towing Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 With a great three days weekend ahead, it was unthinkable for Krikri and I to stay home without enjoying at least one last sleedding day but as our area was almost entirely closed, we had to look elsewhere for hoping to one last good ride this season. After a quick check of the possibilities, we quickly choose the Laurentides wildlife reserve in north of Quebec city. We were glad that Steph that ride several times with us this winter finally decided to join us providing the double trailer and me the pulling vehicle so we could share the fuel bill for the trailer ride before the snowmobile one. We where puzzled to whether we should start from, the north of St-Raymond or Stoneham and if we were better to ride Friday or Saturday ... In searching for information, we found that St-Raymond had been groomed Tuesday, that the Mont Apica relay was completely closed and that area was groomed last Sunday and that Arrière pays club was supposed to groom Friday night .. . dilemma ... Stef. from Quebec city with whom I discussed a few times in the past (he also post pictures reports on the net) wrote his intention to ride Friday from Stoneham in a post on CMIQ so I got in touch with him and we finally decided to accompany him and we would start Friday morning from the Relais du Nord in Stoneham. Our Easter Friday started early. At 6:30 AM Steph from l’Assomption was home to first inter-change of vehicle on the trailer, load my venture and our entire rig to finally got on the road at 6:50 and we arrived at the Relais du Nord in Stoneham north of Quebec city at 9:15. We had a funny show arriving there seeing the furious owner of the place dropping a snow bank in front each vehicles that owners had "forgot" to pay for parking ... we happily paid our $5 for the day! Stef. from Quebec was already there and we quickly got ready and finally hit the trail a little past 9:30. I was expected some bumby trail for this area, especially at the beginning, and we were surprised to ride on a perfect trail just from the start. Just a few bumps when we took the #369 A short stop at the famous Bell hut. Here Stef. and Steph on each side of Krikri The wide trail along the Montmorency river was just fantastic We took a few minutes for a pics stop at this typical spot at the river bend Steph had swapped his big cat for his girlfriend’s BRP on this ride We then continued at a great pace in these perfect conditions We were so happy of our choice of date and spot with those conditions beyond our expectations...and we had another good surprise ahead ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted March 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 The dozer that was supposed to be out only Friday night was coming back from his run !! from there we knew that we had the best possible trail condition. There is still a lot of snow in the park. We saw maybe 2 bare spots on the whole way to l’Étape We arrived there for lunch at around 11:30 After a good lunch and talking with friends, we took the #23 trail in St-Raymond direction. The strong late March sun had softened a few inches snow layer of the hard base giving a slippy funny driving even we tried to keep it moderate on the throttle to save the trails a bit. We passed the Champlain Lake relay and continue on the #23 up to about 10 miles from Tourilli before turning back to step At #23/#369 junction near l’Étape, we took a break for a last talk with Stef. which need to come back earlier to Quebec city and he took the #369 south to our starting point For us, it was unthinkable to comeback so soon and wanting some return on our travel investment Krikri, Steph and I made the trip to Mont-Apica. The trail had few ripple in some curves but overall very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted March 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 The more we approach the Saguenay area the leaner the snow cover got. There was no earth in the first half set apart a small roadside. At about 2/3, we rode on a mile stretch of road that has been plowed during the winter and the ground just starting to appear, but it was fine next to It got worse in the last miles after we crossed the #169 road. Snow cover becomes very thin with several earth spots appearing As mentioned, there was no more fuel or food services at Mont-Apica, everything is closed. They had however put a note on the door with a phone number for those who may got themselves in trouble and would absolutely need fuel. We then returned to the south We made a fuel stop at l’Étape and continued our way back accompanied by the setting sun We made a last stop at Castor hut and enjoyed their soft sofas a few minutes The trails were not too affected by the warm temp and moderate traffic of the day and they were still in very good shape. It was at a very good pace that we returned to our starting point and arrived at 8:15 p.m. with 287 miles on the dream meter. here's the path of the day We quickly load the sleds and took the road at 8:30. We made a meal break of one hour in Quebec city and finally come back home at 11:50pm, a little tired but so glad for this beautiful season’s ender which give us just near 4900 additionnals miles on the Yami for the season. A big thank you to St-Raymond snowmobile club and especially the Arrière pays club for extraordinary trail conditions and to continue to groom as late as the snow allows. It is your work that has enabled us to still enjoy sledding this last ride. Thank you very much. Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipeman Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Very nice Alain ! I left Amos March 11th due to warm temps and rain and you get to ride March 29 ! How many miles are on your Yamaha now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindasledgirl Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Great job Alain and Krikri!! I even recognize some of those places!! Your pictures and report are as usualy...amazing! Thanks so much for all your hard work! Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Dam that's real nice for this time of year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpysanta Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Looks like you guys had a real fun time , Happy chocolate day . enjoy the off season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemod04 Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 very nice, Happy Easter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
600IQHO Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Very nice. Enjoy your summer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted April 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Sorry for the late answer, last weeks have been busy with not so good events but it is slowly going back to normal... Very nice Alain ! I left Amos March 11th due to warm temps and rain and you get to ride March 29 ! How many miles are on your Yamaha now? Would you believe they will still groom those trails for the next week-end and there is a snow storm on the way for friday!!! mother nature glitches... The Venture just pass the 19 000 miles mark after 4 seasons with us. We expect one more from it... I don't know what will be the next limousine for us?? I follow the hi-miles BRP 1200 owners reports... Great job Alain and Krikri!! I even recognize some of those places!! Your pictures and report are as usualy...amazing! Thanks so much for all your hard work! Linda Thanks Linda, you are a real one!!! I now wonder if you will ride in May!! I had enjoy looking at your report and pictures too!! Take care... Dam that's real nice for this time of year It will probably be even better than that, 2 weeks later on this next week-end. Too bad we can't ride anymore, the weekend is already booked tight...maybe on the 20-21 but I don't think so... Looks like you guys had a real fun time , Happy chocolate day . enjoy the off season Yes sir !!! enjoy your 2 wheels season's too... very nice, Happy Easter! Very nice. Enjoy your summer.. Thanks you guys and enjoy your summer !!! Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYHARD Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hey Alain, I'm sure everyone joins in wishing you all the best in recovering from being "busy with not so good events". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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