I've gotten some info from this site all ready, but need more.

We are planning on riding from Houlton Maine to Matane to cross the river and then counter clockwise around Labrador. The problem is when we get to Lab City what to do from there. As we understand that there are a couple of options, the snow train back to Port Cartier, Ride to fermont and trailer back to Baie- Comeaeu, or ride the trail back to Port Cartier. We would like to ride back, but info on the trail is limited. Do you need a guide for this 240 miles?? Is there one in the area?? What is there #??

I have the GPS cords allready but fuel seems to be the problem. We are on renagades and can carry 6.5 us gals of fuel easy.

Any help would be great

Early Rider

I attempted this trip in 02, from Port Cartier to Lab City, we made it 83 miles north of Port Cartier the first day, the last 63 miles that day took us about 11 hours to traverse.
We made it to Lab City eventually via the snow express.

#1 You need a long track.

#2 You need good sea ice on the St. Lawrence.

#3 A guide is strongly recommended for the cross country sections.

#4 We rode in -50* F temps on St. Patty Days weekend.

#5 Blizzards and whiteouts up there can pin you down for days.

Let me know if your serious the trip isn't for the timid, and I have some I have unfinished business in the form of a loop that was never completed.

Vince

Just caught the part of the Renegades with 6.5 gallons of fuel :smilielol: :smilielol: all that fuel does is just sink you in the bottomless snow, see the 83 miles 11 hours, that was ZR 800's :smilielol: carrying jerry cans on our tails :frech32: and we had a Super Skandic 600 and a VK breraking trail for us, they towed us a lot too :doh: Not only do you need long tracks you need sleighs to haul gear and fuel.

I THINK that the conditions have improved greatly in recent years due to the Feduration pumping money to Lab and Newfoundland. We are serios riders, for the last four seasons i've done the ride from Houlton to Havre-Saint-Pierre. We have a ride contact in Natashquan but his info on the Lab to Port Cartier trail is thin. If it takes a guide than it takes a guide. We will complete the loop even if it is by train. Worse case you ride the snow rode from Fermont to Baie-Comeau and pay the fine. The have a contact that has a camp outside Manic-Cing and claims its done often. I've logged 50,000 + miles in the last five years alone i've riden in sub 40 before, we're on strangers to what the conditions can be and if get pinned down and it takes an extra two weeks so be it. Our goal is to ride the trail but if not oh well.

What i think i need is the # to couple of guides.
Some also suggested to come earlier to avoid heavy snow pack???

Andyman, did you make it all the way around last year?????

Thanks Early
87 days to first ride

You got the right attitude, listen the ride from Port Cartier to Lab City isn't a trail it's a mix of summer roads, logging roads, and lakes to Lab City, beautifull mountinous terrain and fuckin snow like I've never seen before or since.
Harve-Saint-Pierre to Blanc Sablon is where you will need good sea ice, Rt. 389 Baie-Comeau to Lab City is an option, but you would have to carry a lot of hyfax and carbides, we made it as far east as Churchill Falls then the trail ended we would have rode the Trans Labrador to Goose Bay but the road didn't have enough snow.

Call this guy Jacque with Northern Star Tours c/o L'Hotel Les Mouettes, Sept-Iles, QC 418-927-2899 tell him Vince said hello, he's good guy.

BTW do you know if they opened up that 220 mile wilderness trail going through the mountains near Cartwright?

Please elaberate on the trail ended.

I most have some bad info, because i was told that the road was rideable alitte to much ice and not enough snow in area's. Also that it is done often just be ready to pay the fines.

How did you guys get back down? What are the costs? Where was your hauler? Was the terrain the problem or the amont of snow? How were the locals, helpful?
Where did you stay in Lab City?

Sound like i may need to buy a summit for this trip.

Thanks
Early
80 days to first ride

The trail ended in Churchill Falls, to go any farther east we would have had to run the road, and it was scratchy we had spare carbide and hifax, but that road would have burned up the hifax in 30 miles easy, with enough snow the road would be a blast.

Here's the trip in a nutshell, we wanted too circle Labrador as you do, we knew that was out as there was no sea ice from Harve-Saint-Pierre to Blanc Sablon.
So the plan was to ride from Port Cartier to Lab City with a guide and from there ride the Labrador trails to Blanc Sablon and then ride back the way we came ( see it's not really a rerun because it's a different direction :smilielol: )
Anyhow we left Port Cartier at 7:00am with the Skandic and the VK towing freighter sleds full of fuel and supplies and we were pulling a fold a sled and a Cat Cutter with fuel and supplies our first 63 mile went pretty smooth the trail/road had been broke open by other sledders earlier in the season, the next 20 miles took us over eight hours to cover it was fuckall for the ZR's we constantly had to be towed by the Skandic and the VK we couldn't make it up the hills, we were on virgin snow in March that never saw any traffic or rain, we ended up spending the night at a railroad maintaince camp.

The next morning we attempted to go north again but again we could not get thruogh the deep snow, (let me explain real quick when one us would get stuck we jump off the sled and swim to the front and hook a rope tossed out by the guide to the spindles, then swim back to the seat and climb on, our feet never touched bottom on these manuevers) so we did an about face and headed south.

Since I had a sat phone :div20: I called my contact in Lab City and asked if they could get the Lab Express to Baie Comeau the next day, I was told call back in an hour, when I did they said the bus could be there at noon time. We continiued to ride south when we got to Port Cartier at 8:00pm we said goodbye to our guides and started to ride to Baie Comeau, spending the night in Baie Trinite and in Baie Comeau at 11:00am the next day.

The Lab Express showed up at 12:30 pm we loaded the sleds on the bus and it was party time for us, the road going north is insane up down left right snow covered, the huge dam Manic V appears in the middle of the bush :div20: in any event we arrived in Lab City at 11:00pm.

I woke up the next morning looked out the window and we were in a total whiteout, we were pinned down.
As you know we made it too Churchill Falls and we did ride a lot of the local trails around Lab City and Fermont. We took the Lab Express back to Baie Comeau,
there's a lot more to this story, all in all it was a great experience and a lot of laughs, I'm going back in 07 if conditions are right.

BTW it's awesome to ride with the caribou running next to you

PM me if you want to talk.

Terrain snow everything works against you up there mother nature is the boss, it's wild ass country.
The locals are outstanding people, I can't say enough good things about the folks up in Labrador :div20: :div20: :beerchug: :beerchug: Newfies rock :div20: :banana: :beerchug: :beerchug:

awesome story vince and early if you get this done you ll have to post in the general forum the only reason i saw the was cause i was screwing around with the snowcover map :banana: :worthless_without_pics:

Well we have a long way to go before i'll say where all set to go,
But so far we have a local from the south shore to ride with and we are talking to a couple of guides in Lab City. Also have made a great contact in Happy Vally with a warden and conservation officer. We're going to the show in Quebec city in October to meet some of these people. I am looking at going to lab city in November for one of my early rides and meeting the outfitter to drop tow sleds and gear for the ride down. The guide for Cartwight to Rigolet is set in case the trail is still not open. I have alot of contacts now and still would like more info so i'll pm you and get your # if you don't mind.

I by no means think we have it all figured out, but i feel that we are going about it the right way. A guy from our local area has done the loop and rides in lab city for two weeeks in Nov every year, waiting to hear from him.

Thanks
Early Rider
76 days to first ride

Sounds like your doing your homework :div20: and thats 1/2 fun, if your prepared to spend the night outside, have plenty of fuel and food your good to go :div20: plus long track sleds, that was our achilles heal our guide Jacque thought we would be good with the 1.25" tracks on the ZR's with the VK and Skandik breaking trail but once we hit that untracked bottomless snow it ate us up.

The unusual thing that year was that it never rained up in the high country it just snowed and in fact it was a blessing we got bogged down before we hit the lakes, on the way back from Lab City we stopped at the relais and started bullshitting with a guy who was at camp for a week with his family and he said the Skandiks, BearCats, and VK's were all getting hung up with slush and deep snow on the lakes, and those big wide tracks can just about go anywhere.

Give me a call Early, it's a fun trip to talk about.

PM me you #

Thanks Early

SOUNDS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME

Ask me when its over

http://www.labradorwintertrails.com/Groomi...pdate%20Map.htm

New Map

:smilielol: :smilielol: It'll be a good time :div20:

Vince
P.m. your # again please
Had a brain cramp and deleted my inbox

Thanks
Early

ANDYMAN,

Please remail your pm to me i lost it.

For some reason i can not print this topic.

Going to meet guide and contacts at the Quebec show Oct 14,15,16

Thanks
Early
64 days to first ride

Let me know who and how much these guys want for the trip.

Thanks, Vince

Vince
Met the guys at the show at the quebec expo center seem like real good guys. Plan to leave Port Cartier on Feb 27 to fermont then we are on our own from there.
they are trying to get us to wait one more year then they would take us alll the way around. But after meeting people and talking to a group from pa that do the loop and take the snow train back we'll be alright after we get to Fermont

Post more later
Early

Early did not realize you were over here also