towing Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Sorry guys, I'm a little late but here the report from our week-end ride Krikri and I made a 2 days ride St-Zénon/Manawan/Casey with my friends Coyote and Snowcruiser Here the track of our trip... At start saturday morning in the enclosed parking at la Glaciere under cloudy sky They got maybe around 3 inches of new stuff since last weeks. Not much but groomers does mirales with it... The lean spots were the same as last week, so the first miles up to Real Massé junction were thin and good after until the 2 miles of new trail just before Cabanon that tend to brownish and a couple spots just after. Otherwise good condition Just had to be really careful and slow down for some icy curves up to the Taureau dam, the rest was nice I think we can call it a snow-rocker !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 On the north side of the dam, the #360 was freshly groomed. There was still a couple icy curves on the first miles but just a little farther it was perfect... the more we goes and the better we got. The #345 to Repos was also freshly groomed up to M20 junction where we took a little break The gray jays were pretty happy with the lunch from my friend Coyote After,the strech up to Casey's trail had a good ripple but the other half up to Repos was better. The Repos was very popular, many people... We continued an other 20 miles up to Manawan for the lunch. The trail was not recently groomed but surprisingly nice, pretty flat. The less good part was they plowed the road for around 6 miles before the village, but it start snowing as we arrived there making a lube film for the slides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 They cut down the branchs near the road and the trail will probably be there when they got more snow And we stopped for the lunch at 14:00 at La Réserve... After fueling up sleds and us, we made the same trail back to the Casey's trail As the sign state in french, we had been told that Chateauvert relay was closed and did not sell gaz, it was why we had continue to Repos (finally Manawan) in place of going directly up north. In fact, they are open and serve meal and gaz... The sun was already down and too late for more pics but we reached our destination at around 18:20, relais de la petite Gare at Casey. A very nice simple little place like I love to discover. We talked alot in the evening with the owners and the other sledders there before a good sleep to be in shape for the next day.... to be continued.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) Sunday morning, sunny sky -21C...a good day starting... The petite gare relay The trail was wide and freshly grommed, very nice and fast We decided to go exploring the Kanawata trail Trail 10/10 in a beautiful area Edited January 19, 2011 by towing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 And the Kanawata What a nice dozer they have... a bulldozer !!!! we came back on our track and continued south. here the "Manouanne B" dam And we continued Nowing they had gaz, we stopped to fuel up at Châteauvert to be able to go directly back to St-Zenon.. They said us they are open for fuel, meal but not for sleep It was around 11:00 and we were not hungry after the huge breakfast we got in Casey but we nibbled something because we knew that we won't be back at St-Zenon until the middle of the afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 back on the track... We had to slow down a couple places where we saw some traces from the last thaw and the trail sink down a little but it will probably past thing after the next groom pass Here the trail is on a huge summer forest road An other nice scenic spot very fast stretch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Some woods And we open the throttle again... We next came back on the #345 south that was pretty beatup up to the M20 junction where we reach St-Zenon grooming territory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Faithful to their reputation, the rest of our trip was on freshly groomed trail. Here up ro the taureau dam South from the dam, flat trail But like saturday, some curves tend to be very icy We crossed the groomer that was starting his route We stopped at Cabanon to take our dinner/supper at 16:00 for after coming back to Glacière on just groomed trails. Total: 411 miles to conclude, a very nice ride for us!!!. Conditions are not perfect but slowly shape up as they receive more snow, inch by inch, and groomers really make wonder with what they have. There was an other inch on the truck when we came back at the truck The territory north from the taureau dam is in winter condition. I have been told that the #33 down from Repos was also very nice. I keep my fingers crossed to have the promising snow on the forecast for the next days... A special thanks to my riding partners, Coyote and Snowcruiser for this fantastic week-end !!! Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snobeeler Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Alain, Thank you very much for that great report. I know how much effort it takes to take the pics and post a detailed report. Looks amazing considering the conditions a few weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 great pics alain !! that cat groomer ,looks huuuuuge !!! jean-guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionjack Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Sweet! A week and a half a we'll be heading up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live it up Rupp Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Great pix & post! Thank you. That is a lot of pix for 400 mile's.I cant take that many when I do over a 1000 I took the family to Tremblant from 1/12-1/15 & man do they need snow. Anyway,thank's again.It looked like a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper2 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Nice report Alain! I love the area above Repos lots of scenery and straight fast trails. Many times it is possible to leave Repos by the road to the T at the Riviere Rats road then make a left and go to Kanawata by the road. We have left LeCabanon many mornings and been to Kanawata by lunchtime. We also like to ride through the Zec Gros Brochet. You had some very good pics I liked the one by Dam Gilardo. Casey has alot of history, many people don't know about the big airstrip. I guess it was built by the Canadian Army years ago for maneuvers, but I also heard that some drug smugglers tried to use it as a drop off point some years back but the police were waiting for them. Just think how quick you could get to Parent if you left Casey on the RR track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thanks, Heading up on the 28th, Still not sure where we will start from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpysanta Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 They have rooms at the gare relais in Casey ??? alain , i would like to go up there soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Yes there are rooms to stay in Casey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnomoGary Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Great report really enjoyed reading it and looking at the pics. Looks like you had a good time. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper2 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 They have rooms at the gare relais in Casey ??? alain , i would like to go up there soon Grumpy, there are rooms at the Petit Gare but it is a small place I would call ahead. Kanawata is a good option too but they book up too so call ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
600IQHO Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Great report and pics! I have been looking forward to hearing about your ride. Conditions look like they are really improving. We are heading up on the 30th and will be sure to ride up to Kanawata, Casey and also heading over to the Tamarak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Alain, Thank you very much for that great report. I know how much effort it takes to take the pics and post a detailed report. Looks amazing considering the conditions a few weeks ago. Great pix & post! Thank you. That is a lot of pix for 400 mile's.I cant take that many when I do over a 1000 I took the family to Tremblant from 1/12-1/15 & man do they need snow. Anyway,thank's again.It looked like a blast. I think we are some kind crazy with the pics. I have to admit that having my wife kristine taking many of them while riding simplify my life alot. In this report, it's more than the half of the pics she take while we ride... she almost froze her hand by taking pics at speed on sunday. For this trip we had 3 camera, the little sony without zoom that date the pics, an other sony with zoom for still shots and our big Pentax reflex with lens that we usually use for sport shots (all four kids are in sports, soccer)... and we took 243 pics :blink: ...ok I admit: we are crazy I think I break my most pics record on the same report on this one... I hope you enjoy :D great pics alain !! that cat groomer ,looks huuuuuge !!! jean-guy Yes it is groomer !!! The owner of the relais petite gare that operate it told me that it was very reliable (their system is made to work in summer in dirt)and low maintenance. The only down side was his weight, in the 30000lbs range...littles bridges have to be in shape to support that and you don't try a swamp that you are not 100% sure is enought frozen... you don't want to sink a monster like that in a remote area The drag looks tiny on the back ... Sweet! A week and a half a we'll be heading up. Thanks, Heading up on the 28th, Still not sure where we will start from. I still pray for more snow to enlarge the playground, we had around 2" last night... having to go north from the Taureau dam to get winter condition in the middle of january is very unusual here. St-Zénon is ridable but on the west side there still thin area, St-Donat just begin to slowly re-open from the reports I got. Here the trail condition web site link http://www.lanaudiere.ca/en/theme/snowmobile/conditions Nice report Alain! I love the area above Repos lots of scenery and straight fast trails. Many times it is possible to leave Repos by the road to the T at the Riviere Rats road then make a left and go to Kanawata by the road. We have left LeCabanon many mornings and been to Kanawata by lunchtime. We also like to ride through the Zec Gros Brochet. You had some very good pics I liked the one by Dam Gilardo. Casey has alot of history, many people don't know about the big airstrip. I guess it was built by the Canadian Army years ago for maneuvers, but I also heard that some drug smugglers tried to use it as a drop off point some years back but the police were waiting for them. Just think how quick you could get to Parent if you left Casey on the RR track! You know this area better than me viper2!!! I heard too about the airstrip. I really have to discover more of this area in winter and maybe in summer too. Cabanon/Kanawata by the regular trails would give a 130 miles+ ride... Is the road you take is plowed ??? maybe it's a bit dry for the slides at speed ?? They have rooms at the gare relais in Casey ??? alain , i would like to go up there soon Like viper and iceman wrote, yes they have but it is a small place they can take maybe around 10 people for sleep. Kanawata is alot bigger but when we did our reservation on friday morning it was already full so it is alot more safe to make reservation before especially over the weekends Great report really enjoyed reading it and looking at the pics. Looks like you had a good time. Gary Yes we did B) B) it was just too short... Great report and pics! I have been looking forward to hearing about your ride. Conditions look like they are really improving. We are heading up on the 30th and will be sure to ride up to Kanawata, Casey and also heading over to the Tamarak. Right now it seems the way to go.... A buddy rode Pourvoirie des 100lacs and slept in Parent on sunday night, he also report nice trail condition. -37C on monday morning :o: only 4 sleds on 9 fire without help... :huh: Thanks for the good words guys Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scranton1 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Great informative report TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper2 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 You know this area better than me viper2!!! I heard too about the airstrip. I really have to discover more of this area in winter and maybe in summer too. Cabanon/Kanawata by the regular trails would give a 130 miles+ ride... Is the road you take is plowed ??? maybe it's a bit dry for the slides at speed ?? My father has been exploring this area since the 1980's. I remember back in the late 80's and early 90's if you wanted to go to Manawan you had to go by the road from St. Michel. Halfway out there there used to be a gas stop (it has burned down) where you could make the right and go on the road that passes Repos. This is still the way from SMDS to Repos and Kanawata and Chateuvert and also in the summer to Casey. There used to be a huge lumber camp Casey just before you would get to the RR tracks. They used to ride to that camp for gas.That was a long ride back then on 440 fan Exciters and SRV's I think it was something like 125mi. from SMDS. The road we sometimes run is this road so sometimes it can't be done, if not enough snow or if it is sanded for log trucks. If you leave Repos driveway and make left on the road go to T make left and stay straight until the sign for Kanawata to the right this is their driveway. Sometimes I have seen the main road from the T up that it was not sanded but then 1/2 way up they started sanding it. Many people have cabins in that area so you could find more info for sure on a Quebec forum. Sometimes we only use the road out to the T because that trail in the ditch along the road is usually bad. The guy who has the Petit Gare used to work at Kanawata he is a very good guy and is always looking for old SRV's. If you ever pass by Casey to go to 83 just stay on the road if there is snow on it you wil go a few miles and the 83 cuts to the left there will be a sign for Parent or you can stay on the road and you will come to a T make a right on this road and it will take you straight into Wemotaci. (the trail jumps back and forth across this road) When I was at Casey last year they were building a new road from there to Parent, but I don't know when this will be done. There has been talk for a few years of grooming a trail from Casey toward 100 lacs but I think they have a small pool of money to work with. I will try to find some pics to send you from a summer fishing trip to Kanawata a few years ago, there really seems to be alot of VTT traffic up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S pump Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Great pics......looks like its finally setting up for a nice season........ Edited January 20, 2011 by S pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greasemonkey Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Hey Viper2, it has been since the late 80's since I was out to that area. Do you remember there was a house trailer type building run by a Native Indian who wore all kinds of turquoise before the lumber yard. Is that Repos, because I believe that's what was the name written on the building, Depennure Repos. That guy was a character, friendly as hell. We were new to the area at the time and he told us to jump on the tracks to Casey to fuel up. The lumber yard didn't have it at the time. Casey had it at the train station in 55 gallon drums. Like I said, we were new to venturing out past the Zenon/St. Michel area. Couldn't believe that we had to buy gas out of drums! Reading your post this morning brought back the route we took in my mind. I have to get back into that area at least one more time soon. Especially after Alain's latest post here. I hope I'm remembering the right thing here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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