tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82379888541834719652024-03-12T18:14:40.217-07:00scorpion-bowl.comscorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-12807300331364108562011-01-12T14:20:00.000-08:002011-01-20T17:04:49.886-08:002010-11 Early RidingWell this season isn't starting off any better than last year. As thanksgiving approached, there was essentially no snow. The week of thanksgiving saw some snow, but nothing substantial. Since I had plenty of vacation time to burn, I had to make some trips by year end. <br /><br />Trip #1: Dec 8-9, 2010. Monts Valin. 248 miles<br />This was more like a thanksgiving trip. Since conditions were marginal and Monts Valin was the only place to ride, I had to go it alone. Of course when I left, there was no snow on the ground...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4tXvPoKMI/AAAAAAAAAAM/FQ59l7nxfwY/s1600/IMGP2913.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4tXvPoKMI/AAAAAAAAAAM/FQ59l7nxfwY/s320/IMGP2913.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561432475691395266" /></a><br /><br />There wasn't any snow on the ground till I crossed the border. Drummondville had more snow than I thought and it was starting to snow good. The drive to Chicoutimi took some time, but I finally arrived at the Hotel Sagueneenne around 6pm. Snow in the city was very thin.<br /><br />After the drive to valineout, it didn't take long to find paradise...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4uprQGdUI/AAAAAAAAAAU/I6L9QxOl1Gg/s1600/IMGP2923.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4uprQGdUI/AAAAAAAAAAU/I6L9QxOl1Gg/s320/IMGP2923.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561433883368912194" /></a><br /><br />It was a little thin near the ski area, but improved quickly. Traffic was thin and trails were good. After gas at Chapelle, it was off to the school bus. The orange trail got worse to the Pelchat turn. There wasn't any traffic or grooming on the Pelchat, but someone had been through this year. It was a great ride to the bus and good trail overall...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4vTwe17YI/AAAAAAAAAAc/I6qBNp1t_FU/s1600/IMGP2943.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4vTwe17YI/AAAAAAAAAAc/I6qBNp1t_FU/s320/IMGP2943.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561434606327426434" /></a><br /><br />At lunch back at Chapelle, I met the new owner and grabbed a burger. Next was the loop over bras-louis and back to the truck. Bras-louis had its usual washout, then at the turn to Onatchiway, I was lucky to see the groomer coming from there, perfect for tomorrow.<br /><br />After waking up to a fresh 1/2" of snow, it was time to head back up to the mountain. Once there, the new snow was about 10". It didn't take long on bras-louis to see about 18" of new snow. Once at the 477 turn, there was only about 4" of new snow. On the way to Onatchiway, the new snow kept getting deeper, so much so, I got stuck, then ran into two locals stuck, so I decided to turn around and loop back to Chapelle and then the Hotel.<br /><br />For the drive home it was clear and cold. On the approach to L'Etape I encountered the most amazing sundog I've seen...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4xbbKnwjI/AAAAAAAAAAk/Nd-pSyygYag/s1600/IMGP2985.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TS4xbbKnwjI/AAAAAAAAAAk/Nd-pSyygYag/s320/IMGP2985.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561436937067676210" /></a><br /><br />Overall a good trip with no problems.<br /><br />Trip #2: Dec 21-22, 2010. St Raymond. 371 miles<br />Once again, not much riding anywhere, and Monts Valin wasn't worth the trip, so Don and I headed to the Roquemont for a couple days worth of riding. Always a great stop, and not much of crowd for this time of year. Day 1 we headed out the green fence trail and headed toward LaTuque. Conditions weren't too bad for this time of year. Once we got to Relais Jeanotte, we took the local trail to Trappeur. First time for me, and that trail was perfect. From there, we headed North to Lac Edouard, but the trail only got worse, so we turned around and headed down the 355. Here's a pic at TQ73...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTeEtvhD1wI/AAAAAAAAAA0/DVyDKJHxZFg/s1600/DSC00127.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTeEtvhD1wI/AAAAAAAAAA0/DVyDKJHxZFg/s320/DSC00127.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564061786023646978" /></a><br /><br />of course 73 to Lac Wayagamac was perfect. Once at the intersection with 355 south, it was clear nothing was open, but the road trail into LaTuque was and it was groomed. After gas in LaTuque, we back-tracked to the Roquemont. A quick check verified the river north wasn't frozen, so we got directions to drive the trucks to Relais Lessage for tomorrows trip to L'Etape.<br /><br />After unloading at Lessage, the trail was freshly groomed all the way to L'Etape. Conditions were very good, and of course the network of logging roads are some of the best...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTeEoMOxxPI/AAAAAAAAAAs/mVM51KjKilI/s1600/DSC00117.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTeEoMOxxPI/AAAAAAAAAAs/mVM51KjKilI/s320/DSC00117.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564061690652378354" /></a><br /><br />We checked in at Auberge le Relais which really doesn't seem like it's been open for a few years, yet people say it is. We continued toward Apica, trails weren' too bad, but the Internet said it wasn't open. We met some sleds coming south, so it must be ok, but we didn't know if the gas was open at Apica, so we headed to L'Etape for gas and lunch. There were a fair number of sleds for mid-week, early season. The trip back was uneventful. Not a bad trip overall, we rode what mother nature gave us.<br /><br />Trip #3: Dec 28-30, 2010. NH/Chaudiere, 538 miles<br />After a big storm down south at home, it looked like Northern NH and Chaudiere were the only place with decent riding, other than Monts Valin [Chicoutimi had little]. Bob offered up his place to start and was familiar with the area, certainly no place I've been before.<br /><br />Day 1. We left Bob's camp with about 10" of fresh snow. There was still little in the woods, and nothing was really marked, but Bob got us through it to the Pittsburgh area, where everything was excellent. TQ65 to Lac Magentic was ok, but once through the swamp [which wasn't bad], 580 was perfect...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTjW0jmMKOI/AAAAAAAAAA8/O2InSKFLbvM/s1600/DSC00131.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTjW0jmMKOI/AAAAAAAAAA8/O2InSKFLbvM/s320/DSC00131.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564433538013210850" /></a><br /><br />Conditions were excellent till 10 miles outside St Georges, which was thin and junk. Thin conditions continued on 55 till Lac Etchemin. We stayed at Le Manoir on the Lac. To get there, you have to go across the Lac, which wasn't staked, but had plenty of local traffic, so we took it anyway. Le Manoir was a nice place with a fancy restaurant [pricey] and opened late for breakfast. No local store either.<br /><br />Day 2. We continued northeast to the better conditions and a ride up Massif...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTjW5pWcxWI/AAAAAAAAABE/K_Z6qtvDsi4/s1600/DSC00133.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_frEwUmRwYv8/TTjW5pWcxWI/AAAAAAAAABE/K_Z6qtvDsi4/s320/DSC00133.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564433625457149282" /></a><br /><br />TQ55 was marginal to poor so we continued northeast to grab the 547/545 green trails back south, which were mostly excellent, one sectioned just opened up by the grooomer, we saw him on the return run. We stayed at Lac Megantic to give us a short run home the next day. We stayed in the city, Motel Le Quiet, nice location, seemed expensive, but ok.<br /><br />Day 3. We headed back to Bob's after a stop in Pittsburgh for breakfast. Trails all sucked getting in/out of town, and things near Bob's camp were still poor. Overall though, it was a great trip given the once again poor conditions everywhere. In a good snow year, this could be a good start for the Gaspe.scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-16518023153689259952010-03-15T16:07:00.000-07:002011-01-12T14:13:34.688-08:00End of the Season [and 2-Strokes] (March 7-11, 2010)This was, by far, the worst season in Quebec since I've been coming here [2004]. After a cold and wet summer, there was a lot of optimism that this might be a great season. The thanksgiving ride was washed out, the xmas ride was cut short due to rain, the season opener had record warm weather, wind and rain. No big rides were planned for February, so the season ender was to begin March 7, and that was probably a week late.<br /><br />The season was washing away quickly, so we had to decide where to ride. Chicoutimi and that area had nothing, sure you could ride 200 miles of trails on Mont Valin, but that's not worth it. The Gaspe loop we did in January was still manageable, but evaporating quickly, so we decided to do the Chibougamau loop.<br /><br />Don was wrapping up a ride on the 6th, so it would be the four of us, John, Marty, Don, and myself...but after guiding around St Raymond in the dirt earlier in the week, Don decided to throw in the towel. The Shawinigan area wasn't rideable, so we decided to try LaTuque. Marty was late as usual, so he would meet us there. We stopped in at Don's on the way up to say hi. It was a beautiful and warm sunny day, 47F anyway. All reports were that the Chibougamau loop was great, so Don changed his plans, and was going to ride with Phil starting Monday...so we would keep him posted on our findings...<br /><br />We've never driven to LaTuque to start a ride, and after getting there, it was apparent we still wouldn't...conditions were poor and who knows how bad a week later, since the forecast was full sun and mid 40's all week. So we decided to continue on to St. Felicien [instead of Relais 22], that would give us the best chance for the return run, a week later. Marty, running late, wouldn't arrive until 2am.<br /><br />I was riding the 09 Etec, with just under 10k miles, with the 1.25" ripsaw, studded, new hyfax, and an extra set of wheels, for the light/hard snow. John had his 07 SDI also with about 10k miles, and Marty had his 2010 800 Summit with 1.75x146" track, a disaster for these conditions, but it is what is.<br /><br />Day 1: St-Felicien to Clova<br />Conditions: +28F/+46F, sunny, hard/flat trails.<br />Details: 373, LT, TQ83, 303 miles, 15.8 mpg, 41.2 mph [avg], 7:25 trail time.<br /><br />We stayed at Hotel du Jardin, there we several sleds in the coral, conditions looked marginal. After breakfast, we loaded up and headed out on a beautiful morning...hate the parking lots this time of year...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00033-702121.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />It didn't take long and Marty was overheating. The 600's were fine. Conditions around the Lac were hard and Icy, even off the trail. Once we got off 373 and onto the local trail to TQ83, conditions loosened up nicely...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00044-765523.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />The long stretches in and out of Relais 22 were hard on the hyfax, but engine temps were ok, maybe a little warm. The run into Wemo wasn't too bad, but the road was melting fast...and you've got to love the gas stop...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00049-742591.jpg" border="0" /><br />The dirt road out of Wemo wasn't too bad, but vanishing fast. After the intial shock out of Wemo, the trails into Parent were just groomed and perfect. Out of Parent, trails were also great, so we headed for Clova. Our first stop at the Tamarack, nice place, good food and drink, but no internet. All in all, a good day.<br /><br />Day 2: Clova to Senneterre<br />Conditions: +28F/+48F, sunny, hard/flat trails<br />Details: TQ83, 386, 313, TQ93, 242 miles, 15.8 mpg, 41.4 mph [avg], 5:53 trail time<br /><br />Another perfect start to the day...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00052-705951.jpg" border="0" /><br />and the forest fire is always an intersting site...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00056-724040.jpg" border="0" /><br />and just when you think everything is perfect...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00060-740910.jpg" border="0" /><br />say good bye to the SDI...<br /><br />Conditions were great for the tow into Lac Fallon. John arranged for a truck to Senneterre, and we would meet up with him at the Bel Villa. TQ83 to Senneterre was great, but 83 was in rough shape to Louvicourt, so we double-back to make a 386-313-93 loop back to the Hotel. All of those trails were great and not a cloud in the sky the whole day. Once back to the Hotel, the SDI needed a complete rebuild, top to bottom, probably $2500 anyway, and the sled wouldn't be ready till the end of Wednesday [today was Monday]. Luckily there was a bowling alley in town [just like Dolbeau] and the Motel had internet.<br /><br />Day 3: Senneterre<br />Conditions: +24F/+36F, sunny, hard/flat trails.<br />Details: TQ93, 307, TQ83, 309, 218 miles, 15.7 mpg, 44.6 mph [avg], 4:55 trail time<br /><br />Yet another perfect day...all trails were freshly groomed and there was plenty of snow...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00078-757919.jpg" border="0" /><br />After two days of searching for a trail pass, Marty finally decided to get one from the doo dealer, since they weren't sold out, and it was just a 3-day pass now. Good thing he did, at the first warming hut there was a security check...and they didn't even care we were doing 70 mph.<br /><br />We continued out past Amos and dipped down toward Val D'Or, that was a mistake, TQ83 was a mess down there, so we popped back up on 309 and returned back on TQ93. Great trails, great sunset, it doesn't get any better...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00097-701632.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />Day 4,5,6: Senneterre.<br />Conditions: mid 20's to mid 40's all sun<br />Details: N/A<br /><br />Marty and I had a hyfax change scheduled for first thing. Of course mine were down to the line, and the Summit wasn't quite as bad, go figure. Another perfect day, so we headed out TQ83 towards Lovicourt, once at the intersection of 83/93, voila, there were Don and Phil. We knew they were headed this way, but didn't think we'd be this lucky. After a quick hello, the four of us headed to Lovicourt, for 10 miles or so, then the beloved Etec blew up. A quick and interesting tow into our favorite dealer, and it was back to the room for some Jerry Springer. John picked up his sled, ready to go, and mine had no compression and there wasn't anything they could do.<br /><br />The new plan was for Marty and John to ride back to the truck Thursday, and John would bring the trailer to Senneterre to get me and then head home. They left on sled at 6am, for the 400 mile ride to St. Felicien, via TQ93. The ride smooth and fast, and they were at the trucks at 5pm, even with Marty going off the trail [again]. Then John was to burn it right back to Senneterre, 325 miles by truck. He arrived back at the Hotel at 12:30am. We had to wait till 8:30am for the dealer to open, then we were off. Temps were still high, and skies blue. The trails were dissappearing quickly...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/DSC00099-781303.jpg" border="0" /><br />We then had a 12 hour ride home, and the opportunity to discuss the final end to 2-strokes, and most likely skidoo. John needs to get one more year out of his virtually new skidoo [we know they're pretty good for one year], and I'm awaiting the verdict on what happened to the Etec. Two other groups also smoked Etec's during the week, so they're no better than the SDI. I'll need to decide if this is the year for a Yamaha, or next...<br /><br />I also noticed on this trip that the mileage [ETEC and SDI] was much better, 15+ mpg. These must be the conditions Skidoo uses to determine gas and oil use. Oil was about 150 mpq. To add to the misery, the exchange rate over the season was about $1.05 [CA], about the same for a liter of gas.<br /><br />ETEC update: New pistons [1 under warranty] and a new crank. I also put in a new chain and swapped the track back to 1.75", so it looks like I'll get another year out of this sled, before a possible change to Yamaha?scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-57046680861335263192010-01-31T07:58:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.700-08:00The Perfect Storm (January 24-29, 2010)<div>First, I would like to thank all of the weather men and women in the US and Canada for keeping all of the honest, hard-working, snowmobilers off of the trail. Second, I'd like to thank Meteo-Media and the FCMQ for accurate forecasts and trail conditions. Now on to the details of the trip...</div><br /><div>This was the first planned full week trip for the season. With a major warm-up and rain in the forecast for Day 2 of the trip, the question was, where to go? Only two places had enough snow for a 6-day ride, Monts Valin and Bas-St-Laurent. Monts Valin seemed the least risky, but was the sweet spot for rain, and the elavation wouldn't help, plus I've already ridden twice up there this year. Conditions for Quebec city all the way East to the end of Gaspe were all good [except the South side of Gaspe] and the forecast was for less rain the further East you go, so that's what we decided to do. One thing I've learned over the years, was if you cancel a trip due to the forecast, you wouldn't get much riding done. Worst case, we get a 2-3 day ride and go home. We decided to drive up Saturday, January 23, and start from outside Quebec City, at Hotel Bernieres, the shortest drive by truck to good conditions.</div><br /><div>I drove up with John, and we met Don there. I had the 2009 Renegade 600-Etec for the trip [8060 miles at the start]. Still with the 1.75" ripsaw track [no studs], new simmons skis, new belt, extra set of wheels, and slightly worn hyfax.</div><br /><div>Day 1: St-Nicolas to Rimouski</div><div>Conditions: +15/30F, Sunny, hard and flat trails</div><div>Details: TQ5, 297 miles, 14.1 mpg, 41.8 mph [avg], 7:11 travel time.</div><br /><div>Today was the calm before the storm. So the plan was to head straight East to get ahead of the storm. A nice sunny day, with excellent conditions and little traffic. Here's a pic at every one's favorite van...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1799-771316.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>Don wasn't feeling well, so he decided to bail. Other than that, the day was uneventful. We decided to try the Hotel Rimouski, a great place, but a little difficult to get to through town. </div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1812-771333.jpg" border="0" />After researching trail and weather updates, we decided to continue straight East, hopefully, ahead of the storm. The forecast was for much less rain toward the end of Gaspe.</div><br /><div>Day 2: Rimouski to Mont St-Pierre</div><div>Conditions: +20/40F, cloudy, freezing rain, rain, loose and flat trails.</div><div>Details: TQ5, 261 miles, 16.0 mpg, 37.2 mph [avg], 7:06 travel time.</div><br /><div>At 6am, it was still dry...so far so good, so let's try for Mont St-Pierre. At 7am, the freezing rain started, and was accumulating by the time we left...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1813-705317.jpg" border="0" />Things were looking bleak for a while...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1817-705333.jpg" border="0" />but that's what Gortex is for. Then we finally got out ahead of the storm, and things were dry all the way to Mont St-Pierre...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1836-768863.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>We got to see all of the scenic stops, and made the run up the Mountain to the sky-dive point, talk about wind, wow.</div><br /><div>After researching that evening, it looked like any rain would luckily come overnight. However, we weren't expecting the 40-100 mph winds in the forecast, worse the farther East you go. The plan for the next day would be to loop out to Murdochville and end up around Matane.</div><br /><div>Day3: Mont St-Pierre to Rimouski.</div><div>Conditions: +40/45F, Cloudy, mashed potato trails, very sticky.</div><div>Details: TQ5, 235 miles, 13.3 mpg, 36.0 mph [avg], 6:36 travel time.</div><br /><div>Once again, the forecast was right on. During the middle of the night it sounded like a hurricane was coming through. I couldn't hear any rain, but the wind was incredible. Some time during the night we lost power, good thing it was +45 F when we got up. Since no electricity equals no gas, and there were probably a lot of trees down, we decided to head back West, and skip Murdochville. It was warm...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1839-731959.jpg" border="0" />and with no electricity, we skipped breakfast and hit the trails to see the damage. It didn't take long to find trees down...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1842-761311.jpg" border="0" />Still a beautiful view...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1844-761331.jpg" border="0" />all of the wind swept out all of the ice on the water. After turning out of the lookout, it became very clear how sticky the trails really were...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1846-791913.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>good to see there was still plenty of snow, and good to see the sun again...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1853-791957.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>These were unique trail conditions, for sure...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1858-738074.jpg" border="0" />It's hard to remember how many trees we ran into, maybe a dozen or so. We thought this one would be a problem, but it wasn't...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1856-738092.jpg" border="0" /> and good trail conditions were still everywhere...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1859-769147.jpg" border="0" /> Even with all of the trail work, we still made it to Rimouski at a reasonable hour. Very wet snow was coming down at a good pace. This time we decided to try Hotel L'Empress since it was easier to get to. It was starting to cool down quickly. Research showed some more cool down and flurries overnight and the freeze up at Mont Valin was big, and with no backside snow, led to cooling and hyfax problems...something we were worried about, especially with the 1.75" track. However, the forecast here was still no deep freeze in sight till Friday, and some snow every day.</div><br /><div>Day 4: Rimouski to Amqui</div><div>Conditions: +15/30 F, sunny then cloudy, perfect trails, 2-4" new snow.</div><div>Details: TQ5/587, 262 miles, 13.3 mpg, 39.5 mph [avg], 6:43 travel time.</div><br /><div>A beautiful, chilly morning, with perfect riding conditions...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1863-769161.jpg" border="0" /> 50 miles in, still no sleds in sight, and perfect...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1869-797042.jpg" border="0" />Ater gassing up, we stopped off at Groomer's club to drop off a package. Still no sleds in sight, so we decided to take the 587 loop toward Pointe-a-la-Croix and then TQ5 North, and stay at Amqui. The 587 was awesome...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1876-797060.jpg" border="0" /> Under the snow was still an unfrozen base from the rain, so we weren't able to run flat out in the corners, so we did have to use the brake. After the 85 miles or so alone on the 587, we intersected TQ5, near PLC, still no traffic...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1881-728555.jpg" border="0" />Almost to hard to believe, so it was time for bumper-cam...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1882-728574.jpg" border="0" />Still no traffic when we entered Groomer's territory...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1883-762836.jpg" border="0" /><div>Ater a great day on the trails we ended up at the Ambassador for the night. They lied, and don't have Internet access there, so we had dinner at the Selectotel to use the wireless there. The forecast looked good and trail conditions looked good, except for near the truck, so we decided to head back West in case the rain had really done a number on things. It was 400 miles or so back to the truck, which we could split up into two days if things were really bad.</div><br /><div>Day 5: Amqui to Montmagny</div><div>Conditions: +25/32F, cloudy. Hard, flat trails, with 2-4" fresh snow.</div><div>Details: 587/579/TQ5/548/569/TQ85/544/TQ35/551/TQ5, 371 miles, 17.1 mpg, 39.5 mph [avg], 9:21 travel time.<br /></div><br /><div>The forecast was great and fcmq upgraded the trails near the truck, so we thought maybe stay at Pohenegamook. Another perfect day, with perfect trails...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1887-762858.jpg" border="0" /><div>till we got past Squatec. The 548 to Cabano was closed. It looked like there was a reroute, freshly groomed and signed, till we met the guys installing the signs. They verified the Cabano trail was closed since xmas, and we were on a new trail, 3-days old, that loops over the lake to TQ85. We followed it for a while, but lost the trail at two logging roads. We decided not to risk it, since there was active logging and no signs. We went back to Squatec and took the 569 under the lake. TQ85 was ice with loose snow. The 548 and TQ35 were fine to Pohenegamook. Since we were there by 2pm, we decided to go straight for Montmagny and have a half day ride for Friday.</div><br /><div>Lac Pohenegamook was closed, so we found the alternate route around it. Then it was almost a hundred miles of rail bed [where's the cruise control]...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1889-793072.jpg" border="0" />After a total of 370 miles, it was into the Hotel at 6pm, another new stop, L'Oiseliere. Everything looked good for the short trip back to the truck.</div><br /><div>Day 6: Montmagny to St. Nicolas</div><div>Conditions: 0/+5F, cloudy, windy, light snow.</div><div>Details: TQ5/551/TQ35/TQ75, 120 miles, 13.9 mpg, 36.6 mph [avg], 3:13 travel time.</div><br /><div>A cold and very windy day, with some snow. Drifting all over, a few big-ones. Everything was still good, back at the railroad bed...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1890-793087.jpg" border="0" />Everything was fine on TQ35, then it was down-hill after that...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1892-768880.jpg" border="0" /><div>Trails were very hard, and bumps were frozen in. There were some good patches on the last stretch of TQ75 towards the end. At 11:30am, we were at the truck and packing up for home, still very cold and windy.</div><br /><div>Overall, a great trip, especially given the circumstances. This is a great time of year to ride, since trails will be packed in February. The sled held up well, and it's good to see that the extra set of wheels really helped the hyfax wear, especially in these conditions. Statistics for the trip were...1538 miles, 14.6 mpg, 171 mpq [of oil], gas was about $1.12 [ca] per liter [mostly super], $1.07 [ca] exchange rate, fuel cost was $445 [us], using 105 gallons of gas, and 9 quarts of oil</div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-57751632365539363262009-03-28T14:30:00.000-07:002011-01-12T14:13:34.718-08:002009 Spring Ride, Gaspe<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>As I've mentioned before, I'll never try to run the Gaspe in February again. Last year we skipped it all together, and this year we were able to get in a perfect January ride. Since Gaspe conditions were excellent for late March, I struggled to get something together to run the Gaspe again. After going back and forth, I was lucky enough to meet and ride with lonriderss [Bob] and smclelan [Steven]. This was my first time riding with them, and my theory of if you ride more than 2500 miles in a year, you're probably a good rider, held true. Since Bob and I are in Southern NH, we decided to take his trailer and drive up through Maine and start from Pointe-a-la-Croix, a 9-hour drive for us and 4-hour drive for Steven. Since this was only going to be a ~3 day ride, we couldn't start from the North shore. After a ~9 hour drive Friday, we arrived at the Selectotel at about 11:30pm, just as the front desk was closing. Steven was up earlier in the day and did a few miles to run up to see Groomer. I was running the Etec, with the stock 1.25" track and 96 studs, newly installed. Of course, new hyfax also. Bob had an '07 500ss, newly rebuilt again, and Steven had his '09 Artic Cat Turbo 144".</div><div></div><br /><div>Day 1: Pointe-a-la-Croix to Mont-St-Pierre</div><div>Conditions: +14/30F, Sunny. Very hard, flat trails. Plenty of snow, except Parking lots.</div><div>Trails: 5, 595, 5. 302 miles, 15.4 mpg, 40.6 mph [avg]. 7:30am-5:30pm.</div><div></div><br /><div>A beautiful start to the trip, perfect weather...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1575-768637.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><div>and perfect trails...</div><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1581-760245.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>After the hyfax problems with the 1.75" ripsaw in late February, it was refreshing to have new hyfax, with the 1.25" ripsaw, for these conditions. Till we hit 595, the trails were freshly groomed, flat, and very hard. 595 had some loose snow on top and was excellent. This time though, there were very few deer on the 595 New Richmond reroute, that was a surprise. After gas at LaCache, it was my first run up the North side of 595. What a great stretch, wide, flat, scenic, and two regions of extremely high moose traffic. Once at the relais at the top [which was packed], I decided to take a quick look at the hyfax...what a surprise, the section under the front wheels was down probably 3/4. Loose snow was a little scarce to start, but were fine after LaCache. I'll have to keep and eye on them again. The ride to Mont-St-Pierre was excellent again...</div><div></div><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1601-790643.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>It was another beautifull day, with a great stop at Motel MSP. We were the only ones there on a Saturday night.</div><br /><div>Day 2: Mont-St-Pierre to Murdochville</div><div>Conditions: +28/30F, Sunny with isolated flurries. Trails were hard and flat.</div><div>Trails: 5, 597, 5, 597. 300 miles, 16.7 mpg, 40.9 mph [avg], 7:30am-6:00pm.</div><div></div><br /><div>Another beautifull start to the day. We started with a run past Riviere-la-Madeliene to see a waterfall Steven had found. It wasn't that exciting at this time of year. However, we were reminded of some of the other benefits of riding the Gaspe...</div><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1605-728142.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>We took a detour to Haute Madeleine. No one was there, but it looks like a great stop. We then continued through Murdochville South, on a relatively rough stretch of trail. We then turned off to the local trail towards Douglastown. That trail is always excellent, so much so, Bob tried to make his decision on buying a new sled for next year, a little easier. We then continued on to Perce...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1613-751168.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>The ride up to the top was easy this time of year and conditions cleared/warmed up...</div><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1630-772961.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>The ride up piston alley was perfect, and for some reason, my 2000+ mile belt didn't go. The isolated flurries started to add up around here, 3-4". We stayed at the Motel Copper, the first time for me.</div><br /><div></div><div>Day 3: Murdochville to Amqui</div><div>Conditions: +24/30F. Cloudy to partly cloudy. 0"-10" of fresh powder over hard, flat trails.</div><div>Trails: 597, LT, 595, 5, 591, LT, 5. 263 miles, 15.4 mpg, 39.6 mph [avg]. 7:00am-6:30pm.</div><div></div><br /><div>Not much new snow in the morning, but nice and cloudy. The 4" of snow to start, varied from 0-6" on the Chic-Choc trail to LaCache. An early morning fill up at LaCache, and it was back on 595 North. We saw 2 moose in the first stretch, then 3 on the second stretch, but one wouldn't get out of the way. Much like the 100-lacs experience, we keep following him for a few miles, but this guy was in better shape and didn't get tired. This went on for 3 miles or so, till the trail opened up and we were able to pass off-trail. He was flying on that trail, and it was down hill, who knew a moose could run that fast. A short ride, then we were the only ones at relais Saint-Paulin this time. On the North shore, it was still snowing, and we had maybe 10" of snow in some regions...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1636-795885.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>While heading to the gas stop in Matane, I hooked something with my carbide in a parking lot. I was riding near the snow bank, since the lot was dry pavement, then bang...I didn't see or find what I hit, but it hit good...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1644-768608.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>I removed it, and since it was on the outside, I didn't worry about it. The lower A-arm was bent back an inch or so, but seemed to have little effect. I've never liked how the carbides mate to the ski on the Simmons. I usually hammer the ends, but now I'll take more care.</div><div></div><br /><div>After gas and lunch, we took some of the local trails around Amqui to get to Albertville to meet up with groomer. As always, the trails in that region were excellent, and snow totals were as high as any in the province. After meeting Groomer, we were off to Amqui for the night. The day ended seeing 5 moose on the trail, a few deer, a van with balloon tires/tracks, a pickup with tracks, and no sleds.</div><div></div><br /><div>Day 4: Amqui to Pointe-a-la-Croix</div><div>Conditions: +26/32F, Sunny. Hard and flat trails.</div><div>Trails: TQ5. 70 miles, 15.5 mpg, 44.5 mph [avg]. 7:00am-9:00am</div><div></div><br /><div>This was just a quick run back to the trucks, for the long drive home. Another beautifull start to the morning...</div><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1639-724188.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>then up to another look out at PLC, much like we started the trip, and a great way to end the trip and season...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1642-746220.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Another great late season ride. The Gaspe is a great place to end the season, and PLC is also a good starting place for a short ride. Hyfax on the XP appear to be a big problem in thinner snow. The snow conditions on this trip were better than the season ender where my 1.75" ripsaw was the blame for the hyfax. However, after ~950 miles, with one hard/icey half day, and a 1.25" studded ripsaw, they ended up being completely shot. Since they wore so fast, half way through the trip, I made an adjustment to the center shock and coupling blocks. Handling and the ride were much better, we'll have to see how it effects the hyfax. With early season conditions, and a 1.75" ripsaw, the hyfax made it to 3800 miles. In any lower snow conditions, they don't hold up, especially when compared to the SC-4 suspension. In all cases, I never had any heating issues, and could always see plenty of snow dust in the mirrors. Statistics for the trip were...935 miles, 15.8 mpg, 187 mpq [of oil], gas was $1.00 [CA] per liter mostly super, $1.24 exchange rate, fuel cost of $174 [US], using 59 gallons of gas, and 5 quarts of oil.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-56369492141453013022009-03-14T13:44:00.000-07:002011-01-12T14:13:34.731-08:002009 Season EnderDue to the other shortened rides this year, we decided to try to make this season ender an 8-day ride. This is usually the best trip of the year, since days are longer, we now turn the clocks back early, and trails aren't nearly as crowded as February. Since we had Marty [aka Mary] with us, we had to break-up the trip at the mid-point, since he can't handle a real ride. We started in Shawinigan with four of us, John, Marty, Tom, and I. The initial plan was to head out West, and cross back to drop off Marty, and loop around over Lac St-Jean. There was plenty of snow, with a snow/rain mix for day one, then colder temperatures till day 6, with more rain, then a deep freeze. I had my '09 Etec, with 1.75" track, new hyfax, and all exhaust bolts. Starting mileage was 3672.<br /><br />Day 1: Shawinigan to St-Felicien<br />Conditions: +30F, Snow changing to rain. 10" of fresh powder to start.<br />Trails: 318, 73, 83, 373. 289 miles, 13.0 mpg, 36 mph [avg]. 7:30am-5:30pm.<br /><br />The site everyone likes to see in the morning...<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1523-739425.jpg" border="0" />much more snow than the forecast. Past LaTuque, it turned to rain, which everyone hates...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1530-706357.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>In case anyone ever wondered if the railroad bridge on the powerline [355] was still active, here's the answer...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1527-763027.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>We broke trail most of the way to LaTuque. The run from Relais 22 to Roberval was excellent. We ended the first day at Hotel du Jardin, usually an excellent stop, but the food has gone downhill over the years. Unfortunately, Friday was also the Chinese buffet, don't try Chinese in Canada.</div><div> </div><div>Day 2: St-Felicien to Matagami<br />Conditions: +28/42F, overcast. Flat trails, with new snow, later wet snow mush.<br />Trails: 373, 93, 396. 404 miles, 10.5 mpg, 48.2 mph [avg]. 6:30am-7:00pm.</div><div> </div><div>We never like to plan on a 400 mile day, but today we did, so we skipped breakfast and hit the trails at 6:30am. LaDore to the Sawmill was 59 miles, so there's no need to get gas at LaDore when leaving from du-Jardin. Marty had more electrical problems, then Tom did a snow depth test, followed by Marty, it was something like 4'. On the way to relais du Nord, my right ski slid off the shoulder and I was sucked into the powder. While shifting over to the left side, trying to stand, my gauntlet hit the kill switch, and it was game over...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1534-709248.jpg" border="0" /> </div><br /><div>a little shoveling, then leveling the sled, and off I went...no help of course. Some people don't like shovels, I think they're priceless, especially when Marty is around. After gas in Chapais, it was time for the 80 miles of railroad bed, at least it was warm this time...it was about -20F a few years ago. Like then, I also blew a belt at 4181 total miles, about right, since the first blown belt was on piston alley at ~1900 miles. I kept the throttle at about 80mph for the entire run. I was out of gas at 73 miles. Within 3 miles, the SDI and 800 were also out, while the Yamaha was already at the gas stop. We didn't run out a few years ago, so the warm conditions and mashed snow must have had a lot to do with it. We stayed at the Motel Matagami, a great stop, everything you need in one place, and breakfast at 5am if you want it.</div><div> </div><div>Day 3: Matagami to Senneterre</div><div>Conditions: -10/+16F, mostly sunny. Hard, flat, some icy trails.<br />Trails: 396, 93, 83. 318 miles, 13.2 mpg, 45.7 mph [avg]. 7:30am-5:00pm.</div><div> </div><div>After a good freeze overnight, the trails were solid, and flat. We took 396 out West, and took the opportunity for a 10 mile detour to Ontario...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1544-735256.jpg" border="0" /> </div><div><br /></div><div>of course, it's at this point, the farthest from the trucks, that Marty cries he wants to go home. Oh well, no choice now, we're already planning a direct route back of over 500 miles. Soon out of Ontario, trails on 83 turned to near ice, with enough powder for cooling, but little for traction and hyfax on my 1.75" ripsaw. After easing my sled into Senneterre, the new hyfax at the start of the trip were gone. John who had the 1.5" ripsaw, had no hyfax wear. We stayed at the Motel Senabi, essentially a room only. You need to take a cab for dinner, and can ride a few blocks to a good breakfast stop.</div><div> </div><div>Day 4: Senneterre to Kanawata<br />Conditions: -2/+28F, mostly cloudy to clear. Icy trails to hard pack with snow.<br />Trails: 83, local 369. 321 miles, 15.6 mpg, 39.8 mph [avg]. 3:30am-7:00pm.</div><div> </div><div>The day started with a hyfax change, more oil, and a replacement trail pass that fell off. This was my first run on this part of 83. The ice trails ate into the new hyfax again, till the trails loosened up later. Evidence of the fire was obvious, as was this dead groomer...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1553-796671.jpg" border="0" /> After gas a Balbuzzard, more bad trails and fire damage. It's amazing how they made it through the fire. Across the lake, was all fire damaged and on their side, it was untouched...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1555-718277.jpg" border="0" /> A few miles later, the trails opened up and were good. The major reroute before Clova was good, and the gas stop at Monet was informative. Apparently, this reroute may become permanent. The rest of 83 was great, and the burned groomer from the last trip was still there. The local trail to Kanawata was freshly groomed all the way. We got a minor tongue-lashing at Kanawata for not making reservations. They also informed Tom not to start his sled before 7:15am. There were about a dozen or so people there on Summits. They had come from Beauregard using only about 15 miles of trail, that was an interesting conversation.</div><div> </div><div>Day 5: Kanawata to Roberval<br /><div><div>Conditions: -2/+29F, mostly sunny. Hard pack with snow, some excellent.</div><div>Trails: local 369, 83. 222 miles, 16.4 mpg, 40.0 mph [avg]. 8:00am-2:30pm.</div><div> </div><div>The newly groomed trails from last night were frozen solid and continued to eat at the hyfax. Marty headed South, to go home. The run to Wemo was better than the February trip. The road out of Wemo had plenty of snow, and the trail to relais 22 was excellent. Out of relais 22, we planned a stop in Roberval for hyfax and exhaust bolts. After a quick hyfax change [they were about half gone], John noticed a busted suspension on Tom's yamaha, so he was off to Chambord while they fixed John's exhaust bolts, brakes, and chain problem. Given the problems, we decided to stay at Chateau Roberval. The new restaurant was excellent, much better than du-Jardin. All sleds were fixed and we were in the rooms by 5:30pm.</div><div> </div><div>Day 6: Roberval to Jonquiere<br />Conditions: +30/40F, Cloudy, with light snow changing to light rain. Perfect trails.<br />Trails: local 373, 93, 367, 267. 337 miles, 13.5 mpg, 42.0 mph [avg]. 6:30am-4:30pm.</div><div> </div><div>With a short day yesterday, we decided to get an early start and head to Monts Valin. Trails were perfect till Tom had a problem with a road crossing near 367. If it's not the yamaha, it's the driver. After regrouping, we headed to Jonquiere to get Tom into the shop. After checking in to the hotel, John and I headed to Chappelle for lunch. Once past 328, all the trails were perfect, including the run to bras-louis...</div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1560-742539.jpg" border="0" />on the way back we tried 328, but it was junk, so we took 93 back to the rooms. Later, we had a chance to say hi to Bill and saw our friends from Maryland again. After the warm temps, it was back to a deep freeze again.</div><div> </div><div>Day 7: Jonquiere to Shawinigan</div><div>Conditions: -2/+18F, Sunny. Hard packed, Ice trails.</div><div>Trails: 83, 355, 318. 294 miles, 17.1 mpg, 37.2 mph [avg]. 6:30am-5:30pm.</div><div></div><br /><div>More hard packed and icy trails to start...</div><br /><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1563-788395.jpg" border="0" /> Then we passed this kayak course, that we've seen for years...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1562-763873.jpg" border="0" /> but earlier in the trip, we saw people running the course this winter on TV, crazy stuff. Trails near Lac St-Jean were ice with little snow, causing some heating issues. Once to 355, it was freshly groomed all the way to Lac Edouard. The problem was, the trails were ice near the sides, and chopped up ice balls in the center, making for a very interesting and mostly rough ride. In addition, the trail was rerouted, adding about another 20 miles of junk. After Lac Edouard, trails were hard and good till after the pipeline. Then the lack of snow and warmer temps did a number on the trails, especially the roads. The 2-miles of dirt/mud on a logging road is just another problem to deal with this time of year...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1574-714226.jpg" border="0" /> </div><br /><br /><div>Overall, a good trip, that actually lasted 7-days for some of us. Another two big warm ups that were unfortunate. The big lesson learned here was the track. After great luck with the 1.5" ripsaw last year, I tried the 1.75" ripsaw this year. After a great start to the year and 3700 miles with the first set of hyfax, I went through 3 sets during this 2180 mile trip, while John's sled with a 1.5" ripsaw barely wore the hyfax. As a result, I will be using the 1.75" track till February, then I'll swap to the stock 1.25" ripsaw, with a few studs. Statistics for the trip were...2179 miles, 13.5 mpg [avg], 155 miles per quart of oil, gas was $1.06 [ca] per litre for a mix of super/regular, $1.27 exchange rate, and total fuel cost was about $500 [us], using about 3.5 gallons of oil.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-49827805452821943592009-02-18T16:51:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.746-08:002009 Mid-Season RideThis was supposed to be a full week trip. The first 5-days with Marty, the last few with John. We met in Shawinigan on Valentine's day. The rough plan was 100-Lacs, St-Felicien, La Malbaie, Chicoutimi, Shawinigan, then a yet to be determined weekend ride out of Shawinigan. We arrived after the 2-day warm-up and rain. Everything was ice, and trails were near ice. The secure parking only had a few rigs in it, strange for this time of year. After dinner at Pub 57, we ran into Don who just returned from a weeks ride with Tom, and was headed out later Sunday for a 2-week ride with Phil. On this trip, I had my newly repaired '09 with 2700 miles on it, and Marty had is '08 with about 3800 miles.<br /><div><br /><div>Day 1: Shawinigan to 100-Lacs<br />Mostly Sunny, +25F. Trails were near ice.</div><div>318, 360, M20, 345, 33, Local trail. 270 miles. 39 mph [avg]. Trail time 6:45</div><br /><div></div><div>The plan was to ride to Repos, and decide whether to stay at Kanawata or 100 Lacs. Trails were fairly smooth to Repos, but extremely hard, so you felt each bump. Trails were near ice, but had some grip and kept the sleds cool. They were a little slick in the corners [w/o studs] and ate hyfax, especially with my less than ideal setup. Repos was packed, and took an hour for lunch. We decided to head out to 100 Lacs...big mistake. Not far out of Repos came logging, re-routed trails, and poor conditions. The trail to 100 Lacs was also one-way this year, so it was about a 25 miles back-track for the next day. We were the only ones at 100-Lacs. What a great stop, a typical outfitter, with nice food and people.</div><br /><div>Day 2: 100-Lacs to Relais 22</div><div>Mostly Sunny, +25F. Trails were near ice.</div><div>TQ33, 13, 83. 290 miles. 39.6 mph [avg]. Trail time 7:27.</div><div><br /> </div><div>On day 2, the goal was to head to Roberval since there was a doo dealer there...we both needed hyfax with these conditions. To start, we back-tracked to the old TQ33, and had to head to Club Scott at the 33-13 intersection. This trail was fairly decent, but it didn't take long before we saw a moose on the trail. We've seen many moose over the years, and the usual technique of chasing them down for a bit, then stopping so they'll head off the trail has worked fine, but not this time. This moose was big, and since he only had one antler left, he was probably mean. We went off and on for about 5 miles. The moose was getting very tired, struggling up the hills, and tongue hanging out. He wasn't going to stop till he collapsed. Here's a short clip...<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzGSiJh_3M3_whoKZr-FPnbPN53u7Jnd-yw0J9EihDBF_k-BXU3pVuxMXfZp-3xO5PRdz0qKTJHxF_J3Bdmig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /><div>At this point, we decided it was time to pass him...he was near death and we were a half hour into this game. For the most part, he was all over the trail, much like Canadians on a 2-up. Marty found a good spot and got a clean pass. That spooked him onto the side of the trail and a stumble, but he kept going. I followed a bit and found a good time to also pass. I'm not sure how many have passed a moose, but it's not recommended. This guy was huge, and easily outweighed the sled and I combined. Once I caught up with Marty, we talked about the passing and soon after, our friend kept coming...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1509-749740.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>Once we started the sleds, he stopped and turned around...you can tell from his breath, he's clearly tired. We quickly arrived at Club Scott, and continued through many trail changes to Fer-a-Cheval for gas. There we learned a groomer caught fire south of Parent, explaining the poor trails. I guess that wasn't a story...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1514-777778.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Shortly after that, Marty had a repeat of his electrical problem from last years season ender, but this time it was the other wire, but we were able to patch it this time. Trails from Parent to Wemo were crap as usual. Out of Wemo, luckily the 20 miles of road were well coated, but plowed. This stretch to Relais 22 was the best of the trip. Clearly, once you get North, there was less rain, and trails were as good as they get. After a quick lunch, it was off to Roberval for a quick 80 miles. After 15 miles, Marty's sled which had been problematic all day was much worse. Turns out some tower bolts were gone and the brace cracked, so we headed back to Relais 22 for the night. I've never had a chance to stay at Relais 22. They have a nice bar/restaurant, and the rooms are basic...mattress on plywood and common bathrooms.</div><br /><div>Day 3: Relais-22 to Shawinigan</div><div>Sunny, -4F to +30F. Trails were near ice.<br />TQ73, 355, 360, 318. 182 miles. 36.8 mph [avg]. Trail time 4:59.</div><div></div><br /><div>A surprisingly cold morning. Marty had a truck lined up to take him to the doo dealer in LaTuque ($150 [ca]). Except for the trail changes, the ride to LaTuque was good. You've got to love the local aromas...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1520-713126.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>How people can live there is beyond me. The doo dealer did a patch to Marty's sled and we headed back to the trucks. The weather warmed up, logging roads were dirt, and there was some signs of dirt on the trail. Conditions were more like mid-March.</div><div></div><div>Overall, trail conditions were poor for Quebec and traffic was surprisingly high. Out west was a mistake with all of the logging and trail changes. As proof conditions were poor, gas mileage on the Etec was 15.8 mpg and oil was 185 mpq, compared to 11.6 mpg and 140 mpq on the Gaspe trip. The old belt made it through the trip, and I changed the original hyfax after the trip, at 3478 miles.<br /></div><br /><p> </p></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-4093083936773479532009-02-01T06:57:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.758-08:002009 Gaspe<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>After learning from the last two Gaspe trips, we decided the next one should be early in the season, if conditions were good, to avoid the traffic and a rough TQ5. We also decided to start from Montmagny instead of RDL...less truck miles, more sled miles. We started from the Florimay, since the other two spots were full on a Saturday with short notice. The Florimay was nice, but didn't have a restaurant or bar, and had a small parking lot. Oiseliere or 232 would be much better. Only John was available for the trip, so we should make good time, 6-days was the plan…the forecast and snow looked good. John rode his rebuilt '07 SDI, and I had my '09 ETEC with ~1200 miles on it.<br /><br />Day 1: Montmagny to Amqui<br />Mostly Sunny, windy, -15F. Trails were hard packed.<br />TQ5, 35, 548, 5, 579, 587. 291 miles. 39.7 mph [avg]. Trail time 7:24.<br /><br />Most trails were perfect and freshly groomed. Only 587 near Amqui was poor. This was my first time past relais 540, which didn't look too busy early on Sunday morning. ..<br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1335-717321.jpg" border="0" /><br />We continued on to Cabano for lunch. Closer to Amqui, we actually had the sled-cops check all our paperwork…that was the only time we saw them the whole trip. That night we stayed at the Ambassador.<br /><br />Day 2: Amqui to Mont-St-Pierre </div><br /><br /><div>Mostly Sunny, -15F. Trails were hard packed.<br />TQ5 the whole way. 221 miles. 36.6 mph [avg]. Trail time 6:08.<br /><br />Once again, perfect conditions, and a nice sunrise...<br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1339-740377.jpg" border="0" /><br />All trails were perfect till Cap-Chat, where we had lunch. The Mont-St-Pierre groomer was broken, so the rest of the ride was rough, but passable. Good thing this was a short day, the weather was nice, and this was a very scenic run...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1359-758539.jpg" border="0" /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1389-708555.jpg" border="0" /><br />Once the groomer's fixed, he's going to be busy... <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1382-785493.jpg" border="0" /><br />Here's the view from the Mont-St-Pierre lookout, where hang-gliders jump from...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1393-728531.jpg" border="0" /><br />We stayed at the Motel Mont-St-Pierre that night. Surprisingly, we saw a tour group of 14, the only group we saw the whole trip.<br /><br />Day 3: Mont-St-Pierre to Perce<br />Cloudy start, then Sunny, -4F. Trails were hard packed. </div><br /><br /><div>TQ5, Gaspe-trail, 597, 5. 230 miles. 39 mph [avg]. Trail time 5:59.<br /><br />We started the day with more steep Mountain trails...<br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1416-707849.jpg" border="0" /><br />then one of the many nice bridges...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1414-783846.jpg" border="0" /><br />TQ5 was excellent most of the way, except for a stretch near the Vallee's. The little Chic-Choc local trail didn't look open on the way by. There seemed to be a lot more wind mills than I remember...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1422-753886.jpg" border="0" /><br />We stopped at Chez-Ron's for lunch [great stop], then took the local Gaspe trail to 597, always a good run. 597 was groomed, but not up to its usual standard. I don't know why they call it piston alley these days, it should be belt alley. I blew my first belt there, with the Etec at 1960 miles. There's probably more rubber along this stretch of trail, than at a Goodyear plant...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1431-776155.jpg" border="0" /><br />We then continued on to Perce for the night. Since Fleur-de-Lys wasn't open till February 1, we tried Le Cote Surprise, outside of town. In Perce, the trail up to the third lookout wasn't open, but there’s still a nice view from the first lookout...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1450-700223.jpg" border="0" /><br />Day 4: Perce to Pointe-a-la-Croix </div><br /><br /><div>Sunny, -1F. Trails were hard packed.<br />TQ5, Gaspe-trail, 597, Chic-Chocs, 595, 5. 319 miles. 40.9 mph [avg]. Trail time 7:54.<br /><br />Once again, another spectacular sunrise...<br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1477-731419.jpg" border="0" /><br />The Chic-Chocs is always a nice trail...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1483-770968.jpg" border="0" /><br />Lot's of Moose on that trail, John has a few pics. We then had lunch at La Cache, spaghetti with moose-meat, makes sense I guess. 595 was smooth and fast. There was a reroute North of New Richmond which went through a region with more deer than I've ever seen. Around every corner, you'd see multiple deer in the trail, for several miles. It's got to be a dangerous stretch, but we made it through with no problems. TQ5 was excellent, till la Croix, most green and orange trails were groomed over the last week and smooth, but well traveled and had small drifting. We stayed at the Selectotel.<br /><br />Day 5: Pointe-a-la-Croix to Riviere-du-Loup<br />Snow, +10F. Fresh powder over packed trails. </div><br /><div>TQ5 the whole way. 265 miles. 34.4 mph [avg]. Trail time 7:38.<br />We were greeted with 10" of fluffy powder in the morning...<br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1491-761153.jpg" border="0" /><br />Breaking trail most of the day...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1494-786296.jpg" border="0" /><br />We had lunch at Auberge le Relais [not the one in L'Etape]. A great stop, and would also make a good overnight. After lunch, we found that the North shore got a lot more snow than the South, maybe closer to 18"...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1500-707185.jpg" border="0" /><br />notice the snow-spray, very deep stuff, but perfect for the 1.75" ripsaw. We also dug-out a Canadian couple from 3' of powder after missing a turn. Later, John set the record for distance from a gas station when running out of gas...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1502-774958.jpg" border="0" /><br />a record I previously held, and at the same gas station. I ran out [for the third time] about 2 miles back. That night we stayed at Hotel Levesque, a great stop, nothing new there, still no truck lock-down. That night, we decided to take the direct route back to the trucks, for a half day ride, so we could get home and deal with the 10" of new snow there.<br /><br />Day 6: Riviere-du-Loup to Montmagny </div><div>Partly cloudy, +15F. Packed powder.<br />TQ5 the whole way. ~116 miles. 39.7 mph [avg]. Trail time 2:54.<br /><br />Another perfect day, and the groomers did their work...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1504-731663.jpg" border="0" /><br />About 15 miles from the trucks, my sled started with an awful smell and shortly made funny noises. Seemed like it was something with the drive-train, the engine was fine. It was a short tow to a road near relais motoneigist. Then I drove John's sled to get my truck. Of course I blew a belt about 0.5 miles from the truck, then it was a quick drive to get the sled and end the journey, back at my dealer in NH...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1506-752243.jpg" border="0" /><br />In summary, another great trip, with one problem, that if it's going to happen, couldn't have been at a better time. Trails were mostly perfect, with little traffic. For the 5.5 days of riding, we covered 1443 miles, for the 38 hours we were on the trail. Average speed for the trip was 38 mph, well below the limit of 70 kph [42 mph] posted on many trails, so that was good to know ;). On average, gas was $0.914 [ca] per liter, a mix of super and regular. Each sled used a little over $400 [ca] in gas. The '07 SDI with a 1.5" ripsaw track, got 12.5 mpg on gas, and about 180 miles per quart of oil. The '09 Etec with a 1.75" ripsaw track, got 11.6 mpg on gas, and about 145 miles per quart of oil. However, I still think ski-doo is correct...the Etec gets much better mileage and uses much less oil than the SDI [while at idle]. The '09 XP is by far the best sled I've ridden. The difference from the previous generation is amazing. The combination of Simmons skis and the 1.75" ripsaw track is amazing in all conditions. I installed ice scratchers for added protection on this trip, but at 2700 miles, I'm still on the original set of hyfax. The extra weight of the track is probably similar to a studded factory track, just watch out for ice! The Etec engine is amazing. Throttle response is instant and the power is amazing in all conditions. Clutching is excellent, even with the new track. Gas and oil mileage is nowhere near what skidoo claims, but still adequate, I guess. Hopefully reliability wasn't traded-off for the light weight, but that may be the case, I guess I'll find out... </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-1985158324324651622009-01-01T07:09:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.771-08:002008 xMas Ride<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>With no Thanksgiving ride, and a two-week shut down at work, xmas week was the ideal time to head up North. The initial plan was to ride out of various places around Quebec for the two weeks, but I didn't get to Chicoutimi till Tuesday, 12/23. At home, we had two big storms before leaving, resulting in about 15" of snow. Most of New England had above average snowfall for this time of year.<br /></div><div> </div><div>On the drive up, Drummondville didn't have a large amount of snow, but it never does. Once I got into the Mountains, the snow was much better. On the way down to Chicoutimi, conditions began to thin-out again. Once I got to the Holiday Inn, I was the only sledder there, so I chained my sled to the truck for the night...</div><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1291-775291.jpg" border="0" /> For the most part, all trails near the Saguenay or South, were short on snow and in poor conidition, even with occaisional grooming. About a mile North of the river crossing, snow conditions improved...</p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1277-741450.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p>Eventhough snow conditions improved, 93 from 367 to Mountain was rough, but that's nothing new, it's always like that. Once you get to the groomer garage, conditions were fine, as usual. Once past Chapelle, there were no sleds, and the 252 loop was unbeatable. 12" of powder on a previously groomed trail...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1288-754696.jpg" border="0" /><br />Day 2 was cold, windy, and drifty...</p></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1292-751575.jpg" border="0" /><br />Trails were poor and since it was xmas day, it was a short ride. On xMas eve, most things were closed, but around noon on xMas day, things opened up again, including Chapelle. Returning from the Mountain, I decided to take 328, which was open, but hadn't been groomed in a while, but it couldn't be worse than 93? Once past the Dam, it had a been a while since a sled had been through, and there was a lot of drifting, but it was fun to open, especially with the 1.75" ripsaw...<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1294-794187.jpg" border="0" /></div><div><div></div>Day 3 brought out the groomers. Here, I caught up with the groomer part way up Bras-Louis, but since the trails ahead were poor, I turned around...</div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1301-751717.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>On the way back, there was an excellent Sun-dog, but the picture isn't that good...</div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1305-756188.jpg" border="0" /> <div> </div><div>Day 4, Darryl and Marty arrived, so we headed out for a ride. Some things never change, Marty getting stuck, blowing corners, and trying to ride where he shouldn't...</div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1307-792467.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Later in the day, riding from Bras-Louis to Onatchiway [after another Marty burial] the freezing rains came. Freezing rain is the worst, since heated shields don't work. We decided to turn around and head home. Of course to prove things haven't changed, Darryl took the lead, and ignored riding etiquette and took a wrong turn, without waiting. Since we didn't know, we continued on and were too short on gas to turn around. Once at the Hotel, no signs of Darryl, no messages, and his cell wasn't on, although service was available everywhere. We thawed out for an hour, and with no signs, we decided to head out into the freezing rain to the estimated wrong turn. Once at the turn, we checked the cell, and had a message from Darryl that he was at the Hotel. That night the warm-up and rains came. In the morning, everything at almost a 1/2" coating of ice and temps in the high 30's. Everything was like a skating rink. With no snow in the forecast, we decided to head home. Marty thought it would be a good idea to meet his girlfriend in Montreal. I told him if he did, his truck and '09 sled would be gone. He assured me the valet would park it in sight and everything would be fine. Hours later, the whole package was gone. Security cameras showed two guys entering and driving off with it. Just another example of the organized nature of these crimes. I'll bet the valet received a kick-back for calling-in the target, and he still works at the hotel. Yet another example to take the appropriate precautions when in Quebec.<br /></div><div>As for the ETEC, everything went well. The engine was awesome, much better than the SDI. Power was solid till 80, then it started to level off. Oil consumption was high during the break-in, but seemed to improve a lot, it'll take more miles to get some numbers. Gas mileage was poor the whole time, ending up at 13 mpg on the final miles, not much different than the SDI. The 1.75" ripsaw was awesome, combined with the simmons skis, was a perfect setup. The track vibrates a little, but the traction and braking were amazing. Surprisingly, at idle, none of the accessories are powered. They turn on at about 2k rpm, good thing the gps is wired to the battery.</div><br /><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/IMGP2424-787906.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-36615576174516658472008-04-18T14:44:00.000-07:002011-01-12T14:13:34.784-08:002007-8 Season Review<div>As usual, this season started at the end of the last season, March 2007. The first order of business was what to do for a sled. My 2006 Renegade just completed it's second year, with 12,000 miles and was in fairly tough shape, even for a backup sled. Ideally, I'd like to get a new sled, which would have been a 2008 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">XP</span>, a new, untested design, that I really didn't want to risk. Even with a new '08, I'd still need to put a lot of money into my '06, just to make it a backup sled. So I decided to put the money into my old sled, get one more year out of it, and then make it a backup, for 2008-9.<br /><div><div><div><br /><div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020245-742138.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>With so many changes/repairs needed, I figured I'd take a chance and try some new tricks, if they didn't work, no big deal, it's just for one year. The first order of business, was a new track. The old track, 1.25"x16"x136" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">skidoo</span> track, with 120 studs, had 12,000 trouble free miles, and was in good shape, but not reliable enough for another season. I decided to take a chance with a 1.5"x15"x136" ripsaw, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">unstudded</span>. Too bad it's only 15" wide, but I've wanted to do more off-trail with the long track. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hyfax</span> wear was also a slight concern. As far as weight goes, it was 10 lbs lighter. After, the season [7600 miles], the track is still in excellent shape...</div><br /><div></div></div><br /><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020263-741018.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Hyfax</span> wear was normal, and the temperature ran maybe a little hotter in some conditions than the studded 1.25", but nothing serious. Traction and braking were amazing [ice wasn't a problem this year]. I was able to switch sleds in the powder, and the difference was amazing. It's also amazing how little traction/floatation you have in super-powder, when you have to go up a hill. That track with a 600 engine, still isn't a mountain sled. I think I was only able to get stuck once maybe twice, and got <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">thru</span> some fairly deep powder...<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020079-746179.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>With more off-trail riding in my sights, I also decided to add a 2" riser. For $30 and 10 minutes to install, it was a great deal. The height was just about right, and didn't require new cables. Ideally, a little more may be helpful. Next a top-end rebuild, as usual. I decided to try the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Cudney</span> Pistons and rings. This may have been a mistake, you get what you pay for, but I can't say for sure that they caused future problems. Next, since the clutch needed some work, I also decided to try the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Cudney</span> clutch kit. After the first Thanksgiving trip in the powder, the clutch kit was excellent, but with the 1.5" track and the need to replace a worn chain, I decided to also drop two teeth in the gears. This setup was extremely jumpy and quick on the low end, however, on the wide open stretches, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">rpm's</span> would creep up to 9000 at 3/4 throttle. I'm still not sure if it was the clutch or the teeth, but as a result, I could only get 80 mph [on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">gps</span>] at ~8000 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">rpms</span>, before I would have to hold-off the throttle. I'm guessing, dropping the gears was bad. I also dropped them, since the SDI was such a dog in certain conditions, so I hoped this was help. All in all, I liked the setup, but probably wouldn't change the gears in the future.</div><br /><br /><div>Next up, was the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">jackshaft</span> bearing and electric starter gear, which had worn. Nothing exciting there. During the season, various wheels and bearings were replaced. The brake pads were worn to the bone. After swapping them, there was a small vibration on braking, so after that trip, I had an X rotor put in. In doing that, an o-ring was pinched, and leaked crank oil onto the brakes, so that and a bad heated shield plug needed to be changed in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Roberval</span>. After that trip, at 14k, I decided to have the crank replaced. After 400 miles, in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Dolbeau</span>, a bad seal resulted in a complete melt down and a 2-day, and a very expensive total rebuild, top and bottom. After that, the sled ran flawless, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Garneau's</span> credited me for their charges for the rebuild, not a wash, but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">ok</span> I guess. The Simmons skis [4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">th</span> year], continue to impress me, they will go onto the new sled. I should just have to replace two carbides for next year. Since the SDI seems to run better with a new belt, this year, I replaced the belt for every big trip or when it hit 1500 miles. Older belts were used as backups, for towing, or for US riding. John finally figured out the clutch. You set the primary for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">initial</span> 8k rpm at full throttle, then adjust the secondary for long-pull <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">rpms</span>. Setting the belt height 1/16" above the secondary is now a myth. Another new feature this year, was a winch. After Tom's off on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Gaspe</span>, it had been in the back of my mind. I ended up with a small boat trailer winch, 1500 lbs, with a 2" wide strap. It was cheap, $35, but has some weight, so the guy that carries the winch, doesn't carry a chain, it's about a wash. Plus, everyone doesn't need a chain. Of course, if you bring it, you won't need it, which was the case this year. I did however, finally get to use the shovel...</div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020214-790679.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>I also went with a few electronic upgrades this. First, a new camera, a Panasonic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">TZ</span>-3. I really thought I could use stability control, plus this camera has a 10x zoom. It uses a proprietary battery, unfortunately, but it worked fine. The cheap <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">chinese</span> knock-offs didn't work well, but weren't needed. Initial pictures in snow, seemed to have varied white-balance issues. Since then, I use the "snow" mode, and it seems better. The next upgrade, was with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">gps</span>. After the first trip, where the Magellan screen froze-up in the cold [as it always did], I decided that was enough. After Darryl's research and experience, I decided to go with the Lowrance. I couldn't be happier, it worked fine in all conditions. The only downside would be that you can only have one map per SD card. You can also make or buy custom maps. I made some off-trail maps, and purchased the Quebec snowmobile trail maps.<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020255-783628.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>As for the rides, most individual rides are in the blog. In general, the snowfall was near records. The Thanksgiving ride just barely happened, last minute snow gave us a great trip. Marty and I also got in a mid-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">december</span> trip between Quebec city, north of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">L'Etape</span>. Water crossing aren't good till around <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">xmas</span>. This year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">xmas</span> week was good. The past couple years the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Gaspe</span> trip had some real bad rough trails in February, so we didn't do it this year. However, our replacement February trip around Lac St Jean also had a fair amount of rough stuff. So, any Feb trip will be rough, so maybe stay out in remote areas? Once again trails out by Mt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Laurier</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">TQ</span>63 were closed. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">TQ</span>83 around Parent had many issues as well.<br /></div><div>Given the insane gas prices, I thought I'd take a closer look at expenses. The rule of thumb for frequent riders has been about $1/mile excluding the cost of the sled, trailer, and truck. For the 2005/06 season, I have it a little less, $0.94/mile. In 2006/7 the price increased, partially due to sled repairs, and gas prices to about $1.32/mile. This year, the price sky-rocketed, due to many sled repairs and of course gas, to about $1.84. If you take out the big-ticket sled <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">maintenance</span> items it was more like $1.44.</div><div> </div><div>Looking forward to next year, I have spring-checked a 2009 Renegade E-Tec, which will need several accessories. And I'll keep the hope for plenty of snow and low gas prices. See you next season...<br /></div><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-85527206433215183752008-03-30T11:58:00.000-07:002011-01-12T14:13:34.798-08:002008 Mini-Ender (March 28-29, 2008)<div><div><div><div><div>This was an unscheduled trip, however, as I've always said, if Mother Nature gives you snow, you must ride. This was a last minute weekend ride with just John and I. We've never ridden this late in the season and questioned the grooming, but knew there was plenty of snow. It's been a while since we staid at Bernard's and we figured he'd have rooms available this late in the season. The forecast looked good and we drove up Thursday after work, getting in at 9:30pm.</div><br /><div></div><div>The plan for the day was to head to St. Felicien. We rode 355 to 73 to Relais 22 for lunch. Trails were excellent with no traffic. Here's a pic of one of the 3 groomers we saw on the way...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020229-702620.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>We met some New Yorkers who came over the top through Chibougamau, looking to close the loop with 83, but after Relais 22 they stopped grooming on 83W, and the trail was basically unmaintained and had more than a foot of powder. After lunch, we continued on to St. Felicien with the same great conditions. We ended up at the Hotel du Jardin early, with 280 miles. We were looking forward to a god Friday night at the always popular du Jardin...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020230-795290.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>however, once again this year we were disappointed. The place was completely dead [on a Friday] and the food was marginal, not at all what we were used to. As a result, I've dropped the rating of the hotel by one star.</div><br /><div>In the morning, we got an early start. With daylight savings time early now, we leave at sunrise...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020231-752623.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>and get a good 12-hours of daylight. We had no plan for this ride and took what the trails gave us. 93 over the Lac to 23 South were perfect all the way to L'Etape, with little traffic. We had lunch at Apica, but since we have boycotted the ridiculous gas prices, we headed to L'Etape. Since the trails were pristine...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020233-739375.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>[I didn't take many pics, since most were like that], we decided to take 369 out of L'Etape to Baie St Paul. Unfortunately, 369 was junk till the river. Not only rough, but fairly high traffic for so late in the season. Once at 3, it also looked poor. As a result, we decided to head back and stop at St. Raymond. As usual, 3 South through Quebec was horrible and the traffic was unprecedented. It seemed like a mid-season Saturday ride in Island Pond, VT.</div><br /><div></div><div>Once at St Raymond, we decided to hit the Ice Hotel to see how it's changed since Christmas week...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020238-703626.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>At the Hotel, we met a crew from Bernard's who said 23 to Shawinigan was great, so we decided to bang it out. That ended the day at 6:30p, 425 miles. Conditions were sunny and warm, maybe 45F, with serious melting, but no signs of dirt. Overall, a great trip, with no problems.</div><br /><div></div><div>Since this ride ends the normal season, I can name the best and worst trails of the year. I usually don't chose a best trail, since there are so many, but this year I have to pick M20/21 in the Mauricie region. As is often the case, the local [orange] trails, are some of the best. The past few years, this trail has had logging going on near the middle of the trail, but this year it was perfect. Unfortunately, worst trail of the year is much easier to select, and this year was no exception. I had the privilege of riding this trail at least 4 times this year, and it seems as though each time was worse than the next. This years worst trail goes to the section of TQ3 between TQ73 and secondary trail 320.</div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-70453756663643603972008-03-17T12:29:00.000-07:002011-01-12T14:13:34.810-08:002008 Season Ender (March 13-16, 2008)<div><div><div><div><div><div><div>This was a mixed-up season ender. Between work and the Flu, the trip was delayed then split up. John and Tom went for a 4-day ride on March 8, and Marty and I went up for 4 days on March 13. Fortunately, our trip went fairly well. Here are the details...<br /><div><br /><div>We drove to the Governeur on Wednesday night. The forecast looked good, with a chance of showers Sunday down south. Day 1 we headed to La Malbaie and the Fairmont Richelieu. The trails were all perfect, except for the section of TQ3 on the power-lines near Quebec city. Marty noticed he was losing brakes, so we stopped into his favorite doo-dealer in Claremont. They said they could look at it first thing in the morning, so it was off to the casino...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020204-774528.JPG" border="0" />The next day, we started out at the dealer. As Marty guessed, the brake pads needed to be replaced [at 2500 miles]. An hour later we were on the trail. Since Marty likes to play off-trail [well, he used too], I had a plan. On the mid-season trip, we found the road to the gorges, which has been off limits to sleds for years but, no locals had even ventured down there and with a yammie, we weren't going to chance it. Over 3-weeks later, Marty and I gave it a shot, with more snow and still no signs of tracks. The trail starts with a small incline, and with my 1.5"x136"track, full throttle, i was barely moving. I figured since we were heading to a gorge, most of it would be down hill, so we wouldn't have any steep hills. There must have been 2' of powder over a few inches of harder packed snow, over probably several more feet of snow. Things were going well for a miles or so, then, pointing down a steep hill, I stopped to get Marty's opinion as to whether we'd be able to make it back up, but he was no where in sight. Here's a picture heading to the gorges...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020211-790137.JPG" border="0" />I stopped, waited, and listened for a sled, but heard nothing. The last time I saw him, he was about a 1/2 mile back. I wasn't stuck, but I was pointed down-hill, in many feet of virgin powder. With no choice, I unloaded my gear, and pulled out my trusty shovel. After about 20 minutes or-so, I shoveled enough so I could turn my sled around [by hand], then I dug-out the snow in front of the sled so it wasn't pointing up-hill as much, so I'd at least have a chance of moving, since I was still on several feet of powder. Everything went as planned, and the sled popped out fairly easily. Here's the spot...<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020214-741993.JPG" border="0" /> After reloading the sled, I again shoveled out in front of the sled since I was still pointing up-hill. Once again, that track just hooked-up and I was out...heading back a 1/2 mile or so, I saw the result of Marty's tree climb...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020215-795767.JPG" border="0" /> He'd been shoveling with his hands for an hour so, and now will be buying a shovel soon. Maybe this picture gives a better perspective on the snow depth [and we never were close to the ground]...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020216-713521.JPG" border="0" /> The rest of the day was a perfectly groomed ride to Lamarche. With few places to stay in the Mountains, I had heard good things about the chalets at Scoobyraid. Here's a colorful picture of the chalet...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020219-765281.JPG" border="0" /> The people were very friendly, but spoke no english. They even opened up, when we wanted, to serve us breakfast. From there, you're near trail 484 that heads north into the mountains. Trails were perfect to Onatchiway where we decided to try the ZEC. It's $35 for a 3-day pass. I didn't have the trails loaded on my gps, so we stayed right and ended up on a side trail, so I loaded up my gps and saw we had to turn around. Marty took the lazy route and almost ended up at the bottom of a lake...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020223-779668.JPG" border="0" /> he had further problems on the ice, but I wasn't around with the camera. We continued on the Northern most leg of the trail system. Trails were smooth and wide. The further north we went, the less traveled the trails. The were freshly groomed, but with so much snow, and little traffic, the trails were very loose, but the scenery was amazing...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020225-751401.JPG" border="0" /> and after 100 miles, we gased up and headed south. It would be nice to have another day in the ZEC and head out to Bra Louis and down to La Chappelle...maybe next year. After a quick stop at the cave...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020226-711659.JPG" border="0" />we continued on to the Sagueneenne. For the final day, we headed back to Shawinigan. The forcast was for some showers, but we never saw any. TQ83 was perfect till Lac Kenogami, then they were junk till 23. Unfortunatly, the warmup hut at TQ23/83 no longer has porn on the walls. The trails from TQ23/83 to St Raymond were perfect. Groomed double-wide with some fresh powder. About 15 miles from St Raymond, Marty had electrical problems, and had to be towed to Performance Voyer. I continued on to Shawinigan while Marty arranged for a trip on the black trail. Trails from there were mixed, and the temperature rose to 46, party cloudy, with no rain. Both of us got to the Governeur at the same time. While I was loading my sled, Marty and his help were moving his sled from one truck to another. As a result, they put the bumper of his sled through the back window of his truck...why I didn't get a picture is beyond me? He duct taped a bunch of card-board over it and off he went.<br /><br /><div>Overall, 972 miles in some of the best conditions possible. Once again, the season ending ride is the best of the year, by far.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-73300526223858138312008-02-21T16:28:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.825-08:00Lac St-Jean (February 10-15, 2008)This started as the unknown trip, with the usual John, Tom, and I. We had a last minute addition, Don, from St. Croix. It's been a few years since we've riden with him, but a great guy none the less.<br /><br /><div><div>We started from the Governeur on the last day of the ice races...<br /></div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020157-700528.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>and headed for Kanawata. Trails were average to fair till the re-routed TQ33 which was in good shape. Trails around Lac Repos were beat and 369 to Kanawata was just a single track, so we hit the road for ~25 miles [trails north were fine]. The main lodge was full, but a cabin for two was fine [don't try four people]. The wood stove kept a nice heat and the hot water in the shower was more controlled than the lodge.</div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020159-730424.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>First day problems for me included: a worn out heated-shield plug, bad hand-warmer that should have been fixed by the dealer, and leaking chain case oil on my new break rotor which was replaced the week before. A couple of stops and a few hours, plus $400 and all was well.</div><br /><div>The next day, it was off to St Felicien, fairly uneventful but some snow drifts and a nice sunset. Hotel du Jardin didn't disappoint, but we just missed this...</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020171-776936.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Day 3 we headed to Lac Moreau, touted as the mini-Sacacomie...I certainly disagree. It's a nice stop, very similar to Joncas with nice people and accomadations, but the price was high and the food was gourmet stuff that most wouldn't like. They were very snowmobile friendly, but had no sign on TQ83 and said they get maybe 20 people a year from the US and we were four of them. It was also on this trip that we realized we need gps waypoints for SAQ's...this summers project. </div><br /><div>Day 4 we headed back to the Governeur since Donnies trip was over. On the way out from Lac Moreau, Donny pointed out that the Gorges weren't far away, but they had been closed to sleds for 4-years. We found the access road/trail but it wasn't opened and we had two yammies, so we skipped it...maybe some day.</div><br /><div>Day 5 the three of us headed up to Alma via L'Etape. The section of TQ3/23 from Shawinigan to St-Raymond was a flat perfect 90 miles. 23N from there there was OK till we past the groomer outside L'Etape. It then sucked till Apica. We didn't stop in L'Etape, and the yammie ran out of gas just outside Apica at 105 miles. At Apica I noticed gas was $1.55 which may have been the most expensive of the year? What a rip-off, this place is right on a main road and not a necessary stop [for most people]. Even Lac Edouard was only $1.25/liter. This was Valentines day and the Universal had only two rooms with king beds, so it was couch time for me. Dinner was also very slow...plan ahead on this holiday.</div><br /><div>Day 6 was a return to home via 355, AKA the worst trail in 2005. What a difference, it didn't even look like the same trail. The curse of Lac Edouard, however, lives on. Tom broke his track [at 12k miles] and put a stud through the heat exchanger. We were just outside of Relais le Trappeur where he picked up the black trail. From there, the pipeline was excellent, but 360 was total junk all the way.</div><br /><div>Overall, a good trip, 1500+ miles in six days. This is the peak of the snowmobile season, but we didn't see many sleds, however trail conditions were all over the place, just like the Gaspe which we usually do at this time. The Mont Laurier area always seems to be junk and should be avoided near the weekend. We also travelled to Quebec on both Saturday's, so we avoided those bad conditions. We've been spoiled by the perfect trails we see on the season ender, which will hopefully be true this year as well.<br /></div><div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-54779125096611466192008-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.849-08:002008 Season Opener (January 19-25, 2008)<div>This is the time of year when the big miles accumulate. The first 7-day trip of the year. The sled just came out of the shop with an all new crank, bearings, and brakes...ready to go. Conditions were still recouperating from the big washout, and just before leaving, all of the important river crossings were open. Once again, we decided to start from the Montagnard since it's the safest, condition-wise. As usual, the food was horrible.<br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><div>This trip was the usual crew, John, Marty, Tom, and I. Since conditions were ify, we had no formal plan except the first day, to St-Felicien, a nice easy ride. Marty left late and didn't arrive till 4am. A bad breakfast was also late, so we ended up with a late start. The trail around the Montagnard [355 or 360] was rerouted quite a bit. Once on the pipeline Tom's Apex acted up and was reporting an error code. A quick call on the Sat-phone revealed a problem with the 4th coil, he was able to ride it to L'Tuque before closing at noon. Turned out to be a broken coil wire, a result of a preventative plug change before the season. That got Tom and I discussing whether certain preventative maintance was worth it [hmmm]. It must have been arounf 1:30pm before we were back on the road, with a ways to go. Next stop, lunch at relais 22. We left there at sunset with a final stretch to Hotel du Jardin [~80 miles]. About half way, we missed a turned and continued on a fast wide road/trail, after seeing the 83 sign and Roberval sign [which ended up having a small green right arrow on it.] This trail was very similar to Bras Louis which goes forever, but has a sharp right turn that's easy to miss. After a long full throttle run i noticed from the gps we weren't on the trail, yet we kept seeing La Dore signs with decreasing mileage. It was getting late [~8pm] and gas was going to be an issue, so I convinced the guys to go back to where the gps said we should have turned, and sure enough, we missed the right turn. This got us in at 10pm, after 307 miles.</div><br /><br /><div>Day 2, we hoped to get to Sacre-Couer. It was about -20F and my crap-box wouldn't start [at least last time it was -35F when it wouldn't start]. After a warmup in the garage at du Jardin, we got things running...</div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020105-733880.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>after 75 miles, my fully rebuilt engine melted down. Luckily, just 1/4 mile from a gas stop in Sainte Jean D'Arc. From there, it was the black trail to Dolbeau [picture not available]. Since it was Sunday, the dealer wasn't open, so I chained it to the gate and met the guys at Auberge Dilegence in time for the playoffs. The next day it was off to the dealer who said it needed a new crank [which was replaced the week before] which wasn't available till tuesday. The boys went for a ride and I found the bowling alley across the street...</div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020109-700904.jpg" border="0" />Tuesday afternoon, we were ready to go. The dealer said a crank seal ring was put in wrong and let the air in. Another $1600 and off we went. Everything seemed to run great, and it was another short day to Chicoutimi, 115 miles. Since the HI was full, we tried the Hotel Sagueneenne...a good idea. What a great place...now rated better than the HI. Indoor [sheltered] sled parking, easy trail access, and should be easier to get to by truck.<br /></div><br /><div>Day 5 we continued thru the mountains [noticing the new gas stop atValineout]<br /></div><br /><div></div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020120-717657.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>across the river, to the Manoir Richilieu. A perfect, cold day, 270 miles, with a ~4pm arrival to luxury.<br /></div><br /><div>Day 6 was a fast, cold, nice ride to Shawinigan. We tried to get to the Governeur, but couldn't find the bridge trail and the Comfort inn was right there. The inn didn't have food, so we took a cab to Pub57, always great.<br /></div><br /><div>Day 7, Tom and Marty took the short ride and left. John and I rode through the park to Le Cabanon on perfect, freshly groomed trails...</div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020142-753241.jpg" border="0" />On the way back, we decided to take the local trail, M20, off of 345. The last several years, there has been logging here, but not this year, and it may be one of my top 5 trails now. We've always wondered where the local trail M21 went, since the map shows it dead-ending after ~10 miles. It's always freshly groomed, but there's no gas within 60 miles, but with jerry's we decided to take it. It was a beautiful trail that ended at what is probably a dirty road in the summer. The pic at that intersection shows a sign, 90km to the Montagnard, and a sign behind me showed 160km to Casey.</div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020153-701174.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Overall, this wasn't the best ride. Temps were very cold, no new snow, and trails were ok, but not ideal. 7-days, 1300 miles, very expensive. A look at Marty's xp [oil hog, belts at 700 miles, cheap design] and the typical skidoo problems, may mean the end of skidoo for me...<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-72156284753464192362008-01-01T12:40:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.861-08:00xMas 2007 (Dec 27-31, 2007)This was the first good xmas week ride in some time. It started xmas day with a ~90 mile ride at camp, with good conditions. The next day it was off to St Raymond for some real riding. I got to the Roquemont after lunch and headed out for some trail research to see how things held up after the rain. The crossing on 23 was still open, it made it through the rain. The larger crossing on 3 was also open, that was surprising, it usually isn't that early. On the way across 3, there was an open water bar, passable on the right. After crossing it, I passed a groomer with 2 18" drainage pipes. By the time I came back they were in and all was fixed. To end the day, i took a trip to the ice hotel, which was still under construction... <div><div><div><div><div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020037-795922.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Thursday's plan was a solo ride to Lac Edouard. 73 was flat and hard, but not icy. I tried a loop thru Shawinigan, but the trails sucked and 318 was closed, so I returned to 73. The closer to Latuque, the thinner the snow. 355 could have used some more grooming, and since Lac Edouard wasn't passable, the alternate sucked. Plenty of open water bars along the way. Being alone and having seen issues with crossing washouts, I tried a new technique. Instead of easing into the water with the skis, and then gassing thru it [which often causes problems with the skis catching or the downward slope leading to track spin], I figured with my setup, I could stop before the washout, hit the gas to lift the front end, and continue across. It worked great and was very smooth...this technique would be valuable in a few days.<br /></div><div>John and the snow arrived Thursday, then Friday we were off to the Holiday Inn. We headed up 23 which was excellent...<br /></div><br /><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020047-738502.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div><p>then to 368, out past La Baie and back to the HI, 263 miles. The next morning, we got up for a 6:30am breakfast only to find special xmas week hours of 7:30am, so we took off [and from now on, we may give up on package deals, and just get the rooms]. The plan was to head thru the mountains and get to Sacre Couer. The fields around Lac St Jean were just as we'd heard in wind and snow...<br /></p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020052-793362.JPG" border="0" /></p></div><p>484 thru the mountains was poor, but at least open. As we got to Onatchiway, it got worse, but we broke most of it with ~6" of snow, so that softened the ride. The ride to Chappelle was better and quiet for a Saturday, thanks to the snow. The ride to Sacre Couer was fast and we were in early, 211 miles.<br /></p><p>Sunday we were headed back to the HI via the Pelchat trail. This was our first time we saw the sun, and 3 to the Pelchat was in great shape, as was the Pelchat, for the start. After 5 miles or so the frech groom stopped at an Auberge. After that is was ok till marker #4, then it turned out to be 10-15" of fresh powder all the way to 252, ~35 miles. I'm not sure why it wasn't open, it was ok in November. It was a lot fun and a good experience...</p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020079-795405.JPG" border="0" /> till this...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020074-771981.JPG" border="0" /><br />This is after crossing, the picture doesn't do justice, john has a video of the crossing. We didn't have gas to turn around, and new there weren't any other serious washouts or problems [in November], so we had to cross. Here we are at the intersection of the Pelchat and 252...</div><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020080-780784.JPG" border="0" />We finished the day riding around the Saganuey, we hit a freshly groomed 482 with some interesting groomer ruts...</p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020083-767090.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p>At the end of the day, -16c and 290 miles. The ride home was cold and fast, to L'Etape anyway. 83 from the HI was groomed all the way to 23, which had a warm-up shack I didn't recognize...</p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020097-720468.JPG" border="0" /><br />I wondered why John was in there so long, so I went in. Now I know why...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/uploaded_images/P1020101-793377.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p>We tried 369 south from L'Etape, but it sucked, so we took 23 which was marginal. Overall, a good trip, no problems, and probably the earliest you should attempt a river-to-river ride. 1354 miles....and 2200+ miles before January 1. Good thing, because there's a big warmup coming next week...</p></div></div>scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237988854183471965.post-5662552715459867802007-12-10T16:53:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:13:34.873-08:00Early Riding, L'Etape (Dec 8-9, 2007)The plan was to ride from Relais du Nord to Jonquire on Saturday, 12/8. Then a quick run back to the trucks Sunday and head home. I got to Lac Beauport around 8pm Friday, maybe a 6.5 hour drive. I tried to find a local trail to leave from, but didn’t see anything. The Lac wasn’t frozen enough. Marty got in at about 10pm. We left relais du Nord at about 8am [parking $5/day/truck] headed to the Saganuey.<br /><br />The trail out of the relais was groomed but lacked snow for a couple miles. Things were excellent but with another rough patch near logging till the warm-up hut on 304. Once on 369 it was groomed with 6” of fresh powder for 40 miles. We were at L’Etape, after navigating the trail changes, at 9:30am…life was good. Then it was time to continue north.<br /><br />23 north out of L’Etape wasn’t open for the first 5 miles or so, but then we met the groomer…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010185.JPG" border="0" /><br />A few miles later, it was nicely groomed trails with 6” of powder again…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010187.JPG" border="0" /><br />As we got closer to the Mont Apica relais, things started to thin out again. After gas and a burger we headed north. Only 70 miles or so if all went well. Once we got to 368, it was ungroomed, one sled wide, probably a guy riding to his camp, we couldn’t risk trying it for 40 miles. So we went back to 23 north. The further north we got, the thinner the snow and worse the trails. Although groomed, it was clearly not enough snow. It was probably 2pm and we had decided to head back to the trucks. There was a good chance of trail issues and I didn’t want to sleep in the woods. At this point we were at 200 miles with another 120 plus. It was a long day and some were tired…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010201.JPG" border="0" /><br />Of course, Auberge le Relais was closed, so at ~4pm, we filled up and ate before the final 60 miles in the dark. The start back was good, though we were tired. The snow had stopped and visibility at night was better than all day. Then…after ~5 miles, Marty lost his headlight on his 08 XP. We screwed around for a while, verified it wasn’t a fuse, relay, or lose connection. When the light went out, the sled also stalled, but restarted fine. With two sleds, and 60 miles ahead after a late day, we decided it was best to head back to L’Etape. Too bad it was a new moon, that might have been enough light…but with potential electrical problems, and many potential other problems, it was decided a 60 mile flat-bed ride was the best choice…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010203.JPG" border="0" /><br />What started as an awesome day, turned into hell. 237 miles in the book, and it was back to the hotel at about 8pm with heat and a 12-pack. Who knows if it was even worth riding on Sunday?<br /><br />The alarm was set for 6am. It was -14 F and clear, so we decided to try a quick 40 mile run out and back since we already had ~10 miles on this tank and there wasn’t gas for 60 miles...then we’d head home.<br /><br />304 was freshly groomed, packed, and cold…perfect.<br />Once we got to 369, it was a beat up trail, so Marty suggested a little off-trail expedition. If the Lord gives you a crappy trail, make your own…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010228.JPG" border="0" /><br />We bounced around on old logging roads with 3’ of powder, none were very long. It was a good test for the new 1.5” track and clutch, here’s a good shot…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010217.JPG" border="0" /><br />It’s amazing how well the short track XP did in this stuff, I’d like to see an Apex do this…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010216.JPG" border="0" /><br />In the pursuit of more powder, we saw a “parting of the snow”, and a freshly groomed trail appeared. Since we were screwing around off trail, I had no idea what trail it was, I guessed TQ3, but the gps lcd was frozen [time for a new gps for xmas]. So we rode this…<br /><br /><br />…for several miles before the calculators came out to figure how far we could go on gas before turning around. A couple times it was, let’s go another 10 miles and turn around. The area looked familiar and I had a waypoint on my gps we couldn’t read. We had about 60 miles on this tank and knew we had to turn around soon. Of course the digital gauge on the XP said the tank was still full! As we were contemplating, we stopped a trail worker driving by, who was putting up signs and we asked him if gas was far off. He said yes 2km…perfect. Turns out, that the relais we always hit on TQ3 where the Riviere St-Anne never freezes early[not the one in St Raymond].<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010227.JPG" border="0" /><br />We gassed up, warmed up and headed back. Then we did a little more off-trail…<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://sled.scorpion-bowl.com/rides/2007_08/Quebec/slides/P1010218.JPG" border="0" /><br />Then it was back to the trucks…1.5 days on the trail, 327 miles.scorpionbowlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05391534510828849667noreply@blogger.com0