iceman

Awesome, knew it would be sweet. but sorry to hear about buddies troubles. All snowmobiling for sure.

Cote Nord Trip 🐳 Day 5 Thursday March 12 This trip is done. Woke this morning the storm slacked off. It was drizzling here on and off. Surely 30cm here. It’s been discussed and with not much showing purple this morning, breaking trail to nowhere particular, is just not how Snohorse and NHmoose want to remember this season’s last ride. Yesterday from Ragneau to Escoumins was pretty ok, especially from Forestville to Escoumins. Not as nice as last Sunday but still good. We are not going to break trail today just to ride. It’s denied. We will use the weather window to drive out tomorrow. Decided to just hang out here today. Probably would have been just slower going on road today but will be dry roads tomorrow. We rested this morning then decided to clean off trucks. Much warmer out snow is wet. Not powdered here today. Trucks liberated from their snowy entombment’s. Cleaned and melted off. Its a very Early AM departure. Great Run and Great Season with these two great team members and long time friends anytime-anywhere with this team. 4354 miles on the XRS for the season We missed the window for the grooming. That’s what we want. That’s what we are looking for. Gonna be sweet here but probably will take two grooms. We don’t have the time. It’s done for us here. Home for a week. Then time to go west Playhard and I, we are going motoneige. Until next time Thanks for reading along.

Sorry our trucks are here. Won’t be down there by sled. I believe your timing is going to be excellent. Check temperatures but should be golden.

Like your thinking, mais non merci. No thanks. Not sure it would sell. I would probably get cancelled.

Timing is excellent for you if you ask me. Go for it. Enjoy Wish we could stay till Tuesday we would go right back up Friday or Saturday but not meant to be for us.

When we arrive earlier Snowing much more now big winds IMG_3725.mov

Sled cleaned up Pumps removed. Photo today

Cote Nord Trip 🐳 Trail Day 4 Wednesday March 11 7am breakfast downstairs at Hotel. Nothing fancy but did the job. Plan is simple we are running to the trucks now. Les Escoumins tonight. Out on sleds rolling at 8am trying to beat heavier snow and stronger winds forecast later this afternoon. Maxim (Max) manager at Travel Lodge him, along with Mia and Macey very helpful super friendly and speak English too. Great option in Baie Comeau, with by far easiest access. Very snowmobile friendly. Ski Doo Dealer on same trail. Its still real icy not alot of crumbs or anything some real glare ice in many spots. Scratchers are working. Just before big reroute to go on road over bridge in Chute Outardes, Along the road incoming from Snowhorse’s radio “cop” huh? I glance left and he is pacing us alongside on road. We are barely doing 60km its pure ice we are just trying to get out of town. He drives off. We pass the earthen dam at Manic 1 (I think that is it) and come to where the detour really starts. Right where you go out and down to the road over bridge. All on the single track trail. Cop is parked here waiting. Seeing us jumps out walks over, seen him from far. Pull up and shut it down. Asking where we going I tell him. He takes quick look probably for mirrors then says to the guys where are you from, the usual. Then asks for paperwork but quickly changes his mind once we begin reaching for it. Maybe a test to see our reactions to his request? Anyway he said in English to us nevermind, have a safe ride. I told him thank you and you be safe as well out there. We went our separate ways. But our shadow watched to make sure we made full stops at the road crossings there and the Employees parking lot you cross also. There is a sign in French at road over bridge says only one snowmobile at a time on the bridge. alternating sides if necessary. Interesting. Must be a gong show on weekends in season. We did the one at a time, as our shadow was parked up the hill looking I am sure. Apex hot now, showing Yellow light. Can’t scratch up frozen mud to aid cooling. All before bridge here its bare. I roll on and it took longer than I would have liked but light went off never saw it again. Once clear of town and past Club House Bolides Ragneau, this trail improves quite a bit still hard but some snow dust here. Its a start we are heading back towards snowmobiling not icemobiling. Absolutely love this new TQ3 configuration with the Pessamitt bypass. So great the trail and the views. We roll on two sleds pass other way going north, we exchange bonjours but they were anglophones like us. Heard them talking on radios before seeing them. Just at 10:30 snow begins here outside Forestville. Snowy in Forestville Gas and call to Les Escoumins to secure the exact rooms we want. We roll. There is new snow here, scratchers are finished. (Thank you for all you did for me, without you I would be nowhere far.) Direction Portneuf sur mer, we take by pass and cut corner. TQ3 now to Escoumins, more frosting here trail still slippery under. We make great time 2hr 50 minutes to Forrestville from Baie Comeau Then 1hr 35 minutes to Les Escoumins. Arrive at trucks it’s blowing good now. Not the worst I seen here as storms go. But it’s a good one. John and I make the run to Grocery store and are well provisioned. Will evaluate in morning. Snohorse and I are very interested to wait a day if necessary to see some purple. NHmoose is looking for weather window to extricate himself from up here its 10 hrs to home for him easy. We have hard stop for this run as I really need to be back on Sunday latest at home. Looking like Friday and Sunday are two black trail days, to drive out of here. When sleds are in box behind truck if I have choice it’s gonna be a black trail not a white one. No pictures today. Sorry. Will see what happens. Stay Tuned……

All done from home. Game over there for sure.

I am sir.

Not everyone is a supporter. No problem got plenty of replacement stickers. Love that i live rent free in their heads Haters

Cote Nord Trip 🐳 Trail Day 3 Tuesday March 10 Leaving Baie Comeau this morning is ugly. We know we have run out of magic. Trail is frozen mashed up frozen hard and slippery as hell. Scratchers deployed from the jump. We are in denial but it doesn’t stop us yet. Ugly through this section near the Ferry junction and to Ski Mountain. Trail is glistening with its layer of Ice. We are Icemobiling. Scratchers doing their job, zero hyfax issues or overheating. But hard to handle. Slow is not fast, or easy as with frozen ski ruts from days past traffic its darty as hell. Fast is faster but razors edge. We push on to warming hut 23 miles or so from Baie Comeau at junction 445-TQ3. Take a break here and agree its unanimous we have never seen ice trail like this for this long ever. So what to do? Still in denial we push on. Roller coaster now over and to Franquelin then Godbout. Saw one local out with toboggan. Then no one. Stopped in Godbout ferry was loading, leaving 2pm. Last chance to change sides? It’s voted down. Trail is an Iceroad. Solid ice. Taking a toll on us. Very tiring this riding. But now we are committed to gas in Baie Trinitie. No choice but to continue up there. 76 miles of Ice trail. Frozen solid. Concrete. Arrive at gas/market gas and red gatorade. Big Reese’s Cup time. Up out trail back toward TQ3. We stop and face reality….this sucks. If we continue we can get there but at what cost? It will be great here with the new snow but that aint in time for us. We intend to turn and burn tomorrow back down, but it aint burning trail. Is tip toeing fast. On ice. IF we go up, then we need to ride it all again tomorrow back down. As we run back to Baie Comeau. Decision is made to abort. Sucks. But it’s part of the game. We been very blessed, so far each time out. Every at bat cannot be a hit. Today Sept Isles was not to be. Unfinished business for next time. Back track through same icy conditions roller coaster back over and just near Baie Comeau trail is starting to just loosen up a bit. Its not pretty. Back at Baie Comeau at Travel Lodge licking our wounds. Tomorrow we will try to run south and see where we get to. Snow is supposed to be worst starting late afternoon, forecast to snow most of day, so should be interesting depending on weather. Talk is circulating of just waiting out the grooming, as after this, it will be very awesome everywhere up here, when they groom. Not sure that will happen. Great experience anyway today. Icemobiling not like Snowmobiling. Not the same. Let it snow. Let them Groom. Stay Tuned.

IMG_3437.movIMG_1197.mov

up

Cote Nord Trip 🐳 Trail Day 2 Monday 9 March Great food and service at the Danube Blue. Julie at dinner was great. Then Denise this morning at breakfast. On it. It Makes a difference when you have competent people on your restaurant floor. Or anywhere these days i guess, more than ever. Shortage of real customer service. 8:32 start track. Out back of hotel we are only sleds here. Local Trail groomed from here to Junction with TQ3 here groomer went West. Sad but actually did not need it. We head east first run further up than Forestville in six seasons. Doesn’t seem possible. Last time in 2020 we finished our ride we were in Les Escoumins I call home and Mrs. ice was saying hey there is this Virus and they are talking of closing schools and maybe the border. What? Crazy train. All aboard. Well back to it. Happy to be here and riding this section. Trail is very nice. Hard too. This time is almost simultaneous the call from Snohorse and NHmoose “smelling slides” We deploy one scratcher each it would not ge needed long. Getting warm. Alot, of all new to me trail here. Like I have never ridden it before because most I haven’t. The big new bypass and reroute is awesome, cannot believe no one mentioned how wicked awesome the views are now, Big mountain views, valleys and lakes. Lots of Poweline gone. Love this new route. Trail is spectacular and private. Have seen no one. We cruise on east. Here the trail is familiar soon we arrive at warming hut Bolide des Ragneau. Trail is mint. But It’s hot getting very sweaty. Decided to change out and remove heavier layer. While i was here. Turned out to be the best thing, so much more comfortable. Leave warming hut and zoom through valley there and almost at the end where trail goes hard right headed east. 5 sleds headed west. First sleds all day. We continue on and arrive at Chute des Outardes. Here the trail is the reroute and is snirty bad here still passable but ugly here on of road on bunny trail. Then need to ride on RT138 to cross bridge. Typical Quebec, it’s ok 👍 you Can ride on RT138 Baie Comeau Cote Nord, but it’s a no go 👎 requires a trailer service for RT132 in Riviere Madeline in Gaspe. Makes perfect sense. We gas at the Esso before getting to big bridge. Continue on east and stop to take all the pictures at the famous bridge. We are all alone. Time to move on going to explore. Never been up this 444 trail today that changes. A trail I will return to when here, wow. The beginning is like practice for the roller coaster trail. But the payoff on the other side. Spectacular run up and back. Love the chalets like mini towns and some all alone. Real paradise up here 25-30 miles north of Baie Comeau. We go to Lac Baleine turn and burn. Pass two headed down from chalet towing toboggan. We love this trail. Back track to 443 left turn short orange local back to ski hill in Baie Comeau and TQ3. This here a mini roller coaster trail of its own. Its been getting very grey for and hour now. Big wind and it starts spitting rain. Just enough from Ski Hill and past trail to ferry. Gets us just damp enough. Trail disintegrated here in town. Wow TQ3 is rough in this sector of town. Totally different not far from here. To gas and dep for supplies then right next door up trail to Travel Lodge. Never been here. Seems like it has the required resources. So it’s a wrap on day 2 all good. Fun times had by all. Making it up as we go somewhat. Bingo of the 444 was planned, it was on radar. Now tomorrow……hearing trail is not spectacular from here to Riviere Penticote 100 miles give or take. Spoke with only two other sleds here. Said not great. They came from Riviere Penticote heading for truck in Tadoussac, from Laval. We going for it gonna see what it is. After that section should be great all the way to end of grooming at Riviere Moisie our target this run. Then big storm to deal with and deciding where to hold up if need be. Temperatures looking favorable after tonight. Stay tuned.