Grampsledder

Last day and it was a 10+.   Amazing what grooming will do.   Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane.   Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad.   Today perfect.   There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow.   Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river.   Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass!   And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs.   Not sure what they were thinking...  Fantastic trip.   1119 miles in 6 days.   

Waited while it passed.  
5AB821C6-3655-422E-A3C3-779731C981F1.MOV

Last day and it was a 10+.   Amazing what grooming will do.   Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane.   Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad.   Today perfect.   There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow.   Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river.   Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass!   And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs.   Not sure what they were thinking...  Fantastic trip.   1119 miles in 6 days.   

Day 3 started out great.  The 597 to Murdochville was perfect.   There was about 4” of new snow on it but no bumps.   Saw lots of traffic.   Gas and lunch at the Copper.    Took a look at the rooms and they have been updated-they are nice.   The Chic Choc Trail was fantastic-new snow and freshly groomed.  It looked like a plowed road the banks are so high.   Passed the groomer about 20 miles from the 595 and the traffic and snow showed on the trails.   The drift at the end was a monster.   Decided to fuel at La Cache.  The trail has been rerouted and it is about 10 miles to gas you run the road for a while.   The place looks great.   Heard they had renovated but didn’t realize how nice it was.   A definite stop.   The run down to New Richmond was not groomed.   Even with very little traffic it was bumped, especially the last 30 miles.  Tough finish to a beautiful day.   

Waited while it passed.  
5AB821C6-3655-422E-A3C3-779731C981F1.MOV

Last day and it was a 10+.   Amazing what grooming will do.   Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane.   Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad.   Today perfect.   There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow.   Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river.   Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass!   And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs.   Not sure what they were thinking...  Fantastic trip.   1119 miles in 6 days.   

Last day and it was a 10+.   Amazing what grooming will do.   Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane.   Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad.   Today perfect.   There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow.   Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river.   Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass!   And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs.   Not sure what they were thinking...  Fantastic trip.   1119 miles in 6 days.   

Last day and it was a 10+.   Amazing what grooming will do.   Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane.   Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad.   Today perfect.   There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow.   Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river.   Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass!   And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs.   Not sure what they were thinking...  Fantastic trip.   1119 miles in 6 days.   

Waited while it passed.  
5AB821C6-3655-422E-A3C3-779731C981F1.MOV

Day 3 started out great.  The 597 to Murdochville was perfect.   There was about 4” of new snow on it but no bumps.   Saw lots of traffic.   Gas and lunch at the Copper.    Took a look at the rooms and they have been updated-they are nice.   The Chic Choc Trail was fantastic-new snow and freshly groomed.  It looked like a plowed road the banks are so high.   Passed the groomer about 20 miles from the 595 and the traffic and snow showed on the trails.   The drift at the end was a monster.   Decided to fuel at La Cache.  The trail has been rerouted and it is about 10 miles to gas you run the road for a while.   The place looks great.   Heard they had renovated but didn’t realize how nice it was.   A definite stop.   The run down to New Richmond was not groomed.   Even with very little traffic it was bumped, especially the last 30 miles.  Tough finish to a beautiful day.   

Last day and it was a 10+.   Amazing what grooming will do.   Ran the 595 north on our way back to Matane.   Two days ago it was bumped up from La Cache and the last 30 miles were bad.   Today perfect.   There are areas with drifting but it is due to the wind and soft snow.   Cold and barren up top. Had a close encounter with a moose by the river.   Waited for a while on the trail and when it turned back we moved to the woods to let it pass!   And, to top off the day saw a car that drive down the trail for a mile or so by the Grand Nature du Chic Chocs.   Not sure what they were thinking...  Fantastic trip.   1119 miles in 6 days.   

Trails were great yesterday. All groomed as we left New Richmond.  Nice views over the bay in Point a la Croix.   Temps dropped and we had a few snow squalls in the afternoon.  Amqui last night.  Headed back to the Francis on the 587, never done it before.   They groomed the 595 yesterday so that’s back in the plan for Friday.  

La Cache looks great.  

Big banks

Day 3 started out great.  The 597 to Murdochville was perfect.   There was about 4” of new snow on it but no bumps.   Saw lots of traffic.   Gas and lunch at the Copper.    Took a look at the rooms and they have been updated-they are nice.   The Chic Choc Trail was fantastic-new snow and freshly groomed.  It looked like a plowed road the banks are so high.   Passed the groomer about 20 miles from the 595 and the traffic and snow showed on the trails.   The drift at the end was a monster.   Decided to fuel at La Cache.  The trail has been rerouted and it is about 10 miles to gas you run the road for a while.   The place looks great.   Heard they had renovated but didn’t realize how nice it was.   A definite stop.   The run down to New Richmond was not groomed.   Even with very little traffic it was bumped, especially the last 30 miles.  Tough finish to a beautiful day.   

That is an awesome trail now, very scenic.

Trails were great yesterday. All groomed as we left New Richmond.  Nice views over the bay in Point a la Croix.   Temps dropped and we had a few snow squalls in the afternoon.  Amqui last night.  Headed back to the Francis on the 587, never done it before.   They groomed the 595 yesterday so that’s back in the plan for Friday.  

La Cache looks great.  

Trails were great yesterday. All groomed as we left New Richmond.  Nice views over the bay in Point a la Croix.   Temps dropped and we had a few snow squalls in the afternoon.  Amqui last night.  Headed back to the Francis on the 587, never done it before.   They groomed the 595 yesterday so that’s back in the plan for Friday.  

Highly recommend the 587 between Pointe a la Croix and Causapcal.  First time on it today.  Great trail. Wide open riding for 70 miles, paralleling the road,  along the river, and in the woods.  Said it hadn’t been groomed in a while but it was in perfect shape.    Glad we added it to our day.   Trails overall a 10 today.   

La Cache looks great.  

La Cache looks great.  

Big banks

Tons of snow up here, more than we have ever seen in our 8 trips.   The clubs have done a great job grooming and keeping the trails open after the snow and wind last week with two exceptions.   Started at the Riotel in Matane Sunday.   The weather was clear, a sunny blue sky day.   The coastal views were great as always.    Stayed at Grand Vallee.   Great food and friendly people.   Trails were a 10.   Day two started with a flatbed to the dealer-fouled plugs caused the sled to run through 4x the normal gas and oil.    The 5 of us took the TQ5 to meet him.   Had our 3rd “never again” experience in that section.  The first 30 miles were perfect then the grooming stopped.   The next 30 were bad.   A few sections were heavily wind blown.   Ended the day with a great run on the orange cut through to the 597 to chandler.   The trails were in great shape even with the new snow in top. The 597 is a favorite for sure.   

La Cache looks great.