wng-2

As mentioned, lodging has become a tremendous problem. And in my opinion, so has the decreasing length of time that good riding conditions exist. Therefore, as also mentioned, February is peak season, and really the best time to make the trip, which further complicates the lodging issue. I can certainly understand booking way in advance for a group of your size. This is not my personal preference, as too much can go wrong, namely weather and trail conditions, next,mechanical and health issues. The list goes on from there. However, Advance booking is probably best for your situation, you can always cancel. Last year three of us, three men, taking two rooms, made the trip. We drove up from Southern Maine/NH. We unloaded in Monticello, Maine, and rode to Fort Kent, staying at the Northern Door Inn, eating at the Swamp Buck restaurant. Yum. We had a reservation for the Hotel. From here we wung it reservation wise. I can speak some French, so that helps calling ahead for reservations. We stayed at the Quality Inn Mont joli the next night, although Matane is certainly doable. From there we made a reservation at the Delice in Mont St. Pierre. I understand they will be closed this winter. keeping an eye on that. Snow was predicted for the next day, so no reservation was made. We encountered snow very early, and it became heavy by mid day. Being older, and in my case fat, I don't want to risk getting stuck. We were able to get rooms at the Caribou Inn, Riviere Au Renaud early in the afternoon. It was still snowing in the morning, we got a late start, and managed to get out of town without getting stuck, and the weather cleared quickly. We skipped Perce due to the late start, and stopped in Grande-Riviere for fuel, then stopped at the clubhouse to use the wifi and attempt to secure a room for the night in New Richmond. No rooms available. We pressed on. My sled flashed an error code upon getting into Chandler. We stopped at the Motel Chandler. Very quiet there, It was early February, and there had been little or snow or riding in January. The lady there, Beatrice, was very helpful, letting us use the wifi, and made a call to the dealer for us. By the time we figured the sled was going to run fine, minus the thumb warmer, and plus an annoying code on the screen which obliterated my trip meter, we had killed an hour. It was after 3 PM, so we took a room there. The restaurant was closed, so Beatrice gave us a ride to and from the Dixie Lee for supper. We secured rooms at the Interprovincial In Pointe-A-La- Croix for the next night, Super Bowl Sunday. Nice room, great meal, some Molson Canadian, snored through the Super Bowl. We secured rooms at the Hampton Inn Presque Isle, Maine for the next night, and the next morning called Mundles for the transport across to Cambleton, New Brunswick. They dropped us trailside in town. There is fuel, and injection oil for our two smoke friend across the street. Trails in New Brunswick were great for a while, but we hit a few hours of junk. Crossed the border at St Leonard/Van Buran, and got to the Hampton Inn without issue. Just over an hour to the truck the next morning. In your case, you could take the reverse route mentioned above, and reenter at Fort kent. Not sure what will happen this year. I will buy my trail pass Monday if the website doesn't fight me too much. I never tire of the Gaspe, Winter or summer. I hope your trip goes well. Please share.

My Wife and I took a clockwise drive last month. I got some drone videos in between raindrops. Drone Montage Gaspe Peninsula.

Yup.

Thought so. Last year is was mid October I think. The website shows 2023-2024 trail pass information, but does not show when avavilable. That I can find at least.

Is it available to buy yet? I cannot get anywhere on the FCMQ site. Merci.

Ok, merci. That is disappointing though...😣

Is this open currently? I am hoping to make a clockwise loop of the peninsula this week. I recall hearing mentioned here during snowmobile season that the couple running it were leaving. I always liked that spot. First stayed in 1997. Le Délice motel restaurant 1997

Wow......😬 I have a 2021 Yamacat Viper. Previous sled was a 2014 Venture. Same 1049 motor which I like. I bought the Viper after the 2021 season. I have ridden it for two seasons. This past season I had a cat problem with it, The thumb warmer quit working which threw a code, and prevented my odometer from displaying while riding. Local dealer here in the states fixed it for around $400 as I recall..🙄Not sure what I will do next. Probably try to run this thing a few more seasons, and see if the riding season continues to shrink. I will be 61 years old for the upcoming season. I had hoped to ride into my seventies. I certainly enjoy riding in Quebec, and have done a fair amount of it over the years. However the cost of the sleds seems to me to have far surpassed the inflation rate, and reliability doesn't seem great either. All this combined with the shrinking riding season and cost of fuel etc makes it discouraging. I wish Honda made a snowmobile. I put 221k miles on my last Goldwing. By far the most reliable and fun vehicle of any kind I have ever owned. Anyhow, I am still looking forward to winter. I registered my sled on July 1st... 😀

Very bad, and sad. 😥

Looks like the weather late Monday into Tuesday will help. 🙏

Very Bad...

BONNE FÊTE!

That is some rugged territory. A friend of mine from Nova Scotia did part of that route a few years ago. Not a trip he would repeat. I will try and get information from him regarding guides.

A friend is telling me that Hydro Quebec has 992, 000 customers without power....I can imagine the trail system is affected by fallen trees and limbs.

Great trip with friends and family! That's good information to know regarding the sock filter in the 900 Turbo. I am glad the dealer got it fixed for you. My friends and I rode to that dealership Saturday 11 February at 10:30 in the morning and it was closed. No sign on the door indicating hours. Several vehicles pulled in apparently expecting them to be open. Perhaps there was a staffing or illness issue. Glad they were able to get you going and you had a nice trip.

Beautiful day!

Glad you had a nice trip. Thanks for sharing.

This is near the junction of the 595 and TQ 5? It was very busy this past Friday 10 March.

Great info. Thanks very much.

Did you guys get back ok?

Perfect! 👍

Hope you have a great day!

Excellent report. Thanks. I was in Matane Friday night the 11th. Had a great 200 mile day to Fort Kent, Maine on Saturday despite warm conditions. Back to the truck for you today?

Update: The dealer suggested the overheating problem could be caused by the air ride suspension being set too high. I did observe his sled kicking snow out under the flap. Typically that snow, or at least some of it, would be deflected back under the sled. The theory does make some sense, and would explain why the sled did not overheat on the previous three mornings when the conditions were similarly hard and ice-like. He had played with the suspension. Yesterday my sled received his annual bath, grease, and was filled with stabilized fuel. He is ready for his ten month hibernation.