Trailblazer Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 I tell ya, snowmobiling is always an adventure, you never know what's going to happen when you put that helmet on. We decided to do a 3 day in a 4 day including the drive up'n down. Left MTL at 7pm Wednesday night the drive up went very smooth 6hrs even though the forecast had announced a huge storm for the Gaspe area, we only saw and felt strong winds with a bit of blowing snow. Landed in Mont-Joli at 2am. Next morning took breaky and fuel and we were off by 9am. 3 Yammys and 1 Bomby. First stop Relais Adelme for fuel for sled .....and driver. Next stop St.Octave for lunch then fuel in Saint-Annes-des-Monts this should get us into Mt. St.Pierre but when arriving at the St.Martre intersection sign said no fuel in St.Pierre so we fuel again because our next fuel stop will be in Murdockville. Head to the look outs before and in Mt.St.Pierre. On the way down from the looks out the Bomby died on us, no spark, so we towed her in St.Pierre took a motel, caught the yammy dealer just locking up it was getting late so he agreed to let us have the garage and look at it in the morning. We had a blue sky day with very well groomed trails all day long. Following day we spent the whole morning at the Yammy dealer tearing this sled apart checking every connector, fuse, circuit while on the phone with our BRP dealer at home who just finished putting his sled together the week earlier, motor had a Preston leak they couldn't find so they decide to tear it down and replace all the gaskets. Needless to say by lunch time our buddy decided it was time to throw in the towel and call the motel in Mont-Joli where our trucks were and have someone drive his truck up to pick him up. We had our final lunch together and said our good byes, left Mt. St.Pierre at 1:30pm. We are 3 now. No dilly dallying around now, it's time to motor on to Carleton for the night at Baie Bleue, no more grooming until 597 intersection then we are the first on a freshly overnight groomed trail into Murdockville, took gas and headed back to the La Cache trail. In the La Cache trail we had the pleasure of encountering some moose on the trail which was a little adventure trying to get by them as they did not want to leave the trail. Mooses kept on trotting down the trail with no intention of heading into the bush so we decide to take a breather for 10 minutes and not long after maybe a few klms we catch up to one of them again and he's still trotting, I guess the other one found his path. So first sled in line waits for a clearing and passes the moose off into the clearing and so does the next now it's my turn and the clearing runs out Dam!! So I decide to go for it at a gentle pace, I passed him so close I could reach out and give him a little pat, as i was passing I took a good look and the poor guy was so out of breathe from trotting for so long his tongue was hanging out on the side and he was panting extremely hard, he was clearly no longer a threat and I believe he was as thankful as us the encounter was all over too. It was snowing very heavy with a very low overcast ceiling in the Chic Chocs, visibility was very little, we never got to see any of the mountains but on the bright side the trail was groomed the night before and we were the first. We arrive at La Cache at 4:30pm and we have a decision to make, do we try a track Andy gave me down that local trail just north of La Cache into Carleton which added up to 150klms from La Cache or do we take the 595 down to New Richmond and then the 5 to Carleton which added up to the same mileage, given the time of day and that local trail was a 150klm stretch in the middle of no where we opted for the 595. We left La Cache at 5:00pm and arrived in Carleton at 7:30pm just as it was getting dark, like Steven said "March riding"!!! We encounter another moose on the loose in the trail just before New Richmond, this time I'm in the lead and I take the same approach as earlier 'cause we are in the wood here, no clearing. Just as I get by him I look in my mirror and as the other two are approaching I see the moose decides to take a U turn OH $#@T, thankfully he bolted back into the forest, I think the two had to clean their shorts later. 595 and the 5 we're all well groomed, the 595 had some drifting snow in it . Day 3 Our plan was to take the shortcut at Relais L'Averne over to the 5 to cut out going down to PALC, the trail was marked "Sentier Ferme" when we got to L'Averne, we decided to try it out anyways, got a little ways in with no tracks in the snow to a plowed road then that was it, GPS said different, trail is the plowed road, so I decide to go forward and then arrive at an area where they are logging, went through the work area and jump back onto the road only now it's not plowed, fresh virgin snow, followed GPS right to the 5, had a lot of fun boon docking. Not long after crossing the bridge into the Coulee Verte club side on the 5 my friend waves me down telling me he smells oil, after a little inspection we discover my main drive shaft had shifted over to the chain case side and poked a hole through the cover, we got about 70k to get to the Coulee Verte club house, so I take it easy now keeping her under 80klm/hr no wait a minute did I say 80klm/hr? I meant 70klms/hr. That was a really tough trail to get through, it was groomed to perfection. The chain case overheated as expected and just a few klms before the club house the chain started to bind, links were starting to seize up, so by stopping often and throwing snow on it to cool it down I managed to arrive at the club house on my own power. Now we are 2. We had our lunch with JG as planned and I told my buddies to ride back to the truck and I'll try to find a pick up to bring me back to the truck but that didn't work out, despite JG's best efforts nobody was answering their phone, when it's a Saturday in the Gaspesie you can be sure nobody is hanging around watching tv all day. Given that I send a message to the boys to drive back to pick me up and we spent the night in Amquoi with Momojohnny and his friend. Despite breaking down, the boys told me it took them 1hr and 15min to get back to the truck so in effect I only lost out on the last hour or so on the trip. Milage wise, not too much from what we're used to doing, I believe we did just under 900k. Compliments of JG Drive home Sunday morning 9am....not so easy going as the one up, after Mont-Joli started snowing then after RDL major winter storm with white out conditions, 9 hours return arrive 6pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 What a great adventure! I have been on trips like that where you never know what is around the next corner. On my trip earlier in March we came a crossed a moose heading north on the 595 that really didn't want to get off the trail. Next time you are in the Gaspesie be sure and try the trial Andy sent you the tracks for from La Cache down to Carleton. Thanks for sharing your story and pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Not an easy shot on the mechanics but at least you almost make it... how much mileage on your old girl?? Very nice report, love the picture and story !!! We did not had the chance to see moose when we got there but I saw enough moose shit and fresh tracks to be sure they were not far... Were you at mon Joli Motel in Mont-Joli?? it's where we dropped when we got there and they keep our truck keys and said we had just to call if we had trouble and they would pick up us with our rigs?? not had to try it but gave us a good piece of mind... Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 hi jg west !! great meeting you `+ friends at the clubhouse !!! great shots of msp ... pic with cable bridge in town...machine is parked half a mile from there...exit for gas station !! despite your bad luck..its has been a mini gathering at clubhouse with momo johhny and the rest !! a little positive in your bad luck !!! jean-guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 1 Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Nice JG we also were in that storm Sunday AM, it was very slippery trucks, cars, busses and motorhomes in the ditch. It's always an ADVENTURE... Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYHARD Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Nice! And the wives just say we're on another relaxing vacation! Tabernacle! We had a pickle of a time with that Ferme orange on the way up to Groomer two weeks ago. You know you had a "full treatment" Gaspesie rip when afterward your seat cushion is in the shape of a shark fin! (And it looks the same for your truck seat?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Range Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Great report and pics Trailblazer....... I assume that wallet on the dashboard was in much better $hape in december than early april lol !!! have a good off-season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Snowman Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Great report JG! Quebec Adventures are always unpredictable. Looks like you got the whole potpourri on that trip! Time to start tuning up the toys of summer! Edited April 2, 2014 by Florida Snowman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackstraw Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Great job JG, too bad we didn't cross paths. There's nothing like the Gaspe, especially in late march! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccaffrey Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thank you for that report, adventure it was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_bluyamaha54 Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Another memory-filled adventure JG! Sorry to hear about your chain case issues. At least they waited til the end of th season to raise themselves and now you have the off-season to resolve them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfarmer Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Nice report JG. Broke down in the same area but only 15 miles to the truck. Still sucked for the wife not to finish the trip on the sled. Oh well there is always next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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