Jump to content

Best loop to include the Mountains!


snowpromod
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi All, 

I have been looking and reading at all the other loops people have done on the Gaspe, plan on giving it a go the first week of Feb.  We would like to see the interior Chic Choc mtns as well as the coast, looking for the best layout to see the best of both and not miss any must do's if possible.  I have contacted Dale and Louise at quebectrails and they suggested the following (leaving from RDL):

"I would suggest staying on TQ5 as far as Mont St-Pierre then cutting down 597 to Murdochville, from there over to 595 down to New Richmond then to Chandler back up 597 to Murdochville again back to 595 then up to Matane." 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Think Snow 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How many days do you have available for your trip?

Attached is the route we did last year. Came up with this route after getting input from many of the veterans on this site. Took us 4.5 days starting from Mont Joli. If doing same route starting from RDL would need a full 6 days. 

You will miss seeing Perce Rock and the Matapedia Valley by taking the route suggested to you. 

Have extremely short days of daylight early Feb. 200 mile days were full days. Between twisty trails and lots of site seeing opportunities you won't average as many miles a day as most other areas of Quebec.

If you have never done the Gaspe I would say the must do are the North Shore, Perce Rock, Chic Choc trail between Murdochville and LaCache. South shore is flat and not as much to see.

 

Gaspe Route 2017.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

North shore is a must do.    The mountains peak near Mont St Pierre.     The scenery there is great too     Great climbs and twists.  We like the two cut throughs and the Chic Choc trail also (Orange link between 595 and 597).    We haven’t had good luck w/the grooming on the Eastern shore and we avoid that area.    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, snowpromod said:

Here is a quick layout I did on the Interactive map - any issues with any of these days? 

 

image.png.d72096cad4270e4c167513104df8d90b.png

How many are in your group? If the group is fairly small (4 or less) and your group likes to make some time I think you will be fine. I f you are looking to stop often to take in the views a couple of those days will get long  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be very careful in having an itinerary that is "cast in stone".

Once you get into the the Gaspe' many things can make you change your plans...a big storm, groomer breakdowns, trail conditions etc. can really throw a wrench into your itinerary. Keep an eye on the weather and get the i-motoneige app for your phone, this app will show you the most up to date trail conditions and trail closures and you may have to change your plans mid-trip because of any number of reasons. I'm not trying to scare you, just speaking from experience, I once spent 3 days at the Hotel Copper waiting for the groomers to open up the trails after a Gaspesie snow storm.

You will have a great time on your trip, but don't be disappointed if you have to change your plans. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are a group of 4 - we all ride well together!  We like to have a plan in place as a guide, but we all realize things change and plans might have to adjust . . . I'm not sure we have had a trip workout exactly as planned on the computer.  It looks like we might adjust Day 1 and split it into two lighter days, as of now it looks like we will be a late arrival into RDL and no reason to over do it on day one . . .

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/15/2018 at 3:51 PM, Fuse6 said:

How many days do you have available for your trip?

Attached is the route we did last year. Came up with this route after getting input from many of the veterans on this site. Took us 4.5 days starting from Mont Joli. If doing same route starting from RDL would need a full 6 days. 

You will miss seeing Perce Rock and the Matapedia Valley by taking the route suggested to you. 

Have extremely short days of daylight early Feb. 200 mile days were full days. Between twisty trails and lots of site seeing opportunities you won't average as many miles a day as most other areas of Quebec.

If you have never done the Gaspe I would say the must do are the North Shore, Perce Rock, Chic Choc trail between Murdochville and LaCache. South shore is flat and not as much to see.

 

Fuse this looks like the exact trip my riding buddies and i planned last night. We are driving to Mont Jolie, and riding for 5 days can i ask where you stayed each night? and how the accommodations were? and perhaps where you had lunch and the lengths of the days on trail, ie which days were longer and which days were shorter? There is 4 of us going for the first time. We've done several trips in Quebec just never this far east and try to average 300 k / day +/-   And other info you could provide would be great, and yes am aware that we may have to re-act to conditions and weather and tweak our plans but again it looks like you had done exactly what we were planning.

Thanks again,
Sean 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can never plan 5 days to do the Gaspe without realizing a few things. Do not do it if you are unable to be flexible with 2 or 3 extra days, for bad weather and break downs. You are lucky if you can do it that quick and enjoy it at the same time. You will have to cut out the north shore and cross thru Murdockville to have a good chance at completing the trip that quick. You want to see the rock, many people also consider going into New Brunswick @ point crossing and going thru Kedgewick River and Moose Valley to Edmunston then crossing back thru Cabano. There are a lot of options, but mostly give yourself a chance to slow down a bit and experience the people and the landscape, this is Quebec's' best ride in my opinion, get the most out of it. A bad storm , Gaspe style, can strand you for days, a great adventure, do not let that change your mind, it's a great adventure, just be flexible, expect the unexpected and have a great time with it, you will enjoy it forever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a great ride like everyone has said.  We were unlucky with two break downs and it took us three tries to make the complete trail 5 loop.  Take your time and enjoy the ride.  You can always save some of the trails for the next journey.

Jack & Sandi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everything has already been said. This was the morning after the weather forecast called for flurries!

Andy

Learn from the mistakes of others you will not live long enough to make them all yourself!

048.jpg

047.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

T

4 minutes ago, Andyman said:

Everything has already been said. This was the morning after the weather forecast called for flurries!

Andy

Learn from the mistakes of others you will not live long enough to make them all yourself!

048.jpg

047.jpg

That makes for a tough 200 mile day eh Andy?  Been there. Done that.  That’s when I start riding the roads!

LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/15/2018 at 3:51 PM, Fuse6 said:

How many days do you have available for your trip?

Attached is the route we did last year. Came up with this route after getting input from many of the veterans on this site. Took us 4.5 days starting from Mont Joli. If doing same route starting from RDL would need a full 6 days. 

You will miss seeing Perce Rock and the Matapedia Valley by taking the route suggested to you. 

Have extremely short days of daylight early Feb. 200 mile days were full days. Between twisty trails and lots of site seeing opportunities you won't average as many miles a day as most other areas of Quebec.

If you have never done the Gaspe I would say the must do are the North Shore, Perce Rock, Chic Choc trail between Murdochville and LaCache. South shore is flat and not as much to see.

 

Gaspe Route 2017.jpg

I just booked pretty much the same route today, we are leaving from the universal though. We also have 7 days to ride.

i cannot wait.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WE do a loop out of RDL once or twice each season . We always allow a full 7 days (sled Sun AM to Sat PM) to get back to RDL plus we let people know we will do our best to be back for work on monday, but we may be a day or 2 late , like said earlier delays can happen. I have arrived in RDL on Saturday evening and woke up to 2' of new snow on Sun AM , got to Matane extremely late that night (no fun) and woke up to another 18" of new snow on Mon AM. I have made the mistake of thinking we should get going instead of waiting it out in the motel for a day to let the groomers do their job.

The grooming is normally second to none but they can only do so much with the amount of snow they get in that area sometimes.

We have also hit perfect weather and no breakdowns and done the entire loop in 5 days, if that happens we just add a day or 2 of riding on somewhere. if your making good time when your at the east end 597 / 595 and the trail from Murdochville to La Cache is a nice ride. But make sure La Cache is open. Hit it closed last season but we were able to get some gas from a Logging camp just north of there.

TQ 5 is a pretty busy trail at times and there is lots of really good riding and scenery on the green trails also, if you want to take those routes .

We did a nice run over new years weekend from RDL to Matane ,then to Point La Croix on mostly TQ5 , then 587 & 579 & TQ5 back to Rimouski ,and last day TQ5 & 35 to Squatec , 571 down to Deglis and than hammer down on TQ85 to RDL . That was a very enjoyable route , had the whole family on that one , 8 sleds and 2 cabooses with kids in them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2018 at 8:17 AM, PINKM1 said:

I once spent 3 days at the Hotel Copper waiting for the groomers to open up the trails after a Gaspesie snow storm.

Our crew has a saying: "One day we spent a week in Matane"

I think it was right around Groundhog Day. Sure felt like it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...