Northbound

Day 9 to Jonquiere,
   Short ride today. Warm and mostly cloudy, a little freezing mist in morning. The first 60km of the 93 hadn't been groomed since last snow. 1st 10km out of coronet  bumpy, but after that where it turns into wide road, was ok.
    Some info on the coronet, for those who have never stopped, we've been stopping for years. The rooms are very small and not at all fancy but..... for $155, 2 people can get a room with very simple table d' hote dinner and breakfast,  and the 155 includes tax, tips and out the door. They also have a sled lockup, road gas and a little store.
    Now back to the ride. After the 1st 60km all the trails were green right to the Delta. Aside from alot of traffic in the mtns it was perfect. After probably seeing 20 sleds in the last 3 days, seeing  50 plus in an hour was a shock.
   Not much traffic around town but we came in around noon and I assume everyone was out riding. We stopped for lunch at Subway, got gas, and headed to the Delta. Road crossings a little wet, wheels an asset at gas stations.
Jeff and Sandy 
  
 
 

Day 9 to Jonquiere,
   Short ride today. Warm and mostly cloudy, a little freezing mist in morning. The first 60km of the 93 hadn't been groomed since last snow. 1st 10km out of coronet  bumpy, but after that where it turns into wide road, was ok.
    Some info on the coronet, for those who have never stopped, we've been stopping for years. The rooms are very small and not at all fancy but..... for $155, 2 people can get a room with very simple table d' hote dinner and breakfast,  and the 155 includes tax, tips and out the door. They also have a sled lockup, road gas and a little store.
    Now back to the ride. After the 1st 60km all the trails were green right to the Delta. Aside from alot of traffic in the mtns it was perfect. After probably seeing 20 sleds in the last 3 days, seeing  50 plus in an hour was a shock.
   Not much traffic around town but we came in around noon and I assume everyone was out riding. We stopped for lunch at Subway, got gas, and headed to the Delta. Road crossings a little wet, wheels an asset at gas stations.
Jeff and Sandy 
  
 
 

Day 9 to Jonquiere,
   Short ride today. Warm and mostly cloudy, a little freezing mist in morning. The first 60km of the 93 hadn't been groomed since last snow. 1st 10km out of coronet  bumpy, but after that where it turns into wide road, was ok.
    Some info on the coronet, for those who have never stopped, we've been stopping for years. The rooms are very small and not at all fancy but..... for $155, 2 people can get a room with very simple table d' hote dinner and breakfast,  and the 155 includes tax, tips and out the door. They also have a sled lockup, road gas and a little store.
    Now back to the ride. After the 1st 60km all the trails were green right to the Delta. Aside from alot of traffic in the mtns it was perfect. After probably seeing 20 sleds in the last 3 days, seeing  50 plus in an hour was a shock.
   Not much traffic around town but we came in around noon and I assume everyone was out riding. We stopped for lunch at Subway, got gas, and headed to the Delta. Road crossings a little wet, wheels an asset at gas stations.
Jeff and Sandy 
  
 
 

Day 8 to Sacre Coer,  
       Flurried a little overnight. 100 miles to Mclunch and gas in forestville. I think we passed Roadrunner heading east. 
   By the time we got to lunch snow really picked up. They said 1-3, I beg to differ. Leaving Portneuf, I was having trouble finding the trail in the open spots. As I was deciding to go on or jump on the road for a bit. 4 sleds came from the west. 4 guys from Montreal. I asked them about the trail up ahead he said " not good, but fun".  Not the answer I was looking for butnow we jad tracks to follow. Soon 6 sleds came up from behind, better. 
   The what I thought were 7 sleds that crossed on the ferry went to Sept Iles then  BC and are now in the Coronet where we we landed for the night. We have been leapfrogging them for 3 days. They are running faster than us, but we don't have to stop to smoke. Not a relaxing day but we're here. Trails needed goomed past forestville and about 10 mile from sacre coer, the sun came out and guess what we passed. 1st pic is outside comfort inn in BC. Like I said plenty of snow.
     Jeff and Sandy 
Tomorrow I will post on Saguenay forum

Day 8 to Sacre Coer,  
       Flurried a little overnight. 100 miles to Mclunch and gas in forestville. I think we passed Roadrunner heading east. 
   By the time we got to lunch snow really picked up. They said 1-3, I beg to differ. Leaving Portneuf, I was having trouble finding the trail in the open spots. As I was deciding to go on or jump on the road for a bit. 4 sleds came from the west. 4 guys from Montreal. I asked them about the trail up ahead he said " not good, but fun".  Not the answer I was looking for butnow we jad tracks to follow. Soon 6 sleds came up from behind, better. 
   The what I thought were 7 sleds that crossed on the ferry went to Sept Iles then  BC and are now in the Coronet where we we landed for the night. We have been leapfrogging them for 3 days. They are running faster than us, but we don't have to stop to smoke. Not a relaxing day but we're here. Trails needed goomed past forestville and about 10 mile from sacre coer, the sun came out and guess what we passed. 1st pic is outside comfort inn in BC. Like I said plenty of snow.
     Jeff and Sandy 
Tomorrow I will post on Saguenay forum

Roadrunner,  our trip is going well. I'm sure your tommorrow will be better. I will be following in an armchair.
   Have a safe trip
      Jeff and Sandy 

Day 8 to Sacre Coer,  
       Flurried a little overnight. 100 miles to Mclunch and gas in forestville. I think we passed Roadrunner heading east. 
   By the time we got to lunch snow really picked up. They said 1-3, I beg to differ. Leaving Portneuf, I was having trouble finding the trail in the open spots. As I was deciding to go on or jump on the road for a bit. 4 sleds came from the west. 4 guys from Montreal. I asked them about the trail up ahead he said " not good, but fun".  Not the answer I was looking for butnow we jad tracks to follow. Soon 6 sleds came up from behind, better. 
   The what I thought were 7 sleds that crossed on the ferry went to Sept Iles then  BC and are now in the Coronet where we we landed for the night. We have been leapfrogging them for 3 days. They are running faster than us, but we don't have to stop to smoke. Not a relaxing day but we're here. Trails needed goomed past forestville and about 10 mile from sacre coer, the sun came out and guess what we passed. 1st pic is outside comfort inn in BC. Like I said plenty of snow.
     Jeff and Sandy 
Tomorrow I will post on Saguenay forum

Back home ride from Delta to Fairmont Richileu  was fabulous , ride to Sheraton 4 points was ok. overall this was our best trip ever. We decided to come to the Delta for 3 to4 weeks next year , we met so many great people Bill,Danail,Glen, Rick,Kevin,Gary, , and so many more. it is so nice to see so many wives traveling with their men, Carol and I are coming back for sure.

hi steven !!!
 
great to meet you for sure !!! sorry if trail was bumpy  ....trail was rough....11 hrs run ...low traffic...25-30 sleds..mostly going west 
heavy snow...wind ..sunshine and still warm ...
cocktail ???? beer and rouge in the gaspesie !!!
 
jean-guy

Day 8 to Sacre Coer,  
       Flurried a little overnight. 100 miles to Mclunch and gas in forestville. I think we passed Roadrunner heading east. 
   By the time we got to lunch snow really picked up. They said 1-3, I beg to differ. Leaving Portneuf, I was having trouble finding the trail in the open spots. As I was deciding to go on or jump on the road for a bit. 4 sleds came from the west. 4 guys from Montreal. I asked them about the trail up ahead he said " not good, but fun".  Not the answer I was looking for butnow we jad tracks to follow. Soon 6 sleds came up from behind, better. 
   The what I thought were 7 sleds that crossed on the ferry went to Sept Iles then  BC and are now in the Coronet where we we landed for the night. We have been leapfrogging them for 3 days. They are running faster than us, but we don't have to stop to smoke. Not a relaxing day but we're here. Trails needed goomed past forestville and about 10 mile from sacre coer, the sun came out and guess what we passed. 1st pic is outside comfort inn in BC. Like I said plenty of snow.
     Jeff and Sandy 
Tomorrow I will post on Saguenay forum

Roadrunner,  
    I think it was last year that we passed you as you were headed to the great east beyond, while we were headed to the safety of the west.
     Well I think it happened again today. We were the 2 sleds westbound towards forestville and I assume you were the group of I think 5 sleds going east..
   I didn't thimk iceman was running with you but I could swear I saw an iceman sticker on the lead sled. Did someone get tagged? Haha
Jeff and Sandy 
 
 
 
 

Day 8 to Sacre Coer,  
       Flurried a little overnight. 100 miles to Mclunch and gas in forestville. I think we passed Roadrunner heading east. 
   By the time we got to lunch snow really picked up. They said 1-3, I beg to differ. Leaving Portneuf, I was having trouble finding the trail in the open spots. As I was deciding to go on or jump on the road for a bit. 4 sleds came from the west. 4 guys from Montreal. I asked them about the trail up ahead he said " not good, but fun".  Not the answer I was looking for butnow we jad tracks to follow. Soon 6 sleds came up from behind, better. 
   The what I thought were 7 sleds that crossed on the ferry went to Sept Iles then  BC and are now in the Coronet where we we landed for the night. We have been leapfrogging them for 3 days. They are running faster than us, but we don't have to stop to smoke. Not a relaxing day but we're here. Trails needed goomed past forestville and about 10 mile from sacre coer, the sun came out and guess what we passed. 1st pic is outside comfort inn in BC. Like I said plenty of snow.
     Jeff and Sandy 
Tomorrow I will post on Saguenay forum

Jack, 
    We may be stopping at the universal on monday, to pick up our truck. Probably just a quick in and out so we can begin our drive home. Too bad, you and Sandy will be out enjoying the trails.
    I really want to see the new beaver paws in person. Maybe next year. Enjoy yourselves.
    Jeff and Sandy 

Day 4

Ok. We get started a little early today. We were on the trail at 7:30. It's a grey sky day with light flurries 29 degrees. We back track on TQ5 going west. The groomer we saw last evening made a nice trail even better. Going west passed Grande Vallee it got choppy again. I guess the groomer stops at GV. Like yesterday once we get to 597 things smooth out. We head down to Murdochville and fuel up. The plan is to take the Chic Chocs trail to La Cache. I was told yesterday it was in bad shape. Off we go. The snow gods are with us this time because it's smooth sailing. We make great time cutting across to La Cache. We see the detour that Iceman reported. We stop for lunch. The place looks good with the renovations going on. After lunch we get on 575 south. It's not in top shape. The track is hitting the tunnel. Still we are making good time. Just after Pin Rouge the deer are waiting for us. There are no shortage around here. We make our way to TQ5 west. It's in great shape. Smooth sailing to Carlton. 278 miles on the day.
 

Hi Jeff & Sandy,
It looks like beautiful weather & trails over there. 
We will be following you next Monday.
I am not leaving Quebec without stopping at St. Hubert.

Looks like you guys are hitting some great conditions, enjoy!

Day 6,    To Sept Iles. Caught the 8am ferry to Godbout. Nice smooth ride over with breakfast onboard. This trip, sleds were on first and off first, nice. 
   I hate to keep rubbing this in if you're not up here, but today was another nice mild, sunny day.
    7 other sleds crossed with us. When we all off loaded and took the local to the 3, everyone turned right.
     The first maybe 10 miles was still wide single track, but from there on everything was very good to freshly groomed.
    We stopped for gas and a soup at Tims in Port  Cartier.  From my room at the Quality Inn, looking across the parking lot I can see a St Hubert. I've  got an idea for supper.
     Jeff and Sandy
Sorry for all the boat pics, but I thought somebody out there may not have seen it  before, and it is an impressive boat.

Day 5 to Matane,
    GT, sorry we missed you, I think you got an earlier start than us. Laying in bed last night listening to the wind howl didn't make me all that anxious for an early start. I saw a few sets of eastbound tracks that started at MSP. I assumed one of them was yours, maybe next time. Enjoy your ride.
   .Trails were all pretty good to st ann except  for a couple spots GT mentioned that were icy or thin up high in a logged area. The wind didn't seem to hurt that area.  After st ann some of the trails got a little bumpy in spots, mainly as you would expect in narrower sections like where the trail would share half road half trail. They also must of had some more blowing snow because they had drift bumps.
      Still a very nice day. The relay that we like for lunch just west of St Ann, we knew was closed on monday so we went into St Ann to subway.
     Catching the morning ferry and will post on Cote Nord site tomorrow.
       Jeff and Sandy 
 

Day 7 to Baie-Comeau,  More info about the Quality Inn we stayed at last night. Their included breakfast was pretty good,  eggs, bacon, sausage, you know the good stuff. Also on the 4th floor they had a free laundry. Only 1 washer and 1 dryer, but new machines and did I say free? We'd always stayed across the street at comfort inn, but no more. Also pretty cool, we could see a freighter anchored out in the bay from our room.
    I jinxed myself yesterday about the sunshine. Today was cloudy with a few furries but mild. Trsils were all good to Godbout. Between Godbout and BC a few bumps, mainly in the little hills. Still a real nice day to ride. Plenty of snow here.       Jeff and Sandy 

Day 4, to Mont-Louis,
     Another ideal day to ride. Blue skys and very little wind. I think tonight will be different, its about 3:30 now and clouding up with some wind forcast for tonight. Got to Grande-Vallee early, got gas and a nice early lunch at hotel GV. The place then filled with a lot of sledders. A lot of them looked like 2up dayriders. It was a short day but between Gaspe and Matane is about 500k, which is way too much for us in 1 day so we have to split it somewhere. It has been several years since we ran the 5 between Gaspe and the 597. It seemed faster and more open than I remember it. There were a lot of windmills, so I'm guessing they are utilizing some of their new roads? Most all trails were in good shape today with not a lot of traffic.

Day 3,   Bono to Gaspe.  Woke up to fresh dusting of snow overnight. Rode out of town by the Bonaventure airport. The runway groomer was working. The 5 was groomed overnight. Heading est, we were making the first tracks except for the deer. We saw a few this morning but tracks were everywhere. 
    Beautiful day to ride, blue skys, very little wind, most trails freshly groomed. Quite a bit of traffic around chandler. We stopped at relay there for a bite and then into town for gas, there was a line.
   The bottom of the 597 and the bailey bridge cutoff were groomed overnight, sweet. There was a trailside conference on the 597 and gaspe intersection. 
   Haven't seen any sleds in town tonight as we went out for dinner.
     Jeff and Sandy 
 

Day 7 to Baie-Comeau,  More info about the Quality Inn we stayed at last night. Their included breakfast was pretty good,  eggs, bacon, sausage, you know the good stuff. Also on the 4th floor they had a free laundry. Only 1 washer and 1 dryer, but new machines and did I say free? We'd always stayed across the street at comfort inn, but no more. Also pretty cool, we could see a freighter anchored out in the bay from our room.
    I jinxed myself yesterday about the sunshine. Today was cloudy with a few furries but mild. Trsils were all good to Godbout. Between Godbout and BC a few bumps, mainly in the little hills. Still a real nice day to ride. Plenty of snow here.       Jeff and Sandy 

Day 6,    To Sept Iles. Caught the 8am ferry to Godbout. Nice smooth ride over with breakfast onboard. This trip, sleds were on first and off first, nice. 
   I hate to keep rubbing this in if you're not up here, but today was another nice mild, sunny day.
    7 other sleds crossed with us. When we all off loaded and took the local to the 3, everyone turned right.
     The first maybe 10 miles was still wide single track, but from there on everything was very good to freshly groomed.
    We stopped for gas and a soup at Tims in Port  Cartier.  From my room at the Quality Inn, looking across the parking lot I can see a St Hubert. I've  got an idea for supper.
     Jeff and Sandy
Sorry for all the boat pics, but I thought somebody out there may not have seen it  before, and it is an impressive boat.

Day 5 to Matane,
    GT, sorry we missed you, I think you got an earlier start than us. Laying in bed last night listening to the wind howl didn't make me all that anxious for an early start. I saw a few sets of eastbound tracks that started at MSP. I assumed one of them was yours, maybe next time. Enjoy your ride.
   .Trails were all pretty good to st ann except  for a couple spots GT mentioned that were icy or thin up high in a logged area. The wind didn't seem to hurt that area.  After st ann some of the trails got a little bumpy in spots, mainly as you would expect in narrower sections like where the trail would share half road half trail. They also must of had some more blowing snow because they had drift bumps.
      Still a very nice day. The relay that we like for lunch just west of St Ann, we knew was closed on monday so we went into St Ann to subway.
     Catching the morning ferry and will post on Cote Nord site tomorrow.
       Jeff and Sandy 
 

Day 5 to Matane,
    GT, sorry we missed you, I think you got an earlier start than us. Laying in bed last night listening to the wind howl didn't make me all that anxious for an early start. I saw a few sets of eastbound tracks that started at MSP. I assumed one of them was yours, maybe next time. Enjoy your ride.
   .Trails were all pretty good to st ann except  for a couple spots GT mentioned that were icy or thin up high in a logged area. The wind didn't seem to hurt that area.  After st ann some of the trails got a little bumpy in spots, mainly as you would expect in narrower sections like where the trail would share half road half trail. They also must of had some more blowing snow because they had drift bumps.
      Still a very nice day. The relay that we like for lunch just west of St Ann, we knew was closed on monday so we went into St Ann to subway.
     Catching the morning ferry and will post on Cote Nord site tomorrow.
       Jeff and Sandy