GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 Tuesday 335 miles We had a great stay at Hotel L’Oiseliere. Gemma was impressed with our room. We could step out the sliding door into the pool / Jungle. It’s a very unique hotel. We have an early breakfast and get going. I didn’t make it to Mt Maglorie or Massif Sud yesterday so I do a little back tracking. We take 5 to 551 to 35 to 549. The trails are in great shape. It’s not a blue sky day. There’s light flurries. When I can see Massif Sud it’s clouded over. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. PLAYHARD, MrGutz, P Hardy and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 We reach Mt Maglorie I go up the observation deck and there’s not much of a view. All the signs showing points of interest were missing. We move on. smclelan, MrGutz, zeusand and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 The trails are in good shape as we make our way to Massif Sud. As we approach the observation trail we can see the groomer had been through. Once again there’s not much of a view with the overcast sky but I go through the motions. The trees up here look like they take a beating from the weather. PLAYHARD, P Hardy, Snohorse and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 Now it’s time to head to Rimouski. We catch 547 on the way I stop for gas. Then we take 35 east. The trail is in nice condition. I can see we have a long way to go. I hold off on pictures and make some time on 35. We find out there’s a section of 35 that hasn’t been groomed in a while. Between 551 and the orange cross trails it’s quite bumpy. We’re happy to get through it an press on. There’s some freezing precipitation icing my face mask. We take 557 to 5 and stop at the clubhouse for a quick break. Then we go to St Pascal for gas. The trail is good but it’s overcast. iceman, MrGutz, Snohorse and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 Back on trail 5 it’s a nice ride into RDL. I stopped for gas at the trail side PetroCanada. We pass Relais Aventuriers. Then we get on some really beat trails. They say you got to take the good with the bad. It feels kind of warm. The trail is soft. I’m sure it’s not good grooming conditions. We continue on. We see the clubhouse that closed a few year’s ago. MrGutz, doonali, mikerider and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 We continue on towards Trois Pistoles. when we get to the falls the trail is back in good shape. The clubhouse was closed. The snow was very thin around the clubhouse. We get on the power line run and the trail is in nice shape. When we passed the 518 intersection we can see that it’s fresh groomed in the direction we’re traveling. I have a feeling this hasn’t been done in a while. The other side of the trail looks rough. We have about 30 miles to go. We caught up with the groomer In about 10 miles. We were happy to get those miles. The last 20 were pretty rough. It was a long day for us. We were happy to arrive at the hotel. smclelan, Snohorse, PLAYHARD and 6 others 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 No breakfast at the hotel this morning. I run across the street to Tim’s. It’s looking pretty soggy outside. smclelan, MrGutz and PLAYHARD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 (edited) Wednesday 214 miles We had a nice stay at L’Empress. We are heading over to see the mummies. It’s warm this morning. My fingers are crossed that the trail’s will be okay. We take 578 to 5 to the orange local to 579. The trails are in great shape. We pass by Domain Valga. Edited March 9, 2023 by GT Rider P Hardy, Florida Snowman, PLAYHARD and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We take 579 to 587. The trails are very good. The sky is cloudy we are not sure how the view will turn out up the mountain. We started to see windmills. It seems every year that there’s more and more of them. PLAYHARD, MrGutz and smclelan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We make our way up by the lookout. On the way up snow is sticking to the trees. It was like passing a line and it was cold enough for mummies. smclelan, MrGutz, PLAYHARD and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 I take a quick run up the observation tower. It’s like another world up here no signs of warm weather. On my way up 4 machines pulled in. doonali, MrGutz, P Hardy and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 I get some pictures and we head down the mountain. Back on 587 we stop for gas at St Irene. We make our way to 5 and head over to the clubhouse. Street crossing’s are showing the late time of the season. We reached the clubhouse shortly before 12:00. I am taking a photo and Gemma see’s J.G. And Linda in the window. It’s our good fortune to meet up with them. We had a nice visit with J.G., Linda, Joel and their friends. My pictures inside are on my camera (no uploading). MrGutz, Florida Snowman, smclelan and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We say our goodbyes and take 587 to Matapedia. Once again the trail is in great condition. It’s warm today! There is very little traffic. It’s a beautiful blue sky day in this area. There’s plenty of windmills on this trail. When we pass St Alexis we can see the logging staging area. There’s a lot of wood piles. We ride though some muddy road. PLAYHARD, doonali, MrGutz and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We make our way over to the bridge at Matapedia. There’s no snow at all on it. We stop at Ultramar and top off. The trail is a bit different from our last time through. We take 587 to 5 and make our way to the cable bridge. There’s quite a few people there. I’m taking a picture and we’re being waved over. We pull over and find it’s the group from L’Empress last night. One of the guys is a volunteer for the PLC club. We thank him and the club for the nice trail conditions we just had. MrGutz, doonali, PLAYHARD and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We get on 5 and head for Causapscal. We can see the trail has changed a bit since our last time through. The trail no longer goes around the horn where we got stuck in drifting last time out. We make our way to the hotel. We notice that the trail has changed around town as well. Another great day on the trail. MrGutz, PLAYHARD, smclelan and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyswagon Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 It looks like you're having a great trip. It's great to see the conditions that are there now, as we are heading up for 3 days next week. It looks like snow in the forecast while we are there, so there will be no great landscape shots, but we are in fact going to snowmobile. Thanks for posting. PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 Trails look good for now. Parking lots and streets are melted. Last night I spoke with a local guy that said there’s about a month left! PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyswagon Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 That's great to hear. If all goes well next week(brides first trip to the mainland), I hope to head back with her the 1st week of April. GT Rider and PLAYHARD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 Our trip started off a bit rough this year. When I went to start my truck Sunday 2/26 morning it wouldn’t fire up. I have a diesel and it was cold? That never happened before. I had backed into a plowed hill of snow. So I grab my shovel and dig a spot to drop the ramp door. I had the snowmobile warming up in the trailer. I get the door open hit the button for my wheels to go down. They work off of an air compressor. One of the hoses I had installed was heated to the point it popped out of the fitting. I used the wrong type of hose to connect a gauge on my handlebars. When I tested it at home I didn’t let the machine warm up so it worked fine. Any way I wound up going to Canadian Tire and getting a battery charger and extension cord for my truck. The truck started! While I was there I asked about 1/4 inch push to connect tubing. The guy suggested a place that would open Monday. I wanted to have wheels so our Sunday ride went out the window. Monday morning I run over to the place and they have some 6mm tubing. I pull the bodywork off and try it out. No good. I’m wasting time. We get going about 11am and have a long ride. On the way a bracket holding one of our bags let’s go. It’s a broken weld. Gemma noticed the bag was gone. I stopped and turned around. A group of 6 machines pulled up with my bag. I thank them for the help. Now we’re riding with this bag between us. I grab an orange trail at Cap Chat and toss the bag in a good spot to retrieve with my truck later. The fun hasn’t stopped. The next morning at Rivière au Renard we head over to get gas. I’m on a goat path to the station and my machine locked up. It wouldn’t move. I hit the gas and un known to me I burned the belt. I didn’t realize that a block of ice jammed between the track and tunnel. I’ve been riding since 1999 and that never happened to me before. So I get the ice out and because I burned the belt I feel something wrong. We go back to the Caribou. One of the ladies called a mechanic for me. The guy shows up and takes a look at the belt. He puts on my spare and tell’s me to try it. I couldn’t believe it was just the belt. We are back in action. I stopped at the dealer and picked up another. All of that to say it was a rough start but we had a great trip. Thursday 85 miles I scraped my original plans for today so I could take the truck back to Cap Chat and pick up my bag. We had a nice stay at La Coulee Douce. We head out and the warm weather shows in town at crossing’s. We get on trail 5 it’s freshly groomed. We head toward the clubhouse. There’s always deer in the area and this morning was no different. PLAYHARD, jak and smclelan 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 Trail is perfect we make our way over to the gas station by the clubhouse and top off. It’s a beautiful blue sky day. MrGutz, P Hardy, PLAYHARD and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We have been looking at the radar golf ball and tried to get there crossing Lac Matapedia. The trail just ended once across. Crossing was on my check list. We hadn’t been across it yet. PLAYHARD, P Hardy, MrGutz and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We take 5 to 591 and head in to the hotel. There’s a lot of windmills on 591. It seems like they just keep popping up. All the trails were in great shape. MrGutz, PLAYHARD, smclelan and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 When getting in town the streets are bare. PLAYHARD, smclelan and MrGutz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted March 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 We took a ride to get my bag. It was where I left it. The scenery along the way was super. A nice 92 mile ride. We pulled over to take a few pictures of the ice in water. I noticed the snow covered mountains (Chic Chocs) in the background. Well that’s a wrap for us. It’s back to work for us. Have a great summer everyone. smclelan, P Hardy, MrGutz and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 Thank you for sharing your highs and lows. I had some giggles the day you got stuck several times! Not everyone admits when things go in the wrong direction (I have never got stuck LOL). Great pictures, you truly give amazing ride reports. You two are excellent snowmobilers to travel the big miles you do and to do it alone. Have a great summer. MrGutz, Pipemaster, MrsGTRider and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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