NSHM

Did this property used to be Motel Des 9? If so I have many memories from it years ago. Landing late at night towing a sick Thundercat, cutie bartender got her dad to come pick it up and put in heated garage. Remember a few girlie channels on tv lol. Cinder block rooms in back of main building and on and on. Late 80’s thru 90’s

Yes

The second one in town is a Gite. Not as nice as the first one coming from the south .

A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all the folks who made my trip so memorable, comfortable and just downright FUN FUN FUN
Bobbi & Manon at Auberge Tiblemont on Lac Tiblemont- two GREAT hosts and people. I will be back for sure and would never hesitate to recommend their establishment to any snowmobilers either passing through or basing out of.
Isabelle (the Gazelle) & Pierre-Luc from Hotel Opemiska in Chapais. The place simply cannot be beat
David, David , Janelle and Pierr-Luc for showing me the cabin and how boondockers in Quebec ride
Nancy from Desmairsville for always being the sweetie she is. (Natives were telling me secret stories of Nancy from long ago)
Kenny Loon from Mistissini and his lovely wife for cooking the great native food and sharing/teaching me about native traditions
Bruce Wapachee police officer from Mistissini for not arresting me and taking me to jail
Eddy from the front desk at Auberge Mistissinni for showing me the rooms and talking with me about all things Mistissinni 
The people from Adele’s restaurant in Mistissinni (forgot to ask if Adele was there) I want to meet her
The people in Chibougamau who put on the LOVELY Christmas themed display on their property 
The Lord Savior Jesus Christ (otherwise just known as Eric) in Chibougamau for pulling me out of the ditch and saving me and my back
And a special thanks to Alex, Elphonse and Samuel for taking/inviting me in and giving me a New Year’s Eve I will never forget
BUT.........the MOST IMPORTANT thanks goes to my lovely wife Sandy who has supported (and continues to ) support all my crazy snowmobile activities over the years. Thanks honey !!!! I owe ya big time.
1539 miles on my new Enduro now from the last two northern runs. Two SPECTACULAR trips that will never be forgotten 
 
 

29 December 
keeping the fingers and toes crossed for some real snow tomorrow and Tuesday. 
Bring it!
That will make for a very Happy New Year. 

So in summary we only road about 45 miles yesterday but it was 45 I will never forget till the day I die.
i had a BLAST and these particular Québécois are some of the finest you could ever meet. The whole experience was icing on the cake to all the epic ness I have had in the last 4 days. We all went to the Chapais clubhouse from the camp and had some fine Canadian cuisine.
getting a late start today again (these reporting/posting duties sure take up a lot of valuable riding time) ...LOL
im thinking I’m going to Mistissini again today. Why not? It will be my 3rd (140-150 mile round trip) up there. I might go play some hockey in the streets with the kids. 
Staying at the Opemiska one last night tonight as this shit storm passes the lower areas of Quebec. Tomorrow heading out EARLY and blasting 225 miles back to Auberge Timblemont. Should have some nice “cream cheese “ on top for the ride back.
 

Don't forget Happy Boxing Day!

I cringe seeing what you put these new sleds through. Especially all the scratches from limbs and branches.

Most of the sleds that do not have the grips on at idle can be turned on at the dealer.

My 2020 Renegade has trip B

Ones for days mileage.  Second is how far you've went since last fuel stop.  I'm with the crowd that bitched and am happy to see they listened.  They are the best sleds on the snow.

Received my trinket throttle hand pump from BRP today. Sent them a message thanking them but a more useful gift would have been one of these manual counters we can duct tape to our bars to replace the Trip 2 that is no longer on the 2020 sleds.
 

This is crazy.  In today's age they should be adding technology, not removing it.   It's like the compass, my 2010 Sea Doo had a compass for God's sake, like I would ever have a need for it on that.  Used to use the compass all the time on the sled back when you could get them.
The second trip meter will be a huge loss.

It really is! Trip meter 1 was for the entire trip and trip meter 2 was how many miles since last fill up.
 
LOL, guaranteed!

Finding fresh groomed trails is a problem we all should have!

Finding fresh groomed trails is a problem we all should have!

Left Baie Bleue, 595 toward LaCache was a rip, beautiful trail. Had plenty of gas so we didn't stop at La Cache. Was overcast when entering the Chics, but sun peeked out for us on the east end. Glad we didn’t miss that trail. Into Murdochville for gas, soup and ailes. The plan was Caribou, but after talking with the guys from Oneida, it looks like the 8” of snow we were supposed to get friday is now ½” of rain. Their plan was to bolt back to Montmagny early and head home.
We recalculated and came to the same conclusion, better to be in the truck driving than riding. So we ended up tonight in Mont St. Anne a day ahead of schedule.
 
Chic Chocs were fluffy, tons of snow at the highest elevations. Mont St Pierre and north shore are really nice conditions, with only a few bare spots starting to show on some hills. Much better than the south shore.
 
Maybe Amqui tomorrow, hopefully have time to ride 5 down and back on JG’s awesome ribbon of white 
 
 

They don't like to groom when it is above freezing.It just makes a mess of the trails.Looking at the forecast I would bet they will be out tonight.

1200 was a great motor and sled. Regular gas which is always the freshest as most cars use it. My concern is longevity. Is 900t going to last 15000 to 20000 miles or more like the 1200 has. Turbo spinning over 200,000 rpm has skidoo created a 4 stroke that has a limited life as certainly the 2 stroke 800 class sleds have. At 15 grand to only get 7or 9 thousand miles which is one or 2 seasons for Quebec riders is not good. Plus 900t needs premium fuel, not at every stop and not the freshest especially in very small towns. 
Last 1200 was 135hp 900 is 95hp so to stay close in power they have just the 600 2 stroke smoker. Don't feel skidoo considered the 1200 buyers when they dropped it for 900t
 
My opinion not sure what to do except keep enjoying my 1200 for now

Thank you Mike for all your posts of your excursions and restaurant finds.  It is great to have you there to help direct or lead other members around that region.  

Except when your on a bag trip 800 miles from your truck. Happened too many times with us in the last 12 years. Not worth the hassle. Fine if you do day loops

After 10,000 miles any 2 stroke is a ticking time bomb in my opinion! For QC trails loving the 900T!

People have an unclear idea of what the FCMQ is.  It is not some sort of large and powerful agency with unlimited resources with the 250 odd Québec clubs at it's beck and call.  It is merely a coordinating body whose employees, including it's Director-General, are under the direction of the Administrative Council.  This council is comprised of the elected representatives of each of the 13 administrative regions, as well as the Federation President.  Those representatives are elected by the member clubs in each region, and are subject to term limits. FCMQ presidents are elected from the ranks of those regional representatives, and are chosen by the administrative council through an electoral process. Only the permanent staff are salaried employees. The Administrative Council, including the President, are all volunteers.  To sum up, the FCMQ does not tell the clubs what to do.  It coordinates, advises and liaises with the Provincial governments.   It is the clubs that tell the FCMQ what to do based on regional and provincial discussions, and not the other way around.  Most times, when folks say the FCMQ should do this and that, they are unclear on what it's proper function is, and how it operates.
As for off-trail trespassers, the clubs themselves are acutely aware of the issues, and do their best to hinder these entitled, disrespectful jerks.  However, as is the case with most volunteer endeavours, resources are scarce, and it's a sad commentary when those resources must be directed into installing thousands of metres of snow fence rather than towards more productive activities such as signing, brushing, bridge building, etc.
Right of ways are negotiated by individual clubs, and club directors are the first to know when there is a problem.  We were fortunate, in our club, to have had this problem diminish somewhat.  I even had a landowner, with a mix of arable land and wooded areas, congratulate me on the good behaviour of our riders during the previous season.  This, after years of problems with "free riders" on his property.  I do not know to what we can attribute this change but, hey, we'll take what we can get!  Most other area clubs have not been so lucky.

This really is becoming a big issue and the land owners (understandably) are not going to put up with it.  It will hurt the entire sport.  
We do as much of the adventure type riding as anyone, but each rider needs to know when and where it’s acceptable and to what degree it’s acceptable or it threatens this awesome sport.
As Rev indicates, more education for everyone will help. The Zecs and Crown land, unless marked otherwise, are, to the best of my knowledge, allow snowmobile activity. But this topic needs to be on the front of every conversation moving ahead.
Lets hope it can be managed before major damage gets done to the system.
 
RR

Nice job!  Thanks