revct1 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 We rode from St Raymond to La Tuque Friday Feb 4th. Trail 73 was OK but not as good as it usually is. At the end of the park near La Tuque, we tried the shortcut that Mcstar posted. You stay straight on the road instead of following the trail to the left. Six miles later you are very near the back of the gas station on route 155 in La Tuque. After I rode this, I realized this is where the trail was 20 years ago. We stayed at Motel 9. Very quiet for a Friday night. The next day we found out why. See our post in General Discussion under La Tuque to Relais 22 about the new trail 73. You can`t really count the new trail 73 as a trail, sooooooo, La Tuque is almost on a cul-de-sac. :( Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Saturday was the new trail 73. See our adventure on the other thread. After the new 73 and we had reached Winidigo, things improved. The 8 miles up to trail 83 were fine. What an enjoyment after 73. :D 83 to Wemotaci is pretty good. The last 12 miles into Wemotaci where you criss-cross with the road is so-so. Sunshine will hurt it badly and it will be another gravel road. The trail along side was groomed once but has sticks and yuk in it. We gassed up at Wemotaci and continued on. Trail 83 makes a few funny turns to get you under the railroad and across the river. Not much for signage. We ended up on 83 but not sure which direction to go. Oh I can`t wait to get back home and get the new GPS. There is one sign that says 83 west but is really pointing 83 east. We finally found a sign nailed to a tree saying Parent and we were off and running. 83 flip flops between the old trail and old car road. A new car road has been built and the old car road is abandon. The snowmobile trail uses part of it but some of the old signs point you back into the woods. Once we realized this, we stayed on the old car road. We worked our way down to Kanawata just below Casey for the night. What a wonderful trail. At Kanawata we were told that for next season, the trail hopefully will run completely on the old car road. Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) Sunday we left Kanawata heading back up to 83 west. What a great trail this 369 is. We stayed on 83 to Parent. Very good trail. Just as we entered Parent, FCMQ had a warming hut setup and they were taking a 10 question survey. The survey was regarding where we were riding, how many trips do we make in a year to Quebec, how many miles this trip and for the year, etc. It only took a few minutes. Leaving Parent to Clova, 83 gets better and better. The new road we were told about at Kanawata is supposed to go from Wemotaci to Clova. Some of it is open so I don`t know if the trail is on the old abandon road or the new not opened road, but it is great!!! Just kick back and open it up. No stop signs, no sharp turns, no big hills. Just a cruissing along on our Doo`s. We had lunch at Casey Clova smiling all the time. After lunch we headed to Lac Faillon for the night. I didn`t think it couldn`t get any better, it does. There are some parts of 83 that are typically good trails but then there are 5 - 10 mile sections that is a snowmobile highway. 83 is changed at the Lac Faillon end. It no longer goes by the old Forsythe. It is further south. Lac Faillon is 9 miles north of 83 on a cul-de-sac now. Another very nice 9 miles. We are in for the night after a super good ride. Jack & Sandi Edited February 13, 2012 by revct1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 To be continued in the Abitibi section. Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcstar Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi Jack, I think the trail I was referring to is not the short cut you took. The trail I mentioned is around the big lake between 355 & 73, it is marked on the map as LT1 (local). Which ever way you go it will make it longer but it is an awesome trail, but now that you say the rest of 73 north is crap it just ruins everything. Have a great time for the rest of the trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi Mcstar, What we took brought us right into La Tuque. We finished the 8 day trip yesterday. At the HI we rode with Bill and MichRev. It was good meeting MichRev. Our last day, yesterday, brought us down 23 to St Raymond. There was a festival going on in town. There were antique snowmobiles and the old snow buses. We passed the groomer just south of L'Etape. 23 was very good with some fresh snow falling while we rode. Until the next trip, happy trails to you! Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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