Previous trips

12 days, 4 regions, 893 miles, in Quebec

Region 2, North: Chibougamau, Chapais, Quévillon.

september 12th and 13th, 2006

<< journée précédente / day before          following day /  journée suivante >>

We figured: Perfect place to sleep, no bears in the area. A good night sleep would be nice.

Well, we were right, there were no bears but, there were helicopters, giant wood hauling trucks and the neighbours music...

Note: Tent camping. It's always a little chaotic, is'nt it? What a mess!dejeuner_12sept.jpg (51042 octets)

 

We're just leaving Chibougamau for Chapais.
Pretty impressive, all that wood lying on the side of the road for miles.
rangee_bois.jpg (35725 octets)

 

With so many giant matches, we could have quite a bonfire to keep us warm all night, for a change...

It might seem dramatic to see all these downed trees, but don't worry, there's still plenty of forest around here. In fact, after riding on miles and miles of forest roads, I would say that forest fires cause a lot more damage than woodcutters do.rangee_bois_2.jpg (55459 octets)

 

Contrary to most places that we've been through on our way here, between Chibougamau and Chapais, there are trail signs every where! The trail is simply fabulous, with breath taking vistas from the mountain tops.chapais_vue.jpg (111019 octets)

 

Lots of work has been done. Bridges, a rest area complete with table. fire pit and firewood. To get across a swamp, a piece of canvas a couple of hundred feet long was laid on the ground and covered with gravel to provide a solid support for the quads. Thanks to the Chapais Lynx!chapais_club.jpg (76970 octets)

 

Town: Chapais.

Services: Food, fuel, grocery, hardware store, every thing a quadist needs...

People are friendly, we feel welcomed in town. Some are pretty curious and ask a lot of questions about our equipment and future trip.chapais_ville.jpg (31879 octets)

 

 

titre_aujourdui.gif (1037 octets)titre_today.gif (368 octets)
Yeah ! Work well done!
Yeah ! Thumbs up to all who worked on the Chiboum-Chapais trail. Very well maintained and signed!
Bof... What?? $10.95 For a club sandwich!!
Bof... I guess remoteness has a cost.

 

The next section of trail is kind of easy to follow. It's an old railroad track we have to use for over 100 miles...Deep in the north woods, surrounded with lakes, rivers, there's only one way to go, so here at least, we're not likely to get lost...chapais_sentier.jpg (69525 octets)

 

Some 90 miles later...

Welcome to Miquelon.   Population: 13!

13!!

Does that mean some poor fella lives out alone in miquelon?!?

And I thought I lived in a small village...

Services:The town administration opted for a multi-disciplanary concept:

Here's a view of the gas station-convenience store-car and truck parts store-hunting and fishing gear outlet-restaurant-bar-pool hall-tourist info-motel-low cost lodging building...(Ouff! Quite a mouthfull!)miquelon2.jpg (45050 octets)

 

...got to love your neighbour...and guess what: Rumour has it some folks don't speak to each other...miquelon.jpg (46952 octets)

 

 

On the way to Quévillon, trails are sometimes very wide...sentier_large.jpg (30723 octets)

 

...and sometimes just too narrow!!sentier_track2.jpg (91496 octets)

 

sentier_track.jpg (104201 octets)

France: "You sure it's the right way?"

Marc: "Honey, the guy said: Just follow the old tracks all the way, you can't miss it".

France: "Yeah! Except now it's not an old track, it's a track!!"

Marc: "Guess it's time to take out the GPS again!"

As a matter of fact, we should have taken the last road on the left...Thanks Mr. Garmin.

 

 

Once in Lebel-sur-Quévillon, we could'nt just drive by the chance to wash a bit of it off.lave_auto.jpg (37012 octets)

 

Town: Lebel-sur-Quévillon

Population: 4500 approx.

Main employer: Domtar.

State of the mill: Closed (Ouch!)

We asked the manager of the one and only gas station in town if he knew a good camping spot not too far. It just so happens he's a member of the local quad club and knows the way to an isolated beach on lake Cuvillier, about half an hour from town. Exactly the kind of spot we're looking for: Quiet sandy beach, wooded area, very remote, we call it S.T.P. (saint tabern... peace).

 

Do you know the meaning of happiness while camping in the wild?
Click here to find out!

 

 

Despite being late and kinda coolish, it feels gooood!lac_lave.jpg (35091 octets)

 

Tonight, it's total darkness and the only thing we can hear are the "huards" singing...so much better than the neighbours music...huard.jpg (19526 octets)

 

 

Les trucs et conseils
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Multi-use biodegradable soap:

-good for the environment

-good body wash

-good for your hair-works as good as any other shampoo

-good to wash the dishes-not a lot of foam-makes it easy to rince off

-scent free-sorry bears no "wild berries" scent here...

Do it all camp soap...

savon.gif (24329 octets)

 

to see all the
tricks and infos
click here

<< journée précédente / day before            following day /  journée suivante >>


Les cartes titre_maps.gif (356 octets)

Vue d'ensemble/
general view

cliquer pour agrandir
>> Cliquez pour agrandir /
>> Click to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

titre_weather.gif (461 octets)
 
50C   122F
     
  40C   104F
     
30C   86F
     
20C   68F
     
10C   50F
     
0C   32F
     
-5C   23F
     
-10C   14F
couvert1.gif (1305 octets) sunny on the 12th.
Cloudy, windy and cool on the 13th
Vent:
Wind:
___km/h
_20mi/h
   


 

 

 

 


Les sentiers titre_trails.gif (371 octets)

Facile

Moyen

Difficile 

Easy

Moderate

Difficult 

A little bit of challenge over the hills but very easy to follow due to great signing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Les statistiques titre_stats_eg.gif (394 octets)

  • fuel on the 12th:$26.45
  • fuel on the 13th:$67.00
  • food: $72.87
  • 92 miles on the 12th
  • 104 miles on the 13th
  • miles total to date: 496
  • towns visied: 4
    (including Miquelon...)
  • lunch (resto): $20.45

 

 

 

 

 

Les Oscars-The Oscars:
award.jpg (1717 octets) LE PLUS APPRÉCIÉ

The most appreciated...

The good work of the Chapais lynx. Hats off!


                 repas.jpg (625 octets)

Déjeuner/ Breakfast: Toasts and coffee

Dîner / Lunch: With the cool wind outside, we appreciate the cozyness of sitting dwn at a restaurant.

Souper / Dinner: Sizzling steaks...Hummm!
Hot dogs on the flames, the next day...not bad.

 


 

 

 

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