smclelan Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) This is by far the latest (January 13th) season opener I have had for the Gaspesie. However it was not disappointing by any stretch. Day One: We left from Pointe a la Croix on Thursday morning, myself, Macdav and two other friends. Conditions were a little thin for the first kilometer but as soon as we got up on the hill is was good. We traveled the TQ5 to Albertville where we met and had breakfast with Groomer. We then struck off toward Matane. The area a couple kilometers south of Causapcal through to just North of Amqui was very thin only a few inches, but still lots of lubrication for cooling. Once North of Amqui it was all great. We cut across the 591 on Groomer suggestion to ride perfect trails right into Matane. We gassed in Matane and continued on to St Paulin for lunch, a mistake!! The kitchen was closed at St Paulin due to a faulty exhaust fan. From there we pressed on toward Mont Saint Pierre (MSP)for the night. You can not pass "The Bus" without taking a picture. 280 miles for the day. Day 2: We left MSP before breakfast and headed to the Outfitter just past the 597 for breakfast, another mistake! They aren't serving food yet this year. There was about 6km of trail plowed just outside Mt Louis for windmill and electric tower construction, no biggy there was lots of snow. We ended up going to Grand Vallee for breakfast. We then doubled back and came down the 597 to Murdochville. The snow heading into town was incredible. We gassed in Murdochville and cut cross country to La Cache, we stopped at the lookout for a picture but it was a little overcast and you couldn't see as far as you might like but still spectacular scenery. We left La Cache and headed up the 595 took the local trail toward Cap Chat and spent the night at Relais Chic Chocs. I highly recommend this place. 270 miles for the day. Day 3: Had breakfast before we left, see we can learn!! We went back down the local trail to the 595 for some pictures and a little tour. By late morning we headed back up the 595 toward St Paulin again. Lots of snow on the trail going up the hill. There must have been 30-40 sleds at St Paulin when we pulled in. Had a drink and at a few chips. The exhaust fan is supposed to be fixed by first of the week. We then headed to Matane playing in the powder all the way. We stayed at the Riotel where we met up with Andyman, Timbo and a few of Tim's potato brother partners. I was very saddened to hear Chopper is home with back problems. Hope you are feeling better soon Rich. Only 160 miles for the day. However it was a long night!! Day 4: Breakfast at the Riotel hehe. We then all struck off as a group to have a coffee with Groomer at the Albertville clubhouse. At the clubhouse I was lucky enought to get to see Groomer become an official Potato Brother! Timbo made the official presentation! A very exciting and prestigious event to watch!! From there we all left the club and headed out a couple miles to where the local trail splits and heads toward Saint Alexandre des Lacs and an unmarked local trail goes to Sainte Marguerite (a secret trail Groomer shared with me). Andyman, Timbo and company headed North and the motley crew I was with went south. We stopped a small local bar in Saint Marguerite for quick break before the last run to the truck. A very nice spot, they had snowmobile videos playing on the big screen. 130 miles for the day. All in all a great trip, great trails, great snow, and great friends. Edited January 19, 2011 by smclelan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Range Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Great pics steven.Without a doubt some places has tons of snow.Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsmoke1 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 thanks for the update heading up my self latter this week starting from jackman me and heading east to the great gaspe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 hi smclelan !! great meeting you again at the clubhouse with the rest of the nova scotia group. like that pic 3 ,woow !!! very honored to be part of the ''potato brother '' (can t stop laughing )specially the presentation coming from timbo !!! i ll never forget that one !! thank you all for taking time to make a ''loop '' at our clubhouse .very appreciated . did you like that local trail toward ste marguerite ???lots of curves hey !!! fyi,when you crossed the tlr ,you were about 2 miles lower than the forestry school. still snowing ,roughly 4 '' jean-guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_bluyamaha54 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Sounds like a good start to your season, Steven. My quick math says 800+ miles for the 4 days but as you said, the good times with good friends are priceless. Thanks for sharing the pics and trip notes! Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markusvt Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 We have done the Gaspe loop 2-3 times over the years, starting from either Montmagny or Riviere Du-Loop. Pointe a la Croix would be an 11 hour drive for us one way, yikes! Pictures look great though! FWIW, other parts of Quebec are coming together nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.