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3 routes St Raymond area to Lac St Jean


largedaryl
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Comments on these three routes...   red, green,  yellow?   This  St Raymond area to Lac St Jean and back. 

I prefer open riding  rather than tight and twisty.  All new area to us, so looking for feedback.    No major sections of gravel or roads??.. as they will become  bad quickly in the warmth. 

Travel is next Mon/Tues.... in the heat wave...  looks like close to record highs temps... not our lucky day on that front. 

- large 

3_routes_StRay_LacStJ.JPG

Edited by largedaryl
typo
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23 is overused , stay away on weekend  gets bumpy esp. bottom half from L'etape down to st. raymond..     ...north of relais 22 they had plowed to fix a bridge,passable but 20km of bulldozed road..  trail up thru lac bouchette is good ..

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Check the groomer map update Monday morning after 6:00 AM to see what was groomed. 

23 (red) gets you up in elevation in about 10-15 miles.  It is a lot of park roads so it is quick if smooth but if it is warm over the weekend and not groomed, it will be bumped up.

355 (green) would be my second option as long as it was groomed recently.  Not as much traffic here.

73 (yellow) would be my last choice.  Longest distance and like Iceman says, part of it has been plowed.

Jack & Sandi

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10 minutes ago, Signfan said:

Yellow has the long plowed section this winter.

Work is finished on new bridge. We passed on 83 there last week. No more plowed to deal with. Just FYI

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Thx all for the feedback.. loaded sleds today,  have a spare sled with us just in case( last yr's trip ended on a tow rope for me) ,  and enjoyed the full sun and +2 C around Ottawa,  got a local ride in after that today on sled B, and will take all your advice Monday AM  on grooming data. 

The heat wave looks to be manageable.... with cool temps overnight early this week. 

Keep the rubber side on the ground ...looks like fun in the forecast with more sun peaking thru  early this week. 

Edited by largedaryl
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On 2/21/2020 at 4:57 PM, revct1 said:

Check the groomer map update Monday morning after 6:00 AM to see what was groomed. 

All three routes are great rides. 

Even if it shows recent grooming, don't get discouraged if it's crap in & out of gas in L'etape.

And don't go up the 355 north of Lac Edouard with Scorpion Bowl (he has bad luck over there).

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On 2/21/2020 at 4:57 PM, revct1 said:

Check the groomer map update Monday morning after 6:00 AM to see what was groomed. 

23 (red) gets you up in elevation in about 10-15 miles.  It is a lot of park roads so it is quick if smooth but if it is warm over the weekend and not groomed, it will be bumped up.

355 (green) would be my second option as long as it was groomed recently.  Not as much traffic here.

73 (yellow) would be my last choice.  Longest distance and like Iceman says, part of it has been plowed.

Jack & Sandi

This is what I was thinking.  Check grooming map day before and morning of and decide. 

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So,  we ended up taking the 355 up on Monday AM.  Fresh groom out of St Raymond area for about an hour... lunch at Lac Edward, and then up to Lac Bouchette was pretty good.. a few bumps.  Awesome weather... -5 start and high of +2 or so and sun .. but snow stayed firm.  That would be the weather for all 3 days.. we got very lucky on that front. 

There was next to no snow around Lac St Jean on Monday/Tues before the last storm. We stayed shore side at Les Chalets/Spa  Only snow in the hills around it. It was +6 on Monday there so they lost a lot, some fields were 90% mud with the only snow to be found on the sled trails from constant grooming..... yet riding up in the hills it was just fine. 

The 23 on Tues south of Mt Apica to L'Etape and further south was absolute gold!  Sunny blue skies, and not a bump to be found ( other than getting gas in L'Etape).  Lots of traffic around Mt Apica area in the AM and at the relay for lunch .. but pretty quiet further south later in the day.  As good as it gets!! ... warm but cool enough to have snow dust in the trail still and a flat and open as anyone could ask for.   One of the rare trails where I could have used more HP out of my 800 Poo. 

Toured closer to Quebec City on Wed towards Mt St Anne area.... way too many roads and stop signs for my liking, but a few nice areas as well... then a full day in the truck for the Thursday snowstorm.   100% successful trip and no mechanical issue for the 7 sleds. 

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5 hours ago, largedaryl said:

So,  we ended up taking the 355 up on Monday AM.  Fresh groom out of St Raymond area for about an hour... lunch at Lac Edward, and then up to Lac Bouchette was pretty good.. a few bumps.  Awesome weather... -5 start and high of +2 or so and sun .. but snow stayed firm.  That would be the weather for all 3 days.. we got very lucky on that front. 

There was next to no snow around Lac St Jean on Monday/Tues before the last storm. We stayed shore side at Les Chalets/Spa  Only snow in the hills around it. It was +6 on Monday there so they lost a lot, some fields were 90% mud with the only snow to be found on the sled trails from constant grooming..... yet riding up in the hills it was just fine. 

The 23 on Tues south of Mt Apica to L'Etape and further south was absolute gold!  Sunny blue skies, and not a bump to be found ( other than getting gas in L'Etape).  Lots of traffic around Mt Apica area in the AM and at the relay for lunch .. but pretty quiet further south later in the day.  As good as it gets!! ... warm but cool enough to have snow dust in the trail still and a flat and open as anyone could ask for.   One of the rare trails where I could have used more HP out of my 800 Poo. 

Toured closer to Quebec City on Wed towards Mt St Anne area.... way too many roads and stop signs for my liking, but a few nice areas as well... then a full day in the truck for the Thursday snowstorm.   100% successful trip and no mechanical issue for the 7 sleds. 

Still logging between L Etape and Mt Apica?

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3 hours ago, 800steve said:

  

Still logging between L Etape and Mt Apica?

 

Nope.. nothing we saw... perfectly smooth trails all along that section on Tuesday Feb. 25th.   Mt Apica Relay was 75% full for lunch, and the sun came out literally as we left the parking lot heading south 

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13 hours ago, largedaryl said:

 

Nope.. nothing we saw... perfectly smooth trails all along that section on Tuesday Feb. 25th.   Mt Apica Relay was 75% full for lunch, and the sun came out literally as we left the parking lot heading south 

Thanks, heading up thru next week.

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