GSX800

Yes, or bring in food.  Not sure Uber Eats or Grubhub delivers there.

Those are the Woodrunner trails. 

Little tid bit of info to anyone who cares. Just got off the phone with my friend's Geanie & Andre owners of l'Ombre du Vent in Parent. The 4 rental chalets are getting pretty full on the weekends but weekdays are not usually a problem. Some things to note:
even though the website shows and the cabins USED to accommodate 4 separate beds between the two bedrooms (thus 4 guys in a cabin) can now only hold 3 beds. They were all changed out last season as Hydro Quebec rented them all year and their guys didnt want the single beds. 
There is an ATM in town
The Cell Tower which has been up for like two years now is STILL not operational in town
She reports like 2 ft on the ground in Parent.
And....life is good. 4 of us going to spend some time up there (and surrounding area) in about 10 days from now. Hopefully there will be a little more snow. 
 
 
 

Todays Run:  left Delta and headed for Mt Valin. In town trails all freshly groomed. Go across both bridges and take a right to head for 93.  Trail went to 4/10.  The quad trail that ran beside it was all freshly groomed, snowmobile trail nope. At least it was a short run to 93. Head east on 93, back to Mint conditions. All good to K31. Had lunch and a splash of fuel and off to St. Ambroise. 93 west to 328 west to 367.  All good running. Did a loop in that area and then headed back to the Delta.  175 miles today. Not much traffic at all. Nice to sled mid week for sure. 

You might want to take a tablecloth or 2 to make some loincloths.
Today is not the day to trust a fart!

At Fer Cheval now for lunch. I ordered the Chicken Caesar salad. 10 minutes after l ordered friend hands me his phone with the above on Twitter.
Will report back later. Gathering napkins off table at the moment.

Looking at that picture, one has to wonder, are there really other manufacturers besides BRP?

Yes, or bring in food.  Not sure Uber Eats or Grubhub delivers there.

My buddy sent me this   Was on twitter 
stay away from the chicken Caesar salad 

We arrive at the road crossing to Club Explorateurs.  Oh where do I cross?  I remember this was changed last year.  I see the trail across the road.  I get halfway across the road and realize there is a ditch in front of me.  Hold up Sandi.  I goofed.  What else is new.
I look to my left and I see the trail crossing a few hundred feet up there.  I spin around and get bak with Sandi and see the sign for 35 east.  I guess I wasn't observant enough.  Cross the road and a short loop to the club house. 
Two other sleds are just leaving going down the railbed on 35 towards Pohenegamook.  Those are the first two sleds we have seen today.
The clubhouse is closed.  The sign on the door only says "Cash Only".  I don't see any hours posted.  Maybe there are only open on weekends?
Sandi is still having me lead.  I don't mind.  We head east on 526.  This has a sled track or two on it.  A little ripple to the surface underneath.  I am not complaining.  We have been on super trails all day.
We get to local 40 and remember this had a little sand and is used by the logging trucks this year.  To our left is 526 and no one has been on it today.  Not a tough choice.  We turn left and we are off.  Instead of taking the connector to 5, we stay on 526.  This used to be a narrow trail and a little cranky but has been opened up for logging maybe last summer but it isn't plowed or sanded.  Just a perfect Quebec trail.
We get to 85 and turn left.  Now this has had some traffic but is just as smooth as everything else.  A joyous ride back to the Universal.  We gas up the sleds at the Petro Can next door.  We like to fill up the sleds the night before.
What a wonderful ride.  I am so glad we decided to come up this week and not cancel.
There are some trails that are thin but there are other trails that are fantastic.  Sit back and enjoy the ride.
If you are thinking about coming up, you won't be disappointed.  Just realize that you may hit a bad trail but the good trails are phenomenal.
Jack & Sandi

A couple of pictures of the front of the Universal's restaurant from the outside.  Looks like all new glass and probably all new interior if it is going to take the contractors until April to finish.

We need some company Joe.  The trails are waiting for you.
Jack & Sandi

l’ hombre du vent - awesome cabins, awesome hosts.  

Thank you for the awesome reports.

Here is the ride we did last Sunday

With the good snowfall on Friday followed by a mild temperature night, we already knew that the trails conditions would deteriorate  quickly under the effect of traffic, so we postponed our departure to Sunday. We launched directly from the home in St-Thomas de Joliette on Sunday morning under a beautiful sun and a temperature of -15C.

Superb winter conditions, very hard frozen groomed trail  giving ideal conditions. Here on #3 towards Berthierville

The wood sections were very snowy

Nice encounter on this winter morning


The La Chaloupe river is ok but stay in the marked trail!

We continued on #3 to the east with perfect conditions

Another great encounter! they weren't nervous at all, just happy to run outside

In the St-Barthelemy sector where the trail get souther the snow was a little swept but on an icy base it ride very well

I chose to keep #3 and go through Maskinonge village instead of #63 which goes through St-Justin. It's good but there is a section of 500' swept away where you can see the dirt. In the afternoon we came back by St-Justin on #63 instead and it's more snowy

Here Ste-Ursules sector


We are used to heading between #3 and #63 via St-Sévère but the Rivière du Loup that we have to cross direct on the ice is not safe yet so we opted for #63 trail

We took a break on the beautiful site of the Magnan Falls in Charette

The falls are usually completely frozen but this year you can still see the water flowing


We continued on #63

And took the #3 towards St-Étienne

And crossed the St-Maurice on the #3 at the height of La Gabelle. A few slush spots but it's marked and rides well

The east side of the St-Maurice was a little rougher but still ride well and the snow cover is very good

We stopped to eat at pizzeria du Lac at Lac à la Tortue near Grand-Mère.

After a good meal break we left and retraced our steps on the same route with a few exceptions. Here in the area of Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel

We did a pitstop in St-Étienne. Unlike past years where the trail passed in the yard between the gas station and the BRP NC dealer, the trail this year passes behind NC and you have to take a very short trail to go to gas or at NC

We saw this impressive dogs team on the way back, there are 2 wide...

We took a break again at the Magnan Falls in Charette but at the top of the falls this time

As I said at the beginning it's rare to see the water in the falls it's usually all hard frozen

We then continued west. The trail conditions had deteriorated a little since our lunch but from the fork of the #350 St-Paulin sector it became very beautiful and fast again until St-Cuthbert.

Here a snow bridge not far from the village of Ste-Ursules

We took the #63 to go through St-Justin, it was superb

We came across the Dozer de St-Barthelemy without the drag which was at finishing some work on the trail

We went through St-Norbert to come back, the trail was more bumpy from the traffic but it was ok

We were back home around 4:30 p.m. with 322kms (200miles) of happiness on the meter!

I know that most of you won't ride that south but the good news is that the trail network enlarge and is getting more and more connected to spread the traffic through. There are few rivers mostly along the St-Laurence river that are not ready yet. St-Maurice river is crossable but the trail on the river is not ready yet. The interactive map seems pretty accurate now on the trail condition. 
If we can keep getting January like temperature it will be perfect...
Bye!
Alain

Well we made the trip this weekend. Thanks to everyone that replied to my inquiries. Here's what we learned about this stop.
- It's remote and as such you should adjust your expectations
- there is no plowed road into it.  They are bringing everything in and out on a sleigh to Casey about 8km away
- power is from solar and wind.  As such they do work to conserve power.  The place has low voltage lights and you're asked to shut them off if not needed.  Don't think it's closed if it's dim showing up at night.  They are just in power conservation mode.
- heat is from a wood furnace.  It was warm, but could be warmer.  We slept with sweaters and wool socks on.  They told me they have plans for more insulation in the room we were in, so we might have just got the cold one.  It wasn't terrible.  A room at 15 degrees celcius vs 20.
- toilets are composting toilets.  At first it creates some apprehension, but once you use them you realise they work just fine.  They are vented properly and don't smell.  Bathrooms are shared for the entire facility.  There was two of them.  Hand sanitizer is pushed to clean your hands vs soap and water.
- There is one shower and one sink with running water in the bathroom area.  We chose not to shower.  Not sure if it would have been allowed or not.  I didn't get into the details on their water situation with them.  I suspect it's somewhat limited as well.  I was able to brush my teeth.
- they have good wifi.  I had a video call with the kids at home
- they wouldn't allow us to charge our electronics.  Back to the power conservation discussion.  Not a big deal, but something to plan for if it matters to you
- food choices were limited.  No issues with quality, but don't expect a meal like you get at 100 lacs de Suds.  Supper was burger and fries or a small plate of spaghetti.  Breakfast was a good portioned eggs and toast.  They were running short on food, but I think this is just an experience thing that they will get better at.  I left supper a little hungry.  Breakfast was as good as anywhere else I've ate in Quebec.
- the place isn't large.  There is two main rooms for accommodation and a third room acts as overflow for the dining room which is converted to a bedroom.  This was our room.
- beds I thought were fine.  My wife complained to me some the next day, but I really didn't think they were bad at all.  They are cots, but are new and I thought there was plenty of material in the mattress.
- the young man running the place is awesome.  Very nice and welcoming.  I can't remember his name, but they have the right person running it.  Very hospitable.  He even asked us if we wanted to go out and look for the northern lights.  They weren't out, but the thought was there.
- price was $130 per person per night taxes and fees included.  Included supper and breakfast.
- cash only for payments.  Plan for this.  I did send them an e-transfer which they accepted, but that was an exception vs a normal thing.  No credit or debit
- there was 7 of use (a group of 5 plus my wife and I there for the night).   I would say we were pushing their capacity for winter stays.  With larger groups sharing rooms a few more may have fit.
- they have beer and wine on site
- the place still has that new feeling to it.  Some of the construction you can tell wasn't completed by skilled trades though.  Just rough on the finishes
- no tvs or anything of that sort. I taught my wife monopoly using the resorts french version of the game which was fun.  Translating it while teaching her made it interesting for us two English folk.  Much to my luck she beat me terribly.  I knew I was done when she bought all 4 railroads and started building houses everywhere.
My wife left joking that I took her glamping.  I think it was better than that.  I probably won't get her back there.  I'd stay again myself though.  At the end of the day it was a budget friendly option, we left fed and didn't freeze.  Definitely a good lunch stop for burgers and fries.  If you go in with clear expectations it's a good night stop to sleep as well.  Fills a gap in a remote part of the province.  I wish them well in their future operations.  I do think it will get better as they learn how to operate the place and make improvements.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks Mark.  The groomers have been out and the forecast is below freezing all week.  A few cm of snow is forecast for tonight.
The grooming map shows two areas that aren't reporting.  One going down 85 toward Degelis and the other towards St Pamphile.  I can't imagine the two railbeds not being groomed.  Maybe the beacons were turned off in the groomers.  Sandi and I will be the boots on the ground or should I say the tracks on the trails!  😁
We will report back tonight.
Jack & Sandi

Best trails this trip Weymetaci on the 83 to Casey turn off and the first 40 miles out of 100 Lacs towards Maniwan. Worst was the 7 miles either side of Parent.

The Captain of one of the groups l go to Quebec with send out a group text to get opinions about bringing a new guy on.
l jokingly replied:
As long as he’s not a Liberal or rides an Arctic Cat

I'm drooling on my keyboard!!! what a wonderful day!

Not trying to infringe on your excellent post Alain, but here are a few pictures I took today we followed your path exactly.
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/1EFDA09F-16AD-4DE0-AFBF-424E778F5DC3.thumb.jpeg.f94f154aace18b6511f7d901b0af9da0.jpeg
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/4095DFE6-0875-4AAF-9FB6-35DBD709C201.thumb.jpeg.59d2205670a809a39ce1bfde79681f7c.jpeg
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/9C48612F-0F17-4B47-B530-1000CE2A1F6D.thumb.jpeg.82a77f65ac99d8c1c86772e0fed33492.jpeg
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/80F167D4-D7FA-4F00-8F1A-6171C52BE32C.thumb.jpeg.79c80d7f06560971edde519fbbac227e.jpeg
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/CC93DC0C-2259-4C01-A9F2-C0E4749774BB.thumb.jpeg.f5bc2b9d05fd6a121713aacd3a1e442c.jpeg
http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_01/C3CDBB14-1F46-4E67-AEEB-2B8B887BF168.thumb.jpeg.f4ff182d09dfe1ff696386171d48b4a9.jpeg

Today between Cabanon and Mattawin.

Awesome report as always.  Can’t wait to get up there after reading your reports.

It won’t work without network connectivity.  For planning at home.  Alain/Towing helped out last time there was a glitch.  He knows who to get it to at the FCMQ for the fix.