mccaffrey

Not so tall or long but fun anyway, somewhere in the Chic-Chocs between Carlton & Murdochville 3/26/17:

I apologize for the F'me thing. The building my office is in also holds county offices for Housing Assistance and the people who come in and out of the place drive me crazy. The same people we have seen create "go fund me and the like" pages that complain that they feel like second class citizens and NEED a new iPhone or bigger TV. Their description is usually mother of 4, just trying to make it, and need a better phone, not please help my kids go to camp or shoes or ....
So... we commonly refer to it as a go f'me fund.
Sorry to bring it down.
Later
GutZ

I'll contribute a buck to your Go F'Me page, do you have link?
GutZ

Check it out.
 

Hi there!
Here a short GoPro video on the St-Maurice river last Saturday, enjoy!
 

Here's some from MSP as you can see it was snowing it has snowed all day Monday Tuesday and Wednesday we haven't seen sun since Sunday ironically enough 🌞

Glad to see you two are at it again! Great report!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Pat

I'd like to know what he was riding that is 111.6 MPH!!!

Man that 1284.00 fine is worth like a nice 6 day saddlebag trip !!
YIKES !!!!

Groomer manicures the snow, this guy was sculpting a sawdust pile!

Here is yet another thread on doing the Gaspe loop! Wife Molly and I drove up to the Universal yesterday from Vermont. Met Mikerider, Jack, Sandi and several other Quebec Riders. Had dinner and breakfast with Jack and Sandi, then said our good-byes. Left the universal at 8:10, destination Carleton. Took 5 east all the way to 579 south, to 587 and stopped at Groomers clubhouse for a bowl of soup at 12:30 with 190 miles. Lots of fresh grooming, fair amount of day old stuff, and very little bumpy terrain. Some drifting in the open areas. No sign of groomer, maybe Linda sled girl over served the rouge last night! From. The clubhouse we took 587 briefly, then took an orange shortcut trail through Sainte Florence back over to 5 east. This was a good move, great fast trail with no traffic. Our next move, or actually lack of, cost us so.e extra miles with many bumps added in. Planned on taking the short cut orange trail off from 5 that dumps you into L'Alverne back on the 5, but we missed it! Ended up staying on the 5 down through Pointe a-la Croix, and that plain sucked! Once we got within 30 miles of Carleton, we had a super flat and fast finish all the way to Hostellerie Baie Bleue. Good way to finish the day, pulled in at 5:45 with 303.1 miles for the day. Getting cleaned up and headed to the bar for some well deserved bourbon! Will try to post some pics....

Nice to spend 4 days and 1000 miles with my home team and newest members Iceman and Trailblazer!  It would have been easy to give up, breaking trail for 450-500 miles can be mentally and physically challenging, but Don and JG are TOUGH sledders!  And for sure they can check Havier St Pierre off their bucket list, next time we go to points beyond.  
As everyone knows riding is one thing, but you spend a lot of time off the sled with people and not everyone is easy to get along with.  Don and JG were the real deal, and I am happy to have shared the ride and the experience.  They were always ready to on time with all their ducks in a row, this style really helps keep the train rocking, (sleep is over rated they said). We always had a bailout plan if the going got too tough but these guys never asked about it.  They were confident we were to succeed, (me too, I'm not scared of a little snow :).
I would say anyone wanting to give this a go do it late in the season and not after a snowfall.  You will find most of it nice going with only the middle 20-40 miles or so the real challenge, have a GPS with good tracks.
Now like any trip, some stories will have to remain untold......

Sometimes the higher the investment in a trip and an adventure, the greater the reward 😀.  Certainly not for everyone. 😎

There should be plenty of snow cover still.  From St Raymond it is only about ten miles on the trail before you start to get up in elevation and better snow depth.
We prefer St Raymond over St Zenon and I am sure others will say the opposite.  Trail 23 out of St Raymond is usually groomed Thursday / Friday.  If the groomers are out, it is a beautiful ride up to Lac St Jean.  It is about 175 - 200 miles to the Lac from St Raymond.
Make reservations so you won't be disappointed.  As the snow melts in the south, more riders head north.
Jack & Sandi

This is a set up that works really well.
we are doing a similar loop next week.....I'll put two gallons in the three gallon Jerry can and have no worries.
the linq system is great
 

I've heard of several 1200's both XR and XS haven broken coil wires mainly on the center coil. Upon inspection of my XS I noticed the only difference between the three is that the center coil doesn't have the wires zip tied to the plug. I reorganized the wires giving a little extra slack and zip tied all three with heavier zip ties. The plugs have a lip on the bottom so the zip ties cannot work off of the plug. Maybe this will help or cure the issue IDK . Possibly without the zip tie the center was seeing more vibration causing the issue.

Fresh underwear and socks.
1 spare set of base layer. 1 set of extreme cold base layer.
Gauntlets in case its crazy cold (not sure where these will live on my new sled when not in use)
I extra heavy pullover for if it is extra cold.
Complete street clothes Jeans walk around shoes gloves hat and jacket.
Travel size Febreeze bottle
Swimsuit - spa nordiques is 1/2 the reason I love Quebec.
1 sealed set of underwear (not base layer) socks and gloves this stays in my sled always.  Been wet 2 times. Only use roll top dry bags for packing now.
Multi-tool of choice
Torch cigar type lighter
Baggie of collected dryer lint for firestarter
Hunting folding bone saw
Minimum toileries possible but my Sonicare goes.
Sewing kit.
Corkscrew.
Combination lock for sled
Towrope (mine is a waterski rope with handle and loops with caribeeners set just right for pulling a sled at spindles)
Factory toolkit augmented with my own complete socket set and ratchet wrenches and ball end allen keys small channel locks.
I have a spare bearing and spare headlight bulb planted in my Attak.
Small jumper cables or boost kit (you could probably skip this since there is usually a boost being done somewhere in line of sight in QC)
I keep a baggie of 1" webbing, buckles snaps etc because someone inevitably has luggage/saddlebag issues.
I carry a bunch of go pro stuff.
I have a radio shack of charging wires in my bags that goes in hotel.
Electric tape, zip ties, TYVEK tape somewhere.
I keep a small baggie of all sorts of fuses in my bibs front pocket.
I have a 2 plug charger in baggie with iPhone and micro usb in bag that stays on handlebars and goes in relais when someone needs a charge.
I am a super Mac weenie but I carry a $99 Acer 7" tablet for light browsing, email, gorpo viewing and Oruxumaps, via explorer.
Spare key.  I copy all important papers but leave that at home at my wife's disposal.
 
 
 
 
 
 

A small but good thermos or insulated water bottle, buried inside the saddlebag so it lasts longer, fill with HOT tap or coffee pot water before leaving the hotel. Good to drink, or to thaw the ice from Bombardier helmet ports. Still wet at the end of a cold day.
1.2mil garbage bag to line your saddlebag, 2 gallon zip lock Freezer bags (those are heavier duty than the storage bags)  inside with your dry stuff, don't overstuff, they flatten and pack nice. Never had one open or fail. Couple candy or energy bars, the light airy ones are easier on the teeth when frozen compared to the heavy solid ones. Put one in an inside pocket a half hour before eating. A couple dog treats or jerky for the friendly dogs you meet along the way. Change the belt before the trip if it's remotely used, so your less likely to need your spare, because then you'll have no spare. 5 or 6 foot security chain and good lock for sled-to-sled lockup to make your stuff look less attractive than the unlocked sleds nearby. Thin gloves and gauntlets for comfort and dexterity. Rain-x your shield before the trip to make freezing rain easier to clear off. At least 1 person should have a shovel, folding saw, fuse assortment, big and small ty-wraps and fresh duct tape for MacGuyvering, spare gas for whoever needs it. A volt meter is sometimes handy.  Motorcycle compact jumper cables, they always work compared to the wizbang lithium jumper packs that are hit or miss.  Flashlight with spare battery. I prefer the Fenix E12 since it's pocket size and takes 1 AA battery which is 2x capacity of AAA and it's the same battery my GPS can use in a pinch. Spare balaclava, sometimes to swap, sometimes to double up on the thin ones when it's -30, with Windblock fabric in the neck is much warmer than airy fleece, yet still thin and not bulky. Some plan in case a heated grip fails. 1 spare carbide. Bonus cinch strap ( not a bungee, they don't work good in the cold) over the saddlebags to prevent bouncing which can easily rip the factory straps out of the bags, eye bolts in the tunnel to attach. A spare strap for "that" guy that didn't plan ahead and now has torn his luggage strap out and it's really flopping around. A motorcycle cargo net is also awesome insurance! I like a combo cable bike lock to lock my jerry and permanent bag to the rear bumper, again just to add a layer of inconvenience to me or thieves. Small Leatherman for cutting belt fragments that wound up behind the primary. Spare fuses, and if Skidoo....spare relays, and know where all of them are ahead of time, on the trail in the dark when it's -30 is no time to dig out the manual. Spare helmet cord for that rare occasion you may need to plug in. Copies or PDF of all your paperwork, passport, and credit cards front and back, email to yourself. Earplugs if you're a light sleeper. Ice scratchers for those few occasional just wrong morning hours where it was groomed like concrete the night before, and it takes a couple hours to loosen up. When stopping, peek under for bent carbides or loose studs, even the pre-studded Studs pull out or can partially pull out and flap into a heat exchanger. Name and email address labels on stuff like keys, phones, bags, gps, etc.  Email always works, your phone number may not. Nice to haves include an axe, sat phone, bus schedule. Must haves are a lot of money and a good sense of humor for the inevitabilities Murphy throws your way. That's it for now ;<)
 

I've fixed worse on the side of a trail, in Valin, but it is a polaris.... so is it worth fixing?
LOL , just kidding not looking to start anything, I have not fixed worse.
GutZ

Kanawata to Parent offtrail trail just up the road from Kanawata express exit
Parent to Clova via power lines then ch. Lepine south on trail to about 3 Klms north of Pourvoirie Lac Outaouais, head east off trail to Balbuzard then head south west and hit a road that runs parallel to ch. Lepine then cross over to Lepine about 10 k before the 117.
North of Auberge Taurau take the lake circuit to Lac du Repos then the next lake circuit to 100Lacs then power lines to Clova.
if you're handy witha gps, can start from L'Accension Zec Maison de Pierre entrance and ride all you want off trail in the Zec.
I can go on.... 
Lots to discover and remember never ride alone offtrail. A shovel, buck saw and matches is an onboard asset.

First real ride of this season . We started at La  Glaciere this morning rode to the Marineau in Mattiwin for lunch and back .  Pretty good for December with about 200 miles on the clock for the day .  a nice balmy -7° on return to the truck  ! 



 

Darn , Was hoping to make it to the delta from here !

850 Renegade X
Time to increase the Fun Factor.
Keeping the Yamaha for backup!
Think Snow 
BJ