largedaryl

They seem to have a whole team of family and volunteers back home helping whenever they need parts and to find lodging night to night. They are down now as I understand waiting on two new driven clutches. Lots of challenges along the way as trails do not exist in many areas... they rely on local that they stumble upon for aid. They are sleeping in tents as last resort... only used once as far as I have read. Very interesting.. and rather extreme!

Fozzy.. was the 43 actually smooth Friday the 10th? I was on it Sunday AM the 12th at the Grande Chute bridge.. we only ran 5 miles on the 43 heading west towards Kipawa and turned around as it was not so nice. Looked good but the moguls were forming. I noticed the QC map is now wrong west of Grande Chute as the chosen logging road changed this year. The 386 is also wrong... seems the computer folks have taken the winter off at FCMQ No harm to me as we were just buzzing around locally for a few hours, but surprised to see the 43 base as rough as it was... usually quite smooth. The local trail from KM4 to KM21 out of Swisha (different groomer than 43) was in similar shape.. and in need of TLC/grooming. No grooming yet this week which is understandable given the warm temps. Note that there is active logging out of Swisha this year Monday - Thursday... at KM8 and headed to KM18 any time soon(maybe already there?) and sharing the road is not really the agreement, and the contractor is free to sand/gravel the road as needed.

Search for "Pensive" on FB... they have been active in reporting sled status this season. Pensive is a gas/food stop at KM 57 up from Hwy 117 on what I think is known as Lepine Rd?? Road is from Clova down to Hwy 117 .. so west of Fer a Cheval

I am based in Swisha.. managed to find a way to cross the Ottawa river last weekend, so the ON side trails are an easy option now as well from camp. Still want to cut more holes to learn the ice though... never want to be over-confident on a river. Only challenge in QC now seems to be still no outside visitors in a private residence/camp... even with next week's updates they don't seem to want to relax that.

Agreed.. I've been doing short rides in QC based out of my own camp, but "with family or alone" was the previous direction. With all my burn downs in past years, and no cell service, I am gun shy on the alone part in remote areas. Getting old I guess. Looking to see if I am legally allowed to ride with a few friends, as 3 of us have camps very close to each other in QC. Just trying to avoid hassle/risk of a stupid fine... I have all the other obvious things as u mention above.

Anyone aware of an update after the Feb. 8th date passed? I understand the nighttime curfew is in place still, but how about sledding with a friend outside the bubble... that legal yet? Nothing under the News section of the FCMQ site where I found this last month. https://fcmq.qc.ca/en/news/press-release-confinement-january-9th-2021-february-8th-2021/

Triple R Outfitters is an option this winter for food/overnight ... well south of Pavillion on the 386, only about 15 miles north of Swisha... and a little older/rustic I am told. Subject to Covid rules of the week of course...

Thx for the info. I guess we will find soon enough how things will turn out on the 386. Grader was on the Dumoine Rd last week.. giving us a smooth base to start with as things are starting to turn white. Two snowfalls back in the Ottawa area this week, about 6 inches on the ground but set to melt in the next few days... which is OK as the ground is soft and warm still.

Thx for the info. Never heard of the early/late season $, but again, I guess it rests on the club volunteers to request that $ and line up an operator. I coordinated a groomer for a dozen years... a tough go most years. I did have a few good years of 7 days a week grooming all line up, but that came to an end as well. I guess it is a wait and see. I am in Swisha now, and yes, local word is the 386 will b groomed from the south, but finding a few reliable operators sounds like it is an endless challenge. Anyone looking for a part time winter job? Looks like the snow season starts in this area on Sunday/Monday. Beauty day today, +12 and no wind until sunset. Got the last of my camp jobs done today before the snow makes it slippery.

What r the odds that the federation can take the $ saved from the 3 closed trails around La Pavillion and that $ put into the 386 south? Two passes a week on the 386 trail would make it sweet! It is 100 miles one way from Swisha to the Pavllion, which means one pass a week, and usually is only good a few days after grooming. One groomer issue and there you go... mogul city. This is a sparsely populated area, and doesn't seem to have the grooming love that other parts of QC get to keep the trail top notch. I bought a pass from that local club ( pingions ) that last two years, and did not touch their trails either year as grooming ended mid-march. Never got a clear answer why, but the brief answers seemed to lean towards volunteer burnout.... which as a 15 yr volunteer club exec I can understand.

Nope.. nothing we saw... perfectly smooth trails all along that section on Tuesday Feb. 25th. Mt Apica Relay was 75% full for lunch, and the sun came out literally as we left the parking lot heading south

So, we ended up taking the 355 up on Monday AM. Fresh groom out of St Raymond area for about an hour... lunch at Lac Edward, and then up to Lac Bouchette was pretty good.. a few bumps. Awesome weather... -5 start and high of +2 or so and sun .. but snow stayed firm. That would be the weather for all 3 days.. we got very lucky on that front. There was next to no snow around Lac St Jean on Monday/Tues before the last storm. We stayed shore side at Les Chalets/Spa Only snow in the hills around it. It was +6 on Monday there so they lost a lot, some fields were 90% mud with the only snow to be found on the sled trails from constant grooming..... yet riding up in the hills it was just fine. The 23 on Tues south of Mt Apica to L'Etape and further south was absolute gold! Sunny blue skies, and not a bump to be found ( other than getting gas in L'Etape). Lots of traffic around Mt Apica area in the AM and at the relay for lunch .. but pretty quiet further south later in the day. As good as it gets!! ... warm but cool enough to have snow dust in the trail still and a flat and open as anyone could ask for. One of the rare trails where I could have used more HP out of my 800 Poo. Toured closer to Quebec City on Wed towards Mt St Anne area.... way too many roads and stop signs for my liking, but a few nice areas as well... then a full day in the truck for the Thursday snowstorm. 100% successful trip and no mechanical issue for the 7 sleds.

Thx all for the feedback.. loaded sleds today, have a spare sled with us just in case( last yr's trip ended on a tow rope for me) , and enjoyed the full sun and +2 C around Ottawa, got a local ride in after that today on sled B, and will take all your advice Monday AM on grooming data. The heat wave looks to be manageable.... with cool temps overnight early this week. Keep the rubber side on the ground ...looks like fun in the forecast with more sun peaking thru early this week.

Comments on these three routes... red, green, yellow? This St Raymond area to Lac St Jean and back. I prefer open riding rather than tight and twisty. All new area to us, so looking for feedback. No major sections of gravel or roads??.. as they will become bad quickly in the warmth. Travel is next Mon/Tues.... in the heat wave... looks like close to record highs temps... not our lucky day on that front. - large

Ottawa west.. ( BEAST ) will go yellow whenever the district office reads their email from Saturday AM and updates the trail guide.

Anyone know the story why the 63 from Classic to Le Domaine remains closed as of Jan. 13th? This section of trail surely has had snow for a month, and is largely bush roads. Downed trees from ice to blame, and lack of volunteers would be my first guess? Midrange, I assume u know the story? Heading somewhere near that area Friday AM... Thx

Might even been worse than 0.15% ( 0.015% ) ... I missed the "to the exponent of -4" at the right the calculator... but ya, it simply further solidifies my argument the the ON gov is giving next to nothing back to support sledding.. $500K is a joke compared to the $ spent/taxed in the industry. I believe $3.3B was on the high end of the est., but never the less the % is extremely small regardless. Again... thankful we have the quebec option

Yes, we are fortunate to have QC nearby, as mother nature is not being kind to Ontario and south. Then on the funding front, QC drop $3 million on the one single project, a new trail near Tremblant to connect two sections( that is now held up by politics ), meanwhile Ontario in Sept. 2019 offers $500K a year, in a on-going funding agreement to share across the whole freaking province. Ontario sledders are getting screwed IMO. The same press release stated sledding generates up to $3.3 Billion/year in ON. My math says the govie is giving back 1.5% .... what tax is %1.5? Sledders buy gas and booze... both taxed closer to what 20/30/40% and we get 1.5% back! I can't be happy with that deal. Just got in from cutting local trails... nothing open so I keep brushing trails to get outside... makes the evening pints taste better with football. Pics are of one of our local swamps west of Ottawa that I just spent some time in... now in prime shape as we have the cattails all dealt with to let the frost in .. trail "BEAST 206" - large

All green as of the Sunday AM update on the map.

Well, they must have had some success as the 386 from Swisha north is marked as Open/Fair today. Volunteers are starting on the 43 from Temiscaming today heading east towards Swisha... another 100 mile stretch of various logging roads to tackle. A few more years before my kids are older and I have the freedom to get out on just jobs. For now I am relegated to smaller trail jobs closer to home.

From the Pingouins Club FB page. There is ice damage with many hanging trees to clear. From what I see the groomer has been through once.. but I assume there is a real mess to clean up. I am still tied up marking my own trails around Ottawa west as the call for volunteers has not filled all the holes yet. For those that are depressed with the lack of snow, this is a great way to get outside and burn off the Christmas turkey. ------------------------------------------------- UPDATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will need the help of volunteers to assist with the cleanup in Rapides des Joachims (Swisha) next weekend (December 28 / 29). Crew will meet in Swisha @ 8AM. There is overnight lodging available at Moose Territory Lodge (100km above Siwsha). You will need to bring sleeping bags and food if you wish to stay overnight. Text Brian Dubeau at 613-639-5043 for more information. Please let us know if you can help Thank you in advance...

The is the same thing that occurred around the Sudbury region 20 years ago, particularly the west side. Endless lodges closing so next to nowhere for sledders to stop at. Unfortunate. A few friends ran some of those lodges, and gov. red tape had a part to play. Just setting up a fuel tank in the corner of a parking lot to pump gas had thousands of $ in protective barriers, inspections, etc... all to be used for 2, or 3 months max.... very hard to get your $ return back. The endless push for safety has no bounds.

Val-D'or has/had a groomer based in Le Domaine. With the buildings there torn down this fall.. not sure the 2020 plan? For the south 386 ... there is groomer based in Swisha. 386 north groomer seems to come from Val-D'or area Nothing based @ the Pavilion in the past.. but would be great/central if there was ... with keen operators of course to keep it on the snow! Yes, the 386 is awesome when smooth.. hence so frustrating when rough and the groomers are parked/broken/etc. Grooming stopped last year before the snow even began to melt, which again was not ideal, but with few club members in a remote area that is all we can expect I guess.

Thx for the info CNC and midrange. The grooming history shows Val'Dor already did a first pass on the 386 heading to La Verendrye ( but trail is still marked as closed ). That is well ahead of some years. I had bad luck(not smooth) with the 386 last year south of the pavilion. Maybe the lack of over-nighters will lighten the load on the trail, assuming the same frequency of grooming. It is a tough go to groom being 100 miles each way out of Swisha.

There was an french article by CBC radio a few weeks back ( can't find it - came from Temiscaming FB page I think ) where some quebec tourism person was quoted as saying there are many options to stay around the La Verendrye park. Will have to ask them... as none of us know of any winter options! Looks like Trout Lk Lodge is also closed for the winter now as well. This is a horrible loss as this area has great snow. I would have hoped for the opposite where the QC tourism supplements the seasonal workers wage to entice employment in the remote area. This is based the rumour that lack of workers is the reason for not offering overnight accommodations.