Our last organized ride for 2023 season.
Myself Marcel Lafrenière as Ride Leader and with the help of Ride Tail Leon Paquin, we guided the Mattawa Ride on the VMUTS Voyageur Multi Use System trails from the town of Mattawa towards North Bay and back to Mattawa in a circle. This 112 km track is classified a Level 3 ride which is a bit demanding.There was 7 ATV and 6 Side by Side. Many registered at the last minute on the website with the help of their cell phones to be covered by insurance which is covered by members fee of $32/year. There were 17 people participating and no dogs this time.
We left at 9:10am from the Mattawa Arena to join the track from Beaudry road. Well we can say that it is quite rocky with quite a few good slopes so for most of the time we drove in first gear. On the more challenging track, Trail #70, we reached a good mud hole but only one bike remained stuck and one of the younger members pulled it out with his unit within a few minutes. On this same track we encountered two streams with very large stones which hit hard on the protection plate under the floor. Finally after having done 43 km we stopped for dinner near the intersection of Trail #70 and Forest Road with access to a Bécosse (Back House).
After a 45-minute dinner break, we left to see one of the biggest panoramic views in the region but on the way there was a mechanical breakdown as one of our group experienced a radiator hose burst. He was lucky in their misfortunes because he was not far from the Forest Access road. Other ATVer from the group helped them by returning to pick up their trucks with utility trailers from our starting point in Mattawa which ended the ride for 4 of the group. Sad to see that this event cut their fun day.
As promised, we finally arrived at the big panoramic view around 1:45 p.m. after having travelled another 59 km along our route. There were already a few other groups of riders admiring the view and taking photos and of course, we did the same. I am missing 3 members in the photo of our group of 13 members. This wide angle panoramic view is 332 meters above sea level and in the distance we can see Highway 63 located between North Bay and Redbridge. After 15 minutes we departed around 2 p.m. for the return to the town of Mattawa.
Around four in the afternoon and another 80 km under our seats, we arrived at the 1940’s era Purdy Mica Mine which produced three million pounds of mica between 1941 and 1953 (Heritage Perspectives, June 13, 1003, Doug Mackey). Most of our group were reluctant to walk into this mine, but 6 brave members walked the 300 feet to get to the end of the mine and its various passages. After this excitement we finally prepared to return to our starting point to finish our excursion at 5:30 in the evening.
Another great day amongst good company.
