Previous trips12 days, 4 regions,
893 miles, in Quebec
Region 2, North: Chibougamau, Chapais, Quévillon. |
september 12th and 13th, 2006
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!
We're just leaving Chibougamau for Chapais.
Pretty impressive, all that wood lying on the side of the road for miles.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Yeah ! Work well done!
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Thumbs up to all who worked on the Chiboum-Chapais trail.
Very well maintained and signed! |
Bof... |
What?? $10.95 For a club sandwich!! |
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I guess remoteness has a cost. |
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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...
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!)
...got to love your neighbour...and guess what: Rumour has it some folks don't speak to
each other...
On the way to Quévillon, trails are sometimes very wide...
...and sometimes just too narrow!!
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.
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!
Tonight, it's total darkness and the only thing we can hear are the "huards"
singing...so much better than the neighbours music...
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... |
to see all the
tricks and infos
click here |
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