SnomoGary

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We started taking pictures as we crossed the St Lawrence.  
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Monday first day of riding
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Hi Jack.. lying in bed at mo in Montreal 4am and wide awake lol...  flying to bagotville at 9am.. see you at the weekend .  Great reports as usual. Be safe G&P

We are heading back home to CT this morning.  Padragon and I rode the past two days in the Artic vortex.  Sandi stayed at the Universal.  I was wondering if we should have too.
Friday was a ride to Squatec.  We stayed on what was groomed as much as we could.  Trail 5, 565, 540 and 571 into Squatec.  This route is mostly in the woods but the fields were drifted and blowing snow pretty good.  Not many sleds out.  I wonder why?  🥶
We were too early for lunch so we had to stand on the porch for 10 minutes.  The shades were pulled down so we couldn't see in.  A few minutes before 11:00 am the door opens.  Boy does that heat feel good.
Planning our ride back, I was thinking about the way we came in and Padragon asked about trail 35?  I said it is over the mountain and a little further but shows groomed.  So we decide on 35.  I'm leading and about halfway up, I miss a right turn.  One of those spots where the "road" goes straight and you see the cut thru the trees but the trail goes to the right.  I ran past the turn by 20'.  A little tugging and pulling and the sled backs out.  Pay attention Jack.  Too cold to be making mistakes today.
Other than my little missed turn, it was a good choice.  It was cold at the top of the mountain but all wooded and the trail is like concrete.  With less wind than in the fields, it was good.  We turn right on 85 and cruise back to the Universal.  Not a long ride but we did ride.
Saturday it is warmer but not by much.  Padragon and I head out.  Again we look for the groomed trails. 
So 5 west to the little connector over to 526 and back to 85.  526 is a nice trail thru the woods.  If we time this right, we will be at Cabano around 11:00 for pizza.
85 going thru the construction is the worst of it today.  It is pretty open and the wind is blowing the snow around.  We take our time and make it thru.  Top the sleds off at the Shell station in Cabano and over to pizza.  Perfect, 11:00 am and the doors are unlocked.  We are the only ones here.  I thought there maybe a few locals coming in via car or truck but nope.  Just us two.
A couple of pepperoni pizzas and back on 85 north.  The wind has finally calmed down and it must be a balmy -20 C out here.  The sun is out and that makes it feel even warmer.  We turn left on 544.  This trail is perfect.  Not much traffic on it this year due to the logging going on local 40.  Saturday there are no logging trucks and the wind has blown in enough snow to cover up the sand on 40.  The last mile on 40 is old school rough.  This isn't getting groomed this season due to the logging.  We get to 526 and it is sweet looking.  We go straight on 526 to Explorer and then right on 561.  The trails are set up so good from the cold and no traffic makes it a perfect ride.  At trail 5 we turn right and finish the day into the Universal.
It was a cold two days but it is still snowmobiling in Quebec.  There is plenty of snow up here and the groomers are out every night.  After a late start with the snow in January, February should turn out to be a good month.  Pack up and head north.  The trails are waiting for you.
Jack & Sandi

Sandi and I are back at the Universal.  The ride to Moose Valley was my first trip.  240 miles and a very nice ride.  All but 10 miles was groomed the night before.  Like Mike said, low traffic during the week.
Yesterday we did a ride to Tourville.  Again, most of the trails were groomed the night before.  What wasn't groomed only had a day's worth of traffic.  Tourville had one room open.  Not packed like on a weekend.
Today should be a nice day of riding.  I'm waiting for the grooming map to be updated.  Tomorrow and Saturday are forecast to be cold days.  Those may end up being shorter rides.
Jack & Sandi

Past 10 days of riding the trails have been amazing. About a foot of snow since my arrival. Yesterday;s run to Moose Valley epic. Trails are very quiet weekdays.
Got to try Jack's new G5 850. I am love struck. Maybe G5 600R short track in my future.
Good to return to RDL after the Covid lockdown. 
mike
 
 

Hi Oilman glad you had a great day, it's good to hear trails are slowly coming together and yer midweek is a great time to ride in mount valin... we will be at the delta in 2 weeks time can't wait... be safe and enjoy...

here the ride we did Sunday January 29 under a temperature of -12C with snow

Left St-Thomas near Joliette around 9:00 AM to go have a lunch at the Lac Blanc outfitter near St-Alexis des Monts.
Despite the snow, the visibility in the distance was correct, we could easily see the stakes, but it was difficult to see the relief of the trail. Luckily,all trails had been freshly groomed and with the deep cold night the conditions were perfect.

As usual in these snow conditions, visibility was almost perfect in the woods

Since the snow had just started, we chose to do the most fields section in the morning before there were too many snow blades. Here on #3 in St-Cuthbert.

This weather reminded me of when I was a kid and the school closed due to snowstorm and i was spending the day at playing in the storm.

It ride extremely well, perfect trail. We went through the #63 and then took the #350 in the St-Paulin sector.

To note in this sector, the gas station in the village of St-Paulin is closed on Sundays.

The trail was nice and beautiful snowy scenery


We arrived early around 11:15 for lunch at the Auberge du Lac-Blanc

It was wise to arrive early, the service was fast and impeccable and it was more busy when we left an hour later.

Although we had to come back home early for a family dinner, since it was still early we were able to stretch the ride a bit by going north on the trail à Gaston (#350 northwest).

Again, very cold temperature helping, the trail was mint and the beautiful 3" layer of snow that gave a smooth ride in powder

The little 900 ace is a lot of fun to ride in these mint wooded trail conditions.

The snow cover is getting impressive in Lanaudière/Mauricie, in the good ones that we have had for several years

We quickly pass by  Koubec 

And went back down south via trail #345 which was perfect.

We went through the Mandeville sector

I was tempted to take the marked trail on Lake Maskinongé but with the snow and the wind my sweetheart was not very comfortable with my plan so we kept on the land trail

The trails were a bit more rough in  St-Gabriel sector but I was not surprised because I had read they had a major breakage on one of their 2 dozers at the end of the week and they only have one left to groom their entire territory.
We went back down to the St-Cuthbert sector where we resumed the morning trail path to return home. There were more snow blades in the fields but it was still riding well

We were quickly back home around 3:40 p.m. with 232kms of happiness on the meter
The season is now with outstanding conditions and we finally have some real cold to freeze the trails and make them more solid. I expect the few rivers that were not safe yet to be ok by the end of the week with the weather forecast ahead.
Gentlemen, start your engines and go!

We used to have colletts and were very happy with them and would have bought them again but it was time for new ones. After some research we decided to go with Cardo Packtalk Bolds.They are supposed to be weather proof. You can pair up to 15 riders via their DMS mesh technology and can also connect to other brands via bluetooth.We use the boom mic on our various modular helmets. Only used them for the first time 2 weekends ago. The range seems to be a little less than the colletts but each unit is supposed to act like a repeater and on motorcycles they claim 15 riders can be strung out up to 5 miles and the front can talk to the back as long as each rider is in range of the next one. The voice activation is great and the sound is crystal clear without having to raise your voice to activate them. The battery life seems to be around 7-8 hours which is about 3/4 of a day for us ( if we start out at 7:00 )compared to the colletts which would last all day, but on them, there was a battery pack that we kept warm in our bib pocket and it was large compared to the packtalk where the battery is in the headset itself and much much smaller and is out in the weather/wind on your helmet.  So I wouldn't expect it to last as long. If we give them a charge  at lunch or a clubhouse visit with a portable phone charger we should be good for the day. Will find out more this weekend.

Several years ago I was having a problem with a sled they let us use the garage that is part of the store so it could warm up 
GREAT PEOPLE.  the hospitality of the Quebec people keep me coming back!!!!

Very sad condolences to the family...😥😥

Don't wear out all of the snow.  Sandi and I are coming back up Sunday the 29th.
Jack & Sandi

I can still get fat with a 1 inch fork. Stupid entitled people will still do stupid shit with a 1.5 or 3 inch track. 20 years ago a 1.5 track was huge and you saw the same stuff from the same people.  Make BIG fines and make them stick. Put that out on the internet so these idiots know its real. We can take the pledge here, but we are not the people doing the damage.

Hi Mark,    It is so good to be back up here.  Wish you and Lisa were here also, you always bring good times to this special place.  Riding is fantastic. When I headed north Saturday I was unsure if I would land in northern Maine or RDL.
Today 5 of us made the loop over to Rimouski and then down around through Squatec and back.  Plenty of snow on this loop, trails mint except may a dozen mile section with some small bumps.  220 mile day. 
We ate at a Tim Horton's near Rimouski. I had forgotten how good the food is there and how reasonably priced.
Only saw one club house open today (3 Pistoles).  Someone told me there is a famous chef doing barbecue now at the RDL club house. Supposedly he won best in world barbecue sauce recently.
Some of us have rooms at the back side of the hotel. Exceptionally nice rooms and in our hallway is a day room we can use: very big screen TV, easy chairs etc.  Very cozy. And great for happy hour!
 Joe and I (me being almost 70 and Joe right behind me) were pretty proud we kept up with the young guys today.
My new PowerMadd Cobra windshield on the sled;  I couldn't be happier, very warm and much more stylish over the SkiDoo tall windshield.  Also added Shaper bars to the skis. Finally a Renegade that doesn't push in the corners when the snow is soft. Very happy!!!
mike
 
 
 
 

I take the pledge, never understood the off-trail riding looks like a lotta work and most smash up their sled.

Damn, wish Bill had let us know he was coming up, would have liked to see him.

The trails are as good as Jack and Sandi reported.  Good to be back in Quebec and enjoying all its culture.
I saw Saguenay Bill today at the club house with the two arches (Les Chevelliers). He looks great and still as sharp as a tack. He rode up from northern Maine, thru New Brunswick and into Quebec to have lunch. He has made a lot of friends in northern Maine and appears to be greatly enjoying life. 
mike
 

Well, we made it home.  No problems.  Vermont did get some snow while we were gone.  It was a sticky snow by the looks of the trees.
The Powerball hasn't been hit.  It is up to $500 million.  I got my ticket.  Maybe I'll take a limo to RDL next Sunday.  😁
Take care of the trails while we are gone and be safe everyone.
Jack & Sandi

Thanks Jack great reports as usual really enjoyed riding along with you and Sandi .... looking forward to seeing you both and Joe at the delta... two weeks and counting.. safe trip home
G&P

Thanks Jack great reports as usual really enjoyed riding along with you and Sandi .... looking forward to seeing you both and Joe at the delta... two weeks and counting.. safe trip home
G&P

Sandi and I take the pledge and also ride alcohol free during the ride.  We thank all of the landowners that have giving us permission to ride on their property.
Jack & Sandi

Everyone should be putting a gps tracking device on their sled.., actually should come from the factory with one….can’t wait to be present when a group of riders catches one of these guys

Hi Jack i have a feeling the Gutz boys are heading your way.... so be prepared for a few adventurers lol.....

I take the pledge and also the pledge to ride alcohol free. 

Hi Mike,
Non-snowmobilers I don't know. 
There were only three trailers in the lock up yesterday morning, a few in the lot behind the car dealership and a half a dozen scattered around the hotel.
We are seeing a few sleds on the trails but that is compared to only two sleds the first two days that Sandi and I rode.  I'm sure there will be more snowmobilers as word gets out and people start believing the groomer map.
The conditions are very good.  There are thin spots near the river but up in elevation there is plenty of snow.  The ride yesterday thu Squatec to Degelis was fine.  Like I said, 85 had a ripple to it in the afternoon but a couple of miles before Relais Aventuriers the groomer was heading out.
Jack & Sandi