The Coast

The day that we left for the Lower North Shore, the biggest blizzard of the year was starting to move towards the East Coast.  As we left Montreal, we were told that it was very windy on the Lower North Shore, and that we might get stuck in Sept Iles.  That prediction unfortunately turned out to be correct, and we ended up spending that night in Sept Iles.  Weather is always a concern whenever we fly to the Coast, but knowing that there was a major blizzard coming our way, got us concerned that we would end up spending the whole week-end in Sept Iles.  We only had one week of vacation, so we did not want to spend it in a hotel room waiting to see when we would be able to leave.

The next morning we found out that things were really backed up because of the windy conditions, but were very glad to hear from Lloyd Jones that Air Labrador was bringing in a second flight from Saint John’s NFLD.  This additional flight cleared up the backlog, and got us back to La Tabatiere mid afternoon.

I understand that there is not much that can be done about the weather, but we were very grateful for the extra effort that Air Labrador made to get everyone home.  They definitely do a great job of operating regular flights to this remote region, and on top of that, they are the only airline that I know of that still serves sandwiches on their flights.

When I was growing up on the Lower North Shore, the best time of the year was when there were carnivals and hockey tournaments in the winter. Of all of the Carnivals, the one that you had to go to was the Saint Augustine Carnival. It always seemed to be the most lively, and the most fun.

This year when I was on vacation, I found out that the Saint Augustine Carnival was taking place during the first week-end that we were visiting. I called my friend Lloyd up, and he offered to allow us to stay at his place while we were in Saint Augustine, and then we were off on Ski-Doo.

The ride down was great. There was a light snow, but it was a relatively warm day. The trails along the Route Blanche are groomed, and very nice to ride on. I rode on my mother’s new Ski-Doo, which has hand and thumb warmers which makes it even more comfortable. We took our time, and stopped at several of the survival cabins for refreshments. We even stopped to talk with Alexandra and Karl, who are walking along the Coast.

The trail is also great, especially since a large portion of it runs along a river, which is ideal for snowmobiling. As you can see in the photo below, it is just a nice long flat winding trail.

The warm spring weather, and longer days has got me thinking about our recent vacation to the Lower North Shore. I think that this spring will be perfect for snowmobiling, since there is so much snow, it should last much longer than normal. I remember snowmobiling in the spring in the late 80s when I did not even need a jacket since it was so warm. The amount of snow this year reminds me of that period.

I also went snowmobiling on the Coast last year, but there was not very much snow then. This year I noticed there were many more snowmobile tracks on the hills, and places where it is normally difficult to get to. Many of the rocks, and trees and cliffs are covered with snow. As you can see in the photo below, I ventured up on some of the hills near La Tabatiere myself.

All of the portages on the Route Blanche snowmobile trail are groomed and usually in excellent condition, but even the portages in the villages are in great shape this year. The photo below was taken in a portage near Tabatiere.

I took the photos below in Chevery, Quebec while we were waiting for our plane to arrive.

You can see all of the vaction photos under the photo section of the Lower North Shore Community We Site.

Since I enjoy winter and snowmobiling, we decided to go back to the Lower North Shore for a vacation this year. We had a great time snowmobiling on the Route Blanche Snowmobile trail, went to the Saint Augustine Carnival, and got to watch a hockey game.

The conditions were great since there is so much snow this year. I also think that the season will last much longer than normal, since it will take some time to melt. If it does turn out this way, there will be some excellent spring snowmobiling on the Coast this year.

I will be adding more details on our winter adventure soon, and I have also uploaded some of our photos on the Lower North Shore Web Site too.

On my recent vacation to the Lower North Shore, I met Alexandra and Karl who are walking the entire length of the Route Blanche, from Kegaska to Blanc Sablon. They are from the Quebec City and Lac Saint Jean regions, and I am not quite sure what made them to decide to undertake this adventure, but they seem to be having a great time.

We met them between La Tabatiere and Saint Augustine, and it had been four months since they left Natasquan. Once they reach Blanc Sablon, they plan to take the Relais Nordik, which is the local ferry, back to Sept Iles, or Rimouski. They were making good progress, but still had a few weeks to go until they would reach Old Fort Bay.

I really like their approach, since they were trying to keep everything as traditional as possible. Karl actually made their Komatics himself, and much of their clothes and gear was also traditional or hand made. They did not take a radio or satellite phone with them, and they got their weather forecast and news from people stopping to talk to them on the trail. They spend most of their nights in a small tent that was heated with a wood stove.

They will definitley be in good shape once they reach their final destination, and I am sure that they will have some interesting stories. i am looking forward to hearing from them again, once they get back to “civilization”.

The latest issue of the Lower North Shore news has been added to the Local news section of the Lower North Shore Web Site. You can find the complete article under the Local News Section.

Here is a summary of what is in the latest issue:

Inside This Issue

REGIONAL NEWS

• Community Snapshots p.3
• Chevery News Update p.3
• Fond Memories of Home p.4
• LNS Language Celebrating Coast… p.4
• Congrès annuelle de l’ARCQ p.4
• $2 Million invested on Cote Nord p.5
• Annual meeting of ARCQ p.5
• Sur la route de la Grande Séduction! p.6
• Raid International on the LNS p.7
• Raid International en BCN p.8
• Coasters Association AGM p.9
• Road Works—Route 138 p.10
• New Social Development Animator p.10
• National Park Project p.11
• New LNS Community Radio Website p.12
• New association takes to the airwaves p. 13
• Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi Duplessis p.16
• LNS Winter Events p.18
• Projet de Complexe la rivière Romaine p.19
• Update on Fishing Season p.19
• CoastFest 2008 update p.20
• LNS hits national headlines p.20
• YOUTH ZONE JEUNESSE p.24

MUNICIPAL NEWS

de la Côte Nord du Golfe St Laurent

• 127 618 $ pour Tête-à-la-Baleine p.28
• Chevery Scrappers Crop for a Cause p.29
• Kegaska Community Forum p.30
• Reverend Eric’s Supper & Last Service p. 31
• pARTnerships, the Art of working together p.32
• Netagamiou CLC progress highlights p.33

Gros Mecatina

• Blossoming Partnership With Coasters Association p.35
• PACE Preschool Program Enters Mecatina School p.36
• Adult Education… preparing for the future p.36
• CDLS donation to Mecatina School p.36

Saint Augustine

• Saint Augustine Senior’s Party p.37
• Progress on St. Augustine River Bridge p.37

Bonne Esperance

• Local Craft Group p.38
• New CLC in St. Paul’s River p.38

Blanc Sablon

• Extension of the Jacques Cartier Trail p.40

CLASSIFIEDS

Job postings, for sale, volunteers needed… p.41

It looks like the next International Éco Endurance will be held on the Lower North Shore. here is the press release that I received from Randy Jones:

Orford, February 18, 2008. As part of its efforts to showcase its magnificent region, Tourism Lower North Shore is pleased to host the 2008 Raid International Eco EnduranceAventure Lower North Shore, which will take place from August 20 to 24. The 5th Raid International will welcome athletes from around the world on the road of the pioneers who first set foot on North American soil.

Teams of two will have to cross the region in 4 days and 3 nights on a multisport course of over 300 km, which will have them kayaking along inlets, passageways and rivers. They will also travel on foot along magnificent trekking and coastering courses, taking them to splendid waterfalls, white beaches and mountain observation points offering a fabulous view of the ocean and the coastline. The raid includes mountain biking on roads and pathways between villages and in the wilderness. Of course, there will be exciting climbing events and a few region-specific surprises to make this raid truly memorable. Finally, the warmth and welcome of the local people will surely leave the athletes and event staff with wonderful and lasting memories.

The raid is also an original way to promote the Lower North Shore region to lovers of the great outdoors and adventure tourism from all over the world. Promotion of the event will be supported by an internationally distributed television production about the region and the event.

A great way to showcase the Lower North Shore

Randy Jones, President of the Mayors’ Council of the Lower North Shore, is delighted to have the opportunity to host a raid in his region. “This will show that we can organise events during the summer and that we have more to offer than just great fishing,” said Mr. Jones. “This is a tremendous testament of the enormous potential of the Lower North Shore. This international event will pave the way for adventure tourism in our region.”

A fantastic region filled with adventure

“You can’t see it right away just looking at the maps, but everything is within reach, ” said Daniel Poirier of Endurance Adventure, the organization responsible for the event. “The mountain is very close to the sea and rivers flow near great canyons and fjords. The Lower North Shore is an ideal place to hold an international raid. The people are very welcoming and excited about the project. The local geography is a critical success factor, but the region’s inhabitants is another. This project is the result of a collaboration between several regional organizations: TBCN, CLD BCN, the Lower North Shore Mayors’ Council, Emploi Québec and MDEIE.

For more information call (819) 847 2197 or e-mail us at organisation@enduranceaventure.com.

Event website: www.enduranceaventure.com

Lower North Shore Tourism website: http://www.tourismlowernorthshore.com

An update on the hockey tournament from Nicholas.

The Dream Team has arrived and were greeted by the village of St.Augustine with open arms. Many thanks going out to Derrick Martin Vice President of USL for convincing these former NHL players to come to our small community and to play in our hockey tournament, and also to the former NHL hockey players, they made our dreams come true . Last night was a night to relax and have fun for the former NHLers, They played some exibition hockey with the local fun league players from St.Augustine,La Tabatierre and Pakua Shipi and also with the St.Augustine Devils. They also took time out to take photos with our minor hockey teams. The official tournament starts tonight at 5:00 pm. From my perspective our local teams in the A division will have a tough time competing against the Dream Team, but i’m sure they will not go down with-out a fight.I will keep you informed as the tournament progresses.

Note that all of the photos can be found on the Lower North Shore Community Web Site, or by clicking this link.

I just received the following from Nicholas Shattler

On the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th of february there will be a traditional mens hockey tournament that will be held in St.Augustine on the Lower North Shore of Quebec. A tradition that is nearly sixty years old unites teams and villages from Blanc Sablon to Chevery. People traveling by snowmobile from as far as 200 km away to a small village with a population of 850 people. St.Augustine which is located in the center of the coast normally has a large turnout for their tournaments and this year will be no exception. There will be a company team coming from Toronto Ontario this year with some noticable names on their roster. The company Underground Services Ltd. has in their line-up players like John Druce ( NHL career 12 years, Washington Capitals), Gilbert Dionne (NHL career 3 years Montreal Canadiens), Rick Natress (NHL career 13 years), Craig Muni (NHL career14 years) Jim Thompson (NHL career 10 years) Tom Fergus (NHL career 8 years) and John Graham (NYI training camp). And to top it all of the coach for this team will be Craig Patrick previous manager of the Pittsburg Penguins who has won 2 stanley cups under his management. This surely will be an exciting weekend

I have created a page on the Lower North Shore Community web site to track the progress:

http://www.thelowernorthshore.com/2008_St._Augustine_Hockey

We just booked our winter vacation on The Lower North Shore. We had a great time last year, and are looking forward to hitting the snowmobile trails again this year. This is definitely a snowmobiling paradise with lots of trails, such as the famous “Route Blanche”, or White Route/ White Road. There are also very few fences or man made obstacles to get in your way; just lots of lakes and mountains to explore.

In most of the villages, the roads are also not plowed and you can drive your snowmobile in the village too (as you can see in the photo below).

Here are some more photos from our snowmobiling vacation last year. I just can’t wait to get bback there again, and will include more pictures when I get back.