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Hot Spot For U.S. RidersThe next day, we drove to the Cabanon Inn where we stopped for a mid-day meal. The Cabanon is well known among U.S. snowmobilers. Some drive here all the way from Pennsylvania and New York to enjoy the region's abundant snow and excellent trails. Many trailers with U.S. plates were in the packed parking lot in front of the hotel, evidence of its popularity with U.S. riders.
After some animated discussions comparing the merits of various snowmobile makes, we started off again for an outfitter camp called Réal Massé Country. It's one of the region's few outfitters to stay open year round, serving the army of snowmobilers that invade Lanaudière each winter.
Réal Massé is an ex-boxer who bought the establishment a few months before a fire destroyed it in 1988. During the fire, Réal braved the flames to save his guests' lives, suffering serious burns.
A newspaper clipping on the wall recounts the whole episode. Rebuilt a few months later, the place looks totally unlike anyone's idea of an outfitter in the middle of the woods. There are no log cabins or dilapidated shacks. It's just a large white building containing big, pink, decorated bedrooms complete with whirlpool baths.
When morning came, a light fall of fresh snow had covered the ground and the clouds were clearing. The snowmobilers were happy; the ride back home would be along virgin trails, under a perfect blue sky.