snowfarmer

The third day was to RDL and this area would be a first for me. It was an IB day as Bill would say . Clear, cold , sunny and every groomed to perfection. Took 5 all the way . Made a quick trip of it to RDL so Nora and I took a little tour around . I can see why Mike loves this area! Wide trails , nice relais and great grooming! On Wednesday we woke to fresh snow and knew we would have a great ride to our next destination of Lake Pohenegamook. We took the side trails made a nice loop and pretty much broke trail all day . It was perfect!

So Wednesday night we are Sante Plein -Air in Pohengamook . We all forgot to take photos of this place but it's very nice. They have three and five bedroom log houses to rent . Well equipped and very nice. We have dinner in the dining room it's just us. Well the food was outstanding. The duck pizza and wings were fantastic! So we had to ride our sleds up to the dining room I never gave it much thought but my sled temp reach 125 degrees on that 1500 foot ride. Well it does the same thing back. I never really looked all day at the temp gauge because we were riding powder . So Thursday I go to load up Nora's sled the battery's dead and I've lost the tool package along the way so I have to find the maintenance shed to see what I can get for tools to get the seat off. I also check my overflow bottle on the 850 and it's empty so off to the store to get antifreeze. I get the tools and the antifreeze and get Nora going next me. Well , crap fill the bottle but antifreeze is leaking out the bottom of the sled but where? This is where Sans Plein Air shined . There was a language problem but they got on the phone and started to make calls but unfortunately no dearler had time or a free trailer to pick me up. Also no one could guarantee that they could even look at it. So we are at 10 o'clock and they don't have the kitchen open today but they call call in the cook to make us breakfast while we plan out what to do. Funny thing is while I'm eating breakfast I get a call from BPR and I think holy Sh@" what great service . How do they know I'm broke down! Well it was a lady from head office and I say wow this is great service what dealer called you? She says what do you mean im calling doing a survey on how you like your new 850 and what other accessories could we offer you. Well I said you are not calling on a good day to ask me that!!! Any way she try's to help but we have already called all the dealers she suggests. 
So I don't want to get trailered back and I know our next stop looks really nice and it has a steak house and I don't want to miss that! So I figure let's go for it and if it over heats in the first five minutes I'll head back and the rest goes on. I lower the scratchers and put Nora ahead of me to chew up the trail because she is fresh groomed and hard packed .I pay attention attention to the temp gauge the first ten miles she stays below 150 has long has o keep it under 50 mph . We are on the 35 railroad bed so it's hard to do . When she reaches 175 I pull over and add coolant. I do this all day and the next day too. About every 15 miles I do this . This sled ran on Ram antifreeze, no name what ever I could buy and store in my saddle bags. We got to our destination on Thursday and it was a good place. The sister hotel to the new one in Thetford Mines . The hotel was in Scott near Saint Marie . Beautiful place large rooms,  king beds and a great steak house. They also have 2 bedroom cottages with a pull out sofa you can rent. Dinner was in the steakhouse and the cook over wood charcoal . 

Forestel Valdor Sat PM
Phil, JOHN, Eddie, Dave, Greg, George, Greg, and Dan
Phil1, Crazysnow, Eddieskidoo, Skidoo420, Doonali, Jemesouviens, Apexyoungin, Greg??
Fantastic🍻Conversation
What a great time seeing old faces and meeting new!
BJ Scranton1
 

The third day was to RDL and this area would be a first for me. It was an IB day as Bill would say . Clear, cold , sunny and every groomed to perfection. Took 5 all the way . Made a quick trip of it to RDL so Nora and I took a little tour around . I can see why Mike loves this area! Wide trails , nice relais and great grooming! On Wednesday we woke to fresh snow and knew we would have a great ride to our next destination of Lake Pohenegamook. We took the side trails made a nice loop and pretty much broke trail all day . It was perfect!

The first day we headed to Montmagny on a variety of trails all good , fast and well groomed. We stayed at a place on trail 5 just east of Montmagny that we had past on our first trip and thought it would be a good place to try. It's called Auberge Le Petit Manoir ( its on the iMotoneige17 map) . The place is a two hundred year old house that was dismantled and moved twenty miles to its new home on the golf course by its owner Gino . Gino is a great guy and try's to make your stay the best he can! He sold his first beer in 2013. There are four bedrooms , dining area with a wood stove and a bar. The food is homemade , delicious and plentiful! The place is very reasonably priced at like 65$ a night per person with all meals! You can't beat it.

This trip was one of the more stressful trips that I've put together due to The impending farmers strike . It was then it was off , places canceled , area change , then we ended up staying with our first plan and I'm glad that I did. We are home now , I was sick for the first part of the trip and almost bailed but didn't. So daily reports weren't an option because I just wanted to eat and go to bed. It was well worth sticking out ! I will tell you that all the trail conditions were great ! So with that being said this will be mainly a picture sriryvwith a little commentary. This trip is with three couples  , Nora and myself , Rob and Sherri who did the Quebec trip last year with us and Giff and Gail . When planning this trip mileage wasn't much  of a concern but we wanted good food and nice accommodations. We arrived early on Sunday at Lac William and decided to take a little tour around the area for lunch. All the trails had pretty much been groomed the night before so we made a quick trip of it and got back to the hotel to enjoy what it had to offer.
to be cont

Moose Valley's drive thru gas station

 
And here it is the Sexy Bomb wine

The final day was back to Lac William via Thetford Mines. It was clear , sunny and cold but everything was groomed to perfection. As I was going though a lot of places and you look down the hillsides with the sun shining on those fresh trails you could daydream about being a down hill skier and the only thing that was missing was the blue markings for the line you needed to follow marked in the snow lol!
Anyway the sled made it back and she didn't let me down . It took 13 litres of antifreeze but it beat walking. As for the problem I see on Monday . There is a little talk on the internet of bad water pumps or it could be just a loose hose clamp . When we got back to Lac William we placed in in their garage to thaw out and the guy said he had two 850s this week with over heating and antifreeze problems. We will see!

So Wednesday night we are Sante Plein -Air in Pohengamook . We all forgot to take photos of this place but it's very nice. They have three and five bedroom log houses to rent . Well equipped and very nice. We have dinner in the dining room it's just us. Well the food was outstanding. The duck pizza and wings were fantastic! So we had to ride our sleds up to the dining room I never gave it much thought but my sled temp reach 125 degrees on that 1500 foot ride. Well it does the same thing back. I never really looked all day at the temp gauge because we were riding powder . So Thursday I go to load up Nora's sled the battery's dead and I've lost the tool package along the way so I have to find the maintenance shed to see what I can get for tools to get the seat off. I also check my overflow bottle on the 850 and it's empty so off to the store to get antifreeze. I get the tools and the antifreeze and get Nora going next me. Well , crap fill the bottle but antifreeze is leaking out the bottom of the sled but where? This is where Sans Plein Air shined . There was a language problem but they got on the phone and started to make calls but unfortunately no dearler had time or a free trailer to pick me up. Also no one could guarantee that they could even look at it. So we are at 10 o'clock and they don't have the kitchen open today but they call call in the cook to make us breakfast while we plan out what to do. Funny thing is while I'm eating breakfast I get a call from BPR and I think holy Sh@" what great service . How do they know I'm broke down! Well it was a lady from head office and I say wow this is great service what dealer called you? She says what do you mean im calling doing a survey on how you like your new 850 and what other accessories could we offer you. Well I said you are not calling on a good day to ask me that!!! Any way she try's to help but we have already called all the dealers she suggests. 
So I don't want to get trailered back and I know our next stop looks really nice and it has a steak house and I don't want to miss that! So I figure let's go for it and if it over heats in the first five minutes I'll head back and the rest goes on. I lower the scratchers and put Nora ahead of me to chew up the trail because she is fresh groomed and hard packed .I pay attention attention to the temp gauge the first ten miles she stays below 150 has long has o keep it under 50 mph . We are on the 35 railroad bed so it's hard to do . When she reaches 175 I pull over and add coolant. I do this all day and the next day too. About every 15 miles I do this . This sled ran on Ram antifreeze, no name what ever I could buy and store in my saddle bags. We got to our destination on Thursday and it was a good place. The sister hotel to the new one in Thetford Mines . The hotel was in Scott near Saint Marie . Beautiful place large rooms,  king beds and a great steak house. They also have 2 bedroom cottages with a pull out sofa you can rent. Dinner was in the steakhouse and the cook over wood charcoal . 

The third day was to RDL and this area would be a first for me. It was an IB day as Bill would say . Clear, cold , sunny and every groomed to perfection. Took 5 all the way . Made a quick trip of it to RDL so Nora and I took a little tour around . I can see why Mike loves this area! Wide trails , nice relais and great grooming! On Wednesday we woke to fresh snow and knew we would have a great ride to our next destination of Lake Pohenegamook. We took the side trails made a nice loop and pretty much broke trail all day . It was perfect!

The first day we headed to Montmagny on a variety of trails all good , fast and well groomed. We stayed at a place on trail 5 just east of Montmagny that we had past on our first trip and thought it would be a good place to try. It's called Auberge Le Petit Manoir ( its on the iMotoneige17 map) . The place is a two hundred year old house that was dismantled and moved twenty miles to its new home on the golf course by its owner Gino . Gino is a great guy and try's to make your stay the best he can! He sold his first beer in 2013. There are four bedrooms , dining area with a wood stove and a bar. The food is homemade , delicious and plentiful! The place is very reasonably priced at like 65$ a night per person with all meals! You can't beat it.

This trip was one of the more stressful trips that I've put together due to The impending farmers strike . It was then it was off , places canceled , area change , then we ended up staying with our first plan and I'm glad that I did. We are home now , I was sick for the first part of the trip and almost bailed but didn't. So daily reports weren't an option because I just wanted to eat and go to bed. It was well worth sticking out ! I will tell you that all the trail conditions were great ! So with that being said this will be mainly a picture sriryvwith a little commentary. This trip is with three couples  , Nora and myself , Rob and Sherri who did the Quebec trip last year with us and Giff and Gail . When planning this trip mileage wasn't much  of a concern but we wanted good food and nice accommodations. We arrived early on Sunday at Lac William and decided to take a little tour around the area for lunch. All the trails had pretty much been groomed the night before so we made a quick trip of it and got back to the hotel to enjoy what it had to offer.
to be cont

So Wednesday night we are Sante Plein -Air in Pohengamook . We all forgot to take photos of this place but it's very nice. They have three and five bedroom log houses to rent . Well equipped and very nice. We have dinner in the dining room it's just us. Well the food was outstanding. The duck pizza and wings were fantastic! So we had to ride our sleds up to the dining room I never gave it much thought but my sled temp reach 125 degrees on that 1500 foot ride. Well it does the same thing back. I never really looked all day at the temp gauge because we were riding powder . So Thursday I go to load up Nora's sled the battery's dead and I've lost the tool package along the way so I have to find the maintenance shed to see what I can get for tools to get the seat off. I also check my overflow bottle on the 850 and it's empty so off to the store to get antifreeze. I get the tools and the antifreeze and get Nora going next me. Well , crap fill the bottle but antifreeze is leaking out the bottom of the sled but where? This is where Sans Plein Air shined . There was a language problem but they got on the phone and started to make calls but unfortunately no dearler had time or a free trailer to pick me up. Also no one could guarantee that they could even look at it. So we are at 10 o'clock and they don't have the kitchen open today but they call call in the cook to make us breakfast while we plan out what to do. Funny thing is while I'm eating breakfast I get a call from BPR and I think holy Sh@" what great service . How do they know I'm broke down! Well it was a lady from head office and I say wow this is great service what dealer called you? She says what do you mean im calling doing a survey on how you like your new 850 and what other accessories could we offer you. Well I said you are not calling on a good day to ask me that!!! Any way she try's to help but we have already called all the dealers she suggests. 
So I don't want to get trailered back and I know our next stop looks really nice and it has a steak house and I don't want to miss that! So I figure let's go for it and if it over heats in the first five minutes I'll head back and the rest goes on. I lower the scratchers and put Nora ahead of me to chew up the trail because she is fresh groomed and hard packed .I pay attention attention to the temp gauge the first ten miles she stays below 150 has long has o keep it under 50 mph . We are on the 35 railroad bed so it's hard to do . When she reaches 175 I pull over and add coolant. I do this all day and the next day too. About every 15 miles I do this . This sled ran on Ram antifreeze, no name what ever I could buy and store in my saddle bags. We got to our destination on Thursday and it was a good place. The sister hotel to the new one in Thetford Mines . The hotel was in Scott near Saint Marie . Beautiful place large rooms,  king beds and a great steak house. They also have 2 bedroom cottages with a pull out sofa you can rent. Dinner was in the steakhouse and the cook over wood charcoal . 

The third day was to RDL and this area would be a first for me. It was an IB day as Bill would say . Clear, cold , sunny and every groomed to perfection. Took 5 all the way . Made a quick trip of it to RDL so Nora and I took a little tour around . I can see why Mike loves this area! Wide trails , nice relais and great grooming! On Wednesday we woke to fresh snow and knew we would have a great ride to our next destination of Lake Pohenegamook. We took the side trails made a nice loop and pretty much broke trail all day . It was perfect!

The first day we headed to Montmagny on a variety of trails all good , fast and well groomed. We stayed at a place on trail 5 just east of Montmagny that we had past on our first trip and thought it would be a good place to try. It's called Auberge Le Petit Manoir ( its on the iMotoneige17 map) . The place is a two hundred year old house that was dismantled and moved twenty miles to its new home on the golf course by its owner Gino . Gino is a great guy and try's to make your stay the best he can! He sold his first beer in 2013. There are four bedrooms , dining area with a wood stove and a bar. The food is homemade , delicious and plentiful! The place is very reasonably priced at like 65$ a night per person with all meals! You can't beat it.

This trip was one of the more stressful trips that I've put together due to The impending farmers strike . It was then it was off , places canceled , area change , then we ended up staying with our first plan and I'm glad that I did. We are home now , I was sick for the first part of the trip and almost bailed but didn't. So daily reports weren't an option because I just wanted to eat and go to bed. It was well worth sticking out ! I will tell you that all the trail conditions were great ! So with that being said this will be mainly a picture sriryvwith a little commentary. This trip is with three couples  , Nora and myself , Rob and Sherri who did the Quebec trip last year with us and Giff and Gail . When planning this trip mileage wasn't much  of a concern but we wanted good food and nice accommodations. We arrived early on Sunday at Lac William and decided to take a little tour around the area for lunch. All the trails had pretty much been groomed the night before so we made a quick trip of it and got back to the hotel to enjoy what it had to offer.
to be cont

Was like this all day

The man of the hour, the guy that makes it all happen for you in the Gaspe, big thanks for taking time out of your day for the visit.

 

Terry and I got in RDl late, was enjoying ourselves too much on all these beautiful trails today 550 klms. OMG the trail gods were laying it out for us around every corner. We had a terrific time this evening out to supper with Mikerider. Too tired to tired to post anymore tonight. Later...
JG
Heres one out of the gate this morning.

 

We just got back Lac William and area and will post trip results tomorrow. ( the 850 has an issue ! More on that later)There are road crosses but no more then in other areas. Really not a concern .

My wife and I just arrived  at Village Windigo tonight at 6:30. Was dark when we arrived but wow what a beautiful place.
The Wood Runner Trail that Mark just posted gives you all the lodges for options if you don't want to base out of town.
In ML for hotels there is Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Best Western and a new Super 8. 
Comfort Inn is my first choice, great restaurant on site, good trail access to go N or S from town, nice rooms.
Quality Inn, stayed there 2 weeks ago, nothing bad just the place is getting old, rooms a bit tired. Trail access is bit of a scrape across the bridge if no fresh snow. Decent Resturaunt on site, Boston Pizza next door.
Super 8 is right across Rd from Quality, Driving by an hour ago didn't see any sled trailers , not sure there is much parking?
Best Western, never been there looks nice on the web. Don't think there is a restaurant on site and don't think any thing walking distance.
Comfort Inn and Quality will let you park while you are gone for few days, might be a small charge. $10.00???? A day. Neither is a gated secure lot. Over years have stayed both places for 4 days each time never had problem, not any recent truck theft that I know of.
Village Windigo, Rasaka, Club Frontbrune are all best part of an hour N of ML by truck.Only 40 km but a rough road. never driven to Mekoos, think a bit further.  They are all very nice lodges, definitely more enjoyable experience vs hotel.
Not positive what your wanting to do. One suggestion would be trailer to ML, stay first night in hotel then head out, maybe head up to 100 Lacs lodge for a night, about 100 miles N of ML. Circle around and stay at another lodge next night. Will never be to far away from ML but there is all kinds of excellent trails to keep you busy for a few days.
I know getting lodging for Friday and Sat nights is becoming a challenge. 
Do you use a GPS. TRakmaps is a huge help getting around and staying on route in villages or trail junctions etc.  The Wood Runner system has installed a lot of new signage this fall, Finding your way around is easy if you know what lodge is near direction you want to go.
I assume you look at the FMCQ interactive map. Those orange trails that look like minor trails on the map; most of them are beautiful trails.
Look at the grooming map 7:00 AM and head for the greens.  once you get out of town even the trails that haven't been groomed for a couple of days are still normally in great shape if it has been cold and have stayed setup after grooming.
Steve
 

To bad things aren't marked as well as this! 

To bad things aren't marked as well as this! 

To bad things aren't marked as well as this! 

To bad things aren't marked as well as this! 

To bad things aren't marked as well as this!