The Making of a Cross Canada Route

[Dan Alexander]

I had no idea it was so rugged .... beautiful stuff!!

[gunnerbuck]

Originally Posted by Dan Alexander

I had no idea it was so rugged .... beautiful stuff!!

Here is another from last weekend:

Were still waiting for a bridge to the big Island...

The KTM conspiracy.... We picked up Paul and headed out to meet Lars, this part worked to plan...

Because darkness was closing in we rode about 100 km and decided to camp at Vernon Lake rather than pushing on.... Good thing Ted brought the fire fan to help get wet wood
burning...

Paul busy relaxing in his fancy lounger...

The next morning we had to pack up pronto and go as Eric was waiting for us and we had 150KM of mostly gravel to get to him before our 10:30 window...

We lucked out with the weather again...

The only daytime pix of Lars as he directs camp traffic... Thank you for tagging along...
We blazed out of camp and it looked like we were running late so no time for pics along the way...

Eric had been waiting for us for over an hour and was just ready to leave when we showed up... He had another fellow with him who turned back at Cambell because of the steady rain...

After we worked our way up to elevation we had this weather for the day and not a drop of rain, fantastic...



We parked the bikes and got underway on foot at noon...

The hike up is stellar...

Close to an hour through clear open forest and then you pop out into the alpine..

Reaching the ridge...



f

We hiked up to the summit and then stopped for lunch...



Looking over the drop off into never never land..

On the second part of the hike we had to go over the summit and down the other side..

We dropped back down into the timber and when the GPS said the plane was there, it wasn't... After some time wasted zig zagging below the co-ordinates we decided to head out but do a zig zag on the way up to see if we could find the wreck

Eric found a propane bottle and the ground became familiar to me, then, there it was...

Because of the time wasted looking we had a shorter time than wanted to visit the wreck... While on a small rock bluff above the wreck I dislodged a rock and yelled for Paul to watch out... As he got out of the way and watched the rock bounce by something shiny caught his eye...

This...

After much deliberation we decided to try to return this to MR Lunns surviving family and if that wasn't possible we'll return it back to the crash site, Stay tuned...

One last shot as we headed out...

The drop down and the climb back up from the wreck is definitely the most demanding part of the hike...

A couple more vista shots before going over the top on the return leg...

After about 6 hours we made it back to the bikes and headed homeward... Eric south, us north..


It was great having Eric along as he is a wealth of knowledge and was able to identify various bits and pieces of the plane for us... The wheels are now turning on visiting more POIs in the future... Thanks guys for tagging along and please post some of your pics...

David..
More pictures from Eric: He could not get the DSBC photo gallery upload to work {I had the same problem last time I tried} so I'll try something different...

P2V-3 Neptune had a top speed of 545 KPH (338 MPH), 100' wingspan, 70' nose to tail





O2

1 of 2 Rotary Wright R-3350-26W engines, 2,390 kW (3,200 HP)

Ted standing on the tail where 2- 50 cals were mounted







Summit benchmark...
f

[hardwaregrrl]

Wow! You guys are so lucky to live where you live. I hope you you find the family. I'm certain they will be overwhelmed with the sentiment!! Good on you!!

[Dan Alexander]

F'ing incredible, once in a lifetime find guys.

Good luck on locating the family, they will be so thankfull.

[ZZR_Ron]

Jenna: I think I said "yall gonna like this, but I didn't say it was easy!

(I even said ya'll)

Or is that yaaaaaaaa'lllll?

[R_Lefebvre]

Nice trip report.

But I have to say, that pole-winch idea... brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I've seen a lot of recovery operations and tricks, important with a truck because pushing never works, but I've never seen that one before. I've got to file that one away in my brain. I could have used that a few years ago when my bike was stuck in the mud and I was all alone and didn't have the strength to pull it out myself. I found a rope in the bush, but it didn't help much simply pulling on it. I ended up getting a pole and just levering the bike sideways out of the mud. Took 2 hours.

Maybe I'll let Ted try it next time he does this:



;)

[dmottv]

Originally Posted by Deadly99

Got an early start and hit the road to Quebec. About an hour of slab to get to a town called Cambelton which sits on the border between the Gaspe Penninsula (Quebec) and New Brunswick. Some nice hills on this drive.

Temperatures were getting colder as we moved north so we stopped at an atv shop and a Candian Tire and bought some warmer supplies. Cambelton appears to be a cool place, a nice ski hill just outside of town and a senice bridge over the St Lawrence river.



The coast rode down the Gaspe was great. The time of year provided us with almost no tourists and the speed limits in Quebec are amazing. 90 km/hour through small villages made me feel like I was racing Isle of Man at times In Canada going 10 over the limit is acceptable for most folks, whizzing past children playing at 100 km/h takes a bit of getting used to but it seems to be the flow

We were doing the tourist thing and taking in the scenery and checking out the sites. Living in a landlocked part of the country, a coastal ride was a real change and quite enjoyable.

I had spent quite a bit of time researching the TNE route across the Gaspe. Part of it was based on experience from previous trips to the area and part of it was from using online mapping software. Sadly it didnt work out well. The first loop we tried to do up into the hills presented us with a gate and what appeeared to be a private road. The second loop up into the hills I had planned used a road that simply did not exist, or if it did it was some years back as we couldnt locate it anywhere near where it was supposed to be. The third loop was to be the big one, one I had ridden a few years back. It started off by following a major trunk road up into the hills and I was amazed when we ran across a bridge that had been removed by mother nature and not replaced We had a coffe at this point I realized the Gaspe would need a complete rework for the TNE, not a bad thing as the consilation proze was the coastal road. I am unsure what to do with the Gaspe in regards to the TNE route, part of me is thinking a quick blast across it and save the Gaspe for its own multi day route as the potential is there for it to be a full on destination rather than just a part of the TNE. I'll have to give this some serious thought this week. The Gaspe isnt too far from where I live (10 hour slab ride) and I can foresee me coming back and spending a week and creating a real nice route with a combo of coastal paved roads and gravel logging roads in the mountains

Ted, just finished catching up on your adventure scouting the TNE. Excellent report, I'm looking forward to doing the ride. The Gaspe section sounds like it's still a challenge. There's alot of atv'ing and snowmobiling in the Campbellton, NB and Matapedia, QC areas:



This pic taken August of 2010 at the Sugarloaf Campground in Campbellton. I've seen similar groups over in Matapedia along the 132. I've taken the Kempt Rd west from Cross Point, QC with the truck for aways before I turned around cause I had to get back for a reunion, so there's definite potential there. I just need to take a week in the North Shore, and get out on the KLR and do some exploring, unless someone else beats me to it. Sorry, I couldn't join you guys, the schedule just didn't work out. Again, thanks for all your excellent work, I'm looking forward to enjoying the routes you have mapped out.

[Deadly99]

Next time

[wheezyryder]

Originally Posted by R_Lefebvre

Nice trip report.

But I have to say, that pole-winch idea... brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I've seen a lot of recovery operations and tricks, important with a truck because pushing never works, but I've never seen that one before. I've got to file that one away in my brain. I could have used that a few years ago when my bike was stuck in the mud and I was all alone and didn't have the strength to pull it out myself. I found a rope in the bush, but it didn't help much simply pulling on it. I ended up getting a pole and just levering the bike sideways out of the mud. Took 2 hours.

Maybe I'll let Ted try it next time he does this:



;)

Hello R Lefebvre this is Mike aka Wheezyrider. I'm the guy on the KLR that rode with Hardwaregrrl. Have to admit I'm proud of this idea. Inspiration born of desperation. It was cold and rainy and I just wanted a beer and some restaurant food. I channeled the spirit of Macgyver and Bear Grills and the pole-winch system (good name for it I think) is what I came up with. I had tried to push Hardwaregrrl's bike from behind while she worked the clutch and throttle, and had some good-size stones thrown hazardously close to my stones. The pole-winch system put me on the safer side of Jenna's rear wheel.
We dug the hole just wide enough to fit the pole. The side of the hole facing the bike was dug straight up and down to catch the butt of the pole, and the back was sloped away from the bike to allow more range of motion. Cut down a Birch tree about 10 feet tall and 4 inches in diameter. Stuck the butt-end off the pole in the hole and tied a strap to it about 2 feet above ground level. Tied the other end of the strap to the front of the bike frame. Each pull of the lever got about 8-10 inches of forward progress. Twisted the pole to take up extra slack in between pulls. Worked like a charm.

[Deadly99]

Originally Posted by wheezyryder

I channeled the spirit of Macgyver .

[skibum69]

Le Pin Rouge on the Gaspé is supposed to be great skiing with a view of the Chic Chocs from the top for more great backcountry skiing

[Deadly99]

Rode part of the route today in eastern Ontario. Beautiful time of year to be on the trails

[Deadly99]

A couple more pics from the weekend ride

[ArthDuro]

Originally Posted by wheezyryder

Hello R Lefebvre this is Mike aka Wheezyrider. I'm the guy on the KLR that rode with Hardwaregrrl. Have to admit I'm proud of this idea. Inspiration born of desperation. It was cold and rainy and I just wanted a beer and some restaurant food. I channeled the spirit of Macgyver and Bear Grills and the pole-winch system (good name for it I think) is what I came up with. I had tried to push Hardwaregrrl's bike from behind while she worked the clutch and throttle, and had some good-size stones thrown hazardously close to my stones. The pole-winch system put me on the safer side of Jenna's rear wheel.
We dug the hole just wide enough to fit the pole. The side of the hole facing the bike was dug straight up and down to catch the butt of the pole, and the back was sloped away from the bike to allow more range of motion. Cut down a Birch tree about 10 feet tall and 4 inches in diameter. Stuck the butt-end off the pole in the hole and tied a strap to it about 2 feet above ground level. Tied the other end of the strap to the front of the bike frame. Each pull of the lever got about 8-10 inches of forward progress. Twisted the pole to take up extra slack in between pulls. Worked like a charm.

Good solution indeed.
I had friend I would go 4wheeling with quite often a while back.
He carried 2 5ft long rock pry bars on his rack. Portable tie offs he called them.
They came out often in the stuck-but-no-tree-in-strap-range situations.

[GISdood]

Originally Posted by Deadly99

A couple more pics from the weekend ride

Air UNDER a KLR's tires? Wow... nice job photoshopping out the crane & cables!