Signfan

There is some really nice air bnbs on lac Taureau. Not the same service, but you can drive or ride to the resorts for meals.

Swisha north gets pretty remote on 386. 160 km seeing nothing but lakes and the odd hunting outfitter that's closed for the winter. It's 200 km from Swisha to Temiscaming. Haven't made the trip yet, but heading east from Val D'or towards Clova also looks to be quite remote.

Anyone know what she's asking for it?

After riding day after day of moguled up trails in the Gaspe last March that the clubs just couldn't get to setup (not that they weren't trying, just too loose of snow and too much traffic) I'm thinking trying to get some trips in in early January is maybe a good strategy. I'd say watch the weather and either pull it in or push it out till later in March.

Lol. 68 vehicles. Might be some sea doos in that number. These guys are in trouble if they can't start putting vehicles in their customers hands soon to bring in some cash flow. Too bad. Difficulties of a startup.

You guys did it the right way. Pay full pop. Then remit a refund form afterwards. You avoid the fee and get the full insurance refund. It is time sensitive though. https://snowmobile.intact.ca/intact-forms/intactformsdb/webdrrcmotoneiges.do?action=web&lang=en

Too bad the natives wouldn't allow one year. Sounds like it will be a well built trail when it's completed.

I think you have a perfectly fine sled that you no longer trust. That's a crappy situation to be in. I've been there. Trust the guys on here on the oil issue that it's fine and carry on. If you cant get past the worry / reliability concerns then time to deal it. I'd say your garden hose did a good job of simulating real world conditions and things are working. Only thing I'd ask the dealer is was the thermostat replaced? If not replace it. Other than that it will be fine. It's a 4 stroke.

Take the bypass to the west. Toll road and a bit of a detour for some. Well worth it though. I refuse to go downtown Montreal anymore.

Is the closure east of Sept iles seasonal? Or is there an actual issue there too? I believe it was open last season and was changed that way at seasons end.

https://www.quebecrider.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7267-big-chunk-of-tq-3-closed-east-of-forestville/page/3/#comments

2 weeks for sure.

Ah that sucks. Cote Nord back on the bucket list for another year I guess. Might be the winter to check out New Brunswick.

Val d'or club. They maintain 386 north, 63 east and a portion of 63 west.

Ofsc did this last year. Had to watch a video dealing with trespassing and respect prior to gaining access to the online permit site. I think it did help some

Looks like a portion of this will re-open this year. Only section to remain closed is TQ 63 East from Pourvoirie Pavillon La Vérendrye to La Domaine. The rest is re-opening.

What is everyone wearing. Any recommendations?

In all seriousness this is pretty scary. Guy is very lucky to walk away. Got his arm caught in the tag line on the lift. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/crane-hang-toronto-construction-site-1.6511533

One trip that was memorable last winter was a 2 day getaway with my wife. We unloaded at the Hill and Gully riders clubhouse in Mulgrave et Derry. Road north to Mont Laurier and then looped back to the truck on day two. Found two really neat covered bridges on a club trail south of Mont Laurier. Grooming was excellent and found some awesome logging roads that were groomed to perfection. Anyways we ended up riding in freezing rain for the last hour of the day. No big deal till we tried to drive home. Coming out of the clubhouse on gravel mountain roads. Me in a hurry made one too many right turns and ended up mistakingly headed north further into the mountains instead of south to the Ottawa River. Came down one hill trailer in tow that dropped a couple hundred feet. It had a nice little s bend in it. ABS never shut off top to bottom. As I'm coming through the valley at the bottom nothing but hill ahead. So on the gas got it up to about 70 and she barely climbed the hill. Finally came to my senses at the top. Time to stop and assess. Got out and walked (skated really) to scout out what laid ahead. Road gets steep going downhill again and has a big bend in it. Nope something isn't right. No cell service to bout. So we unhook, swing the truck and trailer around and very slowly ride back down the hill where we came from with one wheel in the snow bank the whole way down. Just enough snow there to hold things steady, but its rainibg hard and freezing up just as quickly. Now I'm in a valley between two hills. Debate for a minute and decide first I need to sort out where I went wrong. I unload my sled and head back out the road to figure things out. Find my mistake and head back in. The roads had been sanded, but the rain was freezing a layer of ice over the salt and sand. So up and down the hill I run with the sled using the track to chew the ice up and bring the sand up top. It works, load the sled up and out we made it. Highways were arguably just as bad until we got to a lower elevation. All in all one scary drive (never been that nervous driving and I've took off in lots of storms), but still a great trip. I was thoroughly impressed with the trails in the Papineau Labelle Wildlife Reserve. Will definitely return.

Nothing about snowmobiling is cheap these days. Good value provided you can get your days in. With gas and diesel over $2 a litre I get it from the management side. Gonna make for an expensive riding season though. I can see the growth we've seen in the sport starting to fall some next season. Permits have always been the lowest cost items to participate.

Anyone heard anything on construction of the new trail? Is it started yet?

Oh no. Now's the time to do it. Simple argument. Anything that could be harmed in the install is already dead due to the washout. Now's the time to install it while the damage is done. This argument held weight for a new bridge several years ago. Never seen the MNR issue a permit so quickly.

As the title says let's post some pics and stories of your best and worst experiences sledding this past season. Any incredible days on the trails? Days you wish you'd left the sled in the garage and stayed home?

That worked. Anybody up for some white water rafting? That would be quite the ride down through there.

Link doesn't work