Dinner last night was a hit. I had the baked spaghetti with melted fromage’ (cheese) on top, and I saw some seafood macrabe’ dishes (some sorta heavy cream sauce with shrimp & scallops) some baked chicken with BBQ sauce on the side. Always a nice dinner here.
Call time for departure this morning was the standard 9am. There is no gas facility in Perce’ this time of year, but,fortunately, the owner of Auberge Roland keeps a few 5 gallon containers of high octane on hand for the snowmobilers. At 30$ Canadian per 5 gallon can. Unfortunately, only Connecticut Jim, who has the small tank on this crew, needed to splurge for a can! (I have the feeling his days of being the small tank on the trail could change, but you will need to follow along and see what develops…).
We were on the trail by 9:15 am, and did our customary stop on the trail and got a group shot of ourselves with the Perce’ Rock in the background. We also took a moment to video record our group singing Happy Birthday to Action Dan’s mom, Marianne, and sent that to her on her special day (Hello Mom!).
Today’s ride was going to be thru the Chic Choc mountains and ending in Murdochville. We went thru this pass 2 years ago and it was simply stunning. The snow covered trees at elevation, and the sunny day provided spectacular views. This time we had a partly cloudy sky, but the snow covered trees and views were exceptional. Days like today is what this trip is about.
Also, days like today on the trail is what this trip is about! Surprisingly we had zero issues. Let me repeat that… ZERO issues. Let that sink in. I’m stunned myself.
We arrived at Hotel Copper at 1:10pm!!!! Let me repeat that…1:10pm. Let that sink in as well.
A plan was hatched at a break on the trail, since we really didn’t anticpate this early of an arrival ourselves, that we would go check in, take our saddle bags off, have lunch and go ride into the nearby mountains.
So, we checked in, removed our gear, had a nice lunch of Onion Soup and split a club sandwich, and then pretty much everybody retreated to their rooms, where I’m not sure what everybody else did, but Joe Snowmobile and myself took a nice afternoon nap.
Fast forward to 5:30, and it’s the witching hour. The group caught up with each other downstairs in the combined dining hall/bar, and I punched out another one of these life sucking blogs for my 7 followers, and we enjoyed happy hour until the dinner hour.
Pretty sure my self imposed curfew of 11pm was adhered to, and tomorrow’s call time is again 9am. It sure would be nice to string 2 smooth days together. Can we do it? We shall see…
Bye for now,
Stick
FrostBytes Day 10… So Much For Stringing Two Smooth Days Together…
This morning, it was standard operating procedure, up at 7am, breakfast at 7:30 and on the trail by 9am.
We had about 6 inches of fresh snow on the sleds, and we were all pretty much ready at the designated time. Except for Rob. He was going full tilt over his saddlebags. This is noteworthy. Rob is usually the most easy going guy on this trip. And to hear him dropping F bombs like a sailer startled me. The bitter cold and his exposed hands didn’t help his plight any. In normal circumstances I would have pushed a couple buttons, and seen how far we can take this, but better judgement prevailed ( I wasn’t sure he was aware of my rule of “No Hitting”). Instead I simply offered encouraging words of support and gave him a hug. He gathered himself, got his shit straight, and we were off.
It was a nice ride, probably a foot of new snow as we progressed up into the mountains, on the recently groomed trails. The first 45 miles went well. But that 45 mile mark has proven to be the stumbling block on this ride.
Connecticut Jim started his day with a Yamaha that wouldn’t start, but he narrowed it down quickly to a blown fuse. Problem solved.
Not so fast. At about the 35 mile mark, his sled just quit on the trail. He tried replacing the secong 20 amp fuse for the day, and it promptly blew upon insertion. Some locals were going by us in the opposite direction, stopped, and offered assistance as well. They gave Connecticut another 20 amp fuse, that promptly blew upon insertion. Now he borrowed a 30amp from Dylan, and it seemed to do the trick. We justed needed to get another 15 miles down, to the Cache Relaise’ on the trail. Well, he made it about 10 more miles before it just quit again. Time to pull the belt, tie the ski to the rear bumper of Chip’s sled, and hop on Action Dan’s two-up for the ride to the relaise.
Chip was doing a pretty good job be the tow truck driver. I was pleasantly surprised, as most days it’s entertaining enough watching Chip handle his own sled, let alone drive and tow one. But he did not disappoint. After about 3 miles of towing the down sled thru snow blown trails, and getting stuck off trail trying to pass a down tree, the broke down sled came detached, and the 6 sleds behind it came to halt, as we watched Chip continue down the trail, oblivious that he had lost his cargo.
Dylan took over tow truck operater status, and as we were about to get rolling again, Chip came back down the trail looking for his lost load. But that didn’t last long, as a big hill was coming up, and Dylans turbo charged superiour Bombardier Product just dug into the snow covered trail, and came to a halt. Back your sled up Chip, you’re getting another shot at this.
Chip got the broken Yamaha into Cache Relaise, where the leaders were already waiting for us. We fueled, and went inside to warm up and have a delicious lunch of Turkey a’la king. At the same time Connecticut was doing his best to remain calm, explaining to AAA that he needed a tow truck for his sled. He finally got that resolved, was told a tow truck would be at the relaise within 2 hours, take him to Matane, where the nearest Yamaha dealer is, and the rest of the group busted back out on the trail. (Thats’ how it is out here, once we know your ok, and your ride is coming, it’s Adios, see you tonight!)
Our destination was Village Grande Nature in Cap Chat (pronounced Cap Chaw). A beautiful lodge at the base of the Chic Choc Mountains, with cabins that sleep two comfortably. They come with a kitchen and living area on the main floor, and two bedrooms upstairs. And a wood burning stove that is kept stoked the entire time we are socializing.
A beautiful dinner of your choice of trout, ribs and I don’t remember the third option, as I don’t think I saw it on the table. The appetizer was ahi tuna, or blood sauasage ( I declined both) but the soup was a delicious combination of cauliflower and tomatoe. A great dinner and social hour was had, as we discussed Connecticuts plight and the odds of him abandoning his 30,000 mile Yamaha and getting a new SideWinder.
After dinner, a few of us gathered at Fearless Leaders and Hedgehog’s cabin for an adult beverage or three, and kept their wood burning stove stoked to the max. Chip came down and enjoyed a liesurely dip in the hot tub and -20 degree temps.
In a parallel universe, Connecticut was in Matane, and had checked into the local Quality Inn. He had dinner and a drink or four at the hotel bar/restaurant. He met a group of snowmobilers out of New York state, and they all commiserated his situation and made the best of his situation and enjoyed a little quality time with himself for the evening.
HIs last telephone conversation with our group, prior to our dinner, he had stated that if the dealer couldn’t get his sled ready before we came thru Matane, he was buying a new SideWinder, and he would be back on the trail with us! I love that attitude. No problems, just solutions. Plus that fact that we have waited 10 years for this situation to arise, where somebody would have to crack the nut and buy a sled on the trail!
Departure is scheduled for us at 10am, to let the sub zero temps, hopefully, rise to a more tolerable riding condition.
We Shall See…
Bye for Now,
Stick