Shore1066 Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Something different i noticed this year. In no way am I bringing this up in a negative way. I have been riding in Quebec for over ten years and this is the first year I have encountered the trails being beat up so much making me think I may be on Tug Hill where there is so much traffic. Now is this from maybe the clubs due to the economy being pour, that the trail pass sales are down and they need more to keep the trails perfect or maybe it was the conditions. Well there is one more thing that I noticed this year and I don't want any one take this the wrong way. I noticed the amount of off trail sleds with the 2 and 3 inch paddle tracks that are on the trails going to their off trail locations. I just don't remember the trails being so choppy leaving the corners before. I didn't see any more traffic then previous years and I met the groomer as often. I did watch the off trail sleds, when I seen them and it wasn't a lot that when they took off there was a lot of snow being disturbed. I never looked to check trail pass stickers on their sleds and I assumed they all have one. Anyway this is something I noticed and was wondering if anyone may have had the same thoughts. Look I'm don't want anyone to think I am against off trail sleds being on the trails. Hopefully I just had a bad experience or maybe getting old. I just hope I didn't piss any one off for this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 We had the opposite experience. We thought the trails were in very good shape. You mention the off trail sleds and I'm wondering if you were in the Mont Valin area? We stay off of Valin east because of exactly what you say. We do think the paddle tracks, being more aggressive, do tend to eat into the trail more than a 1.25" trail track. But if they have their sticker, they are good to go. There wasn't an abundance of snow this year and many areas, in particular in the States, there wasn't much riding. So, more riders were in Quebec. But with that said, we rode the Lac St Jean and RDL areas and the clubs there were doing a fantastic job. If the Trans-Quebec trails were rough, we jumped on the regional and local trails. Those don't get the traffic and tend to stay in good shape longer. Anyone can hit a bad trail or have a bad day of riding but we don't have any complaints about the conditions this past season and are hoping for an early winter! Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnc Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 (edited) Unfortunately i don't think you can pin your trail conditions experence down to one or two things or for that matter generalize conditions for all of the Quebec area. I am lucky enough to ride right from my front door and have been sledding for many years in the same area and beyond. Two different clubs groom two different trail networks that join in my village. one clubs trails were far superior to the others this year and I have no clear cut answer as to why. I think many things have to align to get that" wow that was a fantastic trail " experience. Traffic, how soon sleds are on a freshly groomed trail, temperature when the groomer past vs the temp when the first sleds pasted, Rain, snow, the terrain the trail runs through, how flush the clubs bank acct is and also the enthusiasm and experience of those running the club are all variables that must come together. Edited April 11, 2016 by Cnc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipeman Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Sometimes you hit it sometimes not, for us this year was better than average as far as fresh groomed conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionjack Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 This was not a unique year but it wasn't typical at all. Snow was low almost everywhere and it was late In the season that the network was mostly open. Then there were more plus zero temp swings than usual. With such little snow much of the east coast was heading to Quebec in search of good trails putting extra strain on the trail system (just like 10 years ago 2006). Plus only a few hot spots had decent snow - Futher narrowing down the areas where the most people were. We rode 700 miles on our trip and really only 2 stretches were less than a 7/10 - the 8 miles of hell between Relais Rouge and SMDS and then after 10 minutes west of Repos the groomer slipped into the drink and we rode a few miles on a trail that had deep ruts from the wheeled loader on the rescue mission. I'm determined to make a season pass worthwhile next year with multiple trips. We stayed west and really enjoyed this side and there is a lot left for us to discover on that side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 1 Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 5,098 miles this year to almost every corner of Quebec. While it did seem that there were people I spoke with from the US that were first time visitors, I did not notice worse conditions than usual, that is to say mostly good. Now the wait to January 2017... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Je me souviens Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I also noticed more Freestyle and Summit sleds out west this year. Usually those are the super cool guys. Taking the trail 90 percent of the day with an off trail sled. I believe they help accelerate the deterioration rate of the trails. 5 minutes under the power lines at the end of the day makes up for that. I figure that's how they justify it in their minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 6500 Klms of riding in 7 weeks over very well groomed trails. Rode in Lanaudiere, Laurentians, Outaouias, La Maurice, Quebec, Port Neuf, Charlevoix, Sagunauy Lac St.Jean, Gaspesie, Bas St.Laurent and New Brunswick. I must disagree with you cause we experienced roughly 4 Klms of rough stuff coming into Koubecs from the 23. It was a really good year for grooming. You're expectations must be quite high or you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
800steve Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Almost 6000 miles in Quebec this year, and as always hit or miss, I think we hit it good most of the time, a few bad sections, but overall Quebec riding.We will be back next year for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Most of Quebec for most of the winter (except Mt Valin) suffered from El Ninio, giving lower than normal snow levels. Shore1066 I am not sure if this was a contributing factor to the conditions you experienced but it sure would not help. Go back to January/February threads, the posters are all talking about thin snow levels some even canceling planned trips. It doesn't sound like you are complaining as much as making an observation. Snow levels i believe have more to do with your issues than the economy, deep lugs, or permit sales. I believe better snow levels next winter will help you forget this winters experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red sled Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 low canadian dollar means more riders from the us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
combat Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 I've been going to Quebec for 23 years and found the good and the bad. I think a lot has to do with mother nature. This year I did notice a couple of times when the trails were not as good as I might have expected. After talking about it with friends we noticed there were some surprising snow storms that happened just before the weekend. When this happens it take the groomers a couple of days to catch up. Once they have things back in shape the trails were great again. All in all I thought it was a great winter and lasted longer than usual once it started. I rode most of the time in Lanaudier. Looking forward to next season. Combat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_bluyamaha54 Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 (edited) At the risk of opening a hornets nest, I want to say that I think the paddle track sleds could possibly pose one of the greatest threats to groomed Quebec trails as we know them. As both a rider and a groomer operator, I see no positives in having paddle tracks on groomed trails. They create moderate to severe safety hazards for others traveling at speed due to the mounds of snow left behind as they enter and exit the established trail. as well as the break in what many of us use as a curb for our right ski. The design of the track is not meant to be kind to a groomed trail in any way, shape or form. Recently, off-trail riders used a groomed trail in ME to go to an off-trail location where they destroyed many acres of Christmas Trees. I know there are places where off-trail is encouraged/allowed and that's fine but I don't believe they are appropriate on most groomed trails. Edited April 19, 2016 by vt_bluyamaha54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 At the risk of opening a hornets nest, I want to say that I think the paddle track sleds could possibly pose one of the greatest threats to groomed Quebec trails as we know them. As both a rider and a groomer operator, I see no positives in having paddle tracks on groomed trails. They create moderate to severe safety hazards for other traveling at speed due to the mounds of snow left behind as they enter and exit the established trail. as well as the break in what many of us use as a curb for our right ski. The design of the track is not meant to be kind to a groomed trail in any way, shape of form. Recently, off-trail riders used a groomed trail in ME to go to an off-trail location where they destroyed many acres of Christmas Trees. I know there are places where off-trail is encouraged/allowed and that's fine but I don't believe they are appropriate on most groomed trails. Agreed 100%.. Most of em with the paddles do not know how to leave some trail for the rest of us. Just rip it up trenching it just for fun. Sadly the off trail riders with no respect are going to cost us many right of ways in the future. Mark my words. Paddles got no place on Groomed trail. Forget banning studs, ban paddle tracks on all FCMQ trails with a few exceptions for access to Mont Valin and say the Chic Chocs. But limit their use to certain trails to get to where they are going to play off trail. Merci bonsoir. Bring on the hornets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 6500 Klms of riding in 7 weeks over very well groomed trails. Rode in Lanaudiere, Laurentians, Outaouias, La Maurice, Quebec, Port Neuf, Charlevoix, Sagunauy Lac St.Jean, Gaspesie, Bas St.Laurent and New Brunswick. I must disagree with you cause we experienced roughly 4 Klms of rough stuff coming into Koubecs from the 23. It was a really good year for grooming. You're expectations must be quite high or you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was also 20 klms running down Bras Louis this year that was really whooped. I like the ratio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 The bigger threat of the paddle tracks in my opinion is riding in areas without landowner permission. Things like mentioned above like destruction of a Christmas tree plantation can cause loss of riding permissions on designated trails too. Organized snowmobiling for years has promoted staying on the groomed trails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_bluyamaha54 Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 The bigger threat of the paddle tracks in my opinion is riding in areas without landowner permission. Things like mentioned above like destruction of a Christmas tree plantation can cause loss of riding permissions on designated trails too. Organized snowmobiling for years has promoted staying on the groomed trails. Yup, absolutely Steven and when most snow states/provinces have "Stay On The Trail" policies, I don't know how fair it is for them to allow these guys to register. If there is no off-trail riding why are they encouraged? They should have designated off-trail areas that can be reached with minimum groomed trail usage or just refuse to register paddle tracks if those areas don't exist. Its sure to ruin it for the rest of us IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saguenay Bill Posted April 16, 2016 Report Share Posted April 16, 2016 From one who has ridden in the Saguenay region for the past 33 years I would like to add my observations and experience. I use to go up to Mont Valin at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. In the past 5 years the times I now go up to Mont Valin has gone to maybe 3 times in 9 weeks. I'm talking about taking 93 east of Passion The reason is the trails get so destroyed from the off trail sleds. Bobby Boondocker and Johnny Standup are so "all about me" going off the trail and then bringing all the snow back onto the trails that it isn't worth it for me. If they want to ride off trail the stay off trail. Just my observations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYHARD Posted April 16, 2016 Report Share Posted April 16, 2016 The attraction's definitely under-STAND-able, with this 150 miles of groomed trails in the Mont Valin zone having the longest riding season. Then again, the deep-luggers don't give a crap about groomed trails. Mmm-kay! F-them! Trailer to your backwoods & powerlines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted April 16, 2016 Report Share Posted April 16, 2016 hi all !!! i noticed while groooming... since 3-4 years...since the long paddles...long tracks....there s tracks now where there was none before in the fields !!! no respect for fields even if there s a sign...stay on the trails...no respect for trees !! those who snap the throttle on groomed trails....it take 10 hrs to groom and 10 seconds to destroy !! some of those off the trail riders will close some local trails by themselves .. tourists have a lot more educations than some local riders !!! often ,easy to make the difference between a tourist and a local.. 2 pics of the '' art '' of some '' tounus '' around here !!! jean-guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artcat900 Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Bobby Boondocker and Johnny Standup LOL that's a good one Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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