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Fran and I spent Wednesday night at the Motel Arnold in Woburn, Quebec and were the first ones in their restaurant on Thursday morning at 5:30. (by the way, if you're coming into Canada from Pittsburg, - Canada Customs in Chartierville only opens at 8am) We then traveled ice and windswept snow covered roads through Notre-Dame-des-Bois and Chartierville. Once in Chartierville, we headed to the end of Rue St-Paul just as the town plow was clearing the turnaround area. The driver informed us that it would be OK to park for the day here. Of course he noticed we had Maine plates and wanted to know where we came from. It appears he had worked in Lewiston in the late sixties, and that we knew some of the same people. Mr. Duquette then obligingly widened the turnaround so that our car would be less of a nuisance to the school buses using this turnaround. (from this point on, Rue St-Paul is an unimproved dirt road, which soon swings South and heads up the side of Salmon - it appears as a double dashed line on topos)
We stepped out of the car in the early morning sun with a biting North wind that would accompany us all day. We started out barebooting on an ungroomed, single tracked, snow covered snowmobile trail. This was the same route we had scouted last Fall. In about an hour we were at the swath (about 1/4 mile North of the pond). Our first impression of the swath was that of a snowcovered downhill ski trail. Its surface was hard and covered with 0 to 12" of snow. (what we didn't know at this time was that the swath, over our entire traveled distance from d'Urban to Salmon, would be snowmobiled over 50% of its width and covered with just the right amount of snow).
We put on our snowshoes, mostly for traction, and were quickly on d'Urban. We then headed back down to the pond and towards Snag. A few times, we were tempted to bushwhack a straight line on the Canadian side where the border zigged and zagged. However the flat, hard, smooth surface of the swath always convinced us to simply follow it along. After Snag, we headed South down to the col. Once in the Snag/Salmon col, we now had to climb the steep Salmon side of the col. Incredibly (I couldn't believe my eyes), its entire steep width had been snowmobiled except for the ledgy areas. The angle to the sun had made the snowmobile tracks too slippery for our tastes - and past unfortunate experience. We headed for the deeper snow in the woods and pulled ourselves up tree by tree. Once out of the col area, the rest of the way to Salmon was easy.
Once back down to the col, we agreed not to go back up Snag. We decided to head out of the col on a 326-degree bearing. The goal was to hit the upper limits of the dirt road on which the car was parked. We had walked this dirt road last Fall up to a point due West of Snag. As it turned out, we followed our noses mostly, and occasionally the compass. Single track snowmobile tracks led out of the col in wide open woods, in the general intended direction. Where we encountered other snomo tracks, we always chose the ones going to the NW. In about 30 minutes, we hit our snomobiled road which we followed back to the car.
Now, it was on to Pittsburg for day 2.
We stepped out of the car in the early morning sun with a biting North wind that would accompany us all day. We started out barebooting on an ungroomed, single tracked, snow covered snowmobile trail. This was the same route we had scouted last Fall. In about an hour we were at the swath (about 1/4 mile North of the pond). Our first impression of the swath was that of a snowcovered downhill ski trail. Its surface was hard and covered with 0 to 12" of snow. (what we didn't know at this time was that the swath, over our entire traveled distance from d'Urban to Salmon, would be snowmobiled over 50% of its width and covered with just the right amount of snow).
We put on our snowshoes, mostly for traction, and were quickly on d'Urban. We then headed back down to the pond and towards Snag. A few times, we were tempted to bushwhack a straight line on the Canadian side where the border zigged and zagged. However the flat, hard, smooth surface of the swath always convinced us to simply follow it along. After Snag, we headed South down to the col. Once in the Snag/Salmon col, we now had to climb the steep Salmon side of the col. Incredibly (I couldn't believe my eyes), its entire steep width had been snowmobiled except for the ledgy areas. The angle to the sun had made the snowmobile tracks too slippery for our tastes - and past unfortunate experience. We headed for the deeper snow in the woods and pulled ourselves up tree by tree. Once out of the col area, the rest of the way to Salmon was easy.
Once back down to the col, we agreed not to go back up Snag. We decided to head out of the col on a 326-degree bearing. The goal was to hit the upper limits of the dirt road on which the car was parked. We had walked this dirt road last Fall up to a point due West of Snag. As it turned out, we followed our noses mostly, and occasionally the compass. Single track snowmobile tracks led out of the col in wide open woods, in the general intended direction. Where we encountered other snomo tracks, we always chose the ones going to the NW. In about 30 minutes, we hit our snomobiled road which we followed back to the car.
Now, it was on to Pittsburg for day 2.
