smclelan Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Macdav and I went for a little New Years Blast of the Gaspe for a couple of days. DAY 1 We left New Years Eve day and got back Janruary 3rd. It looked from Patsy's site that all the trails were closed and rumors were there was no snow after the rain. I am here to dispute these stories. We left early on the 31st from Pointe a la Croix heading east toward New Richmond. The trails were hard but there was lubrication and no shortage of snow. We then went up the 595 stopping at La Cache for a coffee and on north. We stayed the night at the Relais Chic Chos just outside Sainte Anne Des Monts. This is the first time I have stayed there and would certianly recommend it to anyone. DAY 2 The Metro Media had called for 1-3 cm of snow, as per the north shore of the Gaspe we woke up to 8'!! Headed out in the morning toward Chap Chat for gas, did you know the two gas stations in Chap Chat are closed New Years Day. We then headed out back toward Sainte Anne Des Monts for gas. After about two and a half hrs driving we were back to the end of the trail for the Relais Chic Chos. Were we ever making good time. Our next stop was one I always make, the St Paulin Clubhouse. I stretched the TZ1 Turbo out on the straight aways on the way into there. We stopped at another favorite spot in Sainte-Adelme but it was too early or it was closed because of it being New Years Day. From there we skirted around Matane and went down the local trail from Saint Luc de Matane to Saint Vianney and into Amqui for the night at the Auberge Ambassadeur. This was also a great place with indoor unheated parking. The food was good and the waiteress were friendly and could speak english. DAY 3 Took off on the 587 toward Mont Joli then switched onto the 579 till we hit the TQ5. We went west till we landed at the Auberge Le Relais just outside Rimouski. Had lunch and a brown pop there, lots of sledders coming and going. We then headed back east on the TQ5 till the intersection of the 587, we followed it till the 591. We stayed on the 591 going through Saybec and to the TQ5 at Lac Matepedia. We sailed from there to Amqui and stayed at the Ambassadeur again. Day 4 Took off up the TQ 5 to the 591 where we went to Auberge Le Pente Abrurpie for breakfast. This place was closed, so we said we would stay on the local trails and have breakfast in Saint Vianney. This restaurant was also closed. Getting very hungry now. We stayed on these back local trails through Saint Tharcisius, Sait Alexandre des Lac all the way to Eight Mile Lac. We then headed toward Causapscal which is where we met Groomer. I strongly recommend trying some of these local trails they were all in good shape, great scenery, and low traffic. We lunched with Groomer and took off back toward the truck. We stopped at the new cable bridge and just pasted that took another local trail to L'Alverne. There was more moose traffic on this trrail than snowmobiles. However about 3/4 the way through we hit a plowed road and had to follow it for a few miles. Had a beer at the clubhouse there and landed back to the truck right before dark. The trails were 8 out of 10 or better everywhere we went. The whole trip was about 740 miles and I don't think we met more than 12 sleds. Everyone we did me was on a corner though. Macdav at the bus Cable Bridge at Chap Chat Intersection of the 587 & 579 Does this look familar longridersSS Just outside Saint Tharcisius A strange looking chap we met along the trail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sled Dog Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Thanks for the info!!! We may be heading up 1/12-1/18. Do you know if its possible to do the loop? We usually start at Riviere-du-loup and run 1000-1200 miles.... Thanks for any info!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadRunner Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Nice Trail report SmMclean! sounds like the gaspe is open for business!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper2 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Nice report and great pics,looks like a good start for the Gaspe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 great report and pics smclelan !! like the light on the first and the second one look ''agressive '' !! just looking at the pic of myself ,it was time for me to go back home for napt !! ha !! ha !! very small eyes !! thanks for stopping again in town and hi to macdav !!! i was nt sure about the word ''chap '' i had to verify in the dictionnary .ha !! ha !! btw ,my friend john spent almost 2 weeks at his camp during christmas time. groomer !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Sounds like a great start guys I wish I could have been there. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsmoke1 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 great news im leaving in a day or two why is it that the web site has most of the trails closed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted January 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 great news im leaving in a day or two why is it that the web site has most of the trails closed It is up to someone in the club to report trail conditions. If this is not done then it is assumed to be closed. Groomers section is 10 out of 10 and is not shown as open yet. I believe a lot depends on good communication between the clubs and who they report to. Patsy on Quebectrails .com does not call any clubs, if they call her then she updates her site. From what I saw of the trails up the 595 and west you will have absolutely no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfm Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 Sounds like a great start guys I wish I could have been there.Andy X-2 "A strange looking chap we met along the trail" He was probably saying the same thing. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 X-2"A strange looking chap we met along the trail" He was probably saying the same thing. LOL ha !! ha !! i knew they were coming ,i was just waiting for them to arrive.slept only 4.5 hrs that morning ,i was still in a ''coma '' !! -10c here . groomer !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longriderss Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 Hi Steven, Yes, I recognize that place. Must have been great feeling to be back on the snow. I am still waiting at this point. Hopefully get out this coming weekend and hook up with you and Andy the week after. Groomer, how much coffee do you bring with you when you groom?? Maybe not enough??? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 hi longriderss !! i bring coffe all the time ,my thermos is not too big ,average.depending of the nights ,i don t drink much .if i must groom 3-4 days in a row ,i try to slack on coffee.i don t want to become ''zombie '' .ha !! ha !! last friday i made a mistake ,drank a small cup of coffe about 1.5 hrs before going to bed .geeeeez ,went to bed at 2 30 am and woke up at 7 am .hard time to sleep. whithout hijacking smclelan thread.remember when we stopped with smclelan at that tree stand going up hill in a clearcut ,narrow trail ??close to the duniere reserve .talked with my friend last night ,the guy with the farm tractor we had met on our way there. he went there about 3 weeks ago ,there was 22 mooses around the tree stand .next day my other friend ,the camp with a beaver dam and antlers in the tree ,saw 25 mooses and some were very close . groomer !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longriderss Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 We'll just have to go back out there next fall and find them. We'll also have to take some more photo's of the moose-spruce tree and see how much it's grown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 no problems longriderss !! don t worry about that tree ,he ll still be there .my friends told me they moved their camps a bit just in case the antlers grow way too much next summer !!! ha !! ha !!! my brother showed me a few pics of a cedar tree on the duniere reserve last november ,you can go inside the tree by the base . groomer !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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