2022 Jack & Sandi's Trips

[revct1]

Looking at the groomer's map, it does show the changes in the trails.

93 west from St Ambroise takes a southern turn to St Charles.  That was the very rough fresh cut trail yesterday.

93 east from St Ambroise used to go due north to 328 thru the potato field.  Now it goes east and then comes back to the 328 junction.

I didn't look close enough the other day.

The lookouts at  Mt Valin are in red.  Does anyone know if they are closed?

Jack & Sandi

[revct1]

What should we do this morning?  The restaurant is take out only.  Lets have some of the instant oatmeal in a pouch.  A little hot water and some of that 35% heavy cream Sandi found.  None of that light duty 10% stuff.  If the snowmobiles command 91 octane, I can certainly command 35% fat in my heavy cream.  Yum yum! ☺️

Not much was groomed last night but that was expected for the holiday.  We can't expect the groomers to work 24 / 7.

On the sleds and out of the hotel.  At 83 we turn right. Lets go north of the river Sandi.

We cross the two bridges and turn right onto 134.  About half way to the junction with 93, Hydro Quebec is installing another set of power line towers.  These things are massive when they are lying on the ground.  They are big standing up but lying on the ground you see how huge they actually are.

We get to 93 and turn left.  This has been closed for a few years.  Lets see where it goes.  It follows the same route it did many years ago.  A few miles in and the trail crosses a river with a lot of fast running water and water falls.  You would recognize it.  The trail conditions are good.  Before it gets to the potato field in St Ambroise, the trail turns right.  We follow this along and at the next junction is where we were yesterday coming back from Relais des Lacs / Begin.  It runs along with the VTT trail.  Don't stay on 93 Sandi.  We will end up in that bad stuff at St Charles.  Sandi turns right towards the north end of the potato field.  All nice riding.

Oh, did I mention it is mild today with light snow.  It looks so pretty.  The snow is sticking to the helmet shield.  I have to wipe the snow off with my glove every mile or so.  Keep going Sandi we are doing good.

We turn left onto 328 heading towards Begin.  328 is fine up to Begin.  The trail that goes north from Begin to Lamarche and ScoobyRaid is closed.  There are tracks on the old trail but two big stakes in the shape of an "X".

We carry on and 328 gets pretty rough.  We were on it yesterday and it is only worse today.  Slow down and tough it up for the next 7 or 8 miles.  Finally we are at the junction with 554 just a stones throw from Relais des Lacs.  Time to take a break.  We look at each other.  That wasn't much fun.

We turn right staying on 328.  A little improvement now.  We get around the lac and the trail gets better.  We are approaching the blueberry fields and they are almost always good.  Today is no exception.  This is more like Quebec.  Too bad we had 10 miles of bumps to get here.

Just cruising along.  The snow is still falling.  It has covered up some of the ugly stuff that has been on the trails.  Looking and feeling more like winter.

We make our way over to L'Ascension.  The Sonerco gas station is open.  I figured it would be.  It is on a main road.

Choices.  Continue on towards Alma and pick up 93.  That means going thru that horrible section at St Charles. I wonder how the ice crossing would be.  It has been cold but why bother chancing it and then have to put up with St Charles' bumps.

We turn around and head back the way we came in.  No surprises this way.  It is still snowing.  A few centimeters have accumulated.  Not a lot but every little bit helps.  Thru the blueberry fields with smiles on our faces.  We get to Relais des Lacs and stop.  OK Sandi.  Time to beat ourselves up for a few miles.  Bump after bump.  We go by the farm that is about half way to Begin.  Not too much further.  Keep going.

At Begin we stop and agree, that is behind us now.  It may not be pristine ahead of us but it certainly won't be any worse.  The trail continues to get better as we approach the big fields before St Ambroise.  Instead of going back the way we came in this morning, we stay on 93 to St Ambroise, Le Geant Trailer.  Distance wise there isn't much difference whether we go thru St Ambroise or head towards St Honore and take 134 thru Pickle Park.

At the end of the scrubby pines, the trail turns right and runs the edge of the road for a 1/4 mile or so.  As we approach where the trail goes to the left back into the woods, a sled is stopped on the side of the road.  We slow down and take a look.  Oh oh.  There is a big two up sled in the ditch.  He was heading north towards St Ambroise and slid into the drainage ditch along the edge of the road.  I get off my sled and myself and the two French men are tugging and pulling trying to get this beast to move.  We hook up two tow straps to my snowmobile and the other snowmobile and try to pull the one out of the ditch together.  No luck.  The two upper is half on its side.

One guy takes a shovel and starts digging out around the sled.  He gets enough snow removed for us to muscle the sled back on its track.  We point it parallel with the road and one of the guys gets on the sled and manages to get it moving.  He runs along the ditch for 100' and then pops back up on the road.  Yea!  Success!

I don't know why Sandi decided to go that way but we did our good dead for the day.  A couple of high fives and all of us are on our way.

A few more miles and we are back home at the Sag.  Its still snowing and the wind is picking up.  The temp is forecast to drop tonight.  That is fine.  We will be tucked into our nice warm bed.

One more day of riding and then back in the truck.

Jack & Sandi

[EastMark]

Seems the shoulders is doing better ? Hope so !

 

Great report.

[revct1]

3 minutes ago, EastMark said:

Seems the shoulders is doing better ? Hope so !

 

Great report.

Its still a little sore but the Tylenol has taken a lot of the pain away.  And, I can sleep at night.

[EastMark]

Awesome ! 

[smclelan]

Great story about helping the sledder down off the trail.  I believe we can all relate to that, either helping someone or someone helping you.  The common part to the story is usually the language barrier, but whether you can communicate or not the sled get back on the trail.

Thanks for the great reports.

[revct1]

I know I have been in the ditch.  What happened to this guy is the exact same thing that happened to me about 15 years ago.  I was by myself.  As I approached a road crossing, I stayed to the right and the snow collapsed from under me and the sled.  I was four feet deep in the culvert.

A pick up truck stopped with a tow strap and popped me up out of the ditch.  My boots were full of water but luckily it wasn't a cold day.  I was on my way to Motel Bernieres.

Appreciation knows no language barriers.

Jack & Sandi

[MrsGTRider]

Hello Jack and Sandi,

Thank you for the great story telling. Hopefully Jim and I will be there, too. On a side note, when you get back home, if you want to bring with you an OTC (over the counter) pain meds, there is Advil Dual Action that you can buy. It is a combination of  acetaminophen (Tylenol) and Ibuprofen ( NSAID). These two pain meds work in different pathways so it is very effective for relieving pain. Plus it is also very effective for a toothache if you ever have one.🙂

Looking forward to your next report!

Gemma

Edited January 2, 2022 by MrsGTRider

[revct1]

Good morning Gemma,

Thanks for the info.  I think that will be part of our travel package from now on.  The Ibuprofen we have is old and didn't do anything.  I guess the expiration date does mean something.

I'm seeing my shoulder doctor Monday.  I know he isn't going to do any surgery but at least have him take a look at it.  He x-rayed it last year and said it wasn't ready for a replacement at that time.  If he does another x-ray, he can compare images.

Jack & Sandi

[revct1]

I'm not sure how the other States post appointments for the Covid testing.  CT does it one week in advance.  Since we are heading back to Quebec Jan 11th, I wanted to make sure we got appointments in time.  I went on Walgreen's website yesterday and Jan 9th appointments weren't open yet.  4 AM today, viola, there they are.  Sandi and I have two appointments for Jan 9th in Enfield!  Yea.  We don't have to drive an hour to North Haven this time.

Plan ahead for all the prep work, the Covid testing and the ArrivCan site or app.  As far as I know, the Covid testing is free.  Make an appointment and get tested before you have to.  Sandi's first test failed because the test tube leaked.  Go thru the ArrivCan site and then you can delete it or cancel it at the end.

Sandi didn't make the first trip because her test failed.  I was turned away on my first attempt because I didn't have all my ducks in line.  I didn't finish ArrivCan.  It didn't ruin a snowmobile trip because I was just making a day trip to bring the sleds up.  If it was a snowmobile trip, we would have had to cancel everything.

The season is too short to chance missing a trip to snow country.

Be safe.

Jack & Sandi

[revct1]

We are having breakfast in our room again.  I guess we have to get used to the new norm.  Bring your Danish and donuts.

A little chilly today, -18̊ C.  Dress warm Sandi.  Our last day.  We won't make it too long.  We have to pack up tonight.  Lets stay on the south side of the Saguenay River.

Out to 83 and turn right.  We are heading to the Delta.  The few centimeters of snow covered up some of the snirt but not all.  83 was groomed last night.  We stop at the Delta and we make reservations for the week of Feb 6th and the week of Feb 20th.  I know February will be busy so I want to get our room now.

That is done and we continue on 83 west.  Some good some bad.  Some clean white snow and some snirt.  All in all the trail isn't too bad for early in the season.  It will only get better as more snow falls.

We get to Relais Grenouille at the top of Kenogami and the groomer has just made a pass.  There aren't any tracks on the trail yet.  Go Sandi.  Follow the groomer towards St Bruno.  At first the trail is fine but as we get into the fields, we realize how thin the snow is here.  Well smooth snirt is better that rough snirt I suppose.  Lets keep going.  10 miles and we are at the south end of St Bruno.

The groomer kept on going but we have to decide.  If we continue up thru Alma and get on 93, we will have to take that bad section thru St Charles or we can turn around.  Lets turn around.  We know what it is and its OK.

A u-turn and back to the Relais Grenouille where we pick up 83.  Across the top of Lac Kenogami.  A few sleds here and there.  Not a lot of traffic.  Still on the cool side but a nice day for riding.  We pass the Delta and head back to the Sag.

We turn left onto the spur and as we cross the railroad tracks and round that first turn looking at the back of the Ultramar, we see a lot of emergency vehicles at the intersection of 175.  Slow down Sandi.  What is that?  A vehicle on it's side, in the parking lot to the right of the Ultramar.  The color of the vehicle is safety green.  That's an ambulance Sandi!  Wow!

The ambulance appears to have been heading into Chicuotimi with the Ultramar to its right.  There must have been a vehicle or two in the intersection or pulling into the intersection and with nowhere for the ambulance to go.  Avoiding the intersection, the ambulance went to the right and then rolled over on its side into the parking lot.  Hopefully there isn't a fatality.

Traffic is backed up and the power is out to the businesses.  Wow!

Back at the Sag, we park the sleds for the night.  It was good to be riding again since covid closed everything down last season.  We hit some good trails and some not so good trails.  Changes have been made to the trails but that happens every year.  I hope the restaurant take out only mandate is lifted before the end of the season.  Like MikeRider said, the social life is a big part of snowmobiling.  Until then, we will have to bring our food and drink and have small gatherings in our rooms.

Maybe we will see you in RDL Jan 11th.  Take care of each other.

Jack & Sandi

[800steve]

1 hour ago, revct1 said:

We are having breakfast in our room again.  I guess we have to get used to the new norm.  Bring your Danish and donuts.

A little chilly today, -18̊ C.  Dress warm Sandi.  Our last day.  We won't make it too long.  We have to pack up tonight.  Lets stay on the south side of the Saguenay River.

Out to 83 and turn right.  We are heading to the Delta.  The few centimeters of snow covered up some of the snirt but not all.  83 was groomed last night.  We stop at the Delta and we make reservations for the week of Feb 6th and the week of Feb 20th.  I know February will be busy so I want to get our room now.

That is done and we continue on 83 west.  Some good some bad.  Some clean white snow and some snirt.  All in all the trail isn't too bad for early in the season.  It will only get better as more snow falls.

We get to Relais Grenouille at the top of Kenogami and the groomer has just made a pass.  There aren't any tracks on the trail yet.  Go Sandi.  Follow the groomer towards St Bruno.  At first the trail is fine but as we get into the fields, we realize how thin the snow is here.  Well smooth snirt is better that rough snirt I suppose.  Lets keep going.  10 miles and we are at the south end of St Bruno.

The groomer kept on going but we have to decide.  If we continue up thru Alma and get on 93, we will have to take that bad section thru St Charles or we can turn around.  Lets turn around.  We know what it is and its OK.

A u-turn and back to the Relais Grenouille where we pick up 83.  Across the top of Lac Kenogami.  A few sleds here and there.  Not a lot of traffic.  Still on the cool side but a nice day for riding.  We pass the Delta and head back to the Sag.

We turn left onto the spur and as we cross the railroad tracks and round that first turn looking at the back of the Ultramar, we see a lot of emergency vehicles at the intersection of 175.  Slow down Sandi.  What is that?  A vehicle on it's side, in the parking lot to the right of the Ultramar.  The color of the vehicle is safety green.  That's an ambulance Sandi!  Wow!

The ambulance appears to have been heading into Chicuotimi with the Ultramar to its right.  There must have been a vehicle or two in the intersection or pulling into the intersection and with nowhere for the ambulance to go.  Avoiding the intersection, the ambulance went to the right and then rolled over on its side into the parking lot.  Hopefully there isn't a fatality.

Traffic is backed up and the power is out to the businesses.  Wow!

Back at the Sag, we park the sleds for the night.  It was good to be riding again since covid closed everything down last season.  We hit some good trails and some not so good trails.  Changes have been made to the trails but that happens every year.  I hope the restaurant take out only mandate is lifted before the end of the season.  Like MikeRider said, the social life is a big part of snowmobiling.  Until then, we will have to bring our food and drink and have small gatherings in our rooms.

Maybe we will see you in RDL Jan 11th.  Take care of each other.

Jack & Sandi

  Hi Jack, Is Kenogami frozen yet? Hope to see you guys in Feb.

[RoadRunner]

Great reporting Jack, as always, thank you for taking the time to share. Safe travels! 
RR

[Je me souviens]

Yes, thank you for sharing 

[Northbound]

Jack, thanks for taking the time to share real time info. Safe trip home for you and Sandy. Hope you get good news from your shoulder doc. We are hoping to see you in feb.   Jeff and Sandy

[SnomoGary]

Thanks for sharing Jack,  love reading you're reports safe trip home and hopefully see you on 7th February...  

[revct1]

Hi Steve, we were on Kenogami yesterday.  Many tracks on it.  No signs of wet spots anywhere that we were at.  We ran the tip of the lac for 83 to Relais Grenouille.

RR & Je me souviens, thanks.  Part of snowmobiling is sharing it.  Maybe I was able to put a smile on someone's face.

Northbound, we will be at the Delta.  You can tell us about your boat adventures.

SnomoGary, you and Pat will have the most hoops to jump thru to get here.  I know Pat is nervous but has it all under control.  You on the other hand are sitting back, waiting for the "Come on Gary, we will be late!"

To everyone else, thanks for following along.

Jack & Sandi

[revct1]

I just looked at the grooming map.  A lot of activity here.  If the snow comes towards the end of the week, some of the ugly stuff will disappear.  Happy trails.

[revct1]

On 12/31/2021 at 10:19 AM, Snobeeler said:

Jack, I am going thru exact same thing. If you are a side sleeper like me I have found when on my bad side keep your elbow at your side and fist up under chin. No more ache at night. 

Hi Jay.  I sleep like that on my good side.  I tried it with the bad shoulder and the shoulder just doesn't fold up the same.  I think the arthritis is preventing it from bending all the way.  I'll see what doc says next week.

Jack

[mikerider]

Really enjoyed the reports Jack and Sandi.  Thank you for sharing.  We need to have a go fund me and get you a camera.  lol

[PLAYHARD]

On 1/2/2022 at 5:43 AM, revct1 said:

I'm seeing my shoulder doctor Monday.  I know he isn't going to do any surgery but at least have him take a look at it.  He x-rayed it last year and said it wasn't ready for a replacement at that time.  If he does another x-ray, he can compare images.

In case there's curiosity &/or viability on the flouriscopic harpooning thing (hyaluronic acid & cortisone/steroid), this gent's easy to talk with, I call him Dr Pincusion:

www.DrVarlotta.com

 

[PLAYHARD]

21 hours ago, revct1 said:

Maybe I was able to put a smile on someone's face.

For sure!

Big merci!

[PLAYHARD]

21 hours ago, revct1 said:

Hi Jay.  I sleep like that on my good side.  I tried it with the bad shoulder and the shoulder just doesn't fold up the same.  I think the arthritis is preventing it from bending all the way.  I'll see what doc says next week.

Jack

This wedge & body pillow (I call that part the snake) is super duper.

But it can get weird rolling over when you're half asleep:

https://medcline.com/products/shoulder-relief-pillow

And not conducive to saddlebagging?

[SnowCrazed]

Hi Jack and Sandi, thrilled to see you're back and your 2022 post! I'll probably get hammered for saying this but I know something that would help your shoulder and snowmobiling: jump ship to Polaris. 🙂 Be well, we'll be following your season and hopefully it all returns to normal in 2023!

Terry 

Edited January 20, 2022 by SnowCrazed

[smclelan]

18 hours ago, SnowCrazed said:

I'll probably get hammered for saying this but I know something that would help your shoulder and snowmobiling: jump ship to Polaris. 

Terry 

You have a great sense of humor, I really laughed when I read that!