Byrd

Here is my snowmobile holiday week February 26 to March 3, 2023  detailed report in pics and video
With several possible options, it is finally this route that Snowcruiser, Kristine and I have chosen for our 2023 snowmobile trip. A trip that we had already done in the opposite direction several years ago and that we shortened a bit starting from Quebec instead of Trois-Rivières which gave more reasonable daily miles.

A total of nearly 1500kms in 6 days starting near Quebec to follow St-Lawrence river south side to Matane and cross at Baie-Comeau to return along on the north side.
DAY#1: Quebec/Tourville
Our trip began Sunday, February 26 in the morning in a somewhat unusual way: we unloaded the sleds from the trailer at the motel Colibri in St-Augustin to load them back directly in the trailer of the official Quebec/Levis snowmobile shuttle which took us to the courtyard of the Hotel Normandin in Levis where the real snowmobile ride began.

The gray sky at start gave way to some sunshine and the cold temperature gave optimal conditions to enjoy some wide trails on the south shore of St-Lawrence river


We had dinner in St-Lazare and then made a loop in the Massif du Sud area


We then came back on fast #35 trail

And end our day ride in Tourville with just over 270kms. We slept at the Maison du Voyageur.

This accommodation was the best value for money of the trip. It's an old village bank building converted into a multi-bedroom apartment with full bathroom and common living room/kitchen area + large locked garage for snowmobiles at $99/night, unbeatable in 2023! Our large 2-beds room was as beautiful and equipped as those of the big hotels we rented the other days (better than some)
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
 
DAY#2: Tourville-Rimouski
We continued south on fast #35 trail . I did not remember we had that long of linear trail, we did clocking many miles fast!

Here's a pic at the club house of Les Explorateurs de Pohénégamook snowmobile club

We dropped the #35 just at the tip of Pohénégamook Lake that we only photographed

We took trail #544on opposite direction which turned out to be near as fast but should be avoided in real spring conditions because there are nearly 15 km of snow plowed trail. In our case, the road base was hard snow covered by just enough snow lube in order to be perfect and very fast.
We then continued with #571 trail to join #3 trail and stop for lunch at Club motoneige l'Étang du Moulin clubhouse

We finally ate outside because they are closed on Monday's!
We continued #5 trail to Rimouski and got there early but just getting around the city and getting to the Rimouski Hotel along St-Lawrence river is quite long and filled this end of the day which ended around 3:30 pm with around 295kms. We choose this hotel because they have a SPA/swimming pool, which is much appreciated by the lady of the group after a good sledding day.

I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this second day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
Day #3: Rimouski/Matane + detour from Montagne St-Pierre
The Rimouski/Matane ride being relatively short, it gave us the possibility of stretching the ride south which we did towards La Rédemption

We have been to Montagne St-Pierre several times, but not often on a clear day and we were served quite well this time!


We took the opportunity to go to Val d'Irene hoping to eat there but the ski resort was closed that day

We then continued and had dinner at Jojo's restaurant in Amqui. It's always a bit weird with the #5 trail east/west there because it's near the spot where it loop back on itself. So we took the #5 east (which goes north!) along Lac Matapédia to join the #591 and then the #5 east (which really goes east!)

And reached Matane where we ended the day at the Quality Inn with around 235kms near the ferry dock that we had to take at 8:00 the next morning to reach Baie-Comeau.
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this third day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
To be continued soon...

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Thanks so much. Being a teacher she only gets one big trip per season. So this was awesome. So happy to see her enjoying the sport. 

Two OLD dudes (I'm 57 toda)
At Albertville 

Your NOT kidding 
rooms are mint
 

Looking at the app this morning showed the groomer had left Murdochville around 3AM and was already 20 miles west by 5:30, perfect timing! So we were off Eastward on 5, great trail all the way to Murdochville. Gassed up.
Then toward La Cache. Trail was very good, not perfect, hard to groom a solid base. Up in the peaks was like another planet, everything covered in white, quite a bit fluffier and no ice.
Was overcast and flurries, so not great for pictures up there.
Through La Cache, parking lot had a ton of sleds, sleds, so we blew past and up 595 again. Awesome rip. Stopped at a couple slopes that had natural snow wheels (big white snow dough its) that rolled themselves down the hills.
Gas at Saint Adelme with 150 miles on the tank, running on the low fuel light for 30 miles. Took 30 liters, so still had a gallon in there.
Then off to Matane, when rolling in to Quality Inn met up with Ice and Mrs Ice who just rolled and in too!  They were loading their sleds at the end of their trip. Will have supper with them later.
 
Not sure where tomorrows destination will be, will start plotting. Want to stay away from TQ5 as much as possible since its icier near the coast and everyone seems to take 5 :<)
 

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -23, left at 9:30 after another good stay at windigo. Beautiful morning for a run down the reservoir to the local trail then to trail 73. Great run down till we hit the 355, rough trails all the way until the 23. Starting snowing heavy, back to see Reggie by 4:30. Great trips, great friends and met a few new friends along the way.   

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

The temperature she go up, the temperature she go down. 
We are a few days into the tour, neglected to write. Left Oliphant on the 15th, 2 McKenzies 2 Moores, 10hr drive to Mont Laurier temperature +9. drove through rain and fog. Woke up to -6 headed north to 100 lacs. Trails choppy and icy to Ferme-nerve. Stoped at Mount Diablo, only three sleds there on February 16, hard to believe. North to 100 lacs perfect, stopped for lunch St Anne du Lacs for lunch and fuel. Somebody got stuck, not mentioning any names (mrs). 
Woke up -17, she go down, 25 cm of snow. Great service from the folks at 100 Lacs, machines dusted off for us. Headed south towards Rabaska lodge, but no reservations, OOPS. Ended up getting a spot at Club Fontbrune, nice place excellent staff. Woke up to -24, headed back to Mont Laurier. Scott shut off his machine before crossing river, would not restart, starter problems we think. Towed back to dealership, only 2 Km, new battery no luck. Down to rental office, Expedition available, sans turbo. Back to trailer loaded up and off to Iceland to see Reggie at Drakkar to meet up with the boy from Nova Scotia. 
Just over freezing in the morning, unloaded and headed to Camp Taureau. Made a few wrong turns around Shawinigan, lots of traffic but trails were surprisingly good. Ran out of gas just before Carbanon on the boy’s sled. Somebody forgot to fill it up, someone about my size, also gas caddy empty, another OOPS(not me, Scott’s doing). 
+2 this morning ride back up to 100 lacs, light traffic,  trails 10 out of 10.  We were going to take the lakes up, good thing we didn’t snowing very heavy. Sun came out, and got starting to get cold, -15 come dark. Temperature she go down. 

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Temperature she go down, woke up to -33. In no hurry to leave this morning. Decide to change route and head straight up to Barrage Gouin….to old to ride in the cold. Trails good all the way to the bridge on 13. Trails rough all the way to the turn off to Barrage Gouin. Stop for gas at Parent, had to dodge a few snow boulders but all and all a good day. Arrived a little early, had to put on the auxiliary heat, all good now.

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Woke to -26 felt like -36. Good breakfast and on the trails by 10. Took the east Y of the local trail, broke trail all the way, lots of fun. In to Wemo for gas. Came across our second rescue this trip, another person fail to negotiate the corner. Lots of manpower out in no time. Off to relay 22 for lunch. Good soup, poutine and chicken strips. Back to Windigo for the evening. All trails good, really good and great. Beautiful sunny day. Lots of snow in this area. 

Temperature she go down, woke up to -33. In no hurry to leave this morning. Decide to change route and head straight up to Barrage Gouin….to old to ride in the cold. Trails good all the way to the bridge on 13. Trails rough all the way to the turn off to Barrage Gouin. Stop for gas at Parent, had to dodge a few snow boulders but all and all a good day. Arrived a little early, had to put on the auxiliary heat, all good now.