MrsGTRider

Here is the ride we did last Sunday

With the good snowfall on Friday followed by a mild temperature night, we already knew that the trails conditions would deteriorate  quickly under the effect of traffic, so we postponed our departure to Sunday. We launched directly from the home in St-Thomas de Joliette on Sunday morning under a beautiful sun and a temperature of -15C.

Superb winter conditions, very hard frozen groomed trail  giving ideal conditions. Here on #3 towards Berthierville

The wood sections were very snowy

Nice encounter on this winter morning


The La Chaloupe river is ok but stay in the marked trail!

We continued on #3 to the east with perfect conditions

Another great encounter! they weren't nervous at all, just happy to run outside

In the St-Barthelemy sector where the trail get souther the snow was a little swept but on an icy base it ride very well

I chose to keep #3 and go through Maskinonge village instead of #63 which goes through St-Justin. It's good but there is a section of 500' swept away where you can see the dirt. In the afternoon we came back by St-Justin on #63 instead and it's more snowy

Here Ste-Ursules sector


We are used to heading between #3 and #63 via St-Sévère but the Rivière du Loup that we have to cross direct on the ice is not safe yet so we opted for #63 trail

We took a break on the beautiful site of the Magnan Falls in Charette

The falls are usually completely frozen but this year you can still see the water flowing


We continued on #63

And took the #3 towards St-Étienne

And crossed the St-Maurice on the #3 at the height of La Gabelle. A few slush spots but it's marked and rides well

The east side of the St-Maurice was a little rougher but still ride well and the snow cover is very good

We stopped to eat at pizzeria du Lac at Lac à la Tortue near Grand-Mère.

After a good meal break we left and retraced our steps on the same route with a few exceptions. Here in the area of Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel

We did a pitstop in St-Étienne. Unlike past years where the trail passed in the yard between the gas station and the BRP NC dealer, the trail this year passes behind NC and you have to take a very short trail to go to gas or at NC

We saw this impressive dogs team on the way back, there are 2 wide...

We took a break again at the Magnan Falls in Charette but at the top of the falls this time

As I said at the beginning it's rare to see the water in the falls it's usually all hard frozen

We then continued west. The trail conditions had deteriorated a little since our lunch but from the fork of the #350 St-Paulin sector it became very beautiful and fast again until St-Cuthbert.

Here a snow bridge not far from the village of Ste-Ursules

We took the #63 to go through St-Justin, it was superb

We came across the Dozer de St-Barthelemy without the drag which was at finishing some work on the trail

We went through St-Norbert to come back, the trail was more bumpy from the traffic but it was ok

We were back home around 4:30 p.m. with 322kms (200miles) of happiness on the meter!

I know that most of you won't ride that south but the good news is that the trail network enlarge and is getting more and more connected to spread the traffic through. There are few rivers mostly along the St-Laurence river that are not ready yet. St-Maurice river is crossable but the trail on the river is not ready yet. The interactive map seems pretty accurate now on the trail condition. 
If we can keep getting January like temperature it will be perfect...
Bye!
Alain

12-13 January
-2c snow snow
started around noon yesterday kicked in heavy overnight 
About 8” so far
 

Came up for a quick three day tour.  Conditions are decent and the snow today is helping quite a bit.
Started in Pointe a la Croix from the Interprovincial, they have built new sled garages, forgot to take a picture, I will when we get back to the truck.  Ran up to Amqui the first afternoon, stayed at the Select.http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230112_165358.jpg.7f8d09ff07d349ed86fe8100990501aa.jpg Breakfast at Ste Adeleme, stopped at St Paulin which was closed. http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230113_111609.jpg.6354a7b54f2d304a5c9e8bb1e8645b85.jpghttp://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230113_121957.jpg.38a598af6f45e5640df89d7fb4cc9bc9.jpg Then stopped at Grande Nature for a break.  http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230113_133617.jpg.fb3b4e01c48ddab1b6b07a3da2499a8f.jpgHeaded out without a plan, stopped mid day and called the Copper, but restaurant is closed till Jan 20, so scratch that. Ended up at the Hotel Cie in SADM.http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230113_142732.jpg.e3aaa459f88e26e18ba848985fc5d744.jpg
The forecast was for 40cm, so far I would say we have got 20.  Will try to update a bit more tomorrow.  It is great to be riding again.
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http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230113_121957.jpg.38a598af6f45e5640df89d7fb4cc9bc9.jpg
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230113_111609.jpg.6354a7b54f2d304a5c9e8bb1e8645b85.jpg
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Yup, another beautiful day. Traffic picking up a bit but we will be long gone by the weekend. Reroutes here and there but generally well marked.  Evidence of all the hard work to get trees cleared and trails opened.
 

Today,  Windigo to 100 Lacs. 
 
The 83 west of Wamo fresh groom since yesterday.  No logging so its on the big road the whole way Parent
Gouin trail looks perfect.. Thanks Jonny !
Stopped by Central in Parent.. all dark .  Store in town has awesome pre-made sandwiches and hot pizza on a spinner.  Works for us . Trails in and out of town topical Parent,  sno cross .
The 13 from the 83 intersection south moved around a bit again this season but all good .
 
100 lac .. full up tonight 
 

Bonsoir à vous tous 
Aujourd'hui, le secteur Roberval - Lac-Bouchette a été surfacé. Condition de début de saison et manque de neige pas endroit, surtout quand on se rapproche de Roberval.
Nous avons également travaillé le nouveau sentier a St-François.
Demain matin, le surfaceur va partir de Roberval via St-François pour descendre au chalet Spa à Chambord.
Le sentier Chambord vers Desbiens  devrait être visité d'ici quelques jours. 
Le lac est non sécuritaire pour l'instant et aucun test de glace n'a été fait.
Secteur Lac Édouard, en évaluation pour peut-être dimanche.
Merci et soyez prudent dans les sentiers.
Good evening to all of you
Today, Roberval - Lac-Bouchette sector has been surfaced. Early season condition and not a lot of snow, especially when we get closer to Roberval.
We also worked on the new trail in St-François.
Tomorrow morning, the groomer will leave Roberval via St-François to go down to the Spa chalet in Chambord.
The Chambord trail to Desbiens should be visited in a few days.
The lake is unsafe at this time and no ice tests have been done.
Lac Édouard sector, in evaluation for maybe Sunday. Thank you and be careful on the trails.

Saddle up, Quebec open for business 😜
 

SMDS up to Windigo today,  various conditions but all pretty decent early season riding . Nice lunch at Camp de  Casey , Norm is no longer there but the new guy Rafael seems a excellent addition.  83 has a reroute east of Wemotaci , passing by a nice lookout over the river and village.  Apparently we're the first overnight guest here at Windigo for this season Martine tells us ! 

Thanks Daredog! We get used to the skidoo, I was knowing from the beginning that the Yammy+Expert-X Boivin rear skid combo would be hard to replace and it is the case. I enjoy the 900ace touring until I encounter a rough trail section...not that the skidoo is not good and I improved it with 3 Elka shocks but the Expert-X was at the next level... The skidoo shine as for fuel usage/increase mileage range and the heated seat is a great addition that Kristine and me are both enjoying more than expected when it's very cold.
I left you a small musical clip put together from this last ride image
 

Opps

Road from Cabanon to Mekoos via Manawan today trails were very good most of the way. Cabanon thru SMDS was slot car fast and smooth. 33 north was a 6 or 7. No line at Repos, they have 2 pumps now. Trail 33 from Repos to 53 was a 10 except for the washout I hit going way to fast. It is exactly 30 miles west of Repos on trail 33. 53 South was a 9. Awesome day 175 miles.

bonsoir 
with the last grooming run, looks like its getting better...
-25c in the morning and  -18c around  5 pm 
 
jean-guy
 

and this afternoon ....i went on logging rd up to mile 45 !!!
 
jean-guy

on the left in the distance you can see the trail that winds thru the mountaintop windmills….

bonsoir jackstraw !!!!
 
hahaahha....absolutely right !!!
 
jean-guy

10 January
-11c 
yesterdays white gold
2”

bonsoir !!!
sure...but better with a few extra inches.....still low
pics from the morning and  1 hr ago !!!
 
jean-guy

bonsoir zrtkat !!!
 
many thx....happy for you !!!...bienvenue !!!
back in the  90's  i used to go in that area very often...specially looking for moose....after the 28 miles ...can see lots of mountains...very nice area...
-10c right now
 
jean-guy

📢OUVERTURE DE LA TQ23 SUR LE SAINT-MAURICE !📢
À la suite de PLUSIEURS vérifications de l’épaisseur de la glace, il est maintenant possible de circuler sur le sentier BALISÉ.
ATTENTION : ⛔️NE PAS SORTIR DU SENTIER !⛔️
⚠️Suivre les balises car présence de trous chauds à moins de 75 mètres du sentier balisé.⚠️
⛔️FERMÉ : Sentier sur la rivière direction la Tuque⛔️ (encore à l’eau claire)
Un GRAND merci à Location Maximum Aventure pour le prêt d’équipement et l’aide au sondage de la glace ainsi qu’à Louis Marchand pour les 4,3 km balisé.👍
 
📢OPENING OF THE TQ23 ON THE SAINT-MAURICE!📢 Following SEVERAL verifications of the thickness of the ice, it is now possible to travel on the MARKED trail. CAUTION:
⛔️DO NOT GO OFF THE TRAIL!⛔️
⚠️Follow the beacons because there are hot holes within 75 meters of the marked trail.⚠️
⛔️CLOSED: Trail on the river towards La Tuque⛔️ (still in clear water) A BIG thank you to Location Maximum Aventure for the loan of equipment and help with the ice survey as well as to Louis Marchand for the 4.3 km marked.👍

Beautiful sunny Sunday with winter temperatures (-15C at start around 9:30), we did this ride: a kind of Taureau reservoir loop with a fuel up at Marineau Mattawin!

We parked the trailer in the parking lot of Pub 111 in St-Michel des Saints, the trail passes through the parking lot.

We left a little late around 9:45 and headed off on #63 towards the Cabanon. The snow base held the thaw good but there was a bit less new snow on top around the village of St-Michel. The big slopes facing south near the village are the only place that suffered and some rock has risen to the surface and is mixed with the snow. the little snow we got today and forecast this week will help getting this spot better

This pic is not very representative and unfortunately I had not a lot of photos at the start of the ride because my Gopro didn't want to cooperate and we are at testing with a new camera to replace Kristine's old Sony which is about dying(the camera 😉). You may notice some photos of a different look in my reports.
We rode up to Auberge Le Cabanon and then took the #345 towards the Taureau dam. It had not been regroomed overnight and Saturday's heavy traffic day+warm weather had sculpt the trail shape! .The lady behind me was swearing into her helmeth... that's why we don't have communicators!!!

We took a little break at the dam. We see that the reservoir level has started to drop down...

And the water output flow is still high...

We then continued on #360 east. Grooming was much better despite some bumps to watch in the curves up to #345 junction (towards Pourvoirie Lac du Repos)

We then got superb, almost perfect trail conditions on the #360 up to Mattawin. I like this very panoramic section


the snow cover is even much better going toward Mattawin

This is one of the most beautiful section of the #360 with a fast trail along the beautiful Mattawin River.


We took our usual little break at stop 440 to admire the river which is currently flowing at high flow.


we then continued east...

As many of you know, the M20 trail (and M21) are not done this season due to logging, which requires plowing the road of the usual route of these trails to get the wood out. Here the M20 path which is closed to snowmobiles this season

The Zec Chapeau de Paille road that we usually use for the continuation of the #360 towards Marineau is also plowed, so the club made detour trail further north. It's a bit winding at the beginning especially the first miles but it quickly becomes better and then very good for the 2nd half with beautiful nice stretchs


The detour joins the usual trail at the height the Zec entrance and we continue on familiar trail path


To finally arrive at our refueling point around 12:45 with 93 miles on the meter


After a good meal break at the auberge, we left in the opposite direction a little before 2:00 p.m. for the second half of our ride. It bugged me to not be able to film in such beautiful conditions and by dint of trying I managed to find a way to convince my gopro to stay alive in the afternoon and I finally have images in the bank for a future video.


it was really good and nice ride


We took a first and only break at #360/#345 junction (towards Repos) and surprisingly we had a little beggar who came to ask for his food!

After all these years in Lanaudière, we have often had gray jays come in our hands, but black-capped chickadees this is the first time here. We had some last spring in Gaspésie... they may have spread the word about us!!!

We then continued and once near the dam held the #360 to loop around the reservoir on the west side

It was riding very well, just usual season beginning ruts to watch out for. There is a short section less than one miles where the club had started to groom the trail next to the road path where we usually pass??

The trail became even nicer from the  #33 junction which had been groomed the night before. We were quickly  near the Auberge du Lac Taureau and chose to cut across the Taureau reservoir to return to St-Michel. The snowmobile club had published earlier last week having marked it out after testing the ice at 15" thick.
The level of the reservoir is still high enough so that the ice cover is still almost flat on the whole length, riding this was like a creamy cherry on the top of our day ride

 
We finally got back to the trailer around 4:45 p.m. with a total of 188 miles/302kms on the meter to say it's pretty much the same distance either way of the reservoir

So a 2nd great ride in the last 3 days for us which kicks off our snowmobile season this year. I expect that the trail network will continue to grow rapidly with the actual cold and snow ahead and also that the information on the interactive map will become more up to date as there are open places that are not shown on the map actually but also several other places that the clubs are at finish opening.
Everything is finally falling into place for a great 2023 snowmobile season!

My trip last year - western Newfoundland - conditions look better this year and earlier. Would not book anything until end of January early February to be safe though. Four minutes long, best part is last 2 minutes, sun was out.
 
 

as a bonus, here a video of my yesterday ride, in the AM from St-Gabriel to Koubec.  Quality is weaker because the lack of sun but it's good enough to see the conditions. enjoy!
 

Under a cloudy sky with a little snow/-2C we made this ride yesterday January 6, 2023 in St-Zenon area through the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve starting from St-Gabriel de Brandon

As a drop point we chose the parking lot of the Multifunctional Center 111 Chemin du mont Lanaudière (it's the road just past the Highschool) which is an official parking lot for trailers and the trail pass just aside. We arrived a little late and parked on the roadside in front of it. 

Despite the last thaw there is still a lot of snow, the conditions are good here in the field in St-Damien.

Even the big hill in climbing on the mountain was nice with barely a couple browning snow spots , otherwise very good. Given the traffic there were a few bumps but it ride very well.

We passed the Renard Bleu outfitter

The road is plowed farther this year but has been widened and our trail is next to it. We just have to cross it a couple of times as the trail change of side otherwise it's fine.


the snow cover is very good


From the #23 we then took trail #350 east.

After this thaw I was expecting to ride on very hard trails but no there is a good layer of loose snow on top , thick enough that the skis were not even bite the trail hard base most of the time. Very good conditions


Passed the junction for the #23 towards the Cabanon we continued on the #350 towards Koubec with even better trail conditions

 

We stopped for lunch at the Relais Koubec (Outfitter Mastigouche)


It's been a while since we stopped eating there. It was very good and quick and their huge double-sided fireplace in the center of the dining room always impresses me!

After the lunch break we continued in the Mastigouche reserve. I did a round trip stretch on #23 eastbound. We passed the junction for the trail to Gaston (#350 towards Lac Blanc)

Before turning around and continuing on #23 westbound


The section of #23 which comes to reconnect on the #345 (towards the Taureau dam) is less used and as usual it did not disappoint us with its good condition and beautiful fast sections.



There had been more traffic on the #345 towards the Cabanon. The snow cover remains good even if there are a few spots of more brownish snow in the few km that leave the forest road and which had been reworked with a bulldozer just before the season.


We stopped to fuel up at Auberge Le Cabanon


And we went back down to our starting point via #23 trail

Real Masse outfitter, which had major problems with their plumbing and water distribution system during an extended power outage (christmas storm) is not open and the trail goes straight, trail not groomed yet

the #23 south of #350 was weared from traffic and was bumpy on the way back south, especially in the section maintained by St-Charles club

The last section groomed by St-Gabriel club was better but the traffic had still done its job. With the announced cold and grooming, it will come back good because the snow cover is good.

To summarize,  the storm of December 23 had left impressive amounts of snow, the following thaw packed it down to give us a solid base for the trails and the last snow put some cream on the cake which gives very good conditions. There are still a couples of not frozen small ditches and you can still see the remains of fallen /damaged trees but the ride we did was very nice overall. 
Trail opening and grooming is still underway, I know that from St-Zenon or Mattawin it is possible to go to Pourvoirie Repos. Kanawata wrote their trails was open (4January) and Alliance du nord club that groom norther on the #83 state that they finished opening trails and are at grooming them. Many places in Parent/clova were starting their operations this weekend. Latuque snowmobile club also state their trails opened.
With the cold announced I expect that the open trail network will continue to expand and connect rapidly in the coming days
Happy 2023 season!
Alain