Frost Bytes Day 14; All Trails Come To An End

All riders arrived back to their trucks and trailers in Temiscaming QC, safe and sound. Today’s ride was 151 miles.

I need to go back one step. In my enthusiasm to type this stupid effing blog this morning, I overlooked one very important detail from Hotel Mistral. The shower in our room was an absolute 4.6 stars out of 5! This beats the prior 4.4 star bathroom I wrote about a few years ago. It was a split design, with the sink bowl and mirror outside the shower and camode room. The shower room was fantastic. The floors and walls were nice grey tile, and heavy glass sliding doors for the shower. The shower head put out an awesome broad spray pattern with the perfect pressure and stream size, with perfect hot water. But what moved the needle was a feature I’ve never seen on the trail or my many travels. Mounted on the wall, in front of the camode, about 6 inches above the floor was a small electric heater with adjustable heat and a timer for up to 45 minutes. GAME CHANGER. I put my slippers and clean underwear under the heater before getting into the shower. Oh my lord; It was so nice to have warm undies and slippers to go off into the world with, after a great shower. Just saying.

Ok, so breakfast was at 8am, because the restaurant doesn’t open until 8am. The usual snowmobiler breakfast you’ve seen described for the last 13 days, do I really need to elaborate, again? There was not much of a rush, as we only had 150 miles for the day.

And it was COLD. My engine temperature gauge read -15 degrees at start up. The first cold day of our trip, fortunately. I know my saddlebags were a lot lighter for the ride, as I wore every piece of clothing I had, for a total of 3 layers. I heard many other riders say the same. We did a little math at breakfast. -15 degrees with a 60 mph wind is around -55 degrees wind chill. You will find any weak spots in your gear pretty quickly with those numbers. And the high for the day was projected to be 4 degrees.

Before departing, Stick was standing near The Mail Man, when Mail Man said “ i have never been in such a hurry to end a vacation and get back to Rudyard, MI. Only 23 more hours to go!” I just chuckled and went to my sled.

Another un-eventful day on the trail. Except around the 12 mile mark. When we crossed a road and made a turn, we were missing 6 sleds. We waited on the side of the trail for a few minutes, before Action Dan went back to look for the missing riders. They all soon caught up, and the report we got, was The Mail Man, bringing up the rear of the pack, let the pack slip away from his sight, and made a wrong turn. We were fortunately still in cell range, and he phoned Chip Nasty for a location. For someone anxious to get home, he sure is dilly wicking around.

Mile mark 75, I believe, was the fuel stop. It was still VERY COLD, and the fueling station we stopped at, had only one pump. And that one pump was the s-l-o-w-e-s-t gas pump I’ve ever experienced. I think it took us 30 minutes to fuel the sleds. I saw some of the riders use their jerry can of fuel they carry on their sled to speed up their process, for when they got their turn at the pump.

After fueling, and only about 10 miles down the trail, we came upon a local snowmobile club relaise. One last lunch on the trail. And it was a good one. Cheeseburgers all dressed, made with love from the little old lady working the grille, onion rings, hot dogs and French fries. Robere’ struck up a conversation with the nice lady, expressing his pleasure with his burger, and she started describing a special jalapeno burger she makes. She then up and says, you just hold on, I’ll make one real quick and cut it into 8 servings so you guys can try it. It was delicious too. Minced jalapenos, onions and seasonings all mixed into the meat, and grilled on the flat top. She made a short lunch on the trail a fun experience.

After lunch we had 80 miles to go, and it was about 2pm. I was thinking it was going to be about a 5 pm arrival. I was pleasantly surprised. The trails the rest of the way in were long, straight runs, soft bends, and we were carrying the mail. A great way to end the trip and get in around 4pm, including 2 quick breaks along the way.

The total miles on this trip ended right at 2,600 miles. The Yamaha’s said anywhere from 2,601 to Yamaha Kevin’s 2,643 miles, to the Ski Doo mileage of 2,578. Definitely not what was advertised in the brochure when I signed up. The brochure and website said it was a 2,100 mile trip! As Orange Helmet and I said to each other, it feels good to know we can still do that kind of mileage. To put 2,600 miles into perspective, that’s the equivalent of riding your snowmobile from South East Michigan to South West Florida, and returning. In 13 days.

Burnt Piston Dave arrived here about 3pm yesterday. I haven’t been able to talk with him yet to see what he’s been doing for the 28 hours, but I did overhear he walked a 1/2 mile this morning to get breakfast at the diner down the road. And he bought a six pack of Labatt Blue on his walk back.

It’s about 6:30 pm, Connecticut Jim and Wiki Rob have already hit the road back to Vermont. The rest of us are gathered in the bar area of The Canadienne. Some are gathered around the bar, and Action Dan has a hot pool game going with the owner of the hotel.

This trail has come to an end. Thank you to the 7 or 8 followers that tagged along. It’s time for me to get back to SW Florida. There are palm trees, beaches and bikinis there.

Until our trails cross again,

Farewell,

Stick

PS: Hey Fact Checker, the last fact check was just my regular typos, there wasn’t an intentional error. Orange Helmet found an error, and, after discussing it, we left it for you to find. You are two beers in the hole.

Frost Bytes Day 13; Last Night On The Trail, AND A Great Steak Dinner Coming Up

*We did not have Wi-Fi service at our location last night upon arrival. There was a construction crew working across the road, and the motel thought that was the reason. It is now 6:44am Sunday morning and the Wifi has been restored.

All riders arrived safely in Motel Mistral, in Rouyn-Noranda, QC around 4:30 pm. The day’s ride was right at 170 miles for the day. My math says we are around 2,294 miles down for the trip. And we have one last riding day to go.

Last night’s dinner at the Forestel was ok. The Onion Soup was a disappointment. 1.4 stars. Bland broth, barely cooked onions, and the croutons for were garlic toasties with a light dusting of cheese on them, floated on the top of the crock pot of soup. The big Beef Rib with frites was pretty good, and being a day and a half later, I don’t really remember the other items served.

If we were not impressed with the dinner served, we were definitely appreciative of the very nice hotel rooms, and absolutely divine mattress and pillow setup. After 11 or 12 nights of sleeping on not the best of bedding options, last night’s room accommodations lit up our day. I heard many positive comments about the pillows that were offered, so they’ve got that going for them.

The breakfast this morning was a $27 breakfast buffet, with the usual buffet items. Some additions to the buffet were banana breads, fresh fruits, yogurts and such.

Steve was looking a lot more fresh this morning then he was last night at dinner. He looked like he was going to fall asleep at the dinner table. I asked if he was getting wore out. He replied that the sled trip was fine, it was his lack of sleep from the night before. Apparently, his wing man Farmer had a couple double double spiced rums and sprite, and the snore factor went off the charts, keeping him up most of the night. Reminds me of the days with my old wing man, and before I had a life support machine (CPAP); When my snoring kept him up, he threw my own helmet at me to get me to roll over and quit snoring, or put on with the face shield down, so he could sleep.

At breakfast, Orange Helmet informed Bent Bumper Dave, (or should he be upgraded to Burnt Piston Dave) that he was going to have to find a truck to get his equipment back to the trucks and trailers, about 150 miles away by road. They started by asking the local workers if they had a friend with a pickup truck that wanted to make a few bucks, with no luck. He finally resorted to asking the front desk for assistance, and they found him a flatbed truck, for his last leg of this ride. Orange Helmet called ahead and secured Dave a room back at The Canadienne motel, and off he went.

Skis up time was scheduled for 9am. It was a cold morning. It may have felt colder due to the pretty steady wind that was blowing. It must’ve sleeted last night, as the machines had a thin layer of frozen snow on them this morning. Our departure was around 9:15, as Orange Helmet checked in on Burnt Piston Dave, in the lobby, one last time before departing. Too bad Burnt Piston wasn’t meeting us in Rouyn-Noranda this evening, Orange Helmet and Action Dan have been pumping us up about the great steak dinner we are going to have this evening. The steakhouse is off site of the motel, and is the whole reason we are even having an overnight stay at the Mistral Hotel this evening. We are all looking forward to it.

Not too much to write about for our day on the trail. The trails were in great shape; we passed a couple of groomers thru out the day. The trails were mostly wide, few sharp turns, and easy to make good time on, all things considered. And it never warmed up.

Around the 120 mile mark, we stopped at a gas station that we discovered last year on the trail. It was cold here last year too. We didn’t need fuel, as we had fueled at around the 65 mile mark, but we took advantage of the opportunity to go in and warm up and grab a snack. Action Dan reminded us not to eat a big lunch, because we didn’t want to ruin our appetites for dinner this evening.

After about a 1/2 hour of warming up, it was time to go finish out our day. Again not too much to talk about here. There was not more than a stop or two along the way, for a quick old man on the side of the trail stop, as it was just plain cold and nobody wanted to be standing around.

We arrived at Hotel Mistral right around 4:30. Orange Helmet went and checked us in, why Action Dan led the rest of the pack down the street to the gas station, so we were fueled for the next morning’s ride.

After we all had unloaded our sleds of our saddlebags, and were beginning our individual unpacking/getting settled in procedures for the upcoming evening, Action Dan was going room to room with a menu from the local pizza joint. And we need to hurry because they close at 7pm. Uh… what happened to our super-duper steak dinner, Action? He sheepishly replied, well, uh, it is Saturday evening and they are fully booked, we can’t get in. I, as politely as I am known to be, replied “Didn’t I mention 2 days ago that the super-duper steak dinner was going to be a Saturday evening, and with our big group you should, maybe, call ahead with a reservation?” and his response back then was “Oh, we will be fine!”

So, there were pizzas ordered, and a couple lasagna’s and 2 appetizer trays of cheese sticks, wings and onion rings. We gathered in the small bar, scattered amongst the tall top tables and the bar top, and enjoyed our final dinner on the trail.

Tomorrow is the last riding day, and the sleds will be loaded and gear packed to conclude another Darkside Adventure. Early reports are that it is about 151 miles into the trucks tomorrow. Breakfast is delayed until 8am, because the motel restaurant doesn’t open until then.

We shall see,

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 12: Issues Are Slowly Creeping Up After 2,248 Miles

All riders arrived safely at Hotel Forestel right around 4:30pm. Some gear and perhaps a sled, maybe not so well. Chip Nasty was pretty close with his estimated milage, and we clocked 191 miles today.

Last night’s dinner was another good one on the trail. Several strip steaks, some chicken dishes and the twice baked potato. The twice baked potato gave a couple riders a lost in translation moment. Steve, while trying to tell our friendly server he wanted to twice baked potato, she interpreted it as he wanted TWO twice baked potatoes. And Mail Man, right seated right next to Steve, said he would like the same. Now, I was across the table and I picked up on the conversation. She repeated the order back to them, and they all enthusiastically confirmed yes, two baked potatoes. I just shrugged it off, thinking they skipped the salad, and knew what they were doing. But they didn’t. They each got 2 of the oversized twice baked potatoes. It gave the table a good chuckle.

This morning’s breakfast was at the usual 7am call time, and the now very familiar eggs any way you like, scrambled or over easy. French toast was also an option, and there were a few of those handed out.

Skis up time was 9am, and we were gathered with warm sleds by 8:45am. But not without issue. Orange Helmet’s Yamaha had now caught the Yamaha virus, and needed a bucket of cold water to start this morning. In addition to the necessary water, it would not maintain idle after firing up. After our sled ride .2 mile down the street to the main dining lodge, for breakfast, it seemed to have shaken off the symptoms and was now performing to expectation.

My Ski Doo temperature gauge said it was -5 degrees this morning. Another overcast morning with a light snow flurry falling down on us.

Our first stop was 100 miles in a westward direction, back to Lac Faillon. We are back in the Bush, and there is only one trail east and west into/out of Clova. And for the first 85 miles of that leg, we won’t cross a road, a trail head, nor a rail crossing. You are out there, up here. There is a warming hut at around the 65 mile mark, but nothing else.

The trails were very dusty to start the day, due to the light snow flurries. It made visibility in the back of the pack difficult to say the least. It also made it difficult for the guys up front to see further than one headlight in their mirror, behind them.

And at the 65 mile mark is when the Yamaha virus jumped hosts, and Bent Bumper Dave’s 850 Ski Doo with 17,000 miles had a seizure. Not an engine seizure, just a stutter, I guess. I don’t have first hand knowledge, because he is currently at the Ski Doo dealer in Val Dor getting a further analysis. But what I believe I do know, is that he pulled the fuel filter off, it was clean, but the sled was acting like there may be moisture in the fuel/fuel line.

His sled fired back up after blowing thru the fuel filter, and the back of the pack caught up with the 3 riders that were sitting on the side of the trail about 6 miles ahead of them, waiting for either a report, or the group to show up.

While the back of the train was dealing with Bent Bumpers dilemma, The three on the side were met with a local trapper that stopped and talked to them about the 2007 forest fires in the area we were sitting in, and how it drove out the moose and they haven’t come back, and further stories of his trapping in the Bush of Quebec.

With the group back together, we had about 29 miles to our fuel and lunch spot, Lac Faillon. We warmed up our soups, and within about 40 minutes, we were back on the trail to finish out the last 90 miles for the day.

While at lunch, it was discussed that Robere’ and Mail Man may go to the local Ski Doo Dealer in Val Dor. Robere’ has been dealing with a non-working electric helmet shield since day one. It has not been a big factor for him until today. The heavy snow dust was giving him fits and it’s never a good day on the trail when your vision is obscured by a fogged-up/frosty face shield. And Mail Man, he brought his own problem upon himself. At lunch yesterday, he set his helmet a wee bit too close to the fireplace in the dining room. Fortunately, someone saw it, but just not soon enough. The face shield warped. And the helmet warped. They both need new electric heated face shields, and one may need a new helmet all together. We shall see.

Upon arrival at 4:30, Orange Helmet went to check in the group of 13 for our overnight accommodations, and Farmer plugged the directions for the Ski Doo dealer in to his GPS. Farmer led Robere’, Mail Man and Bent Bumper Dave down the trail to the Ski Doo dealer.

It’s 6:44 pm, I am sitting in the hotel bar, naturally, enjoying a cold Labatt Bleu. Dinner is at 7:30.

The guys at the Ski Doo Dealer are suggesting this option for Bent Bumper

UPDATE: Farmer just sat with me at the bar, and gave me the scoop. Robere’ got his new electric face shield. Mail Man needs a new helmet, but is not interested in purchasing one right now. Bent Bumper Dave… oh boy. He’s got issues. His 2-cylinder 2 stroke Ski Doo is running on one cylinder. It’s going to get interesting now. And possibly costly. Three Options: 1) Buy a new sled. I, personally, am encouraging this plan, naturally. Think about it, look at the money you’re saving by not buying a new rear bumper! It’s been since, I think 2017, since I saw Connecticut Jim buy a new Yamaha on the trail! 2) Pay a local to get your sled back to the trucks and trailers in Temiscaming. And option 3) Ride’r her ‘til she pukes.

Also, kudos to my Fact Checker back in Michigan, Big B. He won the “find the intentional error” in yesterday’s story. Your prize is, buy me a beer! See if you can find today’s…

We shall see

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 11, It's THURSDAY, February 26, 2026, According To My Fact Checkers

It is currently 5:54pm, and all riders arrived in Clova safely at around 4:30pm after about 197 miles.

Last night’s dinner was a good one. The choices were Salmon with rice and vegetables, or the Braised Beef with carrots and mashed potatoes The starter choices were either vegetable soup, Caesar salad, and the appetizer was an individual size artichoke cheese dip. Oh, and for dessert, a slice of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Very nice dinner and very tasty. A couple bottles of wine may have been passed around as well. Another good night on the trail.

This morning’s snowmobile breakfast was the usual eggs, any way you like, scrambled or over easy, bacon or sausage and your choice of brown or white toast that was served family style, out of basket on the table. French toast was also an option, and I saw quite a few orders of that go around the table.

Ski’s up time was 9am, but we were pulling out of the snow covered parking lot by 8:45am. The temperature on my gauge said 50 degrees this morning. The sky was partial overcast and partial sunshine, and it stayed that way all day.

Wish I could tell you there was some drama or issues on the trail, but these guys just won’t give me anything much to write about. I did just recall a little thing, leaving Mekoos, about a mile down the trail, we did pull over to wait for Farmer to catch up to the pack. Apparently, his hybrid Arctic Cat/Yamaha thru an error code of P100 or some such number, and his throttle stuck for a moment before going back to idle. Orange Helmet said there was probably moisture in the throttle unit that let loose, and it threw the error code. Then Connecticut Jim said, while we were waiting on the side of the trail for Farmer, that his Yamaha had thrown that R85 or whatever code on his dash display again. I am not in tune with all these error codes, my Ski Doo dash lights up only when it needs fuel. Just saying.

We stopped for lunch and fuel around 12:15pm, and after 95 miles. Alot of chicken hamburgs (breaded chicken patty on bun, with mayo, lettuce, and a tomato slice) Caesar salads with breaded chicken tenders, or just a good old kids meal of chicken tenders and frites. By 1:15, we back on the trail with about 100 miles to go.

The trails started off wide and smooth, and varied all day between wide and curvy, to wide and easy, with the last 30 miles or so, wide and fast.

You may recall that last week when we were here at Clova, the dining lodge does not offer Wi-Fi service. The renovated schoolhouse that is now rental rooms, does have Wi-Fi. And damn, is it fast. Apparently, this young guy from South Africa, with I’m told a few bucks, has his own satellite system up above us. Let me tell you, it’s pretty impressive. I’ll even be able to upload a few days of pictures. Smart fella, that young guy!

So, I am here in the basement of the schoolhouse, that is now a recreation room, with a TV, wood burning fireplace, a couch and a couple recliner chairs. Bent Bumper Dave and Ole’ Man Ron are simultaneously staring at their phones and occasionally looking at the auto repair show on the television. Farmer is sitting at the 6 person wood table, doing a sewing repair on his snowmobile jacket. I am impressed he has a sewing kit packed!

Wish I had more, but these guys are pretty boring. Just riding along all day in a tight pack, scared to screw up and be written up, I guess.

Dinner is scheduled for 7pm. Probably a New York Strip again. I am hoping.

Chip Nasty says tomorrow is booked at about 197 miles.

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

PS: Let’s see if my fact checker back home can find today’s intentional error. For those that notice my little errors in grammar, or context, or run on sentences, keep this in mind. I don’t proofread. If 2 red lines pop up under a typed word, I use the spell check to correct those obvious errors. I ain’t got time for all that. As my pal Marshall Mathers sings, You get one chance, make it count.

Frost Bytes Day 10: And The Issues Have Begun

Our arrival time was about 4:15pm, Thursday February 25, 2026. Most all of the riders are here, but they are all safe. Feels good to be in early for the day.

Last night’s arrival into Real Masse’ was a warm welcoming. Nancy, the original owner’s daughter, and now proprietor, and her daughter Stephanie were very gracious in their welcoming of our Darkside group. It is our understanding that Real Masse’ isn’t normally open these days for snowmobilers. But when Orange Helmet called back in July of 2025, to make our reservations, she said for our group they will open for the night to lodge and feed us! She has always appreciated our past visits, and that warm welcome was expressed again.

Dinner was at 7:30pm, and a few of the options were BBQ ribs and frites, Chicken breast and vegetables, or the spaghetti and Ceaser salad that Robere’ I chose. We were started with a creamy tomato soup. A great dinner on the trail, back at one of our favorites stops on the trail.

Apparently they have had a difficult time with snowmobile bookings the last few years, due to first the Rona virus, and then last year the local trail that leads right into their lodge was disrupted with logging operations in the area. We are glad to see them perservering.

This morning’s snowmobiler breakfast was more of the same, eggs, any way you like ‘em, scrambled or overeasy or in a cheese omolette. Bacon and potatoes and choice of white or brown toast on the side.

By 7:45am, the sleds were lining up at the gas pump behind the lodge. It was finally an overcast day, and snow flurries had laid a light snow dusting over our sleds.

By 8:20am we were headed down the trail. 148 miles were what we were billing out today. It only took us 1 mile to miss the first right hand turn onto the trail. Connecticut Jim conversed with Action Dan and they got us righted on the trall promptly.

On the 350 trail headed towards Pourvoirie Mekoos, the trails started off tight and twisty and slow moving. By the time we got to the 30 mile mark, they opened up, as we entered a Provincial park for about a 50 mile stretch of great, wide, easy sailing trail. Unitl it wasn’t.

At the 55 mile mark, the front 4 sleds stopped after a hard left turn. We were waiting for the rest of the pack to catch up. We figured the heavy snow dust had slowed down the rest of the pack. After a few minute wait on the side of the trail, and no signs of coming riders, we turned around and headed back a mile to the turn, We found Connecticut Jim, Wiki Rob, and Ole Man Ron there, and they told us that Yamaha Kevin was having a major issue with his Yamaha. all they knew at that time was that it was either a clutch or chainbox issue.

The partial group headed back up the trail. After10 miles back up the trail, we encountered missing part of the pack. They were in motion headed our way. That’s encouraging.

We got turned around, and caught up with them on the side of the trail to get more info. Yamaha Kevin started taking the side panels off his sled, and then began disassembling the clutch. After it was tore down they found the clutch spring had broken. The clutch would engage enough for the sled to move on its own, but the belt was loose and squeaky.

The decision was made, put it back together, ride it ‘til it pukes or makes it in. Yamaha Kevin and Action Dan took off in front of the pack to get ahead of the group and keep the momentum going.

We had about 40 miles to a restaurant/fuel stop. Along the way, we got to see a wolf running down the groomed snowmobile trail in front of the leaders. He ran probably about 100 yards down the trail in front of us, with us giving him plenty of room to move. It is his territory after all. He finally got tired of us behind him, and jumped off the trail, and ran into the woods. Pretty cool to see, have never seen a wolf in the wild!

At the 105 mile mark, we were at the Bar/Resto/Fuel stop. Yamaha Kevin had phone service, so he started calling Yamaha dealers in the Mt Laurier area, as Mekoos is only about an hour from there. The rest of us went inside to have lunch.

Lunch was Cheeseburgers all dressed, vegetable soups, and the Special was Caesar salads with chicken. If you ordered the Special, you also got stawberry cake as dessert! Wish I wouldv’e known that when I ordered my all dressed cheeseburger with onion rings. I really should lay off the onion based food groups for a day or two.

While we were ordering lunch, Yamaha Kevin (YK) found a dealer with the needed clutch spring in stock. Farmer volunteered to skip lunch, and ride with YK to get his sled repaired. The rest of us enjoyed a nice warm surrounding, conversation and a good lunch.

By 2pm, lunch was finished, and onto the sleds we returned. As we were gathered by our sleds, a single rider on a Ski Doo Expedition was pulled up next to our group looking at his phone, working on his directions. He made the mistake of asking us if we knew where he was at? We responded in unison, “Quebec!” He laughed.

We had about 50 miles to run. The trails started off again tight and twisty, but soon opened up, and we were in at a decent hour.

Upon arrival, we got checked in to our large lodge that has a large common area with kitchenette, a couple couches, a wood burning stove, that Yamaha Kevin usually keeps stoked up, but Robere’ handled it in his absence. Down the long common hallway, there are 8 rooms with two twin beds per room, and 2 bathrooms, one on each side, at the end of the hallway.

I took advantage of the early arrival, and took a short “rest” in the room Robere’ had picked out for us. The rest were either gathered in the common area, or resting in their respective rooms.

Most of us are now gathered at the table in the common area, sipping a couple cold ones’, while I work this stupid effing blog.

We got a report from Yamaha Kevin at around 5pm, that his sled was repaired, and that he, and Farmer were headed our way. They will have an extra 100 miles on their sleds today, by the time they get in.

Dinner is at 7:30pm, so they have plenty of time to get back, cleaned up, and ready. Tomorrow we head back to Clova, for our regularyly scheduled visit.

(I have pictures but the wifi does not support their uploading at this time. Stay tuned…)

UPDATE: Just prior to publishing, Yamaha Kevin and Farmer have made their destination at 6:37pm. The group is all together!

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 8 & 9; And The Yellow Snow Award Goes To...

It is currently Tueday, day 9, 12:45pm, we are at lunch in Mattawin QC, and I am having a working lunch to get this stupid effin blog caught up. All riders are safe.

Dinner at du lac Moreau, was a gourmet meal, probably a bit much for our simple taste palate. There was black cod, beef steaks some other choices I don’t recall. Good but very outside our scope. It’s a great place, a beautiful lodge, but we just never seem to jive with the place.

Yesterday’s breakfast was especially lack luster. We were all seated at our 13 person dining table from the night before, by 7am. There was fresh sliced bread on the table, peanut butter and jelly, apples and pears and orange juice. Action Dan asked the lodge worker if they were going to take our breakfast order. He responded, it’s on the table, the toaster is over there. Really!? Really, the cook doesn’t start until 9am. Toasted peanut butter and jelly was my go to.

By 8:30 am, we were skis up on the trail. -2 degrees was on my Ski Doo Engine Temperature gauge when I fired it up earlier. On our way down trail 83, those at the front of the pack did get to see a Moose cross the trail in front of us and stand in the trees along the side of the trail as we passed.

After 15 miles, we took a break at the trail head, where there was a new warming hut/station. Orange Helmet tagged it with a Darkiside Sticker, and when Stick went to reboard his Ski Doo to continue the journey, he looked at his seat and it just didn’t look right. Oh shit. I left my saddle bag back at the lodge in the hallway where we stow our gear, upon entry.

Now, I am just as curious as you, as to how I left my saddlebag behind. I mean, Saddlebag is right in the name of the saddlebag trip. I just didn’t follow my normal morning routine. Every day I follow the same schedule, wake up at 6:15, pack my saddlebag, get dressed for breakfast, take my saddle bag out with me to warm up my sled, go to breakfast, finish putting gear after breakfast, and ready for the trail. Well, when I came down to dining hall at 6:45 and saw our group already gathered for breakfast, I just set my bags on the floor of the coat storage hallway, and went about my merry way.

When I noticed my bag was missing on the trail, I was pretty confident I could make my way back to the lodge by myself and retrieve. Another poor decision. I cruised down the trail, and at the first fork in the road, that I am supposed to take, I just kept going. So about 3 miles past that, I think to myself, I was supposed to take that turn. So I turn around, go back and take the correct trail. I pass the row of privately owned Chalets on my left, now knowing I’m on the right path. After a bit further, I pass another fork in the road. Ok, now I don’t remember this. So I go left. It feels right… but it doesn’t. I’m doubting my self now. I go a bit further and I’m just ready to go back with my head hung low and ask Action Dan to lead me back, so i don’t waste any more of the Team’s time, waiting for me at the warming hut.

So, I went back to the pack, ashamed of myself, and asked Action Dan to lead me back. He delegated it to Orange Helmet, who just gave me that dismissive helmet shake, and fired up his sled, and down the trail we went.

By the time I got all my gear gathered up, and we were back with team, I had killed about 50 minutes, and put an extra 50 miles on my sled. Orange Helmet now had and extra 30 miles on his odometer. So by 10am, I had done 65 miles and may it only 15 miles from the lodge! Great way to make a long day very long for myself.

They have also granted me the honor as the first recipient of the new Yellow Snow Award. The recipient of this humbling award also wins the gift of buying the Team lunch at the day’s lunch stop!

Lunch was a good one too! We found a Micro-Brewery right on the trail. There were I think 11 Onion Soups, 2 Mac & Cheese bowls, a couple Ceaser Salads, and a set of pork nachos. Very good lunch, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a bunch of sled heads that are also trying to make time on the trail. Very delicious, the soup was a solid 3.8 with good presentation and a nice touch of chopped green onions on the top, but it took over an hour for our lunch.

It was 3:15pm after lunch, and we still had about 100 miles to go. I am doing math in my head, we average about 30 miles of distance per hour, including breaks, fuel stops and trail conditions. Oh boy. It’s going to be a 6:30pm arrival this evening.

We arrived at Domaine Lac Edouard at around 6:15pm. Not bad all things considered. Once darkness set in around 5:20, the Team just hunkered down and got the miles down. Some of the trail was a little rough. We were riding a trail for about 10 miles that was along a logging route, and the trail zigged and zagged from one side of the bare gravel packed road to the other. Part of the adventure, most of our trails are old abandoned logging roads, anyway.

Lac Edourard is a pretty cool old rustic place on the trail. A place I would like to visit again, with more time to explore and get acquainted with.

Our accommodations were in a renovated church, that now consisted of about 8-10 rooms. It appeared that the place had just be remodeled and it was very nice and up to date. Very nice experience. The only detractor, and I wouldn’t let it hold me back again, is the church accommodations are about 1/2 miles away from the main grounds where there are several barrel roofed mini cabins for overnights, and the main lodge for dining. A quick and simple sled ride away.

We gathered in the lodge dining room at about 8pm for our snowmobiler dinner. Pretty much a bar menu, but everything is fresh and well done. The Onion soup was a hit, I passed on the onion soup this evening, as I have had onion soup at the last 3 meals. I did however share the escargot augrautin with Robere’. The mains were cheeseburgers all dressed, Caesar salads with chicken, and that’s about all I can recall right now.

It was a long day, and we all retired back to the chuch rooms after dinner. I had 277 miles on my clock for the day, Orange Helmet had about 257 miles and the rest of the crew had about 227 miles.

Day 9, Tuesday began, first of all, with Stick following his PROPER routine, and then breakfast back at the main lodge. Breakfast was buffet of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, potatoes and make your own toast.

Due to our late arrival, the Team fueled their sleds either before or after breakfast this morning. We usually fuel first thing on arrival to our destinations, but dinner took precedent last night. The fuel set up was pretty cool. Usually there is a lodge hand that comes out and runs the gas pump. This place has a modern pump, and fuel it yourself, and go into the lodge bar to pay your bill.

So far today, we have knocked down about 105 miles, and the end of day number is estimated to be about 217, according to Chip Nasty. Nasty has worked himself in to another role, than just Breakfast Captain. He assists Orange Helmet, and Action Dan each evening using his and Action’s gps units to get the best trail route for the next day.

As I am working thru lunch, Farmer, Action Dan and Yamaha Kevin are playing hang man on the back of the paper table place mat, and Steve is reading out loud the narrative that CHATGPT wrote on Farmers phone when he typed in a few details of our ride. If he can figure out to send a copy of it to me, I will post it at the bottom of today’s blog.

Lunch is now being served, I will finish upon arrival at Real Masse’ this evening.

We have all arrived safely into Real Masse’. The arrival time was right around 6:15 and a total of 217 miles. The first 15-20 miles after lunch were the technical, tight and curvy, and the rest of the trip was the fantastic wide, smooth, bending trails that make us warm and fuzzy inside.

I really enjoy Real Masse. It’s been since 2014, I believe, since our last visit here. I love the large, oversized rooms, with the pink painted walls, and as you see in the pictures, the lodge/dining/bar area feels like a 70’s disco. You Betcha!!

I have 2 of the goblets that you see in the picture, that I purchased back in 2014. One a warm summer evening, when I’m in the mood for a cold Summer Shandy, I pull my Real Masse goblet out of the basement freezer and reminisce.

Ok, it’s 7:15pm, I am enjoying a cold Labatts Blue, and this blog is DUN for the day. Tomorrow is Pourvoirie Mekoos. It’s another Team favorite, and we are all looking forward to it. Rumor on the street is, it’s only about 150 miles.

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 7:

Connecticut Jim and Wiki Rob wrap their Yamaha’s in Ski Doo blankets each night

All riders are safe and have arrived safely at our overnight destination of Pourvoirie du lac Moreau, in Saint-Urban, QC. We arrived around 5pm, after 187 miles on the trail. But let’s back up to where we left off last night…

Upon arrival yesterday at the Auberge 31, we got checked in by the Manager Pierre’, and he was very welcoming. He even pointed out our Darkside Sticker on the side of his cooler, behind the bar, and said he was looking forward to our arrival, and that he follows our blog. I must now have 8 followers! He even offered to swap us Auberge 31 stickers for more Darkside stickers, and we were all over that proposition.

Last nights dinner, at Auberge du 31, was top notch, and is probably my new favorite dinner location on the trail. The Onion soup was a super duper 4.3, and since my former favorite Onion soup at the Bon Air is no longer available, this is now the standard. Dinner was extraordinaire! The two most popular dishes I saw at the table was the whole BBQ chicken leg with 1/2 slab of BBQ ribs, with your choice of rice, baked potato or frites. The 2nd most popular option I saw, was the Surf and Turf, which was a 4oz Filet with a skewer of 6 grilled shrimp, which is what Robere’ and I chose with baked potato. It was the best meal on the trail we have had in a long time, and Robere’ exclaimed it was the best steak he has had. We shared our compliments to the chef with Pierre.

There was a surprise for Stick in his chalet, last night. Farmer, having recalled that I typically order vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce (basically Hershey’s syrup) kept his suck up skills sharp, and apparently bought a couple pints of vanilla ice cream and a squeeze bottle of chocolate sauce for me. I politely accepted but asked that he continue to carry the prized package further down the trail for when we get to a location that doesn’t have a desert, and we will share it with the entire team. I’m trying to find a polite way to share some advice my old friend Big Al has stated, “Suck your way to the top, not the middle”; and I’m just a middleman around here, at the end of the trip.

This morning’s breakfast was the standard snowmobiler breakfast, at 7am. Our ski’s up time was scheduled for 8:30am. It was a brisk -2 degrees on the engine temperature gauge of my Ski Doo. Our sleds were warmed up, and we were headed down the trail at 8:50am. Hey, if we hit 100%, you’d expect it every day.

We got about 10 miles down the trail, when we stopped for our first old man stop on the side of the trail. Typical first thing routine every morning. At about the 4 mile mark, prior to this, the recollection hit me that I forgot the ice cream and chocolate sauce in the chalet freezer. I was dreading walking to the back of the sled pack, and having to tell Farmer my error. I started the conversation with “you’re going to be upset with me”. He politely asked why that would be, and I responded with the truth, he forgot to remind me to get the ice cream and chocolate sauce out of the fridge! He laughed and said, “ I got it! You told me last night to remind you, and I just went and got it this morning!” Good job Farmer, your suck up skills are strong.

Super Duper Groomer right there.

Another blue bird day on the trail. Haven’t seen a cloud, day or night, since our departure on sleds. The first 60 miles of the day were the fast smooth trails we appreciate, and a nice way to start our 187 mile day. Our fuel stop was at the 65 mile mark. Just prior to the fuel stop, we were traversing some hilly trails, and Stick was standing up, stretching his legs going down the trail, and when I adjusted my grip on my throttle hand, the movement shifted the gauntlet on my handle bars and hit the kill button. I am 1/2 way up the hill and my sled has shut off, and I know I have 5 sleds that are going to be coming up hot into my snow flap. I grab the brake handle with my left hand, simultaneously pulling the kill switch up with my right hand, trying not to roll down dead, back down the hill into oncoming traffic. While my left hand is pulling the brake handle, I am trying to maneuver my left thumb to hit the start button, but I overreached and kept hitting the bright light button, just below the start button. What a fubar situation. The 5 sleds behind me reacted quickly, did a Crazy Ivan left swing around me to avoid me, while I fiddle effed around and got my Ski Doo restarted. No harm no foul, just the question from the peanut gallery if I was going to write this up in the blog. That’s the biggest concern around here, what’s going to make the blog.

After fueling, we headed about another 20 miles to Tadouassc, for a quick lunch, and a break before we catch the open flat deck ferry that will take us across a tributary river of the St Lawrence seaway. I have a few memories of being in Tadouassc, the most recent being when the Toxic Twins The Wanderer and Robere’ had a late night adventure on the town. You’ll have to go back a few issues of the Frost Bytes to read up on that one.

We caught the ferry without issue, surprisingly. After we debarked the ferry we had about 20 miles of technical, twisty curvey trails. I felt like it was Gound Hogs day for the 20 mile jaunt. Up a hill, turn right, down a hill, turn left, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, forever it seemed.

That finally over, we got back on some trails that were a mix of twisty/curvy, and trails we could make time on. We took a few breaks over the afternoon, and at the last break with about 30 miles to go, around 4pm, we said, ok, let’s get in.

Everyone got in fine. Except Farmer. I just found out he ran out of gas on his Arctic Cat about 3 miles away from our destination. Fortunately, he has a jerry can for a couple gallons of fuel on his sled and finally got in after a short delay.

It is now about 7pm, we are gathered around the bar, watching the replay of USA vs Canada Mens Olympic Hockey game. We know the results, but we will act surprised when the USA wins. We need to be humble guests. It is cold outside.

I have no reports on the projected mileage for tomorrow, nor the destination. Check the website, you’ll know more than me.

I am looking forward to dinner, this is fine place and the chef is very creative. I usually order something outside my wheelhouse. I have to, the menu is in French.

We shall see.

Bye for now,

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 6,

All riders are in and safe at Auberge du 31 for the overnight. We arrived at 5:15pm after 157 miles. I can’t figure out how we can accomplish 280 miles in 9.5 hours, but can only do 157 miles in 8 hours? The math ain’t mathing.

Last night’s dinner was at 8:30pm!!! That’s a late dinner after a long day on the trail. The hotel restaurant was very busy and the dining room never did clear out. Everybody was enjoying their Friday evening out, apparently. They had to seat our group of 13 in the separate dining room that is used each morning for breakfast. So we had the entire room to ourselves. Probably just as well. A couple of the guys took advantage of the extra time before dinner to have room drinks. Action Dan had his phone on the table with music blaring from it for “ambience”.

The best dinner on the trail to date. We had choices of Braised Beef, Chicken Skewers, Shrimp or the 1/2 slab of ribs with frites, that Robere’ and I chose. Connecticut Jim did not heed my advice to avoid the Onion Soup, and confirmed my 1.8 star rating. I know what I’m talking about, when it comes to the Onion Soup guys, pay attention. There was dessert offering of I don’t know what, because by the time my dinner was finished, it was 10:10pm and I needed to get some rest.

As we were warming up and loading our sleds, a young man with a very professional camera setup was walking past our pack of sleds, and noticed a Michigan trail permit on a windshield. His curiosity was peaked, so he asked one of our group if we were really from Michigan. He was very intrigued that we had journeyed so far to snowmobile. He struck up a conversation with Orange Helmet, they talked for a few, he then did a video or his windshield and the Darkside Adventures.com sticker that is attached. As he was walking past to join his group, he noticed our large group, and asked me, are you all from MIchigan?! I replied Yes, for the most part. I have been coming to Quebec for 17 years to snowmobile, and the guy you were just talking to has been coming for over 30 years now. He was very surprised by this and asked for an interview with Orange Helmet. Their Quebec TV show is called Snow RIde and airs on Quebec’s largest outdoor TV channel, apparently. Naturally, I told Orange Helmet after his interview, that he has a face for radio.

Call time this morning was for skis’ up at 9am. We did good and were pulling out of the parking lot at 8:45. Then we were not doing good. We headed out on the trail, and at our first intersection to navigate, Orange Helmet, Action Dan and Connecticut were not confident we were on the right trail. There was debate about a trail that ran along the road, which we wanted to avoid, there was talk of back tracking the way we came in the night before, to a header trail back that way, there was talk of a trail accross a lake…to many decisions. So we headed back to the hotel and plotted our options.

Connecticut spoke with the Snow Ride group, that was just hitting the trail, and they said they knew the trail that we wanted, and for him to follow them to get the path. In the meantime, Action had already gone back to the original trail to further scout work.

After they all gathered back together with their respective reports, the decision was made to back track our night before trail, and follow it thru town, and jump on the lake for about a 9 mile lake crossing that was well marked. It was now 9:30am when we finally headed down the trail.

Another blue bird day on the trail. The trails were a mix of twisty/curvey, tight trails, and the wide open trails that we can make time on. More twisty/curvey than wide and open, and that is the difference between a high mileage day and a day like we had today. Beautiful trails and beautiful views all day, however.

At our fuel stop, at about the 60 mile mark, The Mail Man went a bit postal. Apparently he left a gap in the line of sleds and a young man on a long track sled slid in to gap for his fueling turn. That was ok, and quickly resolved peacefully, but apparently when the young man went to move to another pump he accidentally spun his track a bit, and threw some slush up on the windshield and hood of the Mail Man’s sled. That’s when he went postal. He didn’t take it out on the young man, but he sure let us in the group hear about it.

And down the trail we went. Our next stop was at a relaise on the trail, that was very busy with Saturday sled traffic. We went in, and a warming session, and ordered lunch. Many in this group really enjoy the hotdogs in Quebec, because I saw many hotdogs, being served, a couple vegetable soups, and Robere’ and I had the hot hamburger with frites. A great stop on the trail, by about 2pm, we were headed back down the trail.

About 20 miles from our overnight lodge, we stopped for one last old man break on the side of the trail. That’s when Connecticut Jim came up and told Orange Helmet we were missing two riders. We really hadn’t noticed, because there was a lot of trail traffic. Now, I don’t know the details, but the short version I got was that Farmer stopped along the trail somewhere behind us for photo opportunity and nobody was aware of it. Ole Man Ron decided he was the man to go back and look for him. Now we are missing two riders. So, we waited a bit longer, those that have them, had another cowboy killer, and before long, the two missing sledders had rejoined the group. As my friend Axl Rose said, have a little patience, it’ll all work out.

The final 20 miles were absolutely beautiful . We are in the Mt Valin mountain range, and we were twisting around stunning mountain views with snow covered pine tree’s that you could see out into the distance for just about forever.

Dinner is at 7:30, and IF I remember correctly, they have a pretty decent Onion soup here. I know the meals are always top notch, and I am looking forward to it.

That’s all I know for now, I’m sitting in the small bar section of the dining lodge with Bent Bumper Dave Terrell, having a cold Labatt Blue. I need to mention some thing about Bent Bumper… this man is 82 years old! And he is having the time of his life! He just told me that today he turned over 15,200 miles on his Ski Doo 850 Renegade and has over 1015 miles in the last 5 days alone! I can only hope I am as spry as this guy.

I have a few pictures but the wifi is not conducive to uploading, you’ll have to wait.

We shall see.

Bye for now

Stick

Frost Bytes Day 5; Smooth Trails And Another 200+ Mile Day

All riders arrived safely at Chateau Roberval at 5:15 pm. It was another blue bird day, with clear sunny skies and mild temperatures.

Our call time was 7am for breakfast, and 8am, ski’s up for departure. We had an estimated 230 miles to get in tonight. The breakfast menu did offer an extra couple options this morning, we could have, naturally, the eggs over easy or scrambled, a cheese omelet, French toast, or the crepes., with bacon or ham and of course dices potatoes. I chose consistency, and went with the over easy eggs, bacon and white toast.

While most of us were gathered at the appropriate time for our group breakfast, we were awaiting a couple stragglers, so Chip Nasty became assertive and told the polite young man taking our orders, and probably also cooking the food, that “we don’t have to wait for everyone to be here to order, we can get started.” I
chuckled a bit, and replied “so you make toast one day, and now you’re the Breakfast Captain!” He chuckled along with me.

My Ski Doo engine temperature gauge told me it was -4 degrees when I woke her up this morning. So the difference between a Yamaha starting in the morning or needing a bucket of cold water to warm it up is about 4 degrees (reminder: it was -8 the morning the two Yamaha’s needed water poured over the engines blocks to “warm” them up). I am sure that was a relief to Yamaha Kevin that his sled fired up without assistance this morning, albeit it did struggle a tinge.

By 8:05am, we were headed out. And by mile marker 1, we had already made a wrong turn. Action Dan got to the trail head off the main/only entrance to the lodge, and promptly turned left. We were supposed to turn right. We went another mile the wrong direction, and Connecticut Jim jumped thru the pack to converse with Action and get us back on track. Remember, it takes a village out here.

And then, at mile marker 2, Robere’ stopped the pack behind me, and let Connecticut Jim know that he had to run back to the lodge we had just departed. He forgot his phone. And in fairness to my UN-Edited UN-Redacted policy, I must convey that I had, unknowingly at this point, left my phone charger and plug behind as well, which he dutifully brought along with him. It takes a village out here.

The trails in this region are wide, smooth, soft bending turns, and just easy peasy, and joy to traverse. And when you’ve got 230 miles and 13 sleds in the pack, that’s what makes your day. Beautiful scenery ALL along the way. Our views were a mixture of open areas still recovering from forest fires years ago, to trails lined with birch trees, to trails lined with Pine trees, to trails lined with a combination. Going thru the open areas really reflects the beauty of the region, as well as the vastness of the area we are within. It really is beautiful country.

Our first gas stop was around the 90 mile mark. Nothing really to report. We stopped a couple times for old man breaks along the trail a couple times. At one of those breaks Connecticut Jim talked to Orange Helmet and Action Dan about a persistent trouble light that keeps flashing on, on his Yamaha dashboard. He let them know that when we get to Reliase 22 for our scheduled fuel and lunch spot, he and Wiki Rob will just be fueling, and moving on to Roberval, to see if they can get assistance at the local Yamaha shop. No Darkside trip is complete without a prerequisite stop at a Yamaha shop, just saying.

The group arrived at Relaise 22 after about 140 miles, at around 1pm. We fueled, and went inside one of our favorite overnight locations when in Quebec. It’s rustic charm, desolate location, and good food and service always pleases.

They were very busy for lunch, and an Olympic hockey game was turned up loud in the dining hall, and we settled in by the window table for a lunch of cheeseburgers, hotdogs, vegetable soups, and my wingman and I had the chicken wings. As we waited for our food the window seats gave us a great view of the heavy Friday traffic of sleds arriving and departing.

By 2:15pm, the now 11 riders were on their way down the trail. Pretty uneventful ride in. A few old man stops and a stop at a local warming hut for a split second, and we had 230 miles down, and fueled for tomorrow, and checked in the hotel by 6pm.

Well, there was one incident earlier. When the group of eleven was leaving Relaise 22, we failed to inform Farmer that Connecticut Jim and Wiki Rob were splitting off for the afternoon. After about a mile after our departure, as a good sweeper at the back of the pack, he noticed that we only had 11 riders, not the 13 he expected. He dutifully U-Turned, and as he straightened out, the Mail Man asked him “what’s up?” He stated his concerns of the missing riders, and Mail Man brought him up to date with the situation was. Good sweeper action right there. It takes a village.

I am sitting in hotel dining room/bar, enjoying a tasty cold blue mountain, and patiently awaiting the 8:30 dinner call. As I stated earlier, it is very bust here tonight. Probably 150 sleds in the parking lot, and the dining room is full.

We will have, finally, a very diverse menu available this evening. I still will not be able to have the Onion soup I generally love to have when in Quebec, because I really don’t care for their Onion soup here. I’ve tried it twice before, and it just doesn’t do it for me.

Just got a report from Connecticut Jim and WIki Rob, they actually got in about 40 minutes behind us, at around 6:15pm They got an extra SIXTY miles for their day, as the Yamaha dealer was 30 miles on the ‘wrong’ side of town from where our hotel is this evening. They had their second near 300 mile day in the last 3 days! Apparently, it was a moisture issue in the oil sensor gauge. They lubed it up to prevent moisture penetration, changed his oil filter, and he’s a happy rider once again.

That pretty much sums up the day. I have pretty decent wifi here, so I am going to attempt to upload a collage of pictures from the last few days below. If you see them, you’ll know I was successful, if you don’t see them, then I wasn’t.

Tomorrow’s destination is Auberge du 31. Another favorite location of ours in the Bush. I have no idea the expected miles as of yet. I think I recall decent wifi there, so if we are in for the night at a decent time, I’ll do my best to keep you updated.

We shall see,

Bye for now

Stick

Frost Bytes 2026 Days 3 & 4

Day 4, we are all in, and safe, at Club Goudin, and only 137 miles today. But let’s back up, and catch up.

Yesterday morning, as you may recall, we were responsible for preparing our own breakfast. Fortunately, we didn’t have to raise the chickens, or slaughter the pig, and there was eggs and bacon and white bread in the fridge for us to prepare our typical Snowmobiler Breakfast. Your expansive choices were scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage and white toast. Farmer Sean, the early riser he is, cracked the eggs early, while Steve prepared the bacon and sausages, and Chip Nasty was assigned to the toaster. Thank you gentlemen for your service, we were all fed well!

After breakfast I saw Connecticut Jim cleaning the dishes again. As the group was shuffling in and out of the lodge to load our machines, the Lady Proprietor entered the lodge. She was thoroughly impressed with our merry band of misifts. The dishes were clean and stowed, and she said she usually comes in to a sink full of dirty dishes, and she was very appreciative! Way to go guys, we finally made one good impression on the trail. I’m still curious if we were supposed to wash the sheets and make the beds…

Some or our trail discussion amongst the group at one of our 30/40 miles trailside breaks, was that it was probably good that we got to make our own breakfast. We were all pretty much gathered by 6am for breakfast, and decided that with 280 miles scheduled for the day, lets get an 8am start on the trail. We didn’t have to wait for orders to be taken, and food to be prepared. Worked out great!

Under any other circumstances, Stick would be very vocal, shall we say, about having to do 280 miles in a day. But with the new version 2.0 Stick we have these days, all he expressed was his excitement that we only had 280 miles to go!

And by 7:52, we were moving down the trail, headed to Lac Faillon, about 180 miles down the way. Nothing exciting on the way, just chugging along stopping every 30/40 miles for an old man break on the side of trail. And after about 90 miles we came across a small indian outpost is the best description I have. There was smattering of homes, and a small store with fuel pump. We didn’t expect this on our path, but it saved us from backtracking about 8 miles for our scheduled fuel location, further down the trail.

On to Lac Faillon, we rolled. Nothing exciting yet. Rest assured folks, the excitement is coming, give this group until about day 6/7, fatigue will set in, nerves will fray, and the real Darkside will expose itself.

Speaking of such, I had a bit of a revelation the other night after dinner. While I was preparing this stupid effing blog at our 13 person dining table, Connecticut Jim noticed I had not made a plate of lasagna yet. He kindly offered to make me plate, which I politely accepted. After dinner, Wiki Rob (Formerly Yamaha Rob) offered to clear my place setting, as I was still typing away on this stupid effing blog, which I again politely accepted. And then in one of my mini breaks of typing this stupid effing blog, I needed to slide past The Mail Man, who was seated at the end of the table. And as I was approaching he said, I’m sorry “sir”, let me move. My revelation was, this group is being exagerently polite to me. Maybe my lecture and warnings that we are going UN-Edited and UN-redacted set it in. I have also determined that I have found out who the class suck ups are. There will be no favortism boys! Accept the consequences of your trail behavior.

We arrived at Lac Faillon after 180 miles, and right at 2pm. Pretty good for a group of 13 and still maintaining our normal break schedule. We fueled and grabbed a quick lunch. The lunch system here is as follows, you go to one of the stand up coolers and select your choice of pre-prepared lunch selection of lasagna, ribs, a cold cut sandwich, vegetable soup, etc, take it to the microwave in the dining section of the lodge, microwave it, and tell the young lady behind the bar our name, and items selected. You retrieve your food items from the microwave section, sit and eat, and pay your tab on the way out.

Fastest lunch we have had on the trail. We were full, bills paid, and ready to roll down the trail by 2:45pm, with only 100 miles to go!

The next 100 miles, sorry to disappoint my 7 followers, were pretty uneventful. We did stop at a scenic overlook about 1/2 way, took a small break, Action Dan tagged the warming hut with a Darkside sticker, and Chip Nasty and Steve rode to the top of the lookout point, where they said you can see forever. And down the trail we went. But just wait, things pick up once we get in.

We arrived at one of our favorite stops in the Bush of Quebec, Clova, at around 5:30pm. Not bad, 277 miles on the ticker, and we were in before dark! Pretty easy on these trails, this far north. They are wide, smooth, soft bends, and easy to make time on. There are no cross roads, rail road tracks, or any other trails to cross. At the half way point you are 50 miles either side of assistance or help on the trail, should it need be.

After fueling, we went and picked out our rooms at the converted school house, that now operates as a lodging facilities for snowmobilers in the winter, and sportsmen in the summer, for fishing and hunting. Robere’ and I, not to our disappointment, took the room with bunk beds AND it’s own bathroom. Only 3 rooms have there own bathroom/shower, and no one else is interested in climbing up rickety wood ladder to their bed. But I’m a whore for my own bathroom, and we did not hesitate to claim that room. And I’m the team player that took the upper bunk.

Dinner was at around 7pm, and we were all excited for the steak dinner. We had a great steak last year on our visit, and this night’s meal was just as good. Came with a small salad and a twice baked potato. Can’t beat that on the trail.

As I stated on day one, we have a former Darksider, that has returned for another ride. Dave Terrell last rode with us in 2013. We met Dave when Orange Helmet and Stick did the MichSkanSa Ride from Sault St Marie Michigan to Tok, Alaska snowmobile ride, back in 2010. Dave was the Team Leader of our group, and he and his group of riding freinds joined us for a couple of Quebec trips afterwards. Now to clarify, Dave made it all the way to Tok Alaska. Orange Helmet and Stick, and our old partners, RSY and Ole, “only” made it 9 miles inside of Alberta Canada, and we ran out of snow. Our group decided to peal off and head to Wyoming for a week of snowmobiling, but Dave and his team continued on, and they made. Great story to hear what they had to go thru to finish the trip, chasing snow, and the conditions they endured. Another story, another time.

At dinner, Dave was seated across from me, and made the mistake of telling me about his arrival to the school house/lodging. He was backing his Ski Doo into a parking spot in front of the lodge, and, according to Dave, the throttle “stuck” and knocked him off his sled, and the sled ran backwards into the building! He failed to mention last night that he also broke a window on the lower level. I had to notice that myself this morning. He is fine, but he gained a new Trail Name: Bent Bumper.

Dinner was great, the company and conversation was excellent, and a good time was had. Even a couple double double white russians flew around the dinner table.

The start time was established as TBD, as we only had 130 miles to go on day 4.

99% of the riders were gathered for breakfast at 7:30am for the snowmobiler breakfast. In case you were wondering, the breakfast was your choice of scrambled or over easy eggs, white or brown toast, choice of bacon or sausage links, and potato squares. We love the variety. The 1% of riders we were missing was The Grinch, Yamaha Kevin, who said he had “acid reflux”, or as I said, that’s a new definition of white Russian hangover.

It was cold last night, -8 degrees according to my Superior Bombardier Product temperature gauge. Too cold for a couple Yamahas’. Orange Helmet and Yamaha Kevin had to get a couple trash cans of cold water to pour over their engine blocks, to “warm” them a bit, so they would fire up. Another “known problem”.

At breakfast, 10am was determined to be the launch time. And we were all set and good for the on time departure. Except Ole Man Ron. He couldn’t find the power cord to his heated helmet shield. Again. Finally by 10:15 we were headed down the trail.

It was about 90 miles to our scheduled gas stop. The day warmed up nice, and we had a sunny, blue bird day all the way. At our fuel stop, which was only a couple hours after our breakfast, we just ate snacks out of sleds, and took an extra few minutes, before we moved on down the trail.

We thought we were going to get a moose sighting on the trail today. We came across one section of trail, and saw ALOT of fresh moose tracks on and along the trail. We slowed down and craned our necks looking for the opportunity. No moose. Action Dan says he did see a Lynx on the trail yesterday. It’s hard for us following Action Dan to determine if he is pointing something out on the trail or is he just pumping his arm to the rythm of the music pumping in his helmet, or is he having a seizure.

We arrived this afternoon to Pourvoirie Barrage Gouin, at about 3:15pm and after about 127 miles. This is a new destination for our group. I like it. It’s VERY rustic. They provide fuel here, and we were told to fill our spare cans we carry on our sleds. We may need them tomorrow. Not that we have a long day, but we may have a long ride to our first gas stop.

We have three cabins here, with 6 guys in one, 5 in another and our two princess’s, I mean Trail Guides have a cabin to themselves.

I got the short stick, so to speak, and Yamaha Kevin is in our 5 star cabin. He got the room with two twin size beds, to share with his wingman Bent Bumper. Connecticut Jim & Wiki Rob are also cabin mates. But the story is with Kevin. He gets into his room and needs a wall plug. The wall plug is on the entry door, and the head of his bed is on the opposite wall. Now, me, I would’ve just moved my pillow to the opposite end of the bed, pulled the sheets down, and been good. Kevin thinks differently. He felt it wiser to “just” turn the whole mattress in reverse, as is. In his mattress moving adventure, and I have to say I, myself, don’t understand why this plumbing feature is hidden beside his bed, but there is what we estimate to be a plumbing blow out line on that wall. And as he was flipping the mattress, he hit the gate valve, and a rush of water began flooding his, and Bent Bumper’s, room. He semi-quickly found the gate valve and solved the problem, but the damage was done. He used our shower towels to clean up their floor, and now just has the verbal abuse to endure.

Ok, it’s dinner time. Lasagna or Haddock fish are the choices. Not much diversity in our menu this year, but we are surviving. Beats the hell out of the alternative.

We have, I guess, about 240 miles on the clock for tomorrow. I have plenty of good pictures to share, but I don’t have the Wi-Fi bandwidth to upload. You’ll have to wait.

We shall see,

Bye for now ,

Stick