Cnc Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) Saturday dispite the frigid cold the conditions look too good to pass up. The temperature is around -20F and a strong wind. The wife has bailed, actually everyone has bailed except a friend from Lakeview. I ask him if he really wants to go and he tells me if I don't go he's going any way! Well what can I do I can't let him go it alone now can I? Montcalm sits on a trail that used to be part of the trans Quebec 43 till land disputes several years back turned it into a dead end until this year. A new trail called Station Larose runs from the 317 where it passes through Lakeview comes across the mountain and connects to the old 43 in Montcalm. My buddy shows up @9:30 taking this new section of trail and informs me it still needs snow to cover a section where he was dodging branches and rocks showing. So off we go in the opposite direction taking the old 43 toward Arundel and down toward St Remi. This trail winds along the rouge river on an old railway bed and crosses the river on a old steel girder bridge. Very picturesque and fast as we are the first ones on a hard packed freshly groomed trail with about 3 inches of new powder on it. We meet no other machines and we continue past St Remi up into the mountains behind till the trail meets the 43. At this point we have the option of taking the 43 to lac des plages and on toward Duhamel or take the 43 in the direction of Brebeuf. We chose the latter and cruise on a perfect trail smooth and bump free no ice and we are still the first ones to disturb the new power snow on top. We get off of the 43 on a local trail headed for la Conception, branching off of that trail and take the trail that runs about 10 miles on lac des trois montagnes. It is well picketed and a good thing it is the wind is wipping up the snow and the lake is a sea of soft white waves and white out visibility at times. Between that and the cold out in the open it is hard to do more than 80km, I can't wait to get off at the other end. This brings us to the 323 and about 30km to Labelle. The 323 is well covered but has a few bumps, we have been spoiled up until then. I am surprised at the amount of on coming traffic, we are not the only crazys out in the cold. Labelle used to have a route running right through the town on side walks and stops at intersections with traffic lights. That has all changed a few years back and we arrive by crossing the 117 on a overpass and end up at a gas station. We fill up and head for a warm restaurant and food. The trail then goes along the side of a park. You still have to cross the river on the side walk on the bridge but a better route. The bridge is at this time a construction zone and car traffic is single lane with a traffic light. Narrow and the trail runs along a side walk that is barely wider than the width of my skis. Once cross the other side, we are at the start of the pitit Train de Nord. There is a parking lot there and it is full of trucks and trailers, some are covered in snow and have been there a while. We park outside the train station and head in. A section of it is a restaurant and there are a lot of sledders warming up and eating. After good food and several coffees we head back out into the cold. This is the only place I took pics on this trip due to the cold. We take off up the pitit train de Nord which at this point is the 325. At Rivière Rouge it turns into the 63. At first it is sort of wash boardy bumpy and I cruise the very edge trying to stay out of the high traffic area. About 15 minutes down the trail it all smoothed out and we are able to really get rolling. At Nominingue we take the 319 sud to la Minerve. The is quite a diference in the snow condition on the 319. Plenty of snow in the bush but the trail has little hard base and while it is well enough covered the snow is light brown in a lot of places. We continue on the 319 till the 323 junction and turn left on the 323 this along with a local trail brings us into Vendee where we gas again. At this point my helmet visor and modular section is frozen shut from so much condensation. Thank god for heated visors though visibility is still good. From Vendee we continue on the local trail till it leads us back to the 43. From there we retrace our path back through st Remi, Arundel and home. All in all the best conditions of the season even if it was the coldest riding day of the season, 240km of smiles. The beginning of the petite train de Nord trail and the old railway station restaurant. Edited February 16, 2016 by Cnc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Thanks for the report CNC I was wondering what the conditions are like up in the mountains around Brebeuf, Vendee and La Conception. May head up that way again on the weekend, still on the fence where to go but I'm definitely doing a walk about/ride about for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnc Posted February 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Thanks for the report CNC I was wondering what the conditions are like up in the mountains around Brebeuf, Vendee and La Conception. May head up that way again on the weekend, still on the fence where to go but I'm definitely doing a walk about/ride about for a few days. They made some changes to the trails around Brebeuf Jean Guy. I think it is about the second season like this but you can no longer go right though the town on the side of the bridge. There is a bypass around the town and the trail crosses the rouge on a ice bridge. There are two cul de sac leading into Brebeuf to access the town. Ps snowing hard here right now a good 6 inches of new snow on the ground so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Rider Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Thanks for the report. I always liked riding in that area. I have not been there in a few years. You reminded me of a time when my mask froze solid and I had to get it off in a hurry. Those no mosquito days can be tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Ps snowing hard here right now a good 6 inches of new snow on the ground so far. Nice...... Let me know how much fell when all said'n done, looking like I'm heading up to the chalet again. Doing a walk about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnc Posted February 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Nice...... Let me know how much fell when all said'n done, looking like I'm heading up to the chalet again. Doing a walk about. Looks like we got between10-12 inches of new snow. There was a short period in the afternoon where it changed to freezing rain and rain mixed, but not long enough to do anything, it then changed back to snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 (edited) Oh boy....I got some shoveling to do. I hear there is 15 more cms coming on Friday. Edited February 17, 2016 by Trailblazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnc Posted February 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 That's what I hear too. Going out to pack my lake trail and mark it before all this snow starts to causes slush problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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