snowfarmer

Valin
A1

Yes we usually do ride with Ed W and 603 Back country.
 
Also, we had a very nice ride today from Levis to the Maine border below Armstrong. We took 75 all the way and it was near perfect. It always amazes me what they can do with a snow storm.  We ran some similar areas earlier in the week and they were worn down very thin in places.  Riding in The Chaudierres is looking really good

Got in around 11 and gave us a nice cabin with four bedrooms on the lake . After a good night sleep and a great breakfast we are ready to head out . We are going to take some of Road Runners suggestion we will see how far we get! I been nicknamed the pumpkin by the group . I hate my riding partners sometime ! Lol

Sounds like a great trip! Good on for riding in that cold! You guys are better men then me! Just a little to cold for so many days in a row.

Nice report Alain!
Happy New Year and keep them coming!
 

Very attractive sled!! And this is coming from a skidoo guy! Nice job!! 

Day 4
Out of Kanawata bright'n early after a quick breakfast, the plan is to get to the trucks early enough to leave time to drive home. Down the Kanawata express we go heading for Repos for fuel, not far down the road I know but topping off there the tanks will bring us straight to the trucks with out any more fuel stops. had a little intervention with nature on the Kanawata express, now she's lunch.
After leaving Repos my plan was to head to Lunic and then down to Ste Anne du Lac, so we arrive at an intersection with a large group of locals out for a ride and one says I have flat, we shoot the shit, repair the flat have a drink or two and then off we go, not knowing at the time but I went straight at the intersection when I should've turned right heading north to Lunic. Well it wasn't much longer when we left the Zec I saw a sign for Mekoos 25 klms that's when I knew I did it again, yup again. I took the wrong turn at the same place about 10 years back when I was last in that area and ended up at Mekoos. Oh well Mekoos will be a nice lunch stop.
Afterwards we had to head south cuz the sled trail from there to Ste Anne crosses a river that has no bridge in the summer so this means we have to ride south to the highway and ride outlaw for 10 k up to Ste Anne du lac.
Trip meter gave us just shy of 1000 klms.
Terry, Mo;;y, Pete and Julie follow Mike and I through the back roads to the 117 south of Mt.Laurier and down to Labelle where we part ways, Mike and I are off to the cottage for R and R.

 

 

Here's some creative engineering

Made it back to the chalet just in time for the sunset.

 
 
 
 

Looks familiar?

 

 

Well you know what they say....It ain't a trip 'till someone breaks down.
Our field engineers hard at work

Looks like we're gonna need a stent. 

The solution

Yum yum

 

These are the fuel cells that feed the generators that run the town of Obedjewan.

 

 

 

 

Road from Martin's to Obedjewan

 

Look out

Vie from the look out before Obedjewan

Day 2
Out of martins we head west to visit some dams and dykes, rain for the morning so we gear up. Side x side crew are good, keep those sippy cups full girls. After dykes and dams we head north to apex the loop at Obedjewan but about 20 k before the reserve we see the look out that Jocelyn told us about and it was a must to make a stop there. We find our way to the summit and a big thanks goes out to Jocelyn for that tip, what a view of the reservoir. We take our lunch up there and are treated with some of natures treats.
After fuelling up at Obedjewan we wanted to visit the inner part of the town as the gas station was on the edge of town, we were not greeted well by the locals on the way so we and bee lined it out of there. The road heading down to Barrage Gouin was a very large gravel road and was quite boring to ride on, this is where batman got to stretch his legs a little. We stopped in at an abandoned air strip and another dam to take some more sippy cup breaks. After the dam into Barrage Gouin (about 30 klms or so) my belt starts on me, tuggging'n pulling, Oh Oh time to relax the throttle and coast into Barrage Gouin before she pops on me.
Walleye dinner, a few drinks, clean out the coolers and stock 'em up for the next day.
 

There is SO much right about that!

Hi Timbo
 
i am sorry I missed you guys. I was suppose to be here Saturday but I have been so busy at work the drive took me a lot longer than normal. 
 
I won't be venturing far, trails here are fabulous, and I am going to hang with Jean Guy and relax. His birthday is April 11 so we started tonight with lasagna and a triple chocolate cheese cake. We will have bday cake every day till I leave. Lol
 
Tomorrow we are riding....pictures to follow!
 
Take care!
 
linda
 
 

Just arrived! Amqui ambassador! Snow looks amazing!

Day 6 Tuesday 
  Playhard and I decided we would re-charge the batteries this morning so it was no hurry and we went for a fantastic breakfast at 9:15 am, bankers hours. I like it. So nice to have nowhere particular to go and all day to get there. Kind of a foreign idea to this bunch of long time saddle baggers. I could surety get used to this. Thinking I'll split my season and alternate between RDL and Saguenay next year. Maybe I will burn my saddlebags. You never know.    We really are taking our time and head out into the snow to unload the Apex's from the U-haul into the trailer and bust out the Vectors. We do the swap and I sadly look at my "Blue Thunder" being locked away. We may have ridden our last trail together. We shall see. She's been a good girl for sure.    Out of the Universel at 11 am. Fresh snow on the ground but not so much here just now. Temps just cold enough for snow, i talked to a guy just arriving and he says just 30 km west of RDL on the 20 is all rain.    As we head away from town and the River, much more snow up here. Trails are covered with 2-3 inches in most places and the further we go seems its even more 5-6 inches here and there. Snowing but its a peaceful storm with zero wind just gently falling snowflakes. All day. Heavy at times but not causing problems on our visors or anything. Most trails we were making all the first tracks. So sweet. These Vectors are fun machines. Plenty of zip but fun in the fresh stuff. We discussed it and both agreed these were the machines to have today rather than the Apex's just fun.    We ran 526 out of RDL then 85 to 526 again and 35 to Pohenegamook. Saw 2 other sleds.  Then to 544 we headed for Riviere Bleue but could not find trail to gas. Road plowed good. Vectors got wheels let's run the road. I ask a person i see where is gas he sends us off in the right direction. We cruise in and meet Etienne, super nice young guy there. We go in to take a break and grab a soda at the gas station. he explains they lost the trail to gas station as a property owner pulled the rights to passage. Seems his house was robbed and they used the sled trail to go in the back to do it. So he shut down the trail. He points us up the road and its not far at all this way to get back on track.    Next is 548 to Saint Louis du Ha Ha playing in the fresh snow still all alone on our private trails. 85 next to 565 up to St Hubert we stop at a relais for a quick break in St Hubert. Nice chat with the folks here, people here so nice.    565 again to local orange trail Sentier Haricana back to 85 then to 526 back into Universel.    Back at 5:30 150 miles all great stuff very private. Gonna be hard to leave here Thursday.  We headed to the Spa to take in the outdoor hot tub, nice way to end a super day of riding. Not the longest but certainly one of the most enjoyable of the whole season.    Dinner with the lovely Valerie and we are happy to help her practice her english as she is very close to completing here 3 weeks of English Immersion classes this Friday. Congratulations to her, she is a great asset to the staff here. They really got some great employees here. That go above and beyond for you.    We explained QR to Valerie and even showed her Mikeriders comment about making sure you check for Valerie in the Resto or Bar. She was very happy.    Mikerider save a room for me. I'm coming to day ride with you next year.    Tomorrow we are getting the band back together. NH moose and NH Mark landed in Matane tonight. Tmmrw we head east while they head west. Wherever we meet we will ride back together and play some Pac-Man as we go. Hard to believe only one more riding day in this season.    Iceman out....  

Fuse I was sitting here tonight thinking the same thing, can I go back to a 2 stroke? After chasing BJ around all year it sure would be fun to be on equal machinery. This is my set up and BJs he uses a 4 gallon for gas with a 2.75 gal. For oil, I think that what it is, on top and has a bag that fits between gas/oil can for clothes, etc. plus the "picnic basket" on the rear.
I am going to plumb my 4 gallon can into the fuel system for next winter so it empties first getting that weight off the rear end..

And than there were 3. Many of our trips this year have neen coupled with carnage or breakdowns for some reason. Today was no different. We started the blue sky day with 10 of us headed to Le chapel for lunch , some were breaking off and continuing on into the valley and home tomorrow and  4 of us including TRailblazer  would be looping back to Forestville.
We started of and temporarily lost the two lead members of our party, they were apparently taking different way to Mt Valin than our planned route😉. We meet them later at Valin for lunch 
It was one of those perfect Blue Sky days and we were running mostly groomed secondary trails to lunch. Half way up the secondary trail on the Portneuf river we run into another Cains Quest racer, go figure, these guys love to explore even when they are not racing, they  are taking the same "off trail" short cut that we have planned.
On we go only to find when we take a break as we connect with the school bus trail, a snow bungee wound up in Couter' s extreme expedition.
We unwind this from the track and continue on the the water fall. Gorgeous scenery here. At lunch we connect back with out two lost leaders and a briefly back to ten before our split up after lunch
Trailblazer is loving the off road riding version so he wants to head north and off we go. 25 miles or s into this awesome backcountry ride we loose Couter on Lake Poulin de Courval. Uh Oh  starting to feel like the Lab loop again. So his secondary is bound up but he can drive in 40 miles an hour or less. We abort or northern trip plan and head for the quickest way to Forestville, only 125 miles away. We get 15 miles or so this way and than the clutch is done. We do trailside triage and determine an emergency operation needs to be attempted to save the patient.
By "clotting" up the splines of the clutch with our delicate field tools, we might be able to continue to limp this home to Forestville.  The patient died on the table! On the hook it goes to km 31. 
And than there were three. After Trailblazer, Francois and I pounded down a Grand Labatt Blue and it was nearing 6 pm, it's time to head for Forestville, of we go for an awesome 110 mile ride into Forestville with the setting sun and an 8:45 arrival. Thank goodness the restaurant stays open till 10!   A quick happy hour with TB , a great meal with 2 bottles of wine and we called it a day.
TB will be back for more off trail adventure next year, we think?
A great adventure and examples of off trailing in the Quebec North Country
Till Next season
Happy Trails 
RR
 

I have this twitch in my right thumb that I just get to stop. The doctor has ordered another week of therapy & I am happy to follow the doctors orders by exercising it with the loud handle of my 850.
Ginger & I have been talking about returning to Jackman Maine since it's been a while. We arrive around lunch time Thursday. We check into to Bishop's Motel unload the sleds & we are off to Quebec. This was my first taste of Quebec trails back in '84 and it holds a special place in my heart. The trail hasn't changed much & it's fun to think about all the times I have rode this trail. We go as far as the St Come relais & turn back. We make a small loop using a local trail to a regional trail then back to the 75. The St. Theophile relais is open & we go in for dinner. Wow more memories. Be sure to ask Ginger about the time she had onions on her hot dogs here! Oh and the trails were mint, yes there was some black top & dirt but really I could care less. They are making new carbides & slides as I type this.
Friday we head out to Pittston Farm & then on onto North East Carry. We are happy to see Ed & Shirley & enjoy lunch there. They don't seem to have changed a bit. From there we start back to Jackman. The trails are mint again today. We stop in at Jackman Power Sports to see Dave & Doreen and catch up. We are there at a good time to talk (we're the only ones there) I started buying sleds from Dave the year he took over from the previous owner. He was very service oriented right from day one. He understood people come to ride & would do whatever it took to get you back out on the trail. Once I commented on his vast inventory his was reply was you can't sell it if you don't have it. That evening I text our good friend Tom Swift & sure enough he's on the way. We make plans to meet at Mama Bears for breakfast. Tom introduced Ginger & me to off trail riding & the idea of treading lightly so everyone can enjoy the off trail experience. Today's off trail wannabees could learn a thing or two from Tom.
After breakfast we go south. The trail is different from the last time I rode this area & it's fantastic. We do a little exploring around the Parlin Pond area & decide to go to the top of Coburn Mountain. Ginger hasn't been up before & it's going to be a little challenging towards the top. We reach the summit no problem & enjoy the views. From there we go towards Rockwood then over Long Pond & back to Jackman. We make dinner plans & Ginger & I go back the motel & load up the sleds.
We meet up at the 4 Seasons with Tom & at the next table is Dave & Doreen from JPS. After dinner we join them for some drinks & more reminiscing about old times. We even make plans to meet up with them in Florida next month as they are near were we are in Sarasota.
We all say our goodbyes. We have two more stops on our list, Jackman Hotel & The Northland. We go in to The Hotel first for a drink & conversation with the locals. Then over to the Northland. Here we run into a couple from the last place. A few more drinks & we're having a good time. They are doing Jaeger bombs & want to buy us one but we regretfully decline. We stumble back to room and pass out.
Ok I'm sure by now the purists of this site are thinking hey 182 this is Quebec Rider not Maine Rider...lol. Today we trailer to Universal in RDL. This is Ginger's first time to RDL. We unload here & repack to start our saddlebag trip through BSL and the Gaspesie. The conditions look favorable so we're going to go for it. I'll update as we go.
 
 

Awesome day, mint trails!
 
 
 
 

Radar lookout to spot Radar golf ball? Too overcast...

On the hill behind Ski St Irene?...

Uh huh!...

Getting closer!...

Ah hah!...

Actually, it's less like a golf ball & more like a soccer ball...

Been a while since this was taken...

Check the box!

Day 2 Friday
  Left RDL on a beautiful white asphalt 526 more like early February here than end of March. Unbelievable. Join up with TQ5 and no surprise it's the same. Frozen hard and wicked fast. Only complaint is the flat light and it is pretty windy, but could always be much worse. Just past Trois Pistoles we stop in a relais parking lot to talk about how frigging awesome this is. Arriving just behind us a few minutes after we meet two guys from Maine. 1500hd and his friend. Obvious from their machines and the auxiliary tanks on the rear, these guys roll with Rob and Roadrunner but decided to pass on the Forestville run this week as the snow was excellent closer to home. Can't say i blame them. Chatted for a few minutes and they rolled on. We followed on out and headed for our gas stop in Rimouski. Perfect trails, very little traffic. TQ5 all the way into Rimouski. Gas and go. To 579 and still very nice. We roll to the 587 and still great. A few places along the roads here on these two trails will be not so nice soon. Kind of not much there now. But just a few parts. Down we go and up to the lookout tower. No mummy's this time of year, no daddy's either. Then we turn our attention to our main objective for the afternoon getting up to the radar. i've never been there. Playhard has been wanting to get up here since forever and we surely tried our best to get up on the spyders this summer only to be denied. But today is the day. We arrive at the Ski area and NHmoose guides us up and the orange trails are super nice. Up Up we climb and there it is. We saw it from afar mocking us almost seemed to be taunting us with a "here i am, now try to get up here" damn you golfball. But we win today. We crest the hill and there it is up close and personal. Success. Victory.    Leave here and take orange local down and across lake to rejoin TQ5. Direction Amqui.  It's too early to head to hotel so off to Albertville to the clubhouse for a late lunch and bonus ride. We PM JG but he has been grooming all day and is tired out. So until next time JG. As always your trails are super. We left you a note with the waitress. Back out of clubhouse and bactrack to Amqui. Jammed hotel with Hockey Tournament, I Just saw 6 sleds pull in only to be turned out because both hotels here are full.    Great day awesome trails. Good to be us.  230 miles