Signfan

Do you have the trail conditions turned on? It doesn't show in the trail or grooming views like some of the closed trail do.

The clubs are trying to avoid birdge deck damage from studs and carbides. Decks are bare. So they closed the trail.

One more from Mont Apica.

Well it sucks that my season is over. But can't complain. Little over 3000 km which is average for me. This last trip was just shy of 1300 km. Disappointed that 373 was closed on us the day before leaving which changed our plans significantly. Portions of TQ83 and TQ93 more than made up for it though. Couple highlights / things I learned - investing in some ski wheels is a good idea. Maybe next year - not many places to eat or sleep open in Tadoussac in the winter. Rode into town at 7 pm with no plans. We ended up staying at the youth hostile. Laughable now, but it was the best option. $30 a head. Beer at the bar was only $3 a piece and this was the only way to get fed (restaurantsall closed and no where to cook anything at the motel). Bought frozen pizzas from the convenience store ($33 total for 3 of us) and cooked them ourselves. The hostile gave us full access to the kitchen. No showers. Great people there. Just had to do our own dishes and put our sheets down the laundry chute when we left. Our group was a 25 year old, 39 year old and a 58 year old. They didn't seem to mind. I'd seriously consider staying there again. - mid week riding is the key to good trails around Quebec City. Had a bad experience in the past. They were perfect this time through - I can't decide which is my favorite. TQ 23, 83 or 93. All are gorgeous super highways. Probably 83 if I had to pick - if attempting a ride late season in the future I'm going to pull out a topo map to help plan it. Staying on high ground made a huge difference. - neat history on Mont Apica. Part of the pine tree line. Enjoyed reading the history board posted there. - I have to go back to Saguenay to ride trail 373 next winter. Darn that's gonna be tough. - not sure what causes this but our group was 25, 39 and 58 years old. 25 year old riding a 2018, 39 year old riding a 2016 and the 58 year old riding a 2007. Not sure if that makes perfect sense or if it's ass backwards. Lol Time to get back to work building our new house. Will hopefully help to fend of the SSAD (snowmobile separation anxiety disorder) by staying busy. To those that are still riding I'm jealous. Can't wait for next season.

Ask the guys on the forum at this link. https://ontarioconditions.com/forums/index.php?/forum/10-sledjunk-garage-technical-forum/ They seem to be up on the GPS tricks.

Nice run. That's a beautiful area. I love the remoteness of it. Enjoy your final days riding for the season.

Not much for photo taking, but I'll upload a few. TQ23 today was mint. Absolutely perfect. Had a blast. Great day to end the season.

Well we're finding a mixed bag. Elevation counts. Rode St Raymond to Tadoussac yesterday. Then Tadoussac to Chicoutimi today. 85% of what we've rode has been awesome. Up at elevation things are still mid-season. As you get lower they get hard (or soft depending on time of day). Borderline needing scratchers. We rode into Baie St Paul yesterday for lunch. It was down to mud. Same thing coming up out of Tadoussac. Last spot that was terrible was crossing the river and working to get away from Saguenay. If you can avoid the towns and low elevation there is weeks of riding left. Trails should be listed as limited at best (arguably closed) in these three areas though. Ate up a set of carbides for sure. But hey were riding. No complaints. Better than a good day at work by a long shot. Looking forward to TQ23 again tomorrow.

Anyone riding in Maurice or in Saguenay this week? I see one clubs trails closing (north side of the lake in the lowlands) which has me worried. Planning to drive up this weekend and ride next week. Maybe start north of Shawinigan at Hotel Marrineau Mattawin and do a big 3 day loop. Was wanting to run 373 and see the new bridges. Thoughts? Things holding ok?

Thanks. That's the info I was after and is what I figured for roads Goal is to avoid shared use logging / plowed roads.

Looks like Saguenay is winning out starting from St Raymond. Is there much logging on 355? Was looking at heading up TQ73 and then into Roberval, but looks like the La Tuque groomer is down again. Is 355 a good choice, or should we run TQ23 up and back?

Nice to see this solved for now. You can read between the lines too though. Saguenay back in the plans for our upcoming trip.

Was there an announcement today.

Interesting that they bought Fer a Cheval. Guess it makes sense. There is your complete work camp all put together and ready to go.

How about logging roads? Where they still snow covered? I've got no issues beating the carbides over the odd road crossing or parking lot. It's the 5 km of plowed mud I'm looking to avoid.

Thanks. I'm kinda leaning towards Gaspe. There was too much snow there last year. Just a question if it will melt down too much in the next 7 days. New Brunswick is a definate contender as well.

Planning one final trip. What's everyone's thoughts on finding the best conditions? Saguenay (avoiding Mont Valin), Gaspe, Cote Nord running from Quebec City, Northern New Brunswick or Abitibi possibly heading east some and back. Saguenay was my first thought staging from Saint Raymond but they have less snow then everywhere else. Forecast is warming up in a lot of areas which has me in debating mode. Any first hand knowledge on how plowed roads are holding up in some of these areas?

Yeah it's every riders responsibility to not ride any faster than what you can see ahead of yourself and safely stop for. I hate daytime grooming, but we all have to realize it does occur. Could be a groomer, another sled, a moose or heaven forbid my kids over that next knoll or around that next bend.