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VT Couples Tour


neksledr
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Adventure began on Friday as the 6 of us (3 couples) left Vermont with temps in the mid 40s and rain threatening. As we crossed the border in Highgate the rain starts to fall. Destination is the Rouqemont in St Raymond, with 2 nights planned at the Delta with Saguenay Bill, then down to the Fairmont for a night, and one more night at the Signature and then a short trip back to the trucks for a black trail home. After getting above Montreal the temps start to drop and the roads get dicey. Around Shawinigan it's white out conditions as the snow is piling up! We finally arrive at the Rouqemont at 8:30 after a nearly 7hr trip. Good thing this place make beer 🍺 Dinner and drinks, then in bed by 11. Place is packed with sleds and trucks/trailers, but everyone seems to be slow moving in morning. After a quick breakfast, we load our gear and head north on 23. Groomer map showed green, but that was a late post I think? We pushed an easy 15" of fresh all the way to LEtape where we all needed fuel. Petrol and lunch and we're back on trail. Stopped briefly at Mt Apica relais, but kept motoring. Less new snow the further we move north, which is kinda nice. Took the 368 west which was absolutely incredible, we were making great time here. Rolled into the Delta around 5pm with 210 miles on the odo, a great trip up. Met Bill and Pepper in the lobby, as well as Pat and Gary and a few other Quebec riders. Great to see Bill, and he also gave us perfect directions to visit the 'cave' in the morning. To be continued....

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Day 2 of couples tour.....After a late breakfast and really no hurry to be anywhere, we leave the Delta around 10am, destination, the cave! Bill has given us a hand drawn  map (not to scale) to locate the cave, then slip out the back trail for lunch at onatichiway. On the way up, during a routine exercise for the 850 across some very long, super hard packed sections of 267, a belt decided to give up it's life. After a mere 850 miles of lifespan, a replacement was needed. The worst part was having to pick out 3,283 pieces of former belt from the clutches in 2 degree temps with howling winds beating you up. After that project is complete, we continue on to the cave. First visit here, and it did not disappoint. As we are deep in the cave trying to locate the bear that Bill said resides there, a local drives down the very narrow trail and into the cave with his Jeep! Very cool place, glad we visited. On to Onatichiway for lunch, then a super fast run to Mt Valins and down the 93 and back to the Delta by 4:30 with about 140 miles. Thanks again to Bill for the map! A few pitchers and dinner, then off to bed. Tomorrow we head to the castle...

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7 minutes ago, skidoo420 said:

What is the history of the cave??  I’ve heard of it where approximately is it 

Hi skidoo,   according to Bill it's actually a man-made cave that was made to divert water during the making of the dam. Not sure exactly where it was, but in the morning I'll take a pic of Bill's hand drawn map and send it to you! Very cool place, glad we visited

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Have fun Terry & Co.!

That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a vehicle drive into that spillway cave.

Whenever I have been in there I’ve always kept my fingers crossed that the gate feeding the spillway from the reservoir never breaks or opens!  That would be an interesting water ride indeed!

Enjoy!

Edited by Florida Snowman
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So, day 3 is another extremely cold morning, and a late breakfast is scheduled. Plans are to head down the Clermont express with final destination Fairmont le Manior Richelieu. So, 83 it is, and everything has been groomed to perfection. Again, well below zero temps, but a beautiful blue sky day and the trail is crisp and fast. We are making incredible time and have no timetable, so we stop at the warming hut at the junction of 83 and 383 to warm up. And warm up we did! Anyone know what the deal is with this place? There is a kerosene heater running in there and it must have been 95 degrees! Does this run 24/7? Could not find a thermostat, so we left with the heat still pumping. The rest of the run down the express was equally fast, and only a handful of sleds were met. We arrived at the Manior at 3pm, and quickly changed to our swimwear for a soak in the outdoor tub, does it get any better than this! And, the staff delivers cocktails tubside with a smile! (Not the same service as we experienced at the Signature the next night, but more on that later) After our soaking, it's off to the casino for a little pre-dinner blackjack. Good move, as most of the trip is now paid for! Dinner is a bit of a let down, but not terrible. All in all, an incredible experience on our first visit. All of the staff were super friendly, and a return trip will not come soon enough!

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Day 4.... Again we wake to subzero temps and blue skies above. We really are in no hurry to leave the Manior! An incredible buffet breakfast is had, and then it's time to start packing for a run to the Signature near Quebec City. It will be another fairly short run, but nearly all trails in our path show green on the grooming map. We take 378, then 377 out to the 3 which will be our route for the rest of the way. Part of 378 and 377 were very chopped up, but it wasn't long before we were back on flat and smooth cruiser trails. Surprisingly, there are quite a few sleds on the trails today. However, everyone seems to be behaving, and the miles are ticking off rapidly. We stop at the relais at the 3/378 junction for a little break, and off we go through the rollers and the hills. We have been spoiled on this trip as the trails have been incredible, and with the cold temps are holding up well even with the heavier traffic today. Our next stop is relais St Anne where we have a light lunch. Quite a few riders stop by while we're there. Only 55kms left from here. Once we get closer to the city the trail is deteriorating some, but nothing terrible. Many more sleds and a fair amount of quads in this area. Reach the turnoff to the Signature and the 1.2 miles in are wickedly bumped up! Glad we didn't have this all day. So....most reports on this place seem to have been good, but we were not so enthused, probably because of where we just left! The sled Coral is on the far side of the parking lot, which is as far as you can get away from check in. The rooms were very nice, but no cocktails are allowed in the sauna or anywhere near the outside tub or pool. Again, after our previous nights experience, this was a big let down. Oh well, we regrouped and took the shuttle into old Quebec for a little sightseeing, cocktails, and dinner. The ice castle was being deconstructed, so that was a let down, but bad timing on our part. Overall, another great day for all of us, the entire trip has been a great success.

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Hey Jack & Sandi!

We had a great ride with 3 couples who all rode well together, lots of fun. I was a little disappointed with my 850's oil consumption, as well as smoking a belt at just over 800 miles. So...when I just went to retrieve at dealer after it's first service, we took care of the oil consumption issue! A new 900T will be coming to Quebec this weekend!

Terry

 

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The 900Ts are supposed to be quite the ride.  I haven't tried one but from what I have heard they are "quick". 

I don't remember the last time the belt was changed on my 850.  We have over 3,000 miles this season and I know it hasn't been changed this year.  I don't even remember it being changed last year.

Give us a report on the 900T.

Jack & Sandi

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Terry,      I think you will really like the 900T.  I got o try a friend's 900T  Rene X  twice last week and I was really impressed by all aspects of the sled. His gas mileage was often very close to my 900na and we at times were riding pretty hard.  As far as the ITC,  sport mode was pretty touchy but standard mode was really sweet. Sled pulls hard. Rides and handles really nice. My 900na chassis is similar, and I just could not be any happier with it.    Have fun! 

mike

 

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