Andyman Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 This trip was a replacement for our Labrador trip as we have a rider going for back surgery and could not make the trip so we will wait until next season to see the big land. Mar 4th I trucked to St Donat from Riverview NB and Timbo and Thad towed from Slowville PA. Mar 5th we started out bright and early and headed to St Michel des Saints for breakfast then on to Clova for the night via Casey and Parent. Excellent trails and a great day 315 miles in by 6:30 pm. Had a nice meal and ran into Jim from Pa who I had seen in the Gaspe a couple of weeks earlier. Timbo relaxing after a hard day on the trail! Mar 6th we woke to very mild temps and light freezing drizzle so after a great breakfast we set off to the west. We encountered heavier precipitation and keeping our visors clear was a challenge. We rode TQ83 to Monet then we hit the bush roads as there was about 10-15cm of new snow on them. We left the bush road at Forsythe and rode TQ83 to Lake Fallion for lunch. It was very mild by this point well above freezing and it was raining. Tim had told me his new Swithback was very good in the powder so he demonstrated it's deep snow capability to me very early in the trip! LOL We left Fallion and rode west to Amos for a day total of 216 miles great trails and crappy weather. Mar7th we started off toward Cochrane. We stopped in La Sarre for fuel and this was where our problems first started. I was following a sled track into the gas station yard and was about 5cm to the right of the previous sled and hit a concrete block that was covered with the latest snowfall making it impossible to see. Well my sled stopped very quickly to say the least with Andyman going for a short but violent ride into the bars and windshield. We now had a very serious problem as I needed a lower A arm. We pulled out our maps to find the Doo dealers and rode the the local dealer in La Sarre. There were none available at any dealers in the area so they took mine off and found a machine shop that would open up so they could use the press and make the arm as straight as possible getting us back on the trail in a couple of hours. We stayed in Cochrane for the night 193 miles in very mild temps. Cochrane is very sled friendly and the Best Western hotel and staff were top notch. You could ask any sled question and get a correct answer even a hand drawn map! This pic is in La Reine at the most western point on the Quebec border looking east. Thad in front and Timbo behind. Looking west into Ontario. Mar 8th we rode from Cochrane to Hornepayne and this day will stand out as one of the best I have had in my 43 years of sledding. The trails in this area are absolutely superb, smooth well signed and the most sled friendly towns you will ever see. I even ran into an old friend who I have not seen in 31 years in Hornepayne. 274 miles. Typical trail conditions! Mar 9 Beautiful day on the trails riding from Hornepayne to Hammer Lake via Hillsport White River and Manitouwadge. 216 miles on some winding trails with some turns that can sneak up on you just ask Timbo! Another point of interest was that our dear friend Bernard may have left this earth but he lives on in a new body as I met the the northern Ontario version. I was offered all the same services as our old friend Bernard would offer with the exception of the kind that you would find at places like Jr's. LOL Mar10th We started out bright and early heading to Ernies for breakfast. Well Ernie does not sell breakfast so we had one of his famous burgers and yes it was very good. If anyone watches Trailer Park Boys well Ernie is a dead ringer for Phil! LOL Leaving Ernies we had to ride the side of the highway for a couple of miles on basically bare ground not good. 100 km before Chapleau we had a high pressure fuel line problem and we tried to repair it on the trail but in the end we limped into Chapleau with a steady leak. After asking numerous people we found the Napa auto store and the pretty clerk told us that they had to lay her boyfriend the mechanic off but he was working from home and she would call him. Well Paul shows up and he is the real deal. We load the dead sled into the Napa truck and off we go. The clerk even loaned us her car to go to Pauls garage. These people were super friendly and very helpful we even returned a favor as Paul came on the trail to show us the hotel and his sled had a coolant problem and Timbo towed him home!!! Paul even showed us his custom car and truck and his beloved 1971 Snow bug that he rides all the time. 172 miles. Stayed in Chapleau. Two tows in a couple of hours Hell we are getting good at this! Mar 11 we awoke to blizzard conditions and after breakfast we headed to Timmins. Very slow trails via Foleyet many of the hotels were full in Timmins due to the road closures from the storm. Mar 12 we headed east on beautiful trails. Outside Timmins we started to have more sled problems and they got worse. We made it to just north of Kirkland Lake and we had to find transportation back to St Donat a mere 720 km via road!!! Outside Timmins. The girls at the Butler Lake truck stop were so helpful and friendly. They let us use their phones and they bummed us rides as well. 2 truckers offered us rides south for us and our sleds how cool is that. They heard us talking and offered no questions asked! This truck stop is in the middle of no where and you would not believe what happened next. A taxi pulled in!!! He had brought a some medical supplies from New Liskeard to a prison camp and was heading back. So Timbo jumped into action and before you know it is heading up the highway to Cochrane and from his account of the ride he learned many important pieces of info from this cabbie!!! LOL We are now experts at towing! Trucker Timbo So off we head for St Donat. Stayed in Val d Or at Forestel very nice and great food. Timbo treated Thad and I to a splendid meal as this would be the last night together on our journey. Thanks again Timbo. We arrived safe and sound back in St Donat and did the sled switch and headed home and the lads headed back to Slowville. The last thing Tim and Thad said to me was drive safe Andy and I replied I always do and off I went. I drove about 50km and there was a head on collision about 30 seconds to a minute ahead of me on a turn. No one was killed but all I could think of was I missed being involved by a matter of seconds. Sled switch St Donat I ended up with 1718 miles and had an absolute ball despite our problems Thanks Thad and Timbo! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Good report Andy. Sounds like you had an excellent trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarddawg Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Andy, nice trip, sorry about all the problems. Just curious about the u haul truck. How many sleds would that truck hold and what was the cost? I hope you had a hot tub in Amos! thanks, dawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikerider Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Andy, Always great to read your reports of your adventures! What sleds crapped out and what were the problems. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted March 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Andy, nice trip, sorry about all the problems. Just curious about the u haul truck. How many sleds would that truck hold and what was the cost?I hope you had a hot tub in Amos! thanks, dawg 4 sleds no problem. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted March 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Good report Andy. Sounds like you had an excellent trip. Despite the problems we had it was an awesome trip through some beautiful country. Andy We stopped at Hammer Lake Lodge for the night. It was very warm this day and they don't sell beer in White River on Mondays and it just happened that this lodge was 20 miles east of there and they have an LCBO! Made it a very easy decision and it was so nice to take a break and sit in the sun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scranton1 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Great Report....... We just got back from a 1500 mile adventure........My brother will post the thorough report shortly. Trails were great with the exception of 20miles around st. michel Tons of snow north. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scranton1 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 The recliner from the picture of timbo was looks very familiar. "Auberge Clova" downstairs. Clova was great...........Outstanding Hospitality for a great price. Room, breakfast, dinner 80 bucks including tip. Favorite stop of our entire trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 The recliner from the picture of timbo was looks very familiar. "Auberge Clova" downstairs.Clova was great...........Outstanding Hospitality for a great price. Room, breakfast, dinner 80 bucks including tip. Favorite stop of our entire trip. Ditto on Clova we love it there. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Range Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 thanks for sharing Andy....unfortunately mechanical breakdowns is something we might face sooner or later.I've been thru this 2 years ago in Sainte-Anne de Beaupré. How was the trail condition like west of Clova and the unnecessary rerouted trail in Monet area. By the way I stayed 4 times in the last 2 seasons in Clova.I know the menu very well Natchos fish soup steak and potatoes desert. breakfast are special...the way the eggs are cooked. and finally.......northern ontario has nothing to be shy of regarding trail quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scranton1 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 thanks for sharing Andy....unfortunately mechanical breakdowns is something we might face sooner or later.I've been thru this 2 years ago in Sainte-Anne de Beaupré.How was the trail condition like west of Clova and the unnecessary rerouted trail in Monet area. By the way I stayed 4 times in the last 2 seasons in Clova.I know the menu very well Natchos fish soup steak and potatoes desert. breakfast are special...the way the eggs are cooked. and finally.......northern ontario has nothing to be shy of regarding trail quality. Trails were great west of clova through the fire areas to lac fallion and Seneterre.... Didn't realize there was a detour until our buddy who is a rookie with a new GPS tried to convince us we werent on the correct trail... This guy was a pisser.........The GPS was sacred to him........Fortunately the SkiDoos get such great gas mileage, with the addition of the auxillary tanks, you rarely have to worry about trail detours that could change distances between towns and have the potential to leave you stranded on the trail....... I would approximate the detour adds another 25 to 30 miles between gas stops heading west and is a little more twisty, turny than we would prefer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 thanks for sharing Andy....unfortunately mechanical breakdowns is something we might face sooner or later.I've been thru this 2 years ago in Sainte-Anne de Beaupré.How was the trail condition like west of Clova and the unnecessary rerouted trail in Monet area. By the way I stayed 4 times in the last 2 seasons in Clova.I know the menu very well Natchos fish soup steak and potatoes desert. breakfast are special...the way the eggs are cooked. and finally.......northern ontario has nothing to be shy of regarding trail quality. Hi Midrange The trail to Monet was great and we followed the bush roads from there to Forsythe then the trail again. I agree on the eggs for breakfast a real neat way to present them. Andy The remains of Forsythe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 hi andy !! as usual ,great report !! thanks for sharing the pics !! groomer !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 A most comprehensive report on a very fine trip, Andyman. I suppose you just had to include the pic of my switch caressing the jing weed, eh? lol I believe the take-home-value highlite of the trip was the tremendous experience we amassed towing! We are now highly trained tug operators. Looking forward to the grand adventure to the Big Land, next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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