Cobra

Hats off to the FIRST RESPONDERS. !!!!!!!! 
Thankfully a positive outcome considering what could have been.

I think they are still in the bush, but in the process of getting out
 

Your not above St Michele screaming up the lake heading to AUBERGE DU LAC TAUREAU. Get after it HAHA!!!!

Looks like in about an hr or so the white gold will be falling. You’ll have a nice ride to camp playing RUSH in your mind!!!!🤘

And thru my Bluetooth headset just changed over to snow
Party time
Everyone have a GREAT weekend and I'll update tomorrow night from 100 Lacs
Zoom in pic for SNOW Flakes

Let me guess, trying to start sled outside in a cold morning with a ear piercing backfire which blows a hole in the muffler.
That was my insanity with my previous viper. Hate seeing people deal with that BS.

FYI.. in the morning always sit in the section by the bar entrance or in front of the register. That’s Frank’s section, he’ll have you guys in an out quick.
They have a couple of new young waitresses that are really slow.
when going to Mattiwan, once you run threw a parking area for trailers and stop at the stop sign, the trail goes into the woods across the road.That section was a whooped goat path. You could run the road until you can make a left into the red open gate which puts you back on the trail and avoids that particular section of trail.
Maybe that section of trail will be different by the time you run it but man was it Brutal. Just a heads up.
Also if your going to Repo from the 33 north side, they have you running multiple lakes as of now which will give you the opportunity to really unleash those turbos.👍

One last post on this crazy thread. I want to thank ALL OF YOU for following along and commenting. If you enjoyed it as much as I did reading your responses then we all made out good.
something no one (except my wife and best friend know) until now is this ride was for and dedicated to Peanut
she was our beloved cat that was our baby girl for the last 10.5 years  she had chronic asthma and was on hi doses of steroids which finally took their toll on her. We had to put her to sleep less than 24 hrs before I left for this trip. She is (and has been) for years on my “splash” screen on my Garmin GPS. So when I turn it on the first thing I see is “Peanut”
We miss you baby girl and will see you again someday.
here Peanut in her better days

FYI.. in the morning always sit in the section by the bar entrance or in front of the register. That’s Frank’s section, he’ll have you guys in an out quick.
They have a couple of new young waitresses that are really slow.
when going to Mattiwan, once you run threw a parking area for trailers and stop at the stop sign, the trail goes into the woods across the road.That section was a whooped goat path. You could run the road until you can make a left into the red open gate which puts you back on the trail and avoids that particular section of trail.
Maybe that section of trail will be different by the time you run it but man was it Brutal. Just a heads up.
Also if your going to Repo from the 33 north side, they have you running multiple lakes as of now which will give you the opportunity to really unleash those turbos.👍

Never had a bad dinner at MOTEL AU VIEUX MOULIN À SCIE down the street.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Trak maps are excellent, that is what I use.
just keep in mind since that area is not fully setup with signage, you’ll find yourself running some sections of trail from previous years not current.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Trak maps are excellent, that is what I use.
just keep in mind since that area is not fully setup with signage, you’ll find yourself running some sections of trail from previous years not current.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Trak maps are excellent, that is what I use.
just keep in mind since that area is not fully setup with signage, you’ll find yourself running some sections of trail from previous years not current.

Hey guys, just got back from the LaCabanon 26/31. Actually left while the 6 + inches of snow was going on. You’ll have no problems leaving sleds in the corral, Dennis does a nice job having a night watchman walking the trailer pen throughout the night keeping an eye on any suspicious activity. Be careful out on the trails because underneath all the new snow there are icy turns with some rocks but believe me it’s not as bad as the INTERNET says it is. Signage is not 100% with a lot of reroutes north of dam.Was able to ride 910 miles while up there.
Who ever is considering going up, just go and have fun.

Your right !!!
i thought about that a long time back. Was probably just too tired and lazy in a motel room and just jumped on. Towing is the king of photo ride reports in Quebec and always will be. I’m sure my dear friend was not offended.
I will start a new post the night of Friday the 27th detailing  another Christmas week smack down on the best of what Quebec has to offer.

Today is the birthday of my sweet half, I would not think of a better way to celebrate than to start our 2019-2020 snowmobile season in our prefered playground in St-Zénon! Here is the path we traveled together today


*** 5 december update***
The trail that I strike in red have been closed on the 5 december 2019. The Sepaq that manage the Mastigouche wildlife reserve plowed the #31 road (the trail) for maintenance on a bridge so the Royaume snowmobile club have no choice to close this section for 2 weeks

*** 5 december update***
The trail that I strike in red have been closed on the 5 december 2019. The Sepaq that manage the Mastigouche wildlife reserve plowed the road (the rail) for maintenance on a bridge so the Royaume snowmobile club have no choice to close this section for 2 weeks
Despite the actual limited snow cover, the Royaume snowmobile club has started grooming some trails that have a fairly flat forest road base, so they require less snow to be functional. There are still few trails that have been groomed and we have rode the majority of them as shown by our today traveled path (in pink above)
We started our ride directly from the Auberge Le Cabanon in St-Zenon around noon




We started in southbound direction from the Auberge. The main road being plowed, the trail is beside with a rough base and the lack of snow is immediately obvious



By cons, about 2 miles further when the trail takes the forest road path conditions become very nice. This is what looks like most of the trails that have been groomed yet: flat base ones







It was very cold last night, the temperature remained cold at about -7C in the warmer part of the day and there is almost no one in the trails: we have the ideal conditions to keep the trails in good shape





here a good reference on the snow cover. What is on the table is not really indicative because the first precipitation had melted but what is on the ground compared to the bench is quite fair: around 1 foot of snow with the first half in the bottom very crust/icy which still gives an acceptable amount of material to start a trail base



Here, a partridge was sunbathing in the middle of the trail! we almost had to stop before she decided to let us go.





once at the junction with the #31 road of the reserve, the trail is groomed on both sides. We took the east side first that we rode back and forth because it's a cul de sac for now (not groomed further) but the conditions were perfect








 
We then continued straight to get to the #345 trail. Again, a beautiful wide base of forest road so beautiful trail





Once on the #345, we took the direction of the dam.



The last mile before reaching the dam is rough and lack of snow due to unperfect base and there are some rocks. The level of the reservoir is nearly at its maximum





We crossed the dam for a photo before turning back



Note: as mentionned in an other post, the trail to the Mattawin River Bridge will be closed this season. Following an inspection, the bridge was deemed unsafe and the bridge was closed to traffic. You will have to go through the dam to cross the Mattawin river



As expected, the 3 miles section of trail which is not on the reserve road before arriving at Cabanon is lacking snow. The rest of the # 345 is very nice. We were back to the trailer around 4pm with 89 miles on the dreammeter.


 
In summary, there are few trails currently open (something like 70miles) because the actual snow cover does not allow much more. The cold conditions we had in the last days combined with moderate traffic allowed the current trails to remain very nice overall but the base is thin and could not endure milder temperatures or heavy traffic or worse, a combination of the 2. Conditions can change quickly, both for the worst or the best if the snow and the cold are ahead. It will depend on what Mother Nature reserves for us for the next days /weeks
Pays de la motoneige web site is always a good source to observe trail opening https://www.snowmobilecountry.ca/en/conditions/
No doubt it's still a good season early start so far and  things are shaping up nicely, hoping for the best next!!!
Alain

I normally take a medium everything, but always buy large for sled jackets in case I need to layer up. With the Choko, I tried both med and large and it was  a toss up, but I chose the large. As I recall, (jacket is right now in storage), it is a little more roomy down by the stomach and waist.  You should really try one on with your vest. (I don't wear a vest).

I've been riding with an Adventurer for over 12 years.  It is fabulous.  I'd like a new one because now they have some vents which is a must.  It is a very warm coat; great for Quebec when it is -40.  I only wear a long sleeve midweight underwear and a mid weight vest underneath no matter how cold it gets.  Never been cold even in windy conditions.

I  bought a Choko Adventurer jacket early on last winter. Loved it, extremely warm. The liner doesn't come out, so may  be too hot on a warmer day. It is also heavy, as in weight, but that did not seem to bother me any. But it is a good price and seems to be a quality jacket. I am very happy with it. 
mike