P Hardy

We took the risk of leaving directly from the home in St-Thomas and passing through Berthier to go up to St-Zénon and have dinner at Réal Massé

If I had to quickly summarize the report: don't do like us and stay no further south than St-Gabriel de Brandon and go north. We wanted to take advantage one last time of the privilege we have of leaving directly from the home without touching the trailer and we managed to do so but the southern part of St-Gabriel is too lacking in snow... I gave a good beat to my snowtrackers!
From St-Thomas we joined trail #3 to go towards Berthier. Surprisingly, apart from the surroundings of the gas station in the village, the fields were still very beautiful. Here along the railway line.  Scratchers mandatory very hard/icy base

There was a lack of snow in a few inside curves but overall very good

Things got bad when we arrived at the airfield in St-Cuthbert, there was quite a long way to go on a plowed path now on dirt/gravel and it wasn't nice in the wooded area that followed or near the Valrémi sugar shack
We gave a try on the #3 towards St-Barthelemy...It was worse too much south and we had to turn around we lost the trail at some points

We headed towards St-Gabriel de Brandon, the wooded sections are good

But in the fields the trail path is hard to miss 🙄, it has melted too much. There is quite a long stretch like that

Past St-Gabriel de Brandon going north was the way to go, the conditions there are fine and keep going better toward north
We had a checkpoint just north of the village of St-Gabriel, the guys were nice no problem.

And we went up the #23 north which still has good snow cover

I was unsure about a short plowed section but it's still very good and was ok

We got a few bumps from traffic but the snow is still very good in that area

We had a late start around 9:30 and time was passing quickly so we took the #350 south

And we had dinner at Réal Massé. It's been a long time since we've been there and their meals are still delicious and the atmosphere really nice. They are open from Thursday noon to Sunday afternoon.

From there we decided to continue #350 and loop around via #63 towards Ste-Émélie de l'Énergie. Here direction the Glacière


Past La Glacière on #63 heading south it was still very beautiful with good snow cover


Here passing by the La Barrière outfitter


We passed through Domaine Bazinet and continued south

The big hills near Ste-Émélie de l’Énergie are still in good condition

Past Ste-Émilie village we headed towards St-Damien where we stopped to refuel while passing through their courtyard.

Leaving the gas station we climb the mountain and at the very top facing south there is the only mud spot we saw to the north of St-Gabriel on this route very close to the small shack at the #23 junction which joins our morning route. We took a little break there.

We resumed on the morning path in the opposite direction which was still in the same state, beautiful up to St-Gabriel but then with bare spots going south

We returned home around 5:00 p.m. with a little over 250km on the cluster, overall happy with the ride that succeed our wish to start from home.
In summary, there is still some great snowmobiling to be done north of St-Gabriel de Brandon when it is cold like today. This year it's like that, don't be too critical and take what can be done... The upcoming weather forecasts are a bit scary but I still hope they're wrong! we'll see...hoping for the best
Alain

Day 7 Sunday 
 
Great night at Windigo, drinks, conversations, stories throw in the nosh on the wings and smoked meat sandwiches. Oh yes. 
To Team Vermont….looking forward to next seasons rendezvous. After saying our goodbyes and loading up. 
Everyone ready to go. 
My sled loves it here so much it doesn’t fire off on the first go. Never good. This will take extra effort. Get coolant heater plugged in. Decided to hook up Daniel’s big jumpbox. Spins over real nice this go round and finally fires. Maybe 15 minutes of giving it attention, For what its worth by far not the coldest night out this week, but is the one night i did not cover my sled. Maybe nothing maybe something, 
 
Up driveway out of  Windigo. TQ83 magic carpet ride back all the wsy to Relais 22 . 
Bridge still unsafe for groomer straight out back of Relais 22 on TQ83. 83 west this year is just north of Relais 22 its 30 km longer then going out the old trail and over the bridge.
 
Gas n go and quick conversation with Christine at 22, knowing full well that many sleds are bearing down on this place from up the TQ83 coming for lunch on Sunday. 
Up we go and as expected busy trail. But all well behaved. Love the new Sena 50 really top shelf. Nice ride back up TQ83 then secret trail to 355 from TQ83 was a stunner. Said goodbye to our trail mates as they were headed to load uo and haul south today. Great guys NH Moose aka “bullwinkle” anytime anywhere goes without saying. Mark ditto do not get to see him enough. Great guy. Phil sr newest member of Team Iceman. Another rider. Gets it done solid. Loved spending time on and off trail with you all.. Until next time boys.
 
Snohorse and I continue on TQ83 junk. And junk. Seriously not good. Big difference in conditions here. We suffer on to local orange to Saint Andre. Ok but best up. Went in another local trail tour then a retrace of our route back to 355 and Auberge Eva. Only people here tonight. Private hotel and restaurant. No one else. 
 
We stitched it together as my partner in trails Snohorse says. Successful week stellar trails with excellent company. Some new discoveries and some new memories on long cherished sections of trails. Some of our favorites, 
 
Is it the last ride? 
 
Stay tuned
 

Day 6 Saturday
 
Cold this.morning. Not sure what was the temperature but a cold start. Cold makes white asphalt. I happen to admire white asphalt quite a bit and we saw lots of it 
Exception being the local trail from La Dore to TQ83. But the local orange was still ok. Just not perfect. 
 
Joined up with the TQ83 and at first was not liking it. Quickly changed at intersection to local trail south. Fast run down as the top of the TQ83 they are grooming the road as the trail for a god part of it and it’s fantastic. Gas and Late lunch after the rush at Relais 22. Out of there we got places to be. 
 
More sleds out today, but duh? It’s the weekend. Even so, we only caught uo to 2 sleds we easily got by. Only the second pair we had to deal with in front of us in 6 days. Sweet. 

Quick burn to Windigo and wrapped up a stellar day with a stellar night reminiscing and breaking bread with our brothers Team Vermont. Always great fo be at Windigo with Martine Stephanie and Daniel….even better on a Saturday night……and even better with the plan coming together to meet up. 
 
Lots to catch up on and that we did. Sure wish we could do this so much more often.
 
Great times with Great people. 

Day 5 Friday 
 
Woke at Pouvoirie La Dore. I like it here. Snowing again. Not super cold as my gatorade aint frozen on porch. It’s cold thought This will hold me over until getting some coffee. Boys are stirring around looking like the warm has lost the battle this go round. Wind picking up still snowing on and off. Enjoyed talking for a long time with Stephane last night. Quite interesting as I learned alot we all did asking hunting and fishing questions trying to get an understanding on how they do it all year. Great place and super hosts. Go and stay they have one big chalet with four bedrooms 
So 8 singje beds max, only chalet insulated for clients thus winter. Next year probably 1 more. But this will remain an intimate place. More personal to stay here. For lunch they have been doing well. Many clients. They make their living May to November. 
Like i said before there is just something about this place. 
Stephane met us after a great breakfast and we took a ride out and up the lake and back. He took us out the back over the bridge and showed us the way to join up with the local orange trail branche ouest. Interesting.  But not as fast as the TQ93. 
He showed us another nine mile loop around the lake by the lodge. This has Team VT written all over it as he said no problem go and explore, their are trails everywhere. We had to say goodbye for now and bailed out the backdoor to La Dore. Still snowing on and off temps already noticeably colder, wind is biting. TQ93 to Gas n go La Dore. 
Trail mint. Been 95% all week. Very little traffic. This being the “Tour to nowhere” we got nowhere to go to. All day to do it. Now those of you that pay attention know what is next……if you guessed trail bingo = winning. 👍
 
Stayed in the sweet spot. All around above lake. St Felicien to Dolbeau. To 373 then back across 373 searching for red sticks with wind howling in the fields. One of those days you think about where to stop for a break and finding somewhere tucked in the trees to block that wind. Temperature has plummeted and with wind not great for the hands being out of the gloves too long. Only real rough spot few KM between middle orange trail and TQ93 up near Lac a Jim. Everything else very nice. Likey likey. 
 
Bingo card full it’s time for early happy hour. Into Girardville. Happy campers. 
 

Day 4: 298 total miles epic day! More amazing riding cold nights and days really make excellent trails! 90% of the trails today were 9.5/10 just simply awesome! Today ride took us from Amos over to Seneterre then up to Quévillon the the trail between the two places which is TQ93 might be one of the best stretches of trail I’ve ever ridden in Quebec! After lunch in Quévillon back down 93 to Seneterre then continuing south to Lac Simon for fuel. After that we did a loop north of Val’dor to take us back into Amos! 

Day3: 254 total miles. The temperature dropped like a rock last night making for excellent trails all day lost count of all the groomers I passed trails are on tip top shape here! Was a very cold day high of only 3 or so but that makes for the best conditions! Todays ride took us south of Amos to Malartic to top off fuel then over to Rouyn then up to La Sarre then back over to Amos to complete the loop all trails were excellent! Anyone who’s not up here is missing out big time. Some pictures from the day enjoy!
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Yeah WIFI was great 😏 34F at the start of the day and 10F at the end and getting colder by the minute! 

Day 6, last day left Valga and doubled back south to 5. When we get to 35 we take that, some of the trails around Rimouski are showing red again and since we took 5 on the way out we will try and stay more inland. Stay on 35 to the 546 cutoff and take that, it’s in really nice shape. Local traffic is starting to pick up now but everyone is acting nicely. We take the 571 when we hit it then the 544 into St. Cyprien and have a good lunch at the St. Cyp. Continue on the 544 to the Orange local, think it is 44 but not positive and take that to 85. 85 still in good shape and covered well but icy. After the Adventiers clubhouse things get pretty bad. Mostly dirt and gravel with a little snow here and there to the 526. The 526 is no better and pretty much no snow the last 2 or 3 miles into the Universal. We had a great trip, the clubs are all out doing their best and trails are mostly good. All towns are bone dry getting in and out, even Murdochville is dry blacktop at the gas station. Many areas WILL NOT survive the warm up and rain this week. It will take a good dump of snow after Wednesday to open it all back up. 142 miles for the day 1050 for the week

Day 5: gonna end the trip with 2 short days instead of 1 big one. Today we rode from PALC to Valga. Took 5 all the way to Albertville. Trails pretty thin near the towns. Should have took the orange trail to avoid Causapscal. Also really thin around St. Marguerite and Albertville. Continued on 5 to 587 to St. Irene, much better here. Had lunch at the Ski Hill then went up and checked out the lookout tower up near the Radar. Looks like winter up there but not like a normal one. Continued through the mountains on 587 to 579 and into Valga for the night. Early day, a little too early really 😂😂 150 miles for the day.

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Day 4, Left Pabos, took 5 West and trails are still pretty nice. Not great snow depth but the clubs have done a great job with what they have. Trails were all in pretty good shape until New Richmond. Really thin there and some bare corners but not terrible. Same for Carleton, mostly smooth but thin. The thinnest sections and most bare spots were around Nouvelle. Definitely spring conditions there. The snow started getting better and less bare spots and snirt as we headed West. In PALC tonight.

Yes that could be considered thin  in spots 

What's one to do when you desire Quebec pub grub? Jump on the sled and get it. Thirty-eight miles bump-free from camp on the local Pittsburg USA trail system to the Chartieville QC Customs house. Three of us produced documents & after exchanging pleasantries with a very courteous and joyful customs officer, we traveled an additional twenty-eight miles to La Patrie via 65 & 525. We passed the local groomer inbound & outbound, laying the flat trails with the small amount of snow he had to work with. Upon arrival, we had a great lunch in the very crowded Resto-Bar La Patrie. Surprisingly, the bar & dining room were packed for a Thursday afternoon with tradespeople & snowmobilers. 
The Canadian trails were mint; however, sections in the fields, thankfully short in length, were ugly as they had no snow or were snirt & slush. On our return in Chartieveille, we encountered a sick groundhog that refused to vacate the trail. 
Minimal snow is forecasted locally for the next 24 hours. Failure to get a few inches of new snow and those short stretches of no snow & or muddy slush I described will only be lengthier, deeper, and muddier as the sun was high, bright & warm today. 
Stay safe. 
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Mmmm
 
 

Day 3 & 4 Wednesday-Thursday 
 
Out of St Felicien 8:30. Up 373 still good here still cold this morning. We catch group in front of us and they are using open mesh so i can hear them. The last guy in line calling up to lead guy saying stop stop and let these guys pass. Finally he listens and off we go past these three. The only three we have had to pass all week.  Nice. We take it long up 373 to TQ93 then up top where I like it through Lac Jim around and down to Gas in Girardville. Back out and i take a right down a few KM and then left onto ice, locals bush trail to TQ 93 again back North of Girardville. To the 373. First timers with us so time to show off the bridges. Not terrible this trail but showing signs of heavy use. Its the new Mont Valin this trail. Surely everyone is thinking exactly the same way the further up the better and are using the hell out of this trail. Not far past Chalet warming hut we pass groomer headed opposite way. It’s a small one with smaller drag probably due to weight restrictions on bridges. No wonder it doesn’t hold up like the others trails we been on. Definitely more traffic on here and better towards the  truck stop in St Ludger but after that just so so to last bridge and down local trail to Lamarche and then up to Otis Nature. Great stay at Otis with Melanie serving dinner and Ann on breakfast. 
Woke to 4-5” new snow still snowing at departure. 
 
Otis Nature to 367 then 367 it is. 4-5” new snow. Snowing and sticky on face shield. But love to see snow stick all you want. Blowing open trail. Furtber down and further west less new snow, but still flurries and new lube 1-2” into TQ93 at St Monique 367 has been stellar. 93 is so so but this new snow albeit not alot is sweet. 93 mostly great. Can tell it’s getting the use its blue. TQ93 to 367 through Peribonka . Thinner but good to go here. Ripping fast. Back to a nice TQ93 through Dolbeau, then left turn local Orange the St Felicien express. Some so so but mostly good here across and still  nice on orange trail down and across ice back to 373 through relais Buttes. Too earky for us is 12:30 loop it we come back. Down 373 showing some areas of concern but nothing defcon 4. Then through St Felicien to local orange. Up to powerlines and through back to La Dore. Very nice holding up well. Then through gas to TQ93 and back to 373 to Relais Buttes. Lunch stop here. Feed bag disconnected. Then back up 373 to TQ93 to Local orange to Resto Chef. Sweet trails up here. Gas and necessities at du Chef then bonzai. Orange out the back beautiful ride to TQ93 which is holding up beautifully, left turn and 8 miles to our private oasis at Pouvoirie La Dore. We love it here. Super folks. 8 miles in fresh groomed for our arrival.
 
Warmer today no doubt. We will manage it is what it is. 

Here the  a music video of this ride.
I made a test on this one and film/process the whole video in 2k 30fps in place of 1080p 60fps, seems to improve the quality a bit on the net.
So crank up the sound and the quality to 2k and enjoy the ride 🍿🍿🍿
 

Day 3, left Grand Vallee and backtracked on 5 to 597 down to Murdochville. Trails in really nice shape! This part of the Gaspe wins for the most snow award. Lunch in Murdochville then continue down 597 and Piston Alley, all groomed up nicely to 5 again.