towing

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

I put together this musical ride video from last sunday Joliette/Taureau reservoir loop ride. It was pretty much a copy/paste as for snow levels but had the chance to get a cold winter day that we enjoyed very much.
 
Here a list of relays that have ended their season in St-Zenon/St-Michel area on last monday march 20, 2023
Auberge la Glacière (gaz open)
Pourvoirie la Barriere
Domaine Bazinet
Repos (gaz open)
Kanawata (gaz open)
 
Those other one below are still opened:
 
Auberge le Cabanon
Pourvoirie du lac blanc
Koubec
And all St-Michel village restaurant
 

Like they used to say on MTV Cribs: "THIS is where the magic happens!"...
 

Riddle me this Batman: What do old lake-house-folgies do when the AARP junk-mailers start arriving?... We're saying b'bye to the 21' Yammi & ordered a kush Harris Solstice triple-pontooner of course! 
And life got in the way & squished QR'ing this season, so part of the off-season(s) will be be easier to tolerate by casting these on the big-screen & cranking the soundbar for the vids (thanks again Kri & Alain)!...
 
 
Looking forward!
 

Here is the ride we did on sunday March 12th

it's one of my classics ride but I admit that this season with the St-Maurice river closed and the detour in the Mauricie wildlife reserve on the #360 it added some body work to an already big day ride.
We left at 8:30 towards St-Zénon. The trails near my home were just groomed but very hard in the morning, scratcher mandatory!

There is still a lot of snow even in the south of the area. I had put on the roller skis to do 2 shorts side of the road sections but no mud to start the day. Here in the maple grove in St-Norbert

For the rest, no roadside or marginal section to go north. Here's a guy who holds his right to cross!!!

Beautiful trails going up to St-Zenon.

We fuel up at the Cabanon before continuing towards the Taureau dam on perfect grooming


We went through the dam. The reservoir level is already very low.

And started the #360 to the east. It was not freshly groomed but still nice and fast

Riding the #360 in these conditions on a blue bird day like this is near the peak of snowmobiling happiness!!!


We took a first real break at stop #440, our usual spot

The 2 picnic tables... there's still snow there!

The 2nd part of #360 to Mattawin had been groomed overnight and was perfect

The beautiful Mattawin River

We finally arrived for dinner at Marineau at 1:30 p.m. with 245 km on the meter. The lunch rush hour was already passed but despite this superb day and conditions there are already fewer sledders on the trail.

We took a good lunch break (still so well received by Marie-Josée at Marineau) refueled and continued on the #360 which was perfectly groomed

Past the #355 junction, the #360 to the south had not been groomed recently and was less good. Near St-Joseph de Mékinac village on a plowed road section the groomer will really have to built us a little sidewalk on the side of the snow bank soon, there is way enough snow for the groomer to do that.

To the south of the village there is another short short plowed road section and then it becomes quite nice

On the #23 to the south the rivière des envies is holding up and was solid but this one is always to be watched at spring 
It's not the snow that is missing there!

The St-Maurice was still solid, no slush

We then took back #3, a little bumpy but still going fast. There is a short section of plowed road in the power lines which would also require a small sidewalk to not play in the mud!
Otherwise it was riding fine

We crossed the St-Maurice at the Gabelle and it was still very good

We fueled up one last time and took a little break in St-Étienne before continuing on #3 trail. A little bumpy at first in the woods but nice and fast in the fields.

The whole rest of the trip was nice with a good snow cover

We finally got home around 7:45 p.m. with 475 km on the meter, very satisfied with our ride but haven't took long to fall asleep that night!
Despite the impressive snow cover, the season is already well advanced. Some outfitters in the north, such as Repos and Kanawata have announced that they will close after this next weekend which is quite usual for them. Some others continue to operate until the trails close...
There is still great snowmobiling to do, it's often the best conditions of the year so enjoy these last weeks of sledding
Alain

Nice report Alain! 
I arrived on Sunday and had a very good week. Unfortunately the sun and daylight hours are quickly taking over the road crossings, definitely  need wheels. Still a huge amount of snow left, and grooming continues. 
 
Snappy Hank

Beautiful ride & reporting Alain!

Alain, thank you for the ride.
You two covered some ground on your two-up!

Another fantastic report, thanks Alain!
 

Here is the ride we did on sunday March 12th

it's one of my classics ride but I admit that this season with the St-Maurice river closed and the detour in the Mauricie wildlife reserve on the #360 it added some body work to an already big day ride.
We left at 8:30 towards St-Zénon. The trails near my home were just groomed but very hard in the morning, scratcher mandatory!

There is still a lot of snow even in the south of the area. I had put on the roller skis to do 2 shorts side of the road sections but no mud to start the day. Here in the maple grove in St-Norbert

For the rest, no roadside or marginal section to go north. Here's a guy who holds his right to cross!!!

Beautiful trails going up to St-Zenon.

We fuel up at the Cabanon before continuing towards the Taureau dam on perfect grooming


We went through the dam. The reservoir level is already very low.

And started the #360 to the east. It was not freshly groomed but still nice and fast

Riding the #360 in these conditions on a blue bird day like this is near the peak of snowmobiling happiness!!!


We took a first real break at stop #440, our usual spot

The 2 picnic tables... there's still snow there!

The 2nd part of #360 to Mattawin had been groomed overnight and was perfect

The beautiful Mattawin River

We finally arrived for dinner at Marineau at 1:30 p.m. with 245 km on the meter. The lunch rush hour was already passed but despite this superb day and conditions there are already fewer sledders on the trail.

We took a good lunch break (still so well received by Marie-Josée at Marineau) refueled and continued on the #360 which was perfectly groomed

Past the #355 junction, the #360 to the south had not been groomed recently and was less good. Near St-Joseph de Mékinac village on a plowed road section the groomer will really have to built us a little sidewalk on the side of the snow bank soon, there is way enough snow for the groomer to do that.

To the south of the village there is another short short plowed road section and then it becomes quite nice

On the #23 to the south the rivière des envies is holding up and was solid but this one is always to be watched at spring 
It's not the snow that is missing there!

The St-Maurice was still solid, no slush

We then took back #3, a little bumpy but still going fast. There is a short section of plowed road in the power lines which would also require a small sidewalk to not play in the mud!
Otherwise it was riding fine

We crossed the St-Maurice at the Gabelle and it was still very good

We fueled up one last time and took a little break in St-Étienne before continuing on #3 trail. A little bumpy at first in the woods but nice and fast in the fields.

The whole rest of the trip was nice with a good snow cover

We finally got home around 7:45 p.m. with 475 km on the meter, very satisfied with our ride but haven't took long to fall asleep that night!
Despite the impressive snow cover, the season is already well advanced. Some outfitters in the north, such as Repos and Kanawata have announced that they will close after this next weekend which is quite usual for them. Some others continue to operate until the trails close...
There is still great snowmobiling to do, it's often the best conditions of the year so enjoy these last weeks of sledding
Alain

Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!
Alain & Kri, your reports keep any of us who aren't up there at least partially sane!
BIG merci!
 

For REALLY-REAL!
Thank you thank you!
Excellent armchair-therapy!
 

Thank you very much for your good words guys. The last weeks have been very busy on my side and I have been less present on here and still have many good reading in backlog from many of you ahead! 
I had to admit even with my experience and skills it is still complicated to capture video. Even externally powered the gopro is not reliable, neither the remote control and I don't talk about fogging issues when snowing or getting some dirt in the lens that I haven't seen that ruin hours of video shots... but when it work, results are outstanding!!!
this year the ice was not a big challenge with the so mild season we have( the south half of the St-Lawrence river was at clear water!) but with the infamous ferry we have there is always a doubt! We had plan the whole trip 2 days before leaving and were reserving hotel just one day in advance. We were mentally ready to change our plans accordingly if the ferry would have been last minute closed... so many great trail option in Quebec!

Day#4: Matane/Forestville
A day that started early to be on the wharf around 7:15 a.m. for boarding the 8:00 a.m. ferry to Baie-Comeau

Once boarding done we go upstairs in the passenger section for a 2.5 hours to relax. We had plenty of time to visit this infamous boat which has caused so much talk for the wrong reasons, but in our case everything went well.

It is therefore a little before 11:00 am that we begin our snowmobile ride on the north side of the St-Lawrence river.

and we went west on #3 trail

The Manicouagan River footbridge is very impressive

Very high in the air, it offers us a very nice view of the surroundings (to be seen in the video)

We stopped at Chute-aux-Outardes for lunch and then continued on #3 trail, which we kept for the rest of the day. Being a mountains, lakes and rivers lover, I really like the north coast.


The famous section of #3 trail in the Pessamit sector which was closed for almost 2 seasons is now reopened and apart from a few 50km/h signs we barely recognized it and realized that we had already passed when we arrived at the Betsiamites river bridge

We continued to Forestville where we arrived around 4:00 p.m. with 181 km on the clock to spend the night at the EconoLodge
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this fourth day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
 
Day#5: Forestville/La Malbaie
We start our ride at 8:00 on the trail from the Econo Lodge in Forestville because we had a good day ahead with a gray weather and a little snow.

Beautiful mountainous and wooded sections on trail #3

We decided to not going down south to les escoumins to keep the day's milage reasonable and cut through by the local trail bypass

Approaching Tadoussac

We ate there before taking the ferry of the Saguenay River.

Here, leaving Baie Ste-Catherine

It was more snowy in the afternoon but it was riding well

We took trail #378 which goes further north instead of keeping trail #3 which went down along the river. The route is beautiful but it was more bumpy on the 2nd half, we regretted it a bit.
Arrived at the petit Manoir du Casino around 4:30 p.m. with 290 km on the dream meter

The services on site are very good and the 2 spa areas, especially the Spa O'Quartz with its tropical decor and its many pools and waterfalls, is an exceptional place to relax after a good day on the snowmobile.
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this 5e day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
 
Day#6: La Malbaie/Quebec
An outstanding sunny day awaited us for the last day of our trip, seen from the hotel on our way to breakfast...

We stayed closer to the St-Lawrence river to continue west taking the locals and trail #378


Here's the view at Baie-St-Paul

We took #3 trail further west. The trails were all very nice.

We took a lunch break at the Relais Ste-Anne, happy to see that it survived the covid's time well.

We resumed after lunch for the last segment, still on trail #3 west

Here crossing the Montmorency River on the west side  of Quebec city

As we expected a little, the trails were more bumpy when crossing Quebec city, especially west of this small bridge (St-Charles River I believe) where my wife seriously think of just walking through it !

But it got back to normal maybe a 12km further just after Val Bélair and we quickly returned to our starting point a little after 3:00 p.m. with a little less than 220 km for the day.

We were impressed to see the foot of snow accumulated on our van and trailer and had a good snow removal job to do, but despite the 2 hour drive to do, we came back home for dinner very happy with our trip and to relax in our stuff.
So an another very nice trip for us without problems which filled our heads with beautiful memories that I try to keep even more present with the help of my videos that I put together for each day.
Here's the last one, Day#6 La Malbaie-Quebec which is very nice with the beautiful sun we had. Set sound and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Alain
 

Here is my snowmobile holiday week February 26 to March 3, 2023  detailed report in pics and video
With several possible options, it is finally this route that Snowcruiser, Kristine and I have chosen for our 2023 snowmobile trip. A trip that we had already done in the opposite direction several years ago and that we shortened a bit starting from Quebec instead of Trois-Rivières which gave more reasonable daily miles.

A total of nearly 1500kms in 6 days starting near Quebec to follow St-Lawrence river south side to Matane and cross at Baie-Comeau to return along on the north side.
DAY#1: Quebec/Tourville
Our trip began Sunday, February 26 in the morning in a somewhat unusual way: we unloaded the sleds from the trailer at the motel Colibri in St-Augustin to load them back directly in the trailer of the official Quebec/Levis snowmobile shuttle which took us to the courtyard of the Hotel Normandin in Levis where the real snowmobile ride began.

The gray sky at start gave way to some sunshine and the cold temperature gave optimal conditions to enjoy some wide trails on the south shore of St-Lawrence river


We had dinner in St-Lazare and then made a loop in the Massif du Sud area


We then came back on fast #35 trail

And end our day ride in Tourville with just over 270kms. We slept at the Maison du Voyageur.

This accommodation was the best value for money of the trip. It's an old village bank building converted into a multi-bedroom apartment with full bathroom and common living room/kitchen area + large locked garage for snowmobiles at $99/night, unbeatable in 2023! Our large 2-beds room was as beautiful and equipped as those of the big hotels we rented the other days (better than some)
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
 
DAY#2: Tourville-Rimouski
We continued south on fast #35 trail . I did not remember we had that long of linear trail, we did clocking many miles fast!

Here's a pic at the club house of Les Explorateurs de Pohénégamook snowmobile club

We dropped the #35 just at the tip of Pohénégamook Lake that we only photographed

We took trail #544on opposite direction which turned out to be near as fast but should be avoided in real spring conditions because there are nearly 15 km of snow plowed trail. In our case, the road base was hard snow covered by just enough snow lube in order to be perfect and very fast.
We then continued with #571 trail to join #3 trail and stop for lunch at Club motoneige l'Étang du Moulin clubhouse

We finally ate outside because they are closed on Monday's!
We continued #5 trail to Rimouski and got there early but just getting around the city and getting to the Rimouski Hotel along St-Lawrence river is quite long and filled this end of the day which ended around 3:30 pm with around 295kms. We choose this hotel because they have a SPA/swimming pool, which is much appreciated by the lady of the group after a good sledding day.

I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this second day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
Day #3: Rimouski/Matane + detour from Montagne St-Pierre
The Rimouski/Matane ride being relatively short, it gave us the possibility of stretching the ride south which we did towards La Rédemption

We have been to Montagne St-Pierre several times, but not often on a clear day and we were served quite well this time!


We took the opportunity to go to Val d'Irene hoping to eat there but the ski resort was closed that day

We then continued and had dinner at Jojo's restaurant in Amqui. It's always a bit weird with the #5 trail east/west there because it's near the spot where it loop back on itself. So we took the #5 east (which goes north!) along Lac Matapédia to join the #591 and then the #5 east (which really goes east!)

And reached Matane where we ended the day at the Quality Inn with around 235kms near the ferry dock that we had to take at 8:00 the next morning to reach Baie-Comeau.
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this third day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
To be continued soon...

Here is the ride we did on sunday March 12th

it's one of my classics ride but I admit that this season with the St-Maurice river closed and the detour in the Mauricie wildlife reserve on the #360 it added some body work to an already big day ride.
We left at 8:30 towards St-Zénon. The trails near my home were just groomed but very hard in the morning, scratcher mandatory!

There is still a lot of snow even in the south of the area. I had put on the roller skis to do 2 shorts side of the road sections but no mud to start the day. Here in the maple grove in St-Norbert

For the rest, no roadside or marginal section to go north. Here's a guy who holds his right to cross!!!

Beautiful trails going up to St-Zenon.

We fuel up at the Cabanon before continuing towards the Taureau dam on perfect grooming


We went through the dam. The reservoir level is already very low.

And started the #360 to the east. It was not freshly groomed but still nice and fast

Riding the #360 in these conditions on a blue bird day like this is near the peak of snowmobiling happiness!!!


We took a first real break at stop #440, our usual spot

The 2 picnic tables... there's still snow there!

The 2nd part of #360 to Mattawin had been groomed overnight and was perfect

The beautiful Mattawin River

We finally arrived for dinner at Marineau at 1:30 p.m. with 245 km on the meter. The lunch rush hour was already passed but despite this superb day and conditions there are already fewer sledders on the trail.

We took a good lunch break (still so well received by Marie-Josée at Marineau) refueled and continued on the #360 which was perfectly groomed

Past the #355 junction, the #360 to the south had not been groomed recently and was less good. Near St-Joseph de Mékinac village on a plowed road section the groomer will really have to built us a little sidewalk on the side of the snow bank soon, there is way enough snow for the groomer to do that.

To the south of the village there is another short short plowed road section and then it becomes quite nice

On the #23 to the south the rivière des envies is holding up and was solid but this one is always to be watched at spring 
It's not the snow that is missing there!

The St-Maurice was still solid, no slush

We then took back #3, a little bumpy but still going fast. There is a short section of plowed road in the power lines which would also require a small sidewalk to not play in the mud!
Otherwise it was riding fine

We crossed the St-Maurice at the Gabelle and it was still very good

We fueled up one last time and took a little break in St-Étienne before continuing on #3 trail. A little bumpy at first in the woods but nice and fast in the fields.

The whole rest of the trip was nice with a good snow cover

We finally got home around 7:45 p.m. with 475 km on the meter, very satisfied with our ride but haven't took long to fall asleep that night!
Despite the impressive snow cover, the season is already well advanced. Some outfitters in the north, such as Repos and Kanawata have announced that they will close after this next weekend which is quite usual for them. Some others continue to operate until the trails close...
There is still great snowmobiling to do, it's often the best conditions of the year so enjoy these last weeks of sledding
Alain

Here is the ride we did on sunday March 12th

it's one of my classics ride but I admit that this season with the St-Maurice river closed and the detour in the Mauricie wildlife reserve on the #360 it added some body work to an already big day ride.
We left at 8:30 towards St-Zénon. The trails near my home were just groomed but very hard in the morning, scratcher mandatory!

There is still a lot of snow even in the south of the area. I had put on the roller skis to do 2 shorts side of the road sections but no mud to start the day. Here in the maple grove in St-Norbert

For the rest, no roadside or marginal section to go north. Here's a guy who holds his right to cross!!!

Beautiful trails going up to St-Zenon.

We fuel up at the Cabanon before continuing towards the Taureau dam on perfect grooming


We went through the dam. The reservoir level is already very low.

And started the #360 to the east. It was not freshly groomed but still nice and fast

Riding the #360 in these conditions on a blue bird day like this is near the peak of snowmobiling happiness!!!


We took a first real break at stop #440, our usual spot

The 2 picnic tables... there's still snow there!

The 2nd part of #360 to Mattawin had been groomed overnight and was perfect

The beautiful Mattawin River

We finally arrived for dinner at Marineau at 1:30 p.m. with 245 km on the meter. The lunch rush hour was already passed but despite this superb day and conditions there are already fewer sledders on the trail.

We took a good lunch break (still so well received by Marie-Josée at Marineau) refueled and continued on the #360 which was perfectly groomed

Past the #355 junction, the #360 to the south had not been groomed recently and was less good. Near St-Joseph de Mékinac village on a plowed road section the groomer will really have to built us a little sidewalk on the side of the snow bank soon, there is way enough snow for the groomer to do that.

To the south of the village there is another short short plowed road section and then it becomes quite nice

On the #23 to the south the rivière des envies is holding up and was solid but this one is always to be watched at spring 
It's not the snow that is missing there!

The St-Maurice was still solid, no slush

We then took back #3, a little bumpy but still going fast. There is a short section of plowed road in the power lines which would also require a small sidewalk to not play in the mud!
Otherwise it was riding fine

We crossed the St-Maurice at the Gabelle and it was still very good

We fueled up one last time and took a little break in St-Étienne before continuing on #3 trail. A little bumpy at first in the woods but nice and fast in the fields.

The whole rest of the trip was nice with a good snow cover

We finally got home around 7:45 p.m. with 475 km on the meter, very satisfied with our ride but haven't took long to fall asleep that night!
Despite the impressive snow cover, the season is already well advanced. Some outfitters in the north, such as Repos and Kanawata have announced that they will close after this next weekend which is quite usual for them. Some others continue to operate until the trails close...
There is still great snowmobiling to do, it's often the best conditions of the year so enjoy these last weeks of sledding
Alain

Here is the ride we did on sunday March 12th

it's one of my classics ride but I admit that this season with the St-Maurice river closed and the detour in the Mauricie wildlife reserve on the #360 it added some body work to an already big day ride.
We left at 8:30 towards St-Zénon. The trails near my home were just groomed but very hard in the morning, scratcher mandatory!

There is still a lot of snow even in the south of the area. I had put on the roller skis to do 2 shorts side of the road sections but no mud to start the day. Here in the maple grove in St-Norbert

For the rest, no roadside or marginal section to go north. Here's a guy who holds his right to cross!!!

Beautiful trails going up to St-Zenon.

We fuel up at the Cabanon before continuing towards the Taureau dam on perfect grooming


We went through the dam. The reservoir level is already very low.

And started the #360 to the east. It was not freshly groomed but still nice and fast

Riding the #360 in these conditions on a blue bird day like this is near the peak of snowmobiling happiness!!!


We took a first real break at stop #440, our usual spot

The 2 picnic tables... there's still snow there!

The 2nd part of #360 to Mattawin had been groomed overnight and was perfect

The beautiful Mattawin River

We finally arrived for dinner at Marineau at 1:30 p.m. with 245 km on the meter. The lunch rush hour was already passed but despite this superb day and conditions there are already fewer sledders on the trail.

We took a good lunch break (still so well received by Marie-Josée at Marineau) refueled and continued on the #360 which was perfectly groomed

Past the #355 junction, the #360 to the south had not been groomed recently and was less good. Near St-Joseph de Mékinac village on a plowed road section the groomer will really have to built us a little sidewalk on the side of the snow bank soon, there is way enough snow for the groomer to do that.

To the south of the village there is another short short plowed road section and then it becomes quite nice

On the #23 to the south the rivière des envies is holding up and was solid but this one is always to be watched at spring 
It's not the snow that is missing there!

The St-Maurice was still solid, no slush

We then took back #3, a little bumpy but still going fast. There is a short section of plowed road in the power lines which would also require a small sidewalk to not play in the mud!
Otherwise it was riding fine

We crossed the St-Maurice at the Gabelle and it was still very good

We fueled up one last time and took a little break in St-Étienne before continuing on #3 trail. A little bumpy at first in the woods but nice and fast in the fields.

The whole rest of the trip was nice with a good snow cover

We finally got home around 7:45 p.m. with 475 km on the meter, very satisfied with our ride but haven't took long to fall asleep that night!
Despite the impressive snow cover, the season is already well advanced. Some outfitters in the north, such as Repos and Kanawata have announced that they will close after this next weekend which is quite usual for them. Some others continue to operate until the trails close...
There is still great snowmobiling to do, it's often the best conditions of the year so enjoy these last weeks of sledding
Alain