groomer

pic 1 : between chiboo and lac a jim .stopped for gas. pic 2 :me ,not to far from the clubhouse in val d or.coming from lake ,mourier ,lemoyne and up for lake de montigny.27 miles in a row on those lakes. pic 3 :lake the montigny (val dor ).returned on the lake to take a ''way point-degree '' with my compass.very cold ,you can see the steam coming out of the seat.next morning ,on our way to val senneville ,then senneterre ,we arrived on a lake .an elderly person told us it was - 50 c. pic 4 :on a lake south of chiboo pic 5 :hit a rock about 1 mile from '' camp a jos '' in chiboo.very long day.woke up at 6 am,ready to go for lsj .seized my sled on lake chiboo,almost at the most southern point of the lake.went back to chiboo to find another sled at the doo dealer.left camp a jos late in the afternoon ,i had a coil problem.misfiring.told my friends no way im going to lsj with that sled..(170 miles).waited for the challenge kanada organisation to arrive in chiboo and left the clubhouse at 9 pm and arrived at lac a jim at 5 30 am.slept for 2 hrs ,then down to st felicien and up 60 miles north of dolbeau ,relais les loutres and back down to mistassini at midnight.we had to do the ''circuit '' twice ,last 2 weeks were just crazy.not much sleep.12-15-20-24 hrs of riding .crazy groomer !!!

pic 1 : relais ''les loutres '' 55/60 miles north of dolbeau.we left that place one night at 6 pm ,arrived at a relais near mistassini along the river at midnight .went to the motel in st felicien ,took a few beers and went to bed at 4 30 am.troubles that night ,hard times to find trails and lakes.lots of fun tho. pic 2 : mistassini river ,between chiboo and lac a jim (st thomas dydime(north-west of lsj. pic 3:darlen river ,south-east of rouyn.cold that morning pic 4:kinojevis river or darlen ,i was in front and hit a rock or a crack in the ice under the snow .in a fraction of a second,sled went straight to the left and made a nice ''dive '' on the ice.while on the ice ,i was looking at the sled going slowly for the hole .i had my camera around my neck and landed on my camera side.did nt care much about the sled ,ha !! ha !!i was more afraid that my camera was broken !! ha !! ha !! pic 5 : bridges ,south-east of rouyn.the second one could be ,road 117 ,don t know. groomer !!!

pic 1-2 : north-east of clermont (charlevoix ) but east of trail 83 ,going toward tadoussac.awesome off the trail riding .jumping from one lake to another.great memories!! pic 3 :stuck in the slush ,south of quoquochee on the way to latuque.near lake laureat on the pq map.while i was turning around ,i realized snow was poor ,too late ,sled sank in the slush.1.5 hrs to remove the sled from there. pic 4 : after crossing tq 3 ,we went down a very steep mountain between the trees .no way to go back up there .on the way to tadoussac. pic 5 : looking for a road/trail near lake jupiter north of l etape and south of lake davenport. i was nt stuck!! ps: this is my 1000 th post on qr ,rob is there a prize for that ???? just joking !! ha !! ha !! groomer !!!

pic 1 ; reservoir lamothe near falardeau ,lsj pic 2 :parc des laurentides (pdl) .coming from desbiens ,we had a guide ,from lsj down to the north-west side of pdl .guide turned around and left us alone.told us the trail was at the end of a lake(7 miles ).first time there ,we did many miles at night .we landed at lac des ecorces ,12 miles west of that phone boot on road 175.out of gas.there was guys from the canadian army.gave us gas . we spent about 1.5 hrs on the lake at night with those guys.when we left ,still on the lake ,my friend forgot to put injection oil again.i could see his headlight going down in the darkness.put oil back ,engine was running like a diesel one.ha !! ha !! -35/-40c that.i was breaking a lot of snow for miles.both of my carburators froze.tried many times to fix it ,but no luck.half of the clutch was turning in the ice.lots of snow.friend remembered there was a camp a few miles away.started my sled ,throttle was frozen,so i was playing with the ''kill switch '' not to blow the motor. so when we woke up ,i put warm water on the carbs ,and go for the phone boot.guy was waiting for us there ,since 3 pm ,the day before .took lunch there and go for the casino .crazy day.at the camp ,we took a 5 gallons of gas and a 10 onces of 94% alcohol.let 40.00$ or 70.00$ to the guy.he was from chicoutimi. pic 3 : p d l ,we were on top of that mountain,saw a road at the base ,decided to go down between the trees .awesome !!! pic 4 :realais quoquochee (sp maybe).it s on the road going to parent.north-north-west of latuque.coming from mattawin and manawan (out of gas ) we landed at that place at 11 pm one night.just in time to put gas.then a few miles later ,we landed on a lake full of slush .wow !! it has been rock and roll on that lake .if you have a pq map ,look for lac laureat ,flamand and latuque ,in that area. pic 5 : peribonka river,we did 60 miles along that river ,last 10 on the river.huge !!we went by ',relais onatchiway '' up to lac st jacques.then down along the river. groomer !!!

after i posted this morning , i remembered it was the ''bella villa '' in senneterre. here s a few places i ve been ,off the trail . the second year ,when we left from rouyn up to chiboo,down to lsj ,latuque and st gabriel de brandon , i calculated we did roughly 225/250 miles on rivers and lakes.we don t have big rivers and lakes like that around here ,woooow !!! awesome !!! just too bad ,i ve been on too many lakes and rivers can t remember them all. great adventure and experience!! groomer !!!

thanks gs !! good for you !!almost mad at myself :angry: ,i had in mind to spend the week end at the camp,but weather was nt safe for most of the day and cold.sun is out now !! :angry: i ll try the spend the day there tomorrow . groomer !!!

i saw on one of your map, the bell river in matagami .thought about that.all the pics are fom when i worked for challenge kanada back in 97 i think ,maybe 96 .just can t remember.pics of the first ''leg '' (not sure if it s the right word).rouyn noranda to chibougamau. this on lake parent in senneterre ,about 25 miles from town.we had to go up to the bell river ,then enter the woods.when we arrived it was on open water and we were nt sure if it was the bell river .so we went up to the bay.trying to find trails and roads.we did nt know that area at all . what happened ,our ''guide '' made the circuit with a plane,from rouyn noranda to chibougamau .easy from the air ,but once the land ,wooooooooooooow !! another story for our guide.first night he came to see us at the motel in rouyn noranda.first thing he told us ,guys i don t ride deep snow at all,95 % of the time on hard packed trails.i learned that the next morning.my friend was the greatest guy to take beers with and tell jokes and stories,but very poor rider in deep snow ,also.so i was caught with 2 terrible riders in deep snow. if i remember well ,we took 7-8 days riding off the trail ,from rouyn to senneterre,way too much .once in senneterre the guide went back home after a week vacation.hell of a week .it was supposed to take 2 days to do that.taking notes and mileage for the roadbook. pic 1/2 ,off the bay . 3-4-7 first time on lake parent. 5-6 second time on lake parent about 3-4 weeks later .visibility was ''0 ''.pics taken about a quarter mile from the bell river. our first day on lake parent ,my friend forgot to bring injection oil and unable to make it back to the motel,probably 20 miles + away .so it was getting late in the afternoon ,close to darkness on our way back to the motel. suddenly while riding on the lake ,a bunch of sledders arrived behind us.one was out of gas .so we traded a 5 gallons can of gas for a pint of injection oil and made it back to the motel in the darkness.they saved our day.i could tell you tons of stories about my 2 years with challenge kanada . groomer !!!

whoooops !!! ha !! ha !! don t worry ,it happened to me while grooming.i had the ''bull ''down a bit and pushing snow ,trying to ''level ', the trail.snow was so hard packed by the wind ,it was pushing the machine ',off the trail ''.outter track fell in the soft snow and stuck for 3 hrs !! ha !! ha !! st fidele clubhouse was very popular back in the 80's and early 90 ' s. first pic ,tq 5 ,about 3-4 miles east of ste marguerite ,almost at the bottom of a looooooooong hill.there s an 180 ' curve behind the machine ,met andyman,smclelan,mubs and ron about a quarter mile behind the machine. next 2 ,about 2.5 miles west of ''plain-rev/90' curve .i wrote ''bucher/clearcut on the map. groomer !!!

thanks snomogary !! first 2 pics ,same bobcat than the other post .early morning at the lake .i was on my way to work at our new camp,2 years ago. next 3 ,back in june 06 .right in the yard of the camp.i was sitting at the table and saw that ''tourist '' in the yard of the camp.what happen at the camp,there s trees all around,so when i see something in the yard ,reaction time must be very quick.3-4 steps for them and they are already back in the woods.took the pics through the window. always funny to see something in the yard of the camp. jean-guy

forgot ,post 13 ,pic 5 ,from the 5th red stick going up the field to enter the woods,worse place.same field than pic 1.very narrow.snow come from the left side . pic 1 : bridge in town.can t see the bridge ,too much snow . pic 2-3 .tq 5 ,where my run begin .cb over the matapedia river .albertville guys turn around on the other side of the cb( west ).park the machine about half a mile from there. groomer !!!

ha !! ha !! very easy to get stuck.must know ''your '' trail very well .there s a ditch on both side of the trail,not too deep tho,but enough to make the machine lean on one side .the weight of the machine (very heavy ) transfert on all on the same side and you must hurry up to back on hard packed before it s too late.at the base of the hill ditch is deeper ,came close very often there. what happen ,when there s 3-4'+ there i can t see where is the edge of the trail ,so if one track is off the trail and there s already 3-4, of snow ,there s a little bit more off the trail.it does nt take much time to lose the rpm and the drag fill up very fast with snow .time to go back on the hard packed snow.sounds silly ,but it happen very fast.machine ''sink '' very fast.thats why i keep that place very wide,even if there s 3-4-5 ' on the trail ,at least i know there s hard packed snow under.drifts are great places to gain experience. pic 1 on post 13 ,before entering in the woods ,it s steep and it s about the width of the machine .the snow there , it s snow blew by the wind and the quality is very poor.95 % of the time going up there ,tracks spin all the time and can t use the drag to fix it well.i do it on the way back.downhill.probably the worst place to groom . all 3 pics on this post ,tq 5 ( map ) plain-rev/90' corner.plain-rev is the one with the blue coat. ps:never got stuck in drifts .3-4 times in 10 years .good average ,ha !! ha !! groomer !!!

tq5 again,. pic 1 : where i wrote ''snow bank and channel ''. roughly ,4 miles west of the st fidele cb. pic 2-3-4 : andyman's bld pic 5 : andyman/mubs ,about half a mile east of andyman's bld and 1 mile west of the ''drifts '' pic 6-7 :just before entering the field in ste marguerite with the 2 channels on the way back and right in the field. groomer !!!

tq 5 ,if look at the map again, where i wrote ''drifts ''.all pics at the same place. roughly mid way between ste marguerite and the st fidele cb. groomer !!!

if you look at my google map,trail for ''lac 8 milles.first 2 ,where i turn around at the lake . next 2 at ''the stump '' on the way back. groomer !!!

few pics from the lac saumon trail. pic 1: took the pic about 1 mile off the st alexandre trail.going up that field ,the last 400' can be hell to enter into the woods.very bad place and most of the time ,there s no traction there.snow blew by the wind is nt the best quality. pic 3 :lac saumon ,tq 5 is up the fields ,few miles i guess.albertville is on the left.never been there. pic 4 :about 1 mile before arriving at the road 132 .must do it right on the way down.nice drifts there sometimes.i ll be ''dead '' on the way up.ha !! ha !! never happened tho. pic 5 :on the way back from the lac saumon.st alexandre is about 1 mile on the left side of the clearcut and the trail is also about 1 mile higher than the clearcut.you can see the barn for the horses at the bottom of the fields. pic 6 :looking toward amqui ,at the intersection of amqui/st alexandre pic 7 :where i turn around in st alexandre , i go on ''main street '' and back on the trail.took the pic from the amqui side.st alexandre is a very small village . pic 8 :strange mooses on the lac saumon trail .ha !! ha !! groomer !!!

went off tq5 about 6 miles east of ste marguerite and used old roads, landed at the 16 miles on the truck logging road at 6 30 pm.rode on a few side roads to look for mooses ,then went up a mountain at 14 miles to take a few pics of the sunset.saw a moose there. groomer !!!

yesterday morning ,went to buy my ''circulation pass '' to ride on the z e c .so i talked with an elderly person there and he told me ,there was a cave at the st fidele cb.so today went to check the cave.nothing extraordinaire ,about 20 ' long and 3-4' high. its about 800 ' behind the warming shack on the cross point side.then decided to go to the st fidele clubhouse.have nt been there since 89-90 .the only thing i remembered was that 180 ' curve about 1.5 mile after the cb and the fields just before arriving at the clubhouse.i was sure the clubhouse was all orange. gt rider ,the pic with the 4w and the treestand ,same place i posted on the ''just for fun '' thread .few miles before arriving at the st fidele cb. instead of returning to ste marguerite ,took another road before arriving to the 90' curve and went riding further up.came back at 8 15 pm and 108 miles. groomer !!!

forgot , ''les marais '' (marsh) it s a pool on the causapscal river .they put a fence on the higher side of the pool to keep all the salmons in the same pool to avoid poaching up the river.on the lower side of the pool ,there s a fence too ,but with a ''gate ''.so each time a salmon enter the gate ,they count them.went there years back and there was up to 700 salmons. biggest one they have seen in the pool 62 or 65 pounds ...big fish!!! the falls are a few miles lower . groomer !!!

hi gt rider !! ha !! ha !! grooming sometimes 4-5 days in row, depending of the situation can be tough on me .since 2 years now ,instead of starting at the end of the day and come at 6-8 am ,i wake up between mid night and 5 am.personally i think it s better.less confused if i can say that. just checked ,lac saumon trail is not on the gaspesie map.from the st alexandre trail ,it s about 6 miles to go to the road 132 .once at the road 132 ,you must cross the lake to go back on tq 5 .but in the village of lac saumon ,i don t even know where the trail goes. i ll find pics and post them tomorrow . went to the st fidele clubhouse today ,after 20/21 years without going on the other side of the st fidele cb. groomer !!!

hi bob !! bienvenue !!! well , being a very shy person , i was feeling bad ,ha !! ha !!.honestly i took near 1 hr to write that post .i was taking ''breaks '' between sentences .even if my english is not perfect ,just wanted to make sure to have the right words as possible to write my post . hope i have the right words ,for me personnally and i say that to my friends here in town time to time .''those who are afraid to share and they keep all for themselve ,they must nt have much friends . never been afraid to share ,except for the wine !!! ha !! ha !!just joking . thanks again and bonjour to your dad. btw ,came back at 8 pm from an 100 miles ride with my 4 w.no mooses today.2 '' of fresh snow yesterday morning in ste marguerite. jean-guy

local trail for ste florence.this one start about 4 miles west of ste marguerite( tq5 ). about 2 hrs of grooming.i groom that one when i groom tq 5 .every 2-3 runs on tq 5 .very low traffic trail . before i forget ,guys from albertville groom toward amqui .i groomed that part of tq 5 5-6 times in 10 years.they groom from albertville toward the cb on matapedia river ,then we meet at the school bus.they turn around there + trail 587 . groomer !!!

local trail for ste marguerite,trail start at the ''zec office ''.groom that trail every 7-10 days ,depending of the weather and traffic. all 4 ,st alexandre,lac au saumon ,lac 8 milles and ste marguerite roughly 12 hrs. groomer !!!

on the first pic,trail for st alexandre is 2 miles on the left side of the zec office. btw , i took the road for the lake this afternoon riding my 4w. groomer !!!

from town toward st alexandre and lac au saumon !! groomer!!!

right on gt rider !! checked last night ,but no luck to find it .back then it was a relay and i can t tell you if they use it for for an atv club.atv club use tq 5 here at many places. here s tq 5 in town ,start from the cable bridge over the matapedia river ,then go all around town. west side of the cb over matapedia river ,guys from albertville groom it . groomer !!!