Cobra

They are the true ROCK STARS OF THE NORTH!!!!!!
Its literally POETRY IN MOTION!!!!!!
Alain my friend keep em coming!!!!!

They are the true ROCK STARS OF THE NORTH!!!!!!
Its literally POETRY IN MOTION!!!!!!
Alain my friend keep em coming!!!!!

We took a picture in front of a Canadian ice breaker once also. 😜
 

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Day 2:  Friday Feb 4
After our small shakedown run yesterday, one of the several problems that I needed to resolve was my helmet shield frosting up again. I’ve been using an HJC CL14 with electric face shields for many years. I had an extra electric replacement shield in my gear bag which I swapped out and that one also wasn’t working well. This helmet definitely doesn’t owe me any money with the number of years I have on it so a new one is definitely in order! (Right Scorpionbowl?). So today’s trip changed with a priority excursion to Cap-de-la-Madeleine to see Pierre at Motos Thibault. Being the type of guy he is, he worked through his lunch hour with his accessories assistant to help me pick out a new helmet. When we got there they already had 7 helmets sitting out ready for me to try on.  Motos Thibault ROCKS!  After I found the one I wanted we were back out and on the run. It’s so much nicer when you can see! LOL. Had a great day on absolutely fantastic fresh groomed and perfect trails! Got back to home base at 4:00PM.  Lit a nice fire and relaxed before a great dinner!
170 miles
 
 

What a LONG 23 months of government legislated abstinence from my happy place of Quebec in the winter! My last day of snowmobiling there was March 15th 2020.  The border shut 6 days later.  That is finally behind me now!!
Well they talked about a big nor’easter coming in last Thursday into Friday. Time to change my plans by 24 hours. Changed my flight to 1 day earlier to Wednesday and took a 7AM flight from Florida to New Jersey to get my truck. My son Jason from NYC met me there & we scrambled for all our gear & hit the black trail at high noon.  I always try to avoid snow and ice on my drives up and back in the truck.  Of course I got my every 2-4 years speeding ticket on I 87 northbound in the high peaks for the Court of Chesterfield New York. Oh well. I have a tight schedule to keep!  Crossed border at 5:15PM.  Very very easy.  ArriveCAN is simple & works great.  Got thru in 10 minutes & no Covid test given to either of us to take post entry.  Drove to Trois Rivières to pick up my fully serviced trailer & sleds.  Then drove another 90 minutes to Lac-a-l’eau-Claire for our lodging.  Arrived at 8:30PM in our condo.  Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to NJ to Saint-Alexis-des-Monts in 13.5 hours!! Long day but mission completed. It’s full on peak season conditions here!  Yippee Ky Yea!!!
 
To be continued………………
 

Day 1: Thursday Feb 3
Woke up to 3 inches of fresh powder on the sleds and still snowing moderately. Sweet!  Today is going to be a shakedown day to make sure everything‘s working right and all the gear is as it should be.  Walked over to the dining room and had a great breakfast. Yes the dining situation is back open. I believe they are at a 50% capacity regulation now.  We first needed to clear at the front desk with our Covid vaccination cards. Masks are required unless you are sitting at the dining table. Came back, got geared up, loaded up the sleds & pulled out around 9:45AM. 
 
continued…….
 
Took 349S to Lac Blanc then 350N to local unnamed to TQ23E to M11 to Hotel Sacacomie for lunch.  Everything was fresh groomed with the 2 to 3 inches of fresh on top. Great way to start indeed. All except for the 11 clicks on M11 in to Sacacomie.  That wasn’t terrible but it certainly wasn’t acceptable.  The men working up at the sled parking area said that it hadn’t been groomed in 2 to 3 weeks.  Had a great lunch with some of the best food available in the entire area. I always loved this place. Would stay there more often if they did not require you to park your sled so far away from the hotel. Saddle bagging into that place requires way too much carrying for too long a distance. Continued back M11 to TQ23E to 349S and back to Lac-a-l’eau-Claire and gassed up the sleds & extra fuel PowderKeg etc.  Had a fantastic 4 course dinner, lit a nice fire in our condo & relaxed.
85 miles  
 

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WWG1WGA!!

Thanks for always taking us on your journeys, trails look INCREDIBLE on this particular loop. Safe travels and keep em coming my friend.

Thanks for always taking us on your journeys, trails look INCREDIBLE on this particular loop. Safe travels and keep em coming my friend.

And no, the restrictions did not hurt one bit.
And yes St Hubert's demi poulet and a hospitality shot of Sortilage (maple whisky) are vital components of sledding Quebec!
 
 
 
 
 

Back in time to fully submerge into Drakkar's new heightened levels of luxury.
 


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Maybe the wood stove heat, maybe Shaggy setting the tone for chillaxing, surely the fine chatter, somehow the afternoon was gone, so we turned & rode back to HQ into an absolutely frickin awesome sunset (sorry we didn't get pics of the best of it).
 
 

Despite being off like a herd of turtles, we acquired the target mission destination! Ta da!
Pretty sure our fried brains appreciated this 24 miles as much as we would a north pole expedition!
 
 

And sure enough, they changed the trail! For the better! At least if your headed to Chez Ice to sign a cast!
 

We took the old normal way out of Shawini Sud, and wound up on some goat paths that took us into a few backyards. "Bonus ride!"
Backtracked to Drakkar where we'd observed the only bit that resembled grooming southbound toward the gas.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Rode up here a day early to stage for a 4 day jaunt, and made the most of the reorientation. 
A little jump starting (red goes on red by the way), a little wardrobe coordination (sunshine boosts temps beyond sub zero layering's needs by the way), a little convalescent visiting (lazy kitters activity levels are contagious by the way).
A perfect day to knock off the cobwebs mentally & mechanically, and burn out the fudge that 2 yr old gaz can become, so we're ready for a proper official 1st day reentry ride tomorrow!

Even a shot of NITRO FUEL couldn’t set her right for the return home.
The old girl just had ENOUGH!!!!
Since her arrival, she has given you some incredible memories that will last a lifetime!!!!!! Real curious on the off-season diagnosis and revival.