NHTOM

Le marmite is a relay on Trail 73, 11 miles North West of Rivier St. Pierre. Great food by the way.

Excuse my candor, but its real simple to turn up your oil pump. Usually involves stop nuts on the oil pump cable. You should burn 1 quart per 10 gallons of gas, thats 40/1. Might smell a little but your motor will thank you. My old 2002 XC 700 now has 12000 miles and has always burned about this much. Havent even had the heads off yet!!. Gotta admit, this is a freak for a 2 stroke.

Hi Gary, Most likely late this month or early Feb. No set plans yet. The way the snow is towards NH I might even try the townships and Beauce for a little change.

Well, Ill agree with 90% of what you said, but lets not forget trail grooming. Especially in Quebec. The trails everywhere are 100X better than they were in the 80's. I agree that the new sleds are a pain in the ass to work on. And your APEX is pretty much a dealer only maitainence rig. I think your married to Yamaha and thats great, but, you may want to get back on a light 2 stroke to have more fun. The Ski-doos are light, great gas milage (better than an APEX) and haul ass. Yes they are more fragile (cracked chain cases, etc) but they are nimble and peppy and thats what makes snowmobiles unique. I think Yamaha made a mistake going 100% 4 stroke, and time will tell if they were right or wrong. I still think the 2002 SRX triple triple 700 will beat your Apex up to 100, and after 100 who cares? Virtually all cars on the raod go faster top end than any snowmobile and what fun are they?

Yes it is! I wanted to go, but a couple of guys in our group arnt big on ethnic food, so it was off to St Huberts for demi poulet. As a side note I would add that I saw more locals out riding during this Xmas season then Ive ever seen. Also saw way more folks on sleds than quads even near Quebec. Sure looks like a good sign for the future.

Traillered up to the roquemont on the 26th. Went for a quick spin up 73. Groomed, smooth but thin. That night it snowed close to a foot then went to rain by 8am, Ugh. Donned hideaous rain gear and thought against 23 and l,tape . Stayed local , went to Relay Marmite on 73 . Awesome food there btw. Met a rider from Latuque who reported no grooming from Latuque in any direction. So we doubled back to St Ray and the rain ended. On the 28th we pounded our way north on 23 to L tape. If this trail had been groomed earlier I couldnt tell. There was 2 feet of new snow from the 27th, and about 4 feet total on ground. Needless to say we hoped after Ltape we would see grooming. No such luck. In fact a gent from Lac St Jean told me 23 north was un-groomed and Mt Apica was not open. So...., we headed down 369. This was the same as 23. Basically half assed powder riding. Got down to trail 3, still zero grooming. Took the 320 to St Anne de beaupre and followed a groomed trail for 1 mile to the groomer barn. So we had 1 smooth mile all day. Called JoAnn at Motel Charlie and she picked us up at the groomer barn . This is a great place to stay. 2 bedroom Condo w/ asleeper and a full kitchen is $129 total ! My buddy had ripped his saddle bag and JoAnn's Mom fixed it for free. JoAnns english is super and anything you need , Beer, food, Bank she'll taxie you around for free. Her place has resteraunts Tim Hortons etc within walking distance as well. On the 29th we took off from St Anne, gassed up on the 120 by the ski hill, and headed west on 3. Everything had been groomed over nite and 3 thru quebec city was very smooth. All trails were 8-10, and as the temps were now down around 10F, very fast. So typical of early season, each day was better and now trails are approaching mid-winter perfection. On the ride home yesterday all trails we saw in mid Quebec and the townships were groomed dead flat. Even Drummondville looked very rideable. Heres to a great safe season for all!!

Rode Saturday from Escapade, 347 to 318, to 360 topped off gas at St.Joseph de mekinac. Trails were very hard, but enough lube.Then up the pipeline( 355 Pipeline). The pipeline was perfect. Flat, hard, fast and zero bumps.Then 73 east briefly to 355 North, lunch at relais trapper, awesome food. Then gassed up in Lac Edourd. Up to this point the trails were amazing. I was nervous that grooming would cease on the 355 north of the lake, but, my wrong, it was groomed the whole way to 83 at lac Bouchette! Took 83 west to 473 (I think?) into Roberval. Stayed at the Chateau roberval. Nice place. Pool , hot tub, good meal/room packages. For $74 Can you get dinner, Bfast and room. Tent for the sleds was full, and most sleds are worth more than ours so no need to worry....... BTW theres thin sno near the big lake. I mean it goes from 2 feet in Lac bouchette to 6 inches (maybe) near the lake. Trails are still groomed flat anyway. Sunday morning we rode across a club trail on the lake thats staked for 6 miles. This trail saves back tracking on 83 towards lac bouchette. Came off the ice hit, 83 west to 23 south. 23 South was just about a 10 the whole way down to St. Ray. Never seen the whole stretch this good. Also, the higher up in elevation the more loose snow there was. So most of 23 had no ice at all, in fact theres only the slightest crust. My son spent a fair amount of time carving powder turns in the gravel pits and hydrolines off 23. Monday morning we headed east to brunch at Rogers Cabin, then on the trucks and gone at 1:30. Thought the trails might be a little rough Monday after a sunday, but wrong again I think they groomed most of them last night. Total mileage 580. Weather was mild and sunny. 20's by day, 10 at night. In other words perfect. So...., I need to get rich so I can stay up there all winter.

Hope this isnt a trend, but gas jumped 10 cents a liter or 37.8 cents a gallon in one day in the greater Quebec city area. Wow!! I knew the low prices were a temporary thing , but oil is still down at $42 a barrell today. This wont stop me from riding, just a little curious if anyone knows what affects the Quebec Gas prices. Looks to be convenient gouging.

Traffic was very thin all 3 days. There were more sleds near St.ray, but once 10 miles out very few. I only met 2 other Americans in 3 days. These guys were from Vermont , both 73 yrs old, and they ride 3000-5000 miles a season. I asked if they still rode in Vt, and they both couldnt remember how many yrs ago since theyre last ride there.

Thats exactly the same this year. Im kind of amazed they would waste time grooming a dead end? There were red stakes and grooming up close to wear the powerline heads right, then the trail finanlly fizzled out at a closed restaraunt on a tar road. So I guess 3 to 365 to 23 is now the "approved" route. It worked OK.

Trailered to the Safari in Shawinigan Sunday. the parking lot was solid ice with some water on top. Wind came up and temps fell late in the day, but no snow. Went out for a short ride. Theres plenty of snow (a good 2 feet) but we were looking for lube. It turned to concrete overnite. Monday am we decided to head to St.Ray. We were the only ones at The Motel Safari, and it was some lonely. Jocelyn needs to get on here and talk it up. At St. Ray very little ice, and trails all 3 days were terrific. Flat and super fast. Headed up 23 on monday. It was in very good shape for this early(9-10) and I'd estimate 3 and half feet of snow up high. Snowed 3 inches Mon nite and so it got even better. Rode to Lac edourd tuesday. Trail 73 was mint (10-10), but 355 was only groomed once(6-10) and it never got brushed this summer, so its narrow in spots. Im not sure if it will be groomed beyond Lac Edourd this year or not. Last year it was. Tuesday we looped over west to St. Joseph de macinac then towards Shawinigan, thru Rogers, trail 3 east, then 8 miles up 23 it just kind of ended. Locals say trail closed, and no re-route. So we ended up back on 3 to 365 then 23 at the powerlines south of St.Ray. All in all great 1st trip. And No breakdowns! Interested to know status of 318, was not groomed and no track marks, where it starts from 353 heading west toward St.Tite.

Im thinking about the big gas costs as well. Right now, my thoughts are, store the sleds in Quebec and ride up in the 30 mpg car. And I'm due for some new Iron, so the SDI and DI dews are at the top of the list. I guess Im a little suprised at how theyre beating the 4 strokes in gas milage. My biggest worry is that fuel costs are going to reduce the grooming hours and/ or raise trail pass fees so high that rider #'s and $$ plummet. But, hopefully, most of us will keep on riding regardless. Lets hope so!!

3200 miles total. 300 in NH , the rest in Quebec. 14 days riding in Quebec. Its was an awesome year, but, now that its over, it seems like I hardly rode at all and it ended way too soon...........I guess the reason its so much fun, is it makes us feel like kids. And the older I get, the more I want. Cant wait for next season.........less than 8 months away now!!

Good report and pics. Nice to hear that Quebec still has the best riding anywhere.

Rode from Bernards up to Jacks Outback on Friday via 351,360, 355 Pipeline, Lac Edourd and on to Jacks at the junction with 83. All the trails going up were perfect. The pipeline must have been groomed Thurs nite, cause Ive never seen it this flat. We were worried about 355 North of Lac Edourd, because its was closed last year, but it to was excellent. Heading back south Saturday we went 83 up the Lake, over to Hebertville and down 23 thru LeTape (you must turn onto the 369 to access the Esso station there). 83 was perfect, 23 got worse as we headed south. Kinda whooped up in every turn, and as luck didn,t have it, the groomer was headed down from the Esso station when we left. Spent Sat nite at the Roquemont in St. Raymond. Sunday we rode back to the Safari via 73, 353 thru park, 318 south, then 3 to Rogers and back to the trucks. Every trail Sunday was dead flat. Trails as good as they get. I must say, in 11 yrs going up there, this is the most Snow I've ever seen from Shawinigan over to St Raymond. Its unbelievable. The red stakes are about 6 inches long, and houses have snow to the eaves in many areas. So if your on the fence about going or not ..... GO. Hopefully my comrades will add some photos or videos, Im kinda E-literate!?

I think part of the problem is the General Discussion vs. Regional forums. Its a lot easier to just look at Quebec all in one page for the latest discussions. Now you have to open both and look around each for something new of interest. Seems like folks arnt sure where to post their info........ Its also obvious that Americans are staying home. The motels we frequent in Q are dramatically slower this year than even last year; a year with little snow south and west of St.Raymond. And the GAS is unreal. Im spending over $100 per day per sled to ride. I need a hybrid!!! Even home in Cent. NH we have had the best season in at least 5 yrs and there are about half as many sleds out. Not sure of all the reasons, but Im guessing high gas and 2 -3 yrs of no snow down here did it.

Has anyone been riding since the rain? :sad: Im planning on heading to the Maurice tomorrow, and riding Thurs-Sunday. If someone could chime in with some updated info I would be gratefull. Merry Christmas to all!

Hey Bernard, Did you break down on the 55 and snap these pics?? Sure looks like it.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Because this is the only GAS by ROAD on the 175 from Sagueney to Quebec City, my guess is they'll have this station up within a week. 2 weeks at most.

I would call the Roquemont Hotel. At 1-877-337-6734. They'll know where to rent from.

Call the Roquemont. They dump everyone staying at the Motel north of the river at Relais St.Raymond every morning till the river is safe. Best part is the club groomed trail 23 up Le'tape today!!!!!!!!!!!

Doest matter if the river is frozen. The dealer in the parking lot right next door can dump you on the other side. Ask the folks at the Roquemont desk when you call for a room. From the Relais St.Raymond (1/4mile beyond river) they groomed trail 23 to Le'Etape today!!!!

Yeah, that would be it. Cant fool anyone here. I'm anxiously awaiting some Mt.Valin picks of the 3 feet and grooming!

Anyone know this spot?