vt_bluyamaha54 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) With limited riding in Vermont still (go figure - its FEBRUARY!) we decided a trip to the Chaudiere Appalaches region would be good. Almost forgot it was also the 'Open House' weekend but needn't have worried since we found the trails well taken care of and an easy 8.5+ overall. We both have season passes and surprisingly, many of the sleds we saw had either Quebec plates or purchased stickers. Fri 2/7 - Snowing lightly from the border to our motel. Arrived in time to take a late afternoon ride which included travel on 535, TQ55, and TQ75. There is a big construction project at the top of the hill in St Georges with a short section of snirty gravel. Not bad when we passed after working hours but it may be an issue during the day. Clicked off about 70mi before bed. Surprisingly, there were less than a dozen sleds in the Beauceville Club parking lot and just TWO trucks w/trailers! Any of you who know the place know how big their plowed lot is and that in other years it would be at least 60% full almost any Friday. Sat 2/8 - About an inch of snow overnight; bright sunshine and cold. No definite plans on a route for the day - we'll just stay away form St Georges and Thetford Mines since most of the traffic will likely be near those areas. We hit the regional trails - 535, 540, 545. Traffic was light so we decided to try TQ55 beyond Lac Etchemin to see how bad it was. It wasn't. Decided to go to the end of TQ55, continue to TQ35 and get a late lunch in Tourville, Another surprise: it was busy but only 'Sat afternoon' busy; not 'Sat afternoon of 'Quebec free w/e' crazy. I don't care for the RR bed (TQ35) but we took it back west rather than go to TQ75 or TQ5 for our return since it was getting late. We didn't plan to ride big miles but returned to the motel with 298. Probably saw 70 sleds for the day but some passed 2x - I guess riding a ways and then deciding to turn around and re-ride a good trail (?) Sun 2/9 - No snow overnight but very cold. Light snow forecast for late afternoon and continuing after dark so decided to aim for a mid-afternoon departure. Must have been v. cold because my Vector joined the 'no start when cold' club. I knew there was a problem as soon as I turned the key and didn't hear the fuel pump run. Took out the relay, put it in my hands and warmed it up a few minutes, reinstalled and got an immediate reward. Decided to ride toward La Guadaloupe to check out Domaine La Guadeloupe Lodge/Campground. Took an orange trail in that direction. It showed signs of traffic but was still 8/10. Hit the junction forTQ25 and it was freshly groomed, untracked and perfect all the way into the parking lot. Rode TQ25 east to the southeast edges of St Georges to see how the trails and traffic were. Some traffic but definitely not a madhouse and the trails were still very good. Sleds loaded by 3 and on the road home. An enjoyable 60+ miles for the day. As others (Mikerider comes to mind) have said, these trails have a hard ice base from the rain and meltdowns earlier. There is anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of snow on top of the base and the groomers have done a great job of redistributing it over the trails in this area. Stepping off the trail most places gets you in snow up to at least your knees. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend riding in this area based on what we found. A few pictures - The crowd at 'Le Jasmin' Saturday Edited February 12, 2014 by vt_bluyamaha54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikerider Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Nice report! We probably passed each other over the weekend. I'm still in Montmagny, Monday and Tuesday riding were sweet, except for the cold and wind on Tuesday. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Friday Feb 7, we rode from Bernieres St Nicholas to Universal RDL. Saturday we did a day trip around Cabano. Sunday we rode back to Bernieres. Everything was excellent except for a little bit of 75 on Sunday. For the free weekend, we saw some traffic but not as much as I thought we would. The groomers are doing a fantastic job. We have been fortunate to cover a lot of trails so far this year and most have been at least an 8 out of 10. Thank you to all the groomers. Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_bluyamaha54 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Nice report! We probably passed each other over the weekend. I'm still in Montmagny, Monday and Tuesday riding were sweet, except for the cold and wind on Tuesday. mike Thanks Mike. I thought - especially for the free weekend - that the trails were mint. Sat night was cold too. It was dark when we left Le Jasmin and headed west on 35. At 45-50 you could feel it hit your arms and knees. Would like to meet up some day. Your posts always seem to cross some of my tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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