GT Rider's 2016 Trip

[GT Rider]

Day 4 220 Miles

It was 7f at the start. The groomer from the Val D'Or club was at La Verendrye. The trails north were good to go.

We skipped gas at Domaine and went to The Classic. After fuelling up we came across some guys having lunch trail side.

Off to Ours Blanc trails.

It started to snow as we went on 322

Edited March 7, 2016 by GT Rider

[GT Rider]

Continued

The trail condition was super.

We arrived at Auberge Draveur 3:41 an early one for once. We met up with Doonali at the hotel. Its always nice to bump into other Quebecriders out on vacation.

[GT Rider]

Day 5 243 miles

We had some snow and ice overnight. We got off to a late start.

We went to Devils Mountain for lunch.

It's not the famous Bacon Pizza from the Gaspe but it will have to do. Some day....

Pick up the red ball and you have a friend for life.

[GT Rider]

Continued

We head to Ferme-Neuve for fuel. Then we pass the closed Windigo.

Then I take a ride on the wrong trail after a false detour. Back on 322 to local 236 passed Rabaska.

We get to the bridge for the Gatineau River and a group is taking photos. We wait a few minutes and we are off.

The wood runners has plenty of powder. We find 3 three guys pulling a machine out of a ditch. I ask if they need help. They have a tow strap and are good.

They get the machine out and tell us they are taking a break. We go to Pensive for fuel. The guys pull up as we are leaving. We get to Evasion and start hearing a bearing noise.

The GPS says 50 miles to Clova. I slow down. We get 20 miles and the bearing go's out. I get the Sat Phone out and the guys pull up. They offer to take us to Clover. We are lucky.

A big Shout out to Steve, Brad and Andrew from NY.

To be continued.

[GT Rider]

Continued

We arrive at Clova about 7:00 I think. We see Doonali and company having dinner. They were concerned that we had not arrived. We were going to the same hotels 2/25, 2/26.

We have dinner and chat with the guys that picked us up. They would not let me even buy them a drink. They were super nice people that were just happy to help us out. They were going to Balbuzard but changed up for Clova.

I see Dominic and ask if I can rent a machine to retrieve mine. He agrees to let me use his expedition with the toboggan. He asks that I wait until after dinner service is over.

At 9:15 we go to get the expedition. It was buried from a dump of snow. Dominic takes the groomer and pushes the expedition (from the drag that is connected) and I drive it out of the deep stuff. He hooks up the toboggan and off I go.

It takes me about an hour to get to my machine. I am being super careful I am alone. There was some drifting between lakes do to the wind. I get my machine on the toboggan and tied down. I start back going 35kph. There are 3 bridges to cross. I get over the first 2 ok. Crossing the 3rd bridge I get stuck. My machine is like an anchor. The expedition track is spinning. The bridge has planks that are raised for cars. The track is on 4x4's in the center of these planks. I disconnect the toboggan and take the expedition across the bridge. I back it up staying on top of the left plank so I can have traction. I had to use a tow strap from my luggage and pull my machine across carefully one 4x4 at a time. My machine was teetering with the skis pointing up to the left over the plank and the track down in the grove between planks. I get it across and connect the toboggan back to the hitch and off to Clova.

When I get to Clova I see the restaurant and think the school house is directly across. I make a left and start rolling up the road. When I pass the Tamerac it hits me I made a wrong turn. I am up on the rail bed. Now I am looking for a place to turn this rig around. I had to unhitch the toboggan again. My mistake cost me an hour. I got to bed at 3:00am.

Dominic arranged to have his mechanic look at my chain case in the morning. The mechanic also drive’s the town plow to clear the roads so he was busy and said he could check it at 2:00pm. He agreed to let me use his shop to disassemble the chain case and get to the cause of the problem. I was hopeful that I could make a repair and continue on to Val-D'Or. Dominic had some spare parts he offered to let me use. After opening the chain case I knew I would not be continuing my trip. We bought a phone card and canceled the remainder of our reservations. Dominic had left to groom the trail so we went to our room to wait for his return. At 3:00 we got a knock on the door from Suzan. She was asked to interpret for us to find a way out of Clova. There was no way to transport my machine so Suzan and her husband drove us to Manawaki to get my truck and trailer. We left Clova at 3:30 and arrived at Manawaki 7:00. I am at a loss of words for the kindness we received. I will never forget the people who helped us.

After dinner in Manawaki we start for Clova. It was one long drive back. I did not want to get stuck so I went slow and steady. We arrived at 5:45am. There is 167 miles of logging road to get from Mont-Saint-Michel to Clova. From Parent to Clova is about 60 miles and it was super slow. It had not been plowed yet.

We get a few hours sleep and have breakfast. We load up the truck and say our good byes. We are back on the ice road again.







Mrs. Gt on the IceRoad



We stopped in Parent. The gas station that I had previously stopped at was closed and buried.



We found the pizza shop Alain posted.



Dave's Favorite Hotel.



We found Alain's hotel.

[GT Rider]

Continued

We passed Lu-Nic



By the time I got to the black trail I was getting beat. We drove past Mont-Laurier looking at all the full motels. I did not want to deal with a packed parking lot. We continued to Lac-Saguay where we stopped at Ours Bleu.

We are greeted by Marco and Nona the new owns of the motel. They had some personal obligations they needed to take care of and were not taking any clients for a few days. Nona took pity on me as I looked tired. They agreed to let us stay. Marco offer’s to drive us up the street to get dinner.
Gemma and I decided over dinner to try to get the machine looked at before going home. We would have to wait until Monday but maybe we can salvage a few days and leave on a high note. We decide to go to a large dealer hoping they would have the all parts needed for repair.
On Monday we drive to Contant Mirabel. Alex the service manager is very helpful. He takes in my machine and Steph does an evaluation on it. They find that many parts had been damaged and they had to place an order to get everything that was needed. Alex says it will be ready Wednesday.
We drive back to Lac-Saguay for some down time. Marco and Nona advise us on some nice restaurants. They made us feel comfortable. They offer to setup a dog sled trip for us but I was in need of some down time.
Tuesday night into Wednesday it snows heavy. There will be plenty of powder for Thursday’s Run.
On Wednesday we go to pick up my machine. We arrive at 4:30 and wait until 6:20 for it to be finished. Alex and Steph thank you for getting it done. I can’t say enough how grateful I am for their efforts to get us back on the trail. The dealer closes at 6:00 and they were the only ones left. There was a lot to do and they got it done.
Day 12 244 miles

We have breakfast at the Lac-Saguay restaurant and get going at 9:00.

We get on 63 to 53 south. The trail was not groomed and a bit bumpy.

Going south on 53 we take the local to Kiamika for fuel. It is fresh groomed.

[GT Rider]

Continued

My navigator wants to stay on this one but back to 53 south we go.

We get to the mixed snowmobile, vtt section and its fresh groomed.

We had traveled south of 324 and the trail was ungroomed powder.

A few miles down and we found out why the trail was not groomed. There was one set of tracks on the trail south. I guess someone picked up the operator.

Continuing south on 53 the trail was quite nice for a while.

We come around a corner and a guy is going sideways ripping up the trail. Behind him is his friend. They are a 2 man trail wrecking crew. I would not believe 2 machines would be capable of what we saw. They were the only machines we passed. And the trail was nice up until then. Both sides were in play for them.

[GT Rider]

Continued

We make it down to 43 and go west.

The bridge to Val-Des-Bois. We stop for fuel at the Shell station. The attendant states that the groomer passed without the drag the day before so watch the blind turns for his return trip.

We make our way to 13 north. We cross Lac-Sainte-Marie and stop for lunch at Le Laclong.

We then continue on to Kazabazua Station where we see the Ours Blanc sign and a fresh groomed trail.

[GT Rider]

Continued

We find a couple of deer on the trail. We stop to see what they will do. After a few minutes of a stare down we slowly creep forward and they go into the woods.

We get fuel in Maniwaki and head for the final 77 mile run. The temp drops to -15. We arrive at the restaurant in Lac-Saguay at 8:45. We had 15 minutes to spare. The machine ran flawlessly. We can go home with smiles.

We are grateful to the people who helped us when we were down.
Steve, Brad & Andrew
Dominic, Suzan and her Husband.
Marco and Nona.
Alex and Steph at Contant

[iceman]

Improvise and Overcome, it's the name of the game. You guys have mastered both. Glad you made the best of it all and had a memorable trip. Hat's off to you and the Mrs. Nice run.

[800steve]

What a trip, I am worn out just reading about it, good job.

[Jackstraw]

What a trip, I am worn out just reading about it, good job.

X2!

I don't know how you remember everything in detail. Nice Job

[Northbound]

What a great trip and post! Great pics too. I especially liked the one with your sled taking a nap, I've seen my sled a few times in that position, but am never in the frame of mind for photos. Good for you and we're glad your finals days of the season were so nice.

Jeff and Sandy

[mikerider]

Holy crap, Jim, whoever said 'a bad day of sledding is better than a good day at work' obviously hasn't ridden with you. What an adventure.

Retrieving your sled in the middle of the night, loading it alone onto a toboggan, getting stuck on a bridge, driving on the ice road, driving all night.

I invite you and your wife next year to stay in RDL at the Universal. Your truck will be right outside your door. You will never be further than 125 miles from the hotel doing day trips from the hotel. Each night you will relax in the hot tub, get a message, and walk a couple hundred feet to dinner via a warm hallway. You will walk next door to the store and get a jug of wine. You can drive to some of the fine area restaurants. You will be stress free. BUT, you will be like me, not too many stories to write about.

mike

[groomer]

hi gt rider !!!

awesome pics ...like the ones with bridges !!

looking at the groomer in the '' ditch ''....with tons of snow like that ...its time to pay more attention to see where ditch is...if you can see it...i try to ''feel it '' with right track !!!

if you look closely ...just left of the sled track ,you can see the ''' line '' ..edge of trail ...looks like operator was looking somewhere else !!! hahha

jean-guy

[vt_bluyamaha54]

Not sure how you had the strength to finish after such a grueling retrieval, the disappointing diagnosis, and the lack of good sleep but thank you for sharing another great trip with the rest of us. Great pics and lots of detail.

[Mid Range]

awesome pics(very good quality)........hat's off to both of you on your adventure.

[Trailblazer]

I was enjoying your posts right up to the Clova breakdown then I was loving them, am very sorry for the hardship and not loving that part but loving how you handled it.

You guys are a crew to be reckoned with.

Hats off to both of you.

[Trailblazer]

BRP dealer in Mirabel, largest one in Quebec, got all the toys you want.

I bought my sled and gear from them and had my first oil change and inspection done by them too. I was treated very well by both sales and Alex in service.

Hope they open another one closer to home, 50 minute drive for me.

[GT Rider]

I was enjoying your posts right up to the Clova breakdown then I was loving them, am very sorry for the hardship and not loving that part but loving how you handled it.

You guys are a crew to be reckoned with.

Hats off to both of you.

Thank you for the complement. It means a lot.

We always enjoy reading the Trailblazer trips. The vtt bonus ride is always nice in the summer.

I just got a call from Alex at Contant. They are very good over there.

Jim and Gemma

[GT Rider]

awesome pics(very good quality)........hat's off to both of you on your adventure.

Hi Jack,

Your trails were fantastic. Your club is doing a great job.

Thanks for the memorable trip.

[GT Rider]

Not sure how you had the strength to finish after such a grueling retrieval, the disappointing diagnosis, and the lack of good sleep but thank you for sharing another great trip with the rest of us. Great pics and lots of detail.

Thanks for the kind words. Like all QuebecRiders we play the hand were dealt. We are looking forward to next time.

[GT Rider]

hi gt rider !!!

awesome pics ...like the ones with bridges !!

looking at the groomer in the '' ditch ''....with tons of snow like that ...its time to pay more attention to see where ditch is...if you can see it...i try to ''feel it '' with right track !!!

if you look closely ...just left of the sled track ,you can see the ''' line '' ..edge of trail ...looks like operator was looking somewhere else !!! hahha

jean-guy

Hi JG,

I thought you would know what went wrong.

We were looking forward to visiting your trails this year. Mother Nature had other ideas. 2015 it was the ice. 2016 it was the rain.

Thank you for all of your efforts.

[GT Rider]

Holy crap, Jim, whoever said 'a bad day of sledding is better than a good day at work' obviously hasn't ridden with you. What an adventure.

Retrieving your sled in the middle of the night, loading it alone onto a toboggan, getting stuck on a bridge, driving on the ice road, driving all night.

I invite you and your wife next year to stay in RDL at the Universal. Your truck will be right outside your door. You will never be further than 125 miles from the hotel doing day trips from the hotel. Each night you will relax in the hot tub, get a message, and walk a couple hundred feet to dinner via a warm hallway. You will walk next door to the store and get a jug of wine. You can drive to some of the fine area restaurants. You will be stress free. BUT, you will be like me, not too many stories to write about.

mike

P1070776.JPG

Hi Mike,

We were planning to visit you this year before the rain hit.

We will make it to your home away from home one of these winters. We look forward to a tour.

Thanks for all the reports.

[GT Rider]

What a great trip and post! Great pics too. I especially liked the one with your sled taking a nap, I've seen my sled a few times in that position, but am never in the frame of mind for photos. Good for you and we're glad your finals days of the season were so nice.

Jeff and Sandy

Hi Jeff and Sandy,

We really enjoyed reading your 12 day trip. It had me itching for vacation. You two get around real well.

It seems I put my sled down for a nap once a year. This is the first time I did it on day one. Matagami is a place that my sled like's to rest.

Mrs. GT got a great laugh at your post.

Thanks