Fuse6

We did 1,800 km Cote Nord trip starting in Les Escoumins out to Sept-iles at the end of February. Spend 2 nights at the Econolodge in Forestville. Allows us to spend a day riding all the orange trail loops north of Forestville. Beautiful scenic ride, felt like parts of the Gaspe without the water. The warming hut up there is the nicest one we ever came across.. The day we spend there trails we’re perfect, not a single bump. We also rode the big loop orange trails north of Baie Comeau. This is also a beautiful scenic ride. The 2 loops north of Forestville and Baie Comeau were the best parts of the trip.

Left Baie Comeau last Tuesday , trails were good then except the local trail from 3 to the ferry and LeManoir was getting thin. After heat there tomorrow l can see why it is red now. We departed for home from Les Escoumins Saturday morning. Lots of base left in the Les Escoumins- Forestville area up to KM31. Rained in that area Wednesday night then flash froze hard Thursday and Friday. Pizza delivery guy could have delivered anywhere in the Cote Nord, Mont Valin area. If the Les Escoumins to Baie Comeau area get the 15 cm of snow forecasted for this coming Sunday and then temps -5 at night next week that area should be golden again. lf weather forecast doesn’t change we are heading back to Les Escoumins on Saturday. lf your flexible waiting until next week looks the best.

We’ve done the Cote Nord this week leaving Hotel Pelchat in Les Escoumins Sunday morning. Baie Comeau Sunday night, Sept-iles Monday night , back to Baie Comeau Tuesday night. Trails have been excellent for the most part. Godbout to Sept-iles going out and then back the next day we’re a F1 slot car course. Groomed both directions and almost zero traffic. Days you dream of for riding conditions. Sunday night we were the only sledder group at La Manoir in BC, Tuesday night few more sledders. We did the big loop north of BC both days and it was excellent for snow cover and grooming. Arrived in Forestville for Wednesday night. Very light rain Wednesday during the day, almost unmeasurable. During the night it rained more. Today Thursday morning it was cold and trails were hard as rock. We did the 200 km loop north of Forestville. More snow north of Forestville than anywhere else have seen. 8 sleds in our group, 5 with scratchers, 3 without. No problem running with scratchers, guys without had some cooling issues. One bush fix got a 1200 back to the hotel. The loop north of Forestville is a real gem, scenic. Was concerned because grooming map showed not groomed for several days. So little traffic run up there conditions were perfect, not a bump. Seems like half million people in Mont Valin and very few doing Cote Nord. This trip from Feb. 25 until tomorrow finishing up back in Les Escoumins has been a 9/10 for conditions.

LaCache is the green dot. Pink trail is the closed trail, doesn’t show up on the iMotoneige anymore.

Great report and pictures. We are leaving Saturday to do the Cote Nord next week starting from Les Escoins. Wheres the best place gas station between Baie Comeau and Sept iles?

Yes it was red last night , green this morning. Hopefully they received a bit of snow

Friend been in Gaspe past 5 days. Lots of really poor conditions now. Between Rimouski and Mont Joli trails are closed. We were booked to start our Gaspe trip this coming Saturday. I was talking to Motel Mont Joli, Auberge Caribou and LaCache today to cancel our reservation. I was apologizing for having to cancel and they all said poor conditions not worth coming. Trail even turned yellow in Murdochville today. Hard to believe that on Feb.13th. Have to call Jack tomorrow at the Copper to cancel, not looking forward to that call. Feel bad for all these businesses that are suffering from lack of snow. We are booked for a New Brunswick loop Feb 24th to March 2. That looks doubtful also.

If you have to take the ferry twice that sure burns up a lot of time. Know a few people that have been to Mont Valin recently. Reports are lots of snow and lots of people. They can’t keep up with the grooming for the amount of traffic that is there. Half of Ontario is going to Mont Valin because of no snow in Ontario. How many days of riding you plan? Between RDL and spend a couple days in Northern New Brunswick could make a great trip.

Thanks for the update Andy. Just the past couple days starting to see some Gaspe pics and reports and things look positive. Does that reroute take you up Mont Lyall?

In Baie Comeau the Hotel Le Manoir is way better place than the Travel Lodge. We also stayed at the Comfort Inn in Sept- lies. There is a Quality Inn there also but you have to cross over busy 4 lane highway to get to it. Also hear some people stay at the Hotel Le Voyageur in Sept -iles

118 miles total 88 miles QC 30 miles NB trails

This is the Cote Nord. Is this the area you plan to ride? How many days will ypu be riding?

Had to Google that. First Nations Expedition partners with Airmedic in the second year Friday, January 26, 2024 Favorite photo credit by Airmedic After the major victory of the 1st edition of the First Nations Expedition, 60 indigenous and non-indigenous snowmobilers will hit the trails once again under reconciliation theme. The First Nations Expedition, for a second successive year, can count on Airmedic to be the prime event partner and guarantee about the safety of all participants. Besides being motivated by ideologies of reconciliation, Airmedic shares the four great standards in terms of respect, fraternity, courage and solidarity for which the 60 snowmobilers will push their bounds in strong climatic conditions says the Chief Executive Officer of Airmedic, Sophie Larochelle. Keeping in mind that 65% of their operations in Quebec cater to members of the First Nations, it’s at the heart of their principal values to fund the Expedition, she adds. The 2nd edition of the First Nations Expedition from January 27th to February 10th 2024, will experience 60 snowmobilers traverse 3,250 kilometers, taking a break in 16 towns and communities. Following the participants from Pessamit to Wendake, a helicopter organized exclusively for medical transport, like a flight paramedic and a nurse will be all prepared for an emergency evacuation in the event, day or night. It is crucial for them to have Airmedic by their side. Share On: FacebookXLinkedInWhatsAppEmailTelegramRedditPinterestPrintLineCopy LinkSnapchatShare Subscribe to our Newsletters

Doing a great job gathering and sharing intel Iceman. Big help for the rest of us early in the season. Thanks.

Not sure if they have official hours, they are a fair size towing company so imagine they are use to 24/7. The 4 times we have used them was always 8:00 in the morning. Depending on how many in your group if they have 4 sleds either on the tilt bed or the big trailer they are making $200 in 45 minutes so l imagine they are fairly accommodating. Drivers and dispatch we dealt with spoke good English. There is a time zone difference between NB and QC. NB is Atlantic time, QC is Eastern Standard time. NB 8:00 AM would be 7:00 AM Quebec. The Interprovincial Hotel has a good restaurant that’s open 7 days a week. The past two years the restaurant at the Quality Inn in Campelton wasn’t open on Sunday nights. That’s another thing to check when booking rooms, website may say has a restaurant but with the staff shortage some aren’t open 7 days a week, especially early in the week.