Miles long

If anyone’s heading up I just want you to know that the trail does smooth out after roughly 10 miles North of Chibougamau http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2024_03/IMG_0150.thumb.jpeg.c9c7271af169c9f3d4c2711edf7ffa85.jpeghttp://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2024_03/IMG_0151.thumb.jpeg.302e8ef46b73034065b1d8e64c1fbbcd.jpeg

Shocks are upside down!

They will be disappointed when the go under my Cummins to take the catalytic 😜.

When I passed through here in March of ‘20 we were escorted by 2 Hydro Quebec trucks as we crossed the bridges into Havre
 

When I passed through here in March of ‘20 we were escorted by 2 Hydro Quebec trucks as we crossed the bridges into Havre
 

When I passed through here in March of ‘20 we were escorted by 2 Hydro Quebec trucks as we crossed the bridges into Havre
 

Agreed the lasagna was not award winning but better than a prepackaged sandwich which was on the shelf besides the lasagna. Worth noting was the lasagna was $16 for a slice!
hope these places stay open and return to pre Covid service levels; there are already enough places that have seemed to close over the years.

Now that’s the review I’ve been looking for! I read somewhere that a Saturday night in chibougamau is about as close you will come to experiencing the bar scene in the first Star Wars episode!

There is unrest in the forest
Trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
 
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw

We are just back from our sled week therapy in Gaspesia: sled/eat/sleep...&repeat 😄

I don't have the time to put together a big report but this will be a pretty good summary of how it goes:
This 6-day/1000 miles ride in known territory for us (5th time) went well and even if it was a bit cold/windy, we had no snow storms or mechanical breakdowns, which gave us a very nice easy trip

However the current context have changed the planning requirements from the past years: I have never seen so many snowmobilers in Gaspesia and the accommodation offer is probably a little less than usual... anyway all the places where we stayed were already booked full when we arrived. We booked our overnight stays 2 or 3 days in advance and the only shot we delayed at the night before for New Richmond, the 2 hotels there were already full and we had to extend our trip to Carleton sur Mer where we booked the last room. So you really have to book sooner this year

Day#1 Mont-Joli/Cap-Chat passing by St-Pierre mountain total 176 miles.

Here's the St-Pierre mountain belvedere under a very cloudy sky


We had a lunch in Amqui and slept at the Auberge Grande Nature in Cap-Chat, just at the foot of the Chic-Chocs.


Day#2 Cap-Chat/Grande Vallée via trail#5 total 148 miles

It was a cold and very windy day. There has been a lot of logging between Cap-Chat and La Martre since our last visit in 2018, so the wind is even stronger on the trails.


The cold has overcome my gopro (external power wire broken) and unfortunately I could hardly shoot while riding during the trip. I was deceived because I was hoping to capture the very panoramic segment of Rivière à Claude/Mont St-Pierre/Mt-Louis, but that will be for another time...



We tried to have a lunch at the Mont St-Pierre motel restaurant which was the only one open but it was full with people waiting standing for a table so we continued and found a woody spot sheltered from the wind for a side trail snack break instead. A couple of hours later, we were able to take a real break in an heated place at the marvelous relay of the Snowmobile Club rapide blanc. Large and well equipped with even a toilet for the lady who greatly appreciated this luxury!



We stayed at the Marée Haute motel in Grande Vallée. Even the motel looks basic the food was a notch over the bunch at that place



Day#3 Grande Vallée/Percé by #597 trail  Murdochville total 200miles

So we retraced our steps on #5 trail to get the #597 and go down to Murdochville


We had this surprised encounter there! They took the wrong entrance when they left the gas station after filling up and got stuck there solid...hope no one had need an ambulance in the next hour!



It was too early to lunch there so we picked up some food at the convenience store and went to eat at the junction #597/local trail that join #5 trail to the east. Very nice fast ride pleasant to do
We had some visitors for lunch: Several small black-capped chickadees came to beg us for lunch

It was the first time those ones came to eat in our hands. We are well used to the gray jays and there were also some there who did not hesitate to claim their food too


We went down to the #5 trail and then to Barachois to refuel and admire the rear view of the perce rock which is less common to see and I like much


We then took back #5 trail, crossed the small detour near the emerald river (not so bad) and continued to take the local trail for Percé... the trail of the shame as some call it: 12 miles of big bump to do twice is the penalty to be able to admire the rock!




Being already there we reach on the mountain behind, I like well the different views of the rock, including this one



We stayed at Camp de base in Percé. We had to follow a non-federated trail to get there but it was pretty easy with the instruction given and imotoneige and the stay there was nice in this historic and unusual place

Day#4 Percé/Carleton sur Mer via trail #5 total 178 miles

We took #5 trail which we held the whole day. As I mentioned a lot of sledders in the Gaspesia right now so the trails wear out faster and we encounter good and less good trail conditions and this time our morning unfortunately was quite rough. Here the Grande Rivière bridge


Here the Chandler snowmobile tourist information relay



We slept at the Baie-Bleu hotel in Carleton sur Mer


Day#5 Carleton sur Mer/Cap-Chat via trail #595 total 181 miles

We retraced our steps on #5 trail and took trail #595 to the north. This time we got top notch conditions, trail just groomed during the night. The "moment" of the trip followed with a brief round trip exploration on Mount Lyall located on the Chics-Chocs trail, 6 miles from #595.




We have been there several times but never seen the place like this: mommies as far as the eye can see!




Going back down to the #5trail we saw some impressive snowdrift



We then stopped to refuel at La Cache which was pretty crowed. We waited for the gas but no way I would wait for a lunch there. We just continued on #595 and stopped in a not too windy spot for an outdoor snack... we begin to be used to this!

We then went back down to #5 trail. Kristine was anxious to encounter the famous moose that we saw on video beating up a sledder but we had not seen it. We then turned right towards Cap-Chat again but this time to stay at the Motel Nanook


Day #6 Cap-Chat/Mont-Joli via trail #5+locals total 162 miles
We left on trail #5 trail to return to Mont-Joli. Here the footbridge of Cap-Chat that many will recognize...



We did a short round trip on the local trail to Les Méchins to shape up the ride a bit and then came back west on #5 trail. We stopped for lunch and a last fuel-up in Matane and then  continued on #5. It was another very windy day and the wind there is really strong!

 
We arrived early near Mont-Joli and we went around the town a bit via local trails to shape up the ride a little more again. Just before arriving we passed this dozer



We finally got back to our starting point around 3:45 pm with a total of 1046 easy miles for the 6 days.
Also, we slept twice in Mont-Joli. Before our first sledding day and on the last day at mon Joli motel and the Quality Inn hotel. I would like to point out that Mon Joli Motel offers a free parking for the week and breakdown service in the event of a problem on the ride. You leave them your truck keys and in the event of a problem they can come and pick you up with your own vehicle, which can be extremely nice in the event of a problem along the trip and it brings appreciable peace of mind even you don't need it.
This concludes my 2022 Gaspesia trip report

Mid March does no good for Quebec this year.

Topic clearly states what this thread is about
if you don’t like it don’t click on it. 
Not very complicated 
no one forcing anyone to read anything here. 
I will say, It should have been originally posted in the covid forums section 
Covid is impacting the “sport we all love” as you said
what do you expect?  That we not talk about it?    Unrealistic. 
More censorship. 
 
 

Forced vaccinations, carry your vaccine card for travel, isolate in a state run quarantine facility, restrict movement and freedoms based on status, create a second class based on status
Seems like a fair analogy IMO 

No such luck.  No date in sight as of yesterday’s press conference from Legault.  On the brighter side… at least we can cross the border this year.

I heard Ontario is going to end their restrictions on Bars & Restaurants on January 31 , 2022 . I’m curious if anyone has information on whether the tyrannical government of Quebec has announced that they will do the same?

unions....."not my duty or responsibility"....blah, blah, blah
exactly why their member numbers have been going south for decades
ABOLISH all public sector unions NOW

Hopefully they’ll offer snowmobile packages.

Hopefully they’ll offer snowmobile packages.

Lucky bastards!

I’m sure with the Christmas Eve snow people were out riding, I have friends that live on the Westside of the Allegheny National Forest and they were out riding this past weekend, still no base and the ground is soft but in this day and age take what you can get.

The trails are decent, there’s one big loop around the kinzu Dam, on occasion they get some big lake effect dumping, lots of traffic, minimal grooming.

This is a great trip,  i have done in many times. Les Escoumins to Baie Comeau is a great run lots of nice trail and great variety.  Baie Comeau to Godbout is often referred to as a rollercoaster ride, lots of ups and downs with many twists and turns.  Godbout to Sept Iles is just awesome running all the way. A great ride you would never regret doing and will want to do again.

1st day riding was pretty much a whiteout with 2’ of fresh in the upper elevations so we basically did 85 mile loop from 5,700’ to 10,200 and back to the trail head, it was a hell of a workout trying to keep the sled from getting sucked off the trail. We found the further you ride in from the trailhead the less traffic you’ll encounter when playing in the mountains and it certainly helped that a member of our party has been riding in Alpine 3 weeks a year for the last 12 years so we didn’t waste any time looking for the untouched hill climbs, best off trail riding I’ve ever experienced! My only bitch was they didn’t groom our first 3 days there and mountain sleds really do a number on the trails, almost like Tug Hill. I felt sorry for the people who came to just ride the trails it was brutal considering it was Presidents Day Weekend .

1st day riding was pretty much a whiteout with 2’ of fresh in the upper elevations so we basically did 85 mile loop from 5,700’ to 10,200 and back to the trail head, it was a hell of a workout trying to keep the sled from getting sucked off the trail. We found the further you ride in from the trailhead the less traffic you’ll encounter when playing in the mountains and it certainly helped that a member of our party has been riding in Alpine 3 weeks a year for the last 12 years so we didn’t waste any time looking for the untouched hill climbs, best off trail riding I’ve ever experienced! My only bitch was they didn’t groom our first 3 days there and mountain sleds really do a number on the trails, almost like Tug Hill. I felt sorry for the people who came to just ride the trails it was brutal considering it was Presidents Day Weekend .