vt_bluyamaha54

12 day Gaspe BSL trip.
I got my fingers crossed.
Gemma say's hi.

Tabernack!!!
 

Day 4 Thursday
Cloudy but not raining as we leave La Tuque. We put some extra oil into the gas and it's out of our hands. qui sera sera. We are off. Met a gang of 4 from Ontario, they got trucked to Perce and left from there to ride back to Ontario. They were not very chatty as I would not have been either knowing where they were trying to get back to. Gonna be a wet few days for them. Oh well. Part of the game. Down to 355 and trail is very nice not shabby at all. We cruise on down and to pipeline section. Rougher here and showing some issues, waterholes opening up big. Lots of sinkholes.  Nick is chugging on. We easily make it to St Joseph and might as well be my house cause this is my back yard. As far as i'm concerned we made it. We scrape through and down 360 to 23 surprisingly not rough but getting thin. Lije this on the big hill on the new section of 360

we run 23 through St Tite and very nice trail here. To M-5 and all good to Lac a Tortue. Still going the old MXZ 600. Gas and down to TQ3 of course here my club has abandoned the ship. Rough is complimentary. It was like a bomb went off. Worst shit almost of the week. Yeah, welcome home Iceman, Junk. We beat our way through Shawinigan Sud and on to Mont Carmel. I'm urinating blood now but we made it. That bad. Doctor says its temporary. Into driveway at 12:00. KwikNick made it 240 miles it ran on 1 cylinder. As i back my sled up to put it in garage the skies opened up. We made just in time. We get situated, changed and got both Doo's loaded in trailer. Time to see tge doctor. Off to Clement Moto in Louiseville. We head on in and i Chat with Clement the owner. Explsin our issues and he says been seeing lots of reverse issues like we have with the enduro. Problems with servo getting hot because of burs on reverse gear. Won't go in reverse heats up servo motor and repeat. We leave both sleds for surgery and back to Relais Ice in a full blown deluge. Relaxing now and soon its off to watch Mrs. Ice and her team kick some ass at dek hockey. 
All in all a good 4 days saw all and then some rode 950 miles and though it was cut short judging by the weather things happen for a reason. I do not need to ride in the rain. No merci. 
Nick had a great time and will be back. He gained the most import thing some real experience. 
950 miles in 3.5 days actually. 

 

Day 3 continues 
we fire it back up and its rough. Running but not hitting on both jugs. Oh well it's gonna run till it won't no more. We are 50 miles from Relais 22. So 75 give or take to Windigo(scheduled stop). We head back toward 22. Now it starts the full on smorgasbord of weather. Just lovely. Did I mention the trail is a 10/10. Besides the flat light and weather mix. Slowly but surely we head on back, the weather finally quits and we are moving along. into Relais 22 its 5pm. Decision time 
We all get gas. We decide to pull the plugs again to check. Same thing. PTO side leaned out. Buy two new plugs. Nick puts em in. Owner of 22 is looking at it with us. Says maybe he can bring it to La Tuque with his truck tmmrw. Well we know it's gonna rain. We are not going to Windigo. Not going 25 miles further from any road. 
Its running so it shall. We decide we are going to La Tuque. Its warm and not raining and from there we can sort things out tmmrw. Back down 73 we go. Its 5:30pm. Trail not bad near 22 but farther we go south worse it gets, not the worst but amazing what a few hours and some groups of sleds did to it. Its rough. She has been used and abused. 
We take it a section at a time and don't stop. Its running let's keep moving. The KM click on by and we are back in La Tuque at the gas at 8pm. It made it. Shaking and all but its here. To Hotel Marineau and quick change and some dinner. 
We take stock and a meeting of the minds was called and it has been decided. We will make for Home and it will either make it or we will tow it to where we can come get it by truck if need be. We will load both Ski Doo's and take them to a trusted shop here in Louiseville for proper repairs. Nicks First Quebec run ends Tomorrow. 
He will be back. 
Good news he is in the 300 club with his 368 miles today. 
Demain est un autre jour.
bonne nuit
 
 
 
 

Left Real Masse at 8:30am. 
Fresh groomed and white asphalt. Today was gonna be much different than yesterday. The clubs have had time to catch up from the weekend onslaught. They are catching up on the grooming and things are shaping up. 
We head up and take a perfect 350 east its love. And then to 349 just as sweet. And to 23 again just great. This is awesome. 23 is great all the way to the River in Shawinigan. We cross the River and continue on 23 up and into St. Tite. All good. We cruise on into Lac Aux Sables and stop for a quick top off of gas. We continue on and after Lac Aux Sables 23 is rerouted this year and thus part is bad. Really rough, not groomed in a long time. We soldier on to join the 302/23. It is much better now. We run the 302/23 to 353. 353 is just dreamy. Really nice. We run it up and then right turn down 23 and surprise its perfect. Down to join 3 and go 3 east. Its also in great shape. Been awhile since i been on 3 this far east. Near here. Its looking good and we go. We continue on and take 73 up and to St Raymond. This 73 is in need of some love. Not too great compared to what we saw elsewhere. Up to Gas on 23 next to Roquemont. It's 4:30 too early to stop now. Up 23 and this trail is good too. We go to the Relais and take the Local Orange trail back up toward Rivere a Pierre. This is a real gem. Fresh groomed. I'm thinking the groomer is up here he has to be in front of me. Sure enough just over halfway up he is here taking a break. We sneak on by. Thus trail is in great shape. He is grooming a perfect trail. Hey no problem. We head on up and join 73 then down to Rivere a Pierre. At the road crossing is some action. Flashing lights....SQ and Tansport Quebec directing traffic. Uh oh...
on closer inspection we got a bad accident here. At the road crossing to go to Rivere a Pierre. Car vs Sled. Mazda 3 vs an Apex or Venture, hard to tell from what was left. Car smashed and into the snowbank, sled mangled and in the right lane several hundred feet from crossing, this was some impact. I have learned there were 2 on the sled a man 75 years old has survived, his wife i believe was 80 years old and did not survive. RIP. The SQ were doing the accident reconstruction. We took this opportunity to show Nick the consequences of what can happen. Sad. 
Onward we take a fast 73 railbed back and into Roquemont at 6:15. 
No 300 for the boy again he needs to settle for 260.
Windigo Tomorrow.
 

Always a place to see lots of snow! I think I have only been there 2x when the houses weren't covered to the eaves. In 2015-16 they had the least snow I had ever seen in March though. 

Friday we went to the truck stop for a great lunch via 93 to 328, back to 93, then took 367 to local trail to St Jeanne de Arc for gas, then 93 to 900 to 902.  After a great lunch back on 902, across the Peribonka to 367 to 553 to 23, then 562.  Stopped at DRC in Alma as Joe need appointment to have his exhaust valve checked.  The 383 to 83 and back to Delta.  Total of 215 miles.  Most miles I've ridden since my accident.  Great trails all day.
 Saturday we went to Auberge Eva for lunch. Came back  by way of St Andre to 23 to 368 to 383.  Total of 190 miles.  Again trails were great..  Friends  came in that had been going to the Gaspe but saw the forecast and high tailed it up here to avoid the big storm.
Took to day off, Doctor told me I'd been going hard the past week and needed to rest a day.  Went to a brunch for the benefit of the Saguenay Diabetes Foundation.  182 and Ginger left for NJ about 12 noon.
 

Nothing wrong with taking the time for a good meal - especially when the wives are along! Certainly worth it to have a fresh ribbon return. 

Unfortunately Paddy O, this is what has happened in many parts of the Eastern Townships due to the lean snow years the last 10yrs. Permissions for former paths have been lost, signage is poor/non-existent, brushing is haphazard. Glad you were able to find your way. Sawyerville used to be an active area but I don't even know if the Sawyerville Hotel is still operating? It's been a few years - 

Dropped down from Pittsburg NH to Beecher Falls, Vt. where we entered East Hereford, QC. From there we rode fresh powder - all formerly groomed for the entire 113miles + - . Our objective was to travel 523 to Sawyerville where we would pick up 525 to La Patrie and then onto Chartieville & Pittsburg NH. While traveling on 523 we came to an intersection where a signpost  advised La Patrie was to the right. Subsequently we made the right and followed the directional (arrows) signs as the trail had no number. Well the trail went from steep and wide to a goat path and steeper. Additionally the directional signs became further apart where at times we wondered if we missed a turn off as the snow banks were high. How they formerly groomed the goat path (sled ?) I do not know as it was tight and hilly. It was obvious the trail had been recently cut as remnants of former trees were visible in the middle of the trail...Eventually (*25 miles + -) we dumped out onto trail 525 and turned right - only a few miles outside of La Patrie . The new trail / unnumbered caused us to circumvent Sawyerville in its entirety and roughly 10 less miles than our planned trip. If you choose to take the new trail I suggest you ride with another as we only met one soul (FCMQ Trail Patrol) who  confirmed for us we were going in the right direction and that the trail was recently cut and not yet on the FCMQ map. Had we not met the trail patrol man we would have turned around as we were unsure if we were going in the right direction and off the GPS & paper map. (* Suggested mileage - guessed - could be more - could be less.)

We weren't sure about our decision to sit down at 5:30 for an 1.5 hour dinner but it paid off when we had fresh groomed trails from L Anse St Jean to 383/83 intersection 😊
This was Ginger's first ferry boat ride while snowmobiling & she really enjoyed it 
FYI an 850 etec can go from KM 31 to Petit Saguenay with out a fill up in between 
 

hi stan...phil...jeff and sandy !!!!
 
like those night pics when trees are full of snow !!! great mood !!!
little reminder from a friend.....early morning gaspesian traffic jam.....at the bottom of the hill  next to gas station where i park the machine !!!
very quick run...trail was still in good shape....and not much pics...light was very poor ,so , i did nt stop much !!! saw the first sled in ste marguerite on my way back !!!
always call the waitress after every runs ....took a nap ...did nt hurt ...ahha
local trails tomorrow !!!!
 
had dinner with jeff and sandy last night ...many thx !!!
and mikerider and brandon stopped to say  hello !!!
 
jean-guy

For those of you that remember, we bumped into Andre and Nicole today. We were running from Bernieres to RDL on the poog and they were getting their mail as we were crossing the road. They both look good and we were happy to see them if only for a few minutes. They were always very welcoming as we have made this trip for many years. We always stopped for a snack and gas. They have been closed in the winter for the last few years. I can remember Andre posting whenever the groomer would pass back on HCS. Unfortunately with sleds getting such better mileage than in the past, some fuel stops are not as important as they used to be. Happy life to you, Andre and Nicole, and thanks for your support in our sport.
        Jeff and Sandy
 

Back at home JG, 1st day at work not too productive, ski doo dreaming. Always a pleasure to meet with you and chat. We'll have to do it again. 
Ride back to RDL and the trucks was incredible and with out a doubt your trails were in prestine shape, the snowmobile community owes a lot to you.
A la prochaine jeune homme

back from tq 5 ...snowed a bit ...not too happy with the trail ...very bumpy ...
about 20 sleds ..-7c ...grey sky !!!
 
jean-guy

A great loop and report guys.  Safe travels home.  It's snowing in Vermont as i write this so I fear Terry's trip home won't be easy. 
First storm to produce >6" in over 2yrs. Woohoo 

JG - thanks for posting the addition of the new bridge. An improvement for sure!

Saturday morning and it is cold again.  The skies are overcast but it is forecast to clear later today.  A lot of grooming activity overnight.  Lets see, we want to stay off of Mont Valin on the weekend.  Lets do a loop thru Alma.
Sandi, myself, Farmer Old and Michigan Rev take off from the Delta all bundled up.  We head down 383 and cross the barrage to get to 368.  Trail 368 wasn't groomed last night but it doesn't get whooped up because it is wide, fast and very few stops.  Just a nice steady pace to 23.  At the 23 intersection, we noticed this was groomed last night.  A few tracks on it southbound but not many tracks northbound.  I mention to Sandi it is Saturday morning, we will get traffic coming down from the Hebertville area.  We take off heading north and in just a couple of miles here is a group of six beating feet heading south.  There is plenty of room.  Not too much further and two more sleds.  The first one is positioned fine but the second one is crowding our side of the trail.  What is up with that?  The trail must be 25' wide here.  I don't understand.
We continue up 23.   I see the new trail that runs over to St Andre but 23 is just perfect.  We will stay on 23.  The sky has cleared now and it is that bright blue Canadian sky.  So pretty.
We run up past the Presbytere, a little too early for lunch.  We go to Ski Bee Doo instead and there only a couple of sleds here.  This will be lunch.  You know I like to beat the lunch crowd.
We go in, get a table and place our order.  Four sleds pull in and then five or six more.  The sleds just keep coming in.  By the time we get lunch,  the place was three quarters full.  This is another stop we like.  The workers and food are great.
After lunch  we continue up 23.  We decide not to go up 23 into Alma and take the local 563 and 562 around the east side to get to the bridge.  These yellow trails are nice.  Groomed and no traffic.
We cross the river on the bridge and stay straight on local 555.  Another one of those little used local trails and it was groomed last night.  We buzz up to Lac Labrecque and loop around the north side of the lac to get to Relais des Lacs.  Once again these yellow trails 552 and 553 are groomed, no traffic and are just plain old fun.
A quick stop at the Relais des Lacs and we take 328 thru Begin, a little soft here from all the drifting the other night and a right on 367 and a left onto 93.  These are fine!  After that we drop down on 134 to cross the two bridges and back at the Delta.
Back to the hotel safe and sound.  After a beautiful day of riding it is time for a few refreshments!
Jack & Sandi 

back from meeting jg and terry at the clubhouse !!!
thx for the visit guys !!!
great weather for them to ride !!!
-16c and sunny !!!
 
jean-guy

See just like i said before, that Railbed is not always a great idea. Frostbite or not.
Anyway the best trips as you know are the ones made up as you go. My favorite thing is improvising as we go. 

Trip 3
The Eagle has landed and boy did we find a gem.   Auberge des Deux Rives
1 hr south of maniwaki 
6 hrs from Scranton (313 miles) and trans Quebec 13 goes right thru the parking lot.
5 clicks from the rr bed that runs to maniwaki

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.

 

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!