SNOW GOER MAGAZINE SNOW TIME AWARD: BEST SNOWMOBILE TOUR OPERATION

“Snow Goer readers voted (by a landslide vote!), New England Bob’s as the “ #1 Best Snowmobile Touring Operation” in the March issue’s 2003 Snow Time Tourism Awards (up from the previous year’s #2 rating!)”

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Adventure and Security: Can they co-exist?

You know how it goes…all of my friends had a good excuse (if there is such a thing), for why they couldn’t go to Québec for the week. I decided to plan my own trip starting in Sherbrooke Québec. I left my truck in Sherbrooke and sledded to Rivière-du-Loup and after a week of riding, return to my truck in Sherbrooke . In Rivière-du-Loup, I met New England Bob who was waiting for his friend John to arrive. John was a professional snow-cross racer and New England Bob is the owner of New England Bob’s Québec Adventures, (snowtours.com; Snow Goer Readers’ #1 choice in the Snow Time Awards for “Best Snowmobile Tour Operation 2003”). Bob and John had sledded together for 19 years. These guys were real professionals and knew a ton of stuff about how to diagnose and set up a sled! Bob is a real “saddlebag junkie”, equipped with satellite phone, GPS and more stuff under his hood than I have room to mention! I was about to learn what goes into planning a secure expedition adventure while keeping a high level of security ! We hit it off well and I accepted the invitation to come along on this “Gaspé pre-run”, not really knowing what to expect.

Bob’s clients were coming in for the next week. John and Bob were to pre-run the trip to make sure that all was well before they arrived. Bob told me of how he studied the peninsula’s roads in his car and the trail system on his sled before offering up this great expedition as one of his guided adventures. They had spent some three and a half weeks sledding out on the peninsula at the end of the previous season meeting all of the hotel owners, dealers, mechanics, towing services, police and rescue services including their non 911 or *4141 phone numbers, (Emergency numbers dialed on US cell and satellite phones do not work in Québec), hospitals, sled clubs, restaurants and critical gas stops with mileages in between stops. There were rivers to cross and ways to go around them in case of thin ice. The goal was planning a secure and pleasant adventure trip on the Gaspé. But…why would anyone be so cautious before taking a trip?? Could it really be that risky? I learned that 1400 miles of unfamiliar trail is risky! What I learned about sledding in Québec during that week was worth decades of experience!!

The night before we left, I remember looking at the map of the Gaspé. Some of my thoughts were: There is a trail #5 that goes around the peninsula; I’ll take it. Then Bob countered: “Why go into all of those towns and ride sidewalks?” We didn’t see much of trail #5! Why would a seasoned sledder like me want to ride with a guide? I learned more in a week than I could ever have learned in years sledding with the same old guys in the same old places! Could this trip be boring with a guide? It was anything but boring! Will the guide keep up or hold me back? That never happened! Could it be that John and New England Bob were “babysitters” for a group of novices? Definitely not! On our last day, we met the group of riders…all seasoned riders with serious sleds! They were in for the adventure of their lives with a supreme level of security!

For the next 7 days, we pre-ran the Gaspé Trip. Everywhere that we went, everyone knew Bob and gave him priority for services! When John’s Arctic Cat needed parts, Bob knew where to find a supply of parts and guys that knew how to work on them! (There are no Arctic Cat dealers on the Gaspé map). When it came to cross three rivers on the tip of the peninsula, Bob knew who to call ahead of time to find out the thickness of the ice and safety of the river crossings. One of the rivers was not safe and we rescued some folks from Prince Edward Island whose two sleds (with their riders) had fallen through the ice! It looked safe and the trail went there!! Wow…another myth! Bob knew how to bypass these rivers via the roads and on to the hotel we went! It was great to get in that night and not have gotten wet! (Not so for the others.) What an adventure! (I say that “Adventure and Security do Co-exist!”) On another occasion, I questioned the decision to get gas after having only gone 19 miles on a full tank. Bob knew that the next gas stop would be a full 100 miles in a wilderness area. A hidden gas stop, not visible from the trail, was necessary and Bob knew where to find it! Another myth: “The trail wouldn’t go there if there was no gas.” All hotels were reserved in advance, had with rooms and great meals under the same roof. (We enjoyed a 5 course meal while a dozen sleds arrived only to be turned away into the dark cold night because the hotel was full! Some days we went 260 miles and were in at 5 pm and other days we went 140 miles and arrived at 5 pm . What I learned was that it all looks flat on the map and mileages depend on terrain! It is not about the miles…they will happen whether or not you look at the speedometer! The “big trail #5” on the map that most would take was Bob’s least favorite. We took trails that most would never choose riding incredible trails and avoiding going into town for no reason.

As we get older and wiser, we develop a huge appetite for adventure and an awareness of the inherent risks such as changing water levels, dangerous ice, theft and lack of resources. Most guys invite some buddies for an adventure sled trip. They head into unfamiliar areas without proper equipment or that intimateknowledge of the area ! Everyone thinks that nothing catastrophic will happen to them …it only happens to others. Most think “If the trails are marked, how can we get into trouble?” (Even if the mercury is at -30 degrees, everything is not frozen!” It is never all frozen! “The trail goes there; it must be OK”… More myths! Now I realize that this kind of thinking is a false and dangerous sense of security!

As I started my return to Sherbrooke , I had some scary thoughts: After seeing how New England Bob evaluated secure parking and the measures that he took to insure it, I wondered if my truck would be there when I returned. I wondered what number I would call on my cellular phone (if it worked) should the need of repair or medical assistance present itself. 911 would only get me police in my home area… too far away. I hoped that my machine did not break down since I did not know where all of the dealers were or a short cut to get there. I got gas at every stop and hoped that it was enough to get me to the next. I hoped that all of the water ways and lakes that I would be crossing were safe to cross as I did not know where they were or where to call to find out if they were safe. As a matter of fact, (don’t tell my wife), the trip I planned was not even from the best starting point… (I ran out of snow and needed to get a trailer transport back to my truck).

After riding with New England Bob and John, I appreciated and missed greatly the level of security, safety and knowledge that New England Bob provided! Riding with Bob was like riding with a friend that knew the area as intimately as we know those “day trip” hotels where we rented a room for several days and rode the same trails out and back to the same hotel day after day, year after year. We never saw the same trail twice; Bob always knew where he was and where all of the resources were… Adventure with security; they do co-exist…Less danger and risk equals more fun and less down time!

Phil Casey, Granby MA

My personal experiences the winter of 98:
Larry Swift, Chatham, NY

I went on two trips with Bob. We covered a total of 1604 unforgettable miles together. He took care of everything. All I did was ride and enjoy the wonderful scenery. And ride we did, from beautiful gorges to wide open wilderness on trails as smooth and fast as any super highway. I would describe the trips as more like rallies than tours. Settling in many times at 75 to 80 miles per hour for 40 or 50 miles at a clip. If you wanted to go faster Bob would pull over and let you go, but that didn't happen often.

The first trip was very, very cold (the days would warm to -10 below Fahrenheit) and we needed to take special care of our equipment and ourselves. On this trip we covered 707 miles in 4.5 days. The trip started and ended in Baie St. Paul and is the Charlevoix-Sagenay trip. The accommodations and meals were all first class and it was a trip I will not forget.

The second trip was the last of the season, when the nights are cold and days warm to above freezing. The trip was scheduled in advance and Bob called at the last minute to tell us where to meet him because many of the lakes, rivers and gorges were very dangerous or unpassable. We stopped more than once for Bob to call a local club president to get the latest update on a lake or river crossing. You should know that Bob speaks fluent French (very important in the bush). The trip was a modified Lac St-Jean loop and each day was better than the next. We rode the last 100 miles in the rain, with a smile on our faces, knowing that we had gotten all the season had to offer.

At night we would have wonderful meals, a few drinks and discuss the days ride and the fun we had. What still amazes me is that on an average day we would see less than a dozen sleds. Bob likes to say that of the 21,000 miles of trails in Quebec province, 80 percent of the people ride on the less than 2,000 miles of them. I can assure you that the trips I took are on trails where very few people ride.

THINK SNOW!!! I can't wait to go again and again and again.

Larry Swift
Chatham, NY