zeusand

No snow where that Lynx is.
 

March 15 : Baie de Shawinigan 
That’s it! The season has officially begun for me!
It was too much of a nice day to not enjoy the water. 
It was quite a workout to get to the water and come back but I managed. Had to slide with my board on the thin ice. My leg went right through as I was getting closer to the end, but fortunately I’m wearing a drysuit. It was cold though. I also wear my hypnose under it. 
Sadly, I noticed a dead deer floating on an ice flow, as I got closer seems like it had a front broken leg. 
 

I'm here/there, last week there were TONS more trailers @ Escoumins and trail traffic, this week very few of both, mostly locals, and they're grooming more than they're showing on iMoto, that plus the rock hard base could be good for a while if temps stay low...

I plan on spending quite a bit of time in Canada this summer but in Ontario on the St. Lawrence. Hopefully the weather is better this summer than last. 

That's 10 days out, you would need secret decoder ring, magic 8 ball, crystal ball or Ouija board to figure that one out. 😉

Thanks for sugar coating it 
I’m just in denial 

Super info… this kind of sharing is what make this site so great… thanks, Bob

Quebec Snowmobile Trail Maps
Snowmobile Trails Map 2024 v16.1
This map is offered to you free of charge, it is available on PC, Mac, Android platforms, and is compatible with Garmin GPS.
Here are the links where you can retrieve the different versions of the map.
 
https://sites.google.com/site/scdiscdi/cartesgps/sentiersmotoneige?fbclid=IwAR26mRLqrXnz3XVBmAyKceoN8-0duy9jH3XT0Zr04hn84U6p4sZ2jc0wzlA_aem_AT858yFdd1VzoBRPJwdtKROOMmtmdTqEBMYRjxCpr1vW9jECIIzfurs8bzEORxE5eQU

Very, very nice.  A monster of a lift.  We haven't been in that area in awhile but we may have to make a trip there next season to see the bridge.  I'm hoping the Federation has some permanent rights to the approaches for the bridge.  Everybody out there, respect the trails.  Please.
Jack & Sandi

Incredible amount of effort and spirit from those who truly believe in our favorite pass time and put their hearts into it...we all owe them a debt of gratitude...at the very least .

WOW! 221K...OMG...Congrats....
Great suggestions as we have done it a few times......Tooling around the Gaspesie, on the Road King, at that time, on a Sunday morning, when traveling through St Flavie (Mont-Joli) we came upon mass  being hosted by Église catholique Sainte-Flavie, outdoors on the banks of the St Lawrence. It was a pleasant surprise so we stopped & asked the man above, in part, to provide us safe travels. Thankfully he did. That trip anyway..ha ha. Since that time, I think the ugly looking guy, whose name starts with a "D", that hangs out below in the warmer grounds have intercepted my requests & thanks to the man above  :  )   Maybe some of you have also dealt with the "D".
The photos of the rock/ Perce was taken from our room at Hôtel la Normandie. The hotel is closed during the winter months but it is a favorite of ours on our summer jaunts. The on premise restaurant is exceptionally good. 
Thanks to each of you. Stay safe, all.
Paddy O 

Yes indeed. I would love to get back to La Belle Province on the summer Sled. Good opportunity to check out some places to stay in the winter.
Here's a trip from quite a few years ago on the old 2001 Wing. I put 221k miles on that one.
Gaspesie on the Wing

Canada is a great place to ride a bike… the scenery is incredible…221 is impressive… no denying the Honda Wing has a bullet proof engine… I’ve owned countless bikes over the years…never had a bad brand… but I’ve never got near that mileage …65k on a Honda 750 in the eighties… that’s when I knew they were good… currently on a limited… have a great summer…

Great place to ride, already thinking of routes.
 

Considering the winter for most of the places we go and stay at was bad for them financially as well. Maybe consider a vacation in Quebec this summer. I know alot of QR’s do visit in other seasons. But just putting it out there if you never been when there’s no snow give it a try. Lots of stuff to explore. 

Day 4 , went out of Forestville,  east on Tq3 about a mile then all local orange trails . Definitely keeping sleds cool was a challenge after it being 50° ish yesterday and below freezing today  .  Awesome day on the trails for sure  👌! 
Forecast for the weekend looks promising,  6+ inches hopefully..  but we're outta here for now on the way back to Vermont  . Cheers 
 
 
 

Today had a little of a delay start leaving Km31 ,  had a stud vs aluminum heat exchanger issue with one of the team members    .. all good with some fancy epoxy goop . 
Did a few work-arounds to skip the 93 on the way to the Escoumins club house,  we popped out by  De l'Or-Piste on the Pelchat trail . Smooth sailing all the way . Conditions from mashed potatoes to skating rink .
Ran some local trails and 330/ TQ3  into Forestville for the night.  
Coverage starting to  disappear here n there... but 3 days near 50°f will do that    

Someone loved her first time ever to a Pourvoire
 
 

Have you ever tasted a Red Champagne in Saguenay Lac St-Jean? It’s a locally made soda. It’s really good and reminded me of strawberry 🍓 soda. 
Anyway, as I was asking what it was like, a man told me this is what you want to drink when you’re hungover! Always Good to know 😂

Day 2 Saturday 
 
Noticeably warmer this morning after a cold night. We headed out after breakfast in no hurry to go no particular place. We decided to follow the groomer for a bit. So from here down the TQ93 then to the 373 all of it mint. Groomer has broken up the majority of the ice and yes still some icy spots and the usual south and west facing full sun areas starting to melt through. This is end of March conditions on the 2 of March. That is this season. 
 
373 across to TQ93 then down to orange trail through Site d’ours and over across river to Relais Buttes. Spent time talking with Gaetan there. Did you all know that the Relais closes all off season. It opens December 1 and he does Christmas parties for businesses then that carries him through until trails open. Then when trails are done so is the Relais. Interesting. Mrs Ice had the tomato and stars soup and she loved it. 
 
2 other sleds here. So far we have seen about 15 sleds all morning. We say goodbye to Gaetan sadly I won’t be back this way (not in the plan) as it’s noticeable the difference just a little bit further south here. I am bailing back north. The good stuff is shrinking must stay north. Not un rideable at all, just not what we are looking for. 
 
Up 373 to TQ93 took the gas just to take it at La Dore’. We did not know it until Mrs Ice saw on FB we crossed paths with The Snow Traveler from FB as our radio conversations were intermingled with the open mesh. Wish i knew I would have loved to meet them. Maybe another time. 
 
Debated on next move but ran back on TQ 93 then over the famous bridge from last weeks run (Mark and Phil sr love this crossing) lol. Complete the loop passing orange trail again and its TQ93 to the river lookout. Had to take the paddle boarder to see this river. Nice break here coats off its warm but there is a cool breeze. 
 
Back up to the TQ93 and still great trails all good softening up now and real nice. Run to Lac a Jim here a late lunch. Took time to ask about summer and paddle boarding Lac jim is 10km so small by my Mrs paddle board standards. Few other sleds here but been pretty tame for a Saturday. 
 
Straight shot back to Home sweet home Girardville. All alone again private accommodations. 
 
Great relaxing day. We aint here to set no records. Going to take time to look around and see. 
 
Plenty of time for the mrs to take lots of pictures so enjoy them.
 
Tomorrow we go on an adventure. 
 
Stay Tuned. 

I was seriously considering heading to the Island back to St. Croix USVI. Instead of this sled ride. 
 
Felt warm like the island this afternoon but trails will survive at least until Monday and that’s all we all looking for. Cannot have high expectations this year. Limited good trail. We aint looking for marginal. 
 
We got more than good.
little peek 👀 more later
 
 

2003   Blew piston at end of Quebec airport,  solo,  first sled to come by ( guy from Montreal) towed me to Quebec Inn. Wrecker company showed up with a pick up truck and gave me 2 1/2 hour ride to Maine border for $250.
2004    Blew  Arctic Cat chain  case right next to Yammi dealer near Montmagny.  Took apart and dealer could not fix.  Dealer had wife drive me and sled to Maine border ( 3 hrs.),   sled labor and ride $250.  (I was with Rob Lyons and his crew at the time).
Best one was in Maine 1971 doing 2 day saddlebag Eustis to Jackman and return.  Four Dads & 4 teens. 30 miles before Jackman couldn't get across a lake due to heavy slush. No other way to get to Jackman and not enough gas to return to Eustis. Went to nearby Holeb, middle of no where Maine widerness with a few camps and lumber mill. Mill owner had no gas but stuffed us all into his Suburban and gave us the most harrowing ride to Jackman on a 25 mile  mountainous logging road, bare ice. Pulling into the hotel we got stopped by a trooper and the mill owner got bagged for OUI.  My dad and I drove him back to his mill and we stayed over night at his trailer. Next day the hotel owner gathered volunteers to drive the rest of the gang to the mill and brought along gas.  Cost:  we paid for the mill owner's bail to get out of jail and big tips for the Jackman folks who helped us. 
mike