Northbound

No..... thank you groomer!!   Hope you enjoy your summer...until next year
      Jeff & Sandy
 
 
 

bonsoir !!!
 
my season kaputt tonight ....back from albertville....still few days of riding around town...better up the hills...
in the name of the president..secretary ...lorraine ....fleurette...joyce ...karine ...stephanie and myself ...just want to say thank you to those who supported us , with trail passes....stopping at the clubhouse to say hello...etc !!!
 
great season...windy a lot again !!!...forgot to check....but must be a bit over 400 hrs of grooming !!!
thx all !!!
 
jean-guy

No..... thank you groomer!!   Hope you enjoy your summer...until next year
      Jeff & Sandy
 
 
 

hi 603backcountry and jak !!!
 
thx....still great conditions for sure...only in town getting low...but still rideable !!!
awesome weather for riding ...blue sky day ....-16 c yesterday morning ...warmer this morning ...when i rode with ontario friends few weeks ago...we met a guy from cross point at the st fidele cb ...and he said ,normally we can come here til late april ...
if i have the chance , might ride a bit this week ...today , im going to pick up my stuff in the machine ...
and yes....b / w pics can make a great effect ...time to time i like it !!!
 
jean-guy

If today is your last run for the season, it looks like you had a beautiful day for it. Glad you didn't have to shovel. As usual, thanks for all the pics.                                         Whats your prediction on when you can get to your cabin by quad?
     
 

If today is your last run for the season, it looks like you had a beautiful day for it. Glad you didn't have to shovel. As usual, thanks for all the pics.                                         Whats your prediction on when you can get to your cabin by quad?
     
 

If today is your last run for the season, it looks like you had a beautiful day for it. Glad you didn't have to shovel. As usual, thanks for all the pics.                                         Whats your prediction on when you can get to your cabin by quad?
     
 

bonsoir northbound !!!
 
great day for sure...snow started to get sticky around 11 am maybe....where there was no wind ..bad.....
glad ...no shoveling ...i was sinking between 2 drifts...at the end...i had about 3' to move...just used my head and think ....came very close !!!
snow was slippery ...too warm...no traction !!!
well , average for the camp by 4w....may 10 th ....in 2010 , i was there april 16 or 17 th...very early !!!
 
jean-guy

bonsoir !!!
 
back from tq 5 !!! 12 hrs run ...nice drifts ....almost get stuck...came very close.......i was in no mood to shovel !!!
about 20 sleds...this should be my last run....if raining ...in town could be critical ...the rest still a-1 !!!
 
jean-guy

Amen to that.
Bill told me in February that he wasnt on because the Delta wasnt an advertiser, and he stays there,... something to that effect. Still makes no sense, Why would he care?
I know his last post was about his on board fire extinguisher, a couple of folks replied and i dont think he liked the replys. That was Last year...
Ice took exception to a reply someone gave him on his trip in early February and he replyed back. His reply was removed and I guess that was enough to cause him to go MIA.                 
Its a real shame because we all go to this site for real time info from the serious riders who live there.  Their knowledge, stories, advice is what made this site. I cant offer diddly from down here in Cow Hampshire about anything current up there.
The reality is we are rewarded by Iceman, Bill and others being on here, They dont really get much back in return, so when they go, its Our loss. 
 
 

Day 5 from Manicouagan reservoir back to km 31, pushing miles and miles of snow, snow was really sticky and we were chewing up fuel and oil faster than whimpy eats burgers.  Arrived last night into km 31 around 7 pm with 300 miles for the day a big day for sure.  The teamwork of this group led by Team Maine’s Early Rider is nothing short of amazing.  After 1,000 miles of extremely adverse conditions not being on any marked trail this is truly an adventure not for the faint of heart.  Take care signing off from km 31.
603 Backcountry 
 

Wow! This guy is a monster sledder. It would be great to have someone with his experience on Quebec Rider. 

hi gutz !!!
 
sure !!! even on the beaver on the other post !!!
well , very windy today + temps up to 11 c ....went to check at the '' school bus ''....water everywhere on the road...raining lightly right now ....
few moose and deer from the sur trac days !!!
still 10c at the airport !!!...just lucky it has been cloudy all day !!!
 
jean-guy

I never get tired of random trail pics. Thanks for posting.👍

Thanks Triggerhappy.  Josie is a rescue from Tennessee and we were told maybe part lab.  We got her at 4 months old back in September and don't see any lab in her looks or traits. Someone suggested she looks like she has a lot of Feist breed in her. We had never heard of that breed, but after looking it up, she does appear to have a lot of Feist in her. She is fairly calm, but there is no tiring her out.  She needs constant exercise. And she is one extremely smart dog.  We are running out of new things to teach her. The wife hopes to maybe get her into agility training someday. 
 

I imagine this plan will be adopted else where in Quebec but the MRC des Laurentides has made a plan of evacuation obligatory for all recreational trails in case of emergency in it’s territory. There will be 911 emergency signs at the beginning of trails and every 2 KM a sign with a location number beginning with the letter F, so the 911 operator will know exactly where you are when you tell them the F-number. This system is only going into service next season but already the signs are being installed..

With thaws on Thursday/Friday, it is not easy for snowmobile clubs to shape up the trails for us. It was the second consecutive week with essentially the same scenario: too hot and too wet Friday night to be able to groom. Although it was riding up north, we waited for Sunday to try it out. We left from home in St-Thomas around 8:00 Sunday morning under a temperature of -6C. Very spring conditions with hard as concrete trail. Scratchers were mandatory not an option. Another sign of spring: here on the picture near home, we can see that the trail that crosses a ditch has begun to drop a bit ... 


 
I personnaly really like hard trails, my venture ride on it like a train on rails. You just touch the throttle to ride at very good speeds and the track hangs so nicely...
Here in the fields towards St-Norbert. Joliette had not groomed after the thaw but with the 2 scratchers down, it was a race track!



And here in the maple grove just north of St-Norbert



Farther, the snowmobile club of St-Gabriel Brandon had groomed all its territory in the night giving us perfect trails. The best ones of all the ride in fact



My intention was to go to Mandeville so we went to take a look at Lake Maskinongé shortcut. Pretty much water over the ice that has wear through snow so the club had closed it



So we continued on #63 trail



And then took #345 trail to Mandeville



Mandeville had not groomed after the mild weather but it was riding well, the trails were in good condition. We took the trail # 349. There are some sections on forest road, just enought snow on the edge and it was fine. The snow banks are still impressive!



We stop at 10:00 at the Lac Blanc outfitter to refuel before going in the Mastigouche reserve


 
The lake infront had pretty much water on the ice...



We then came back a bit and took the #350(trail a Gaston) toward the Reserve. Freshly groomed trail with some new snow over gave real nice winter conditions


 
We continued to #23 trail in the Mastigouche Reserve that we took to the west to go to St-Zenon. Not groomed recently but a beautiful layer of new snow on a hard base, ride nicely even with a bit of ripples in the curves



We rode it all the way to the junction with #345 trail (Cabanon/Taureau Dam) that we took south





We then took the #63 to go to St-Michel des Saints.



We arrived for lunch at the Vieux Moulin à Scie around 12:30 with 134miles on the venture dreameter



After a very good meal and a fuelup for the venture we left on #33 trail toward the west



Had a small tear on my cheek when passing infront the Rouge-Mattawin relay closed this winter



Just across the new trail to Mont-Tremblant Park



We continued on the #33. The 2.5 miles of road side was on limit to be good, they should  trace us a sidewalk on the edge because the dirt was very near on some spots





We then took the 1st local trail (orange on the map) to go on the #63.





We pass at La Glacière



We then took the #350 trail in front


 
And catch the #23 trail down south to St-Gabriel and took the same route as in the morning. Here at the Hut at the top of the hill at St-Damien.


It was impressive the difference just 1mile further down the hill. The trail went from winter condition to advanced spring condition, very very soft. It rode well but have to hang on the bars tight!  We followed our morning path and came back home around 6:00 PM with 255 miles on the venture dreameter. Surely the last one starting directly from the home, the trailer will have to take back service to stretch the season a little more.
Riding will still be possible in the weeks coming but not everywhere, some clubs south of Lanaudière have started to close mainly because of rivers but the north is still strong. The weather will play a big part for the next, in anyway the trail condition web site is always a good place to have details on the clubs: https://www.snowmobilecountry.ca/en/conditions/
Good end of season everybody!
Alain
 

i did nt check much ...
on the news...i don t know how to say that ....no more sailing for the apollo ......last week , ship was leaking ....+ the bumpy ride in the dock in matane !!!
 
jean-guy
 
 

good morning !!!
back from tq 5 !!!
trail was still soft for the machine at many places...only -7c at 3 am ...snowing a little on my way back ....windy !!!
on my way back ...climbing first hill west of st fidele cb ...right in the sharp corner with the tree stand on the left side....fell off the trail...almost looked like the driver of the apollo .....ahaha
went slowly to have grip to come back on the trail !!!
 
jean-guy

Oh oh!  It just stopped running coming out of that last corner.  It felt like it was firing on one cylinder for hundred meters and then came to a rolling stop.  Did it run out of fuel?  No it was full of fuel 40 miles ago.  Blown belt.  No. 
Boy there is a lot of steam coming out from under that right side panel.  Hey Mike & Joe, I don't remember seeing the pink snow when the sled stopped.  Hmm?  The anti-freeze bottle is empty.  We can only move the primary clutch about an inch in either direction and it makes a funny clunking sound. 
13,000 miles on the 850.  I thought these were going to go further than the 800 E-tecs.  My last two E-tecs I had 15,000 and 13,500 no rebuilds on either.
Sandi isn't with me on this trip.  First time she couldn't make it in years.  Her new 600R is in the trailer!  Should I?
Jack & no Sandi

great !!!
went to ste anne des monts today ....business trip !!!
took a few pics !!!
 
jean-guy

It’s cold and snowing here in Matane this morning. My ears are frozen from loading up the truck.
We hope all the Quebec Riders are enjoying the trails. For us it’s 800 miles home.

We start to make our way down. What’s this coming toward us. It’s a man walking up the mountain. It amazes me. A short time later here comes a guy skiing up. When we got to the bottom there were 2 women getting ready to walk up.

On the way up there is a lot of snow. It’s covered over the guard rail. The wind has made a few drifts. I’m hearing some strange sounds though my communicator. Nice view isn’t it? “There’s no trail” Don’t worry this is the road we took in the car years ago. We make our way up and is cold and windy. The view is very nice.

Early, mid March, no better time to do a quick loop through the Gaspesie. Four of us left Nova Scotia Tuesday morning at 6am, drove the 4 hours to Pointe a la Croix getting there at 9am. (Gained an hour with the time zone change)  We took off and headed East toward New Richmond.  Trails were fair to good, they were ready for the groomer. Lots of deer on the trails, we had to slow down several times.  From New Richmond we traveled the 595 to La Cache, also fair to good trail conditions. The trail from La Cache to Murdochville was better then what we rode so far but that was more because of soft snow. We didn't see much traffic all day till we pulled into The Copper, apparently everyone was there. 225 miles

The next morning we pulled out to sunshine and freshly groomed trails...awesome!!! Up to the TQ5 and turned westward, first track from last nights grooming. Stopped at the hang glider lookout above Mont Saint Pierre, then on to Riviere Claude.

 
Trail still perfect, hard, and fast. Stopped at La Martre for gas, there is a new gas stop there, an unattended gas pump.  Just like buying something from a vending machine, a great idea! We travelled along smiling and landed at St Paulin just after lunch too early to go for Matane. We turned down the 595 to La Cache for a late lunch, spectacular scenery. A little food and beverage an back up the 595 to St Paulin and on to Matane in about 20 minutes after dark. 300 miles.
Day three another beautiful sunny day, freshly groomed again...gotta love it!!  Took the 591 south through Sayabec to the 587 then up to the Mummy trees before Redemption, could see forever!

Trails from there led us to Albertville and Groomers clubhouse. We were eating and hydrating and low and behold in comes Linda, Groomer, and their group out on a sled tour. We chatted for a bit and headed out on the 587 south, Groomer and Linda were heading in the same direction soon after us. Part way through we took a local trail to a very cool look out at L' Ascension de Patapedia.


We got back on the 587 again went a short ways and caught up Groomer and company again.  We waved and sailed on only to have them catch up to us again we we were going off trail to get around a log truck parked in the middle of the trail.  From there on to the truck and headed to Nova with about 725 miles for the trip