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