) borrowing the conveyance, and the length of time during which they are allowed to use the conveyance. It is also recommended to have the vehicle registration and insurance documents accompany this consent letter. Should you require additional assistance with your inquiry, we recommend that you contact the Border Information Service (BIS). You can access the BIS line free of charge throughout Canada by calling 1-800-461-9999. If you are calling from outside Canada, you can access the BIS line by calling either 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064 (long-distance charges will apply). If you call during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, except holidays), you can speak to an officer by pressing “0” after you have made a selection of one of the 4 menu options. Thank you for contacting the Canada Border Services Agency.
  21. I am planning a trip with my father and brother to Abitibi Temiscaming in February. I have two sleds, and will borrow a friend's sled for my brother to ride. Is there any problem bringing his sled across the border? I will have the NY registration, insurance card, etc. Will I have a problem getting a 7 day Quebec sticker in Quebec without my friend (the sled owner) being there? Thanks, Scott
  22. How about this one? Alain, this is too easy for you. Scott
  23. The nice new house is on the little green section of trail to the left of what Alain X'd out on the map. It's between Real Masse & La Glaciere, not between Real Masse & Koubecs, I think. Man, it's going to be a long haul between Real's & Koubecs when we're up there new year's weekend!
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