Brian,
I live in NC, my brother in SC. We used to live in North Bay, ON and picked up the bug there. We've flown either into Quebec City or into Burlington, VT. Last 2 years have been VT (much cheaper), but the 7 hour drive smokes a sled day so it's Quebec City this year. Last year we stayed at the HI and rented Yamis from BDL Sports Loisirs in Chicoutimi Nord. You all cover a lot more ground than we do and sounds like you've got it nailed. With what you've described we might in the future look at renting out of Quebec and saddlebag north and back - sounds like that would be a great run.
Thanks for the info!
Richard