smclelan

I think the TQ5 runs closer to the Autoroute 20.

Amqui. Select Matane. Quality Inn New Richmond. Francis Murdochville. Copper Mont SaInt Pierre. Motel MSP Chandler. Fraser Perce. Roland River Renaud. Caribou Carleton Blue The places I listed all have drive up rooms except for the Copper.

I left with Andyman and a couple other guys and headed west out of Chibougamau at -40° a few years ago. Sitting on a rail line for over two hours when it is groomed smooth has to be one of the coldest stretches in Quebec! No bumps, steering or fluctuations of throttle just make it colder.

They are in the middle of Butt F**k Nowhere! I don't believe they can get a large gas truck in to make the deliveries, so it has to come in a pickup with a rear tank. Likely they can only bring 200gal at a time, this means they likely have to make a couple trips per week. They charge more to cover these costs and to deter people from getting any more than necessary to get to a gas station. I will happily pay the $2.50 a liter if that is what keeps gas available on a very remote stretch of trail. I don't want to carry gas in extra saddle jugs on the sled. You have to pay for convienence. Boomerjericho this is not directed at you as a bash, just another viewpoint on $2.50 gas.

I knew when I was typing that someone would say something!!

I have a thick dickie from Choko. It is pulled down over top of the balaclava and across the shoulders. It seals very well around the collar of the jacket and the base of the helmet. It is very warm and I don't pull it on until it is -15 or colder. Seal out the wind, seal out the cold.

I was through there with a group week before last. No problem finding the trail there is lots of traffic. It wasn't groomed when we went through but had been. A nice trail, we stopped for lunch at the clubhouse in L Alverne.

Tough break! You can sled with a lot of ailments but a bad back isn't one of them.

Hold on tight between Godbout and Baie Comeau, that is an incredible section!

Keep going! "Life is and Adventure, Live the Adventure"!! When a person slows down and uses their GPS it is amazing how much information can off them to help when the trail is not apparent. Good Luck

Those are big duck hunting guns!! Looks like a nice area.

A very good route suggestion.

They have a screw that locks it in the mount, a person would have to take the unit, mount, and wiring harness. It also pops off easily if you don't lock it in and want to take it with you.

For the past several years I have used a Garmin 76 CSX for navigation assistance on my sled. It is a great unit and I told many people it was the greatest accessory I ever purchased for sledding. Andyman help me loading the maps and showed me a few trips in its use age. This year I purchased myself a Garmin 600 Montana for Christmas, I was a good boy!! The reason for ugrading was simply I wanted a bigger screen. The 600 Montana is to say the least a very good unit. The larger screen is substancially easier to see at speed and on rough trails day and night. The touch screen is very easy to use and it is user friendly. I have only had it out on one trip to this point but am very happy. The only negative point I could mention is that the screen is very sensitive. I did a couple of times bump the screen when getting ready to take off and the screen would freeze. Once noticed simply touch the back screen arrow and you are back on the move. One cool little feature is the icon on the map is a snowmobile. I strongly recommend a GPS to anyone that does any amount of sledding. I usually set mine with "track up" and have it showing about 800m ahead, certainly helps see sharp turns well before you come into them.

It was a spectacular clear day, I think I have only seen it that good one other time.

Good to see you were able to leave from home Andy. Say hello to Mugs. Have a great adventure.

It is a good idea to call for reservations, at the very least call around noon to confirm rooms are available. The weekends are extra important because of possible hockey tournaments. I have made likely close to 30 trips to the Gaspesie on snowmobile and 10-12 by car, had I landed and been told there were not rooms available I knew of likely 6 other options within 60 minutes. Reservations when you don't know the area is always best.

Myself and five other friends just returned from a quick loop of the Gaspesie. As usual the Gaspesie does not dissappoint! The plan was to drive up last Tuesday after work, however a sizeable storm was forecast for home Tuesday. On Monday morning I got a call from the rest of the group saying they were going to pull out Monday after work. This means packing at the last minute and things get forgotten, one of which was my camera. I get a couple pics from a buddy to do up this report, I may get some more later from some of the others. Day 1 We got up Tuesday morning early ready to head out with great expectations for high mileage. One of the guys pulled the zipper up on his jacket and it came off in his hand. This normally would be seen as a bad thing, however being the good friend I was and my friends best interest at heart I went to the front desk and got a repair kit. Red tuck tape in hand his jacket was pulled together and he was sealed up! What are friends for?!?! Once on the trail we headed up to meet Groomer for breakfast, apparently we were 21 minutes late according to him LOL. We had breakfast and headed to Amqui to the Ski Doo for Tuct Tape boy to buy a new jacket. Once everyone in the dealership stopped laughing at him they showed him the jackets they had available. There was nothing there he liked, so we headed to the dealership in Matane, at this point I knew this wasn't going to be a high mileage day. Everyone at the Matane dealership laughed at him when he walked in there too. He found a jacket he liked but by the time it was all said and done we headed to the Quality Inn for the evening. This would now be known as the Ski Doo dealership tour! Trails were very good, a little less snow than usual but still great conditions. Day 2 Plans were to get an early start, head East and get some miles on. We got on the trail with plans of stopping at the Relais St Paulin for breakfast.......St Paulin does not serve breakfast anymore.. We stopped at the Cap Chat club for breakfast. Up till there great conditions, a little thin getting out of Matane in the fields but this is not unusual. Once past the Cap Chat club you start gaining altitude and snow depth kept growing it was perfect. We drove to to Mont Saint Pierre for the evening, a good day. Day 3 Beautiful sunny day! Left MSP and headed to Murdochville for breakfast, lots of snow. We then took the trail toward La Cache, the groomer left about an hour a head of us out of Murdochville. The trail was great except for a short section where they were logging, the impact of this was lessoned by about 4" of fresh snow that fell the night before. We stopped at the top of My Lyall for pictures, it was so clear I think I could see Saguenay Bill on Mt Valin in the distance. It was unbelieveable being so clear and only -10, awesome We continued to La Cache, up the 595 to St Paulin then back tracked to Relais Chic Chocs for the night. We pulled in without any reservations, they hummed and haaed saying they didnt know if they had any rooms, they somehow found some. There were only two other sledders in the main building besides us!! What a great evening, two of the guys in the group were giutar players, they grabbed the guitars from the stage and jammed and sang for the evening. I wore my good slippers down to the bar, the boys seem to think they looked funny. Day 4 Left Relais Chic Chocs after a great breakfast and pointed back to Matane, took the 591 toward Amqui and stayed at the Select for the evening. Trails were very good and very lttle traffic, local or tourists. A good day but very uneventful. A great evening at the Select, unfortueately the hot tub was out of service. Day 5 This was going to be a short day back to the truck. We left Amqui early, had breakfast at Groomers club. From there we traveled the 587 through Matepedia. This is a great trail that doesnt get a lot of mention, dont miss it if you have the opportunity to ride it. We landed back at the trucks in Point a la Croix late afternoon and spent the eveing in the newly opened bar, which is owned by the same people as the Select in Amqui. As I said early on without my own camera I didnt get many pictures but it was a great trip. The Gaspesie is open for business and will NOT dissapoint!

Haha. I was thinking it was an alcohol generated post.

Mike are you in the hot tub with a hockey mom and a glass of rouge yet?? Six of us are heading to the Gaspesie on Wednesday for a loop. There is lots of snow on the north shore of the Gaspesie and snow in the forecast.

Amazing job Tom, What a great loop to do in one week! Great details and the pictures are awesome. The whole area west of Lac St Jean are the best in all of Quebec rivaled only by the Gaspesie. Andyman taught me quickly years ago the best place to stay on these adventures is at the Outfitters. I see you embrace the same belief. Great Report Tom, thanks for taking the time to share with us.

Always nice when a business shows you they appriecate your business. Better to spend the evening in the hot tub rather then the sled garage!!

Mike, just because you are considered a legend at the Universal doesn't make you old.......well on second thought, maybe it does! LOL. Keep up the great updates. Hope we get a chance to cross paths again this winter.

Is that the spillway going away from the dam?

Yes compared to last winter!