Champlain Lookout

They let us go at work today at noon and I was packed and ready. Drove straight to P10 and luckily found a spot after a five minute wait. Conditions were again real nice and the sun was even peeking out from time to time. Half way up the hill I met a woman skiing with no wax on her skis. She said the waxing clinic is this Wednesday!! I headed straight to the Champlain Parkway and then up to Champlain Lookout. There was a nice view of the Ottawa River valley and along the escarpment while the sun was out. It was warm enough to stay there for about 15 minutes. Then I headed back along Ridge road to Huron for the usual toasted sandwich lunch. The return as usual is mostly downhill with some fun chutes and effortless gliding.

This has been the best December EVER!!

 

Ski brakes and repair tips

I went for a nice ski this afternoon from P7 to Huron Lookout and then return via Ridge road. It was a great day with temps hovering around -5 and snow conditions that suited my waxless skis. It is mostly uphill for about a kilometre from P7 with the steepest bit of the climb at the end. Once up this hill you can turn around and see Ottawa and then ski in the woods on rolling hills until you come to to three cabins (Keogan, Shilly Shally and Huron). I took Ridge road to Keogan and then turned onto the parkways to check out the view from Huron Lookout. Then a short ski up the connector trail to Huron cabin.

The cabin was full but the bench outside was free so I put my sandwich on the woodstove and sat outside watching the action at the well stocked bird feeder. Plenty of squirrels and red headed woodpeckers were enjoying their lunch. Sometimes deer will come and eat the seeds off the ground.

The ride back to the parking lot has some fun steep downhill sections that are marked with the ominous looking exclamation point sign. The second of these hills is sometimes referred to as Suicide hill. There is usually traffic going up and down and at the bottom you have to make a right or left turn or else you keep going and hit a strategically placed bench. While waiting my turn to go down I saw a woman snowplowing and scraping her poles in the snow behind her to slow herself down. I don't think it made much difference. Then I got a tip about repairing ski poles with duct tape and twigs. Useful information for sure! It is a fun ride to the parking lot from there and a great way to end the day!

Springtime in the Greenbelt

Yes, I know it is still December but in the Greenbelt the recent mild temperatures have brought out Spring conditions. The snow is soft and slushy and there are puddles and even small ponds on the trails. I could've sworn I saw some mosquitos starting to hatch in some of the puddles I passed along the way. I came face to face with a deer and had a short staredown. It was nice of her to stop long enough for me to get my camera out and snaps a few pics. I certainly hope that we will be back to winter temperatures soon, wouldn't want all the early snow to go to waste.
 

Kennedy Road

The NCC reopened trail 53 from P17 for skiing this winter. It is a nice trail loop that basically runs between P17 and P19 at Lac Phillipe. It is rolling hills with one part of the loop mostly running through the forest and the other more out in the open. The snow was covering everything and it was constantly falling off tree boughs in mini avalanches. I tried to capture some of these on film. However just like at the demolition derby, the good crash always happens where you are not looking. This is a remote section of trail and I crossed paths with 5 people during the three hour loop.

The trail grooming in Gatineau Park has come under fire from many this season but the grooming today seemed fine to me. I underestimated the length of the trail by about ten kilometres and got more of a workout than I had bargained for. On my way back I sure was wishing that I had brought a pack with some snacks and water. The snow seemed much stickier too so I wasn't getting as good of a glide. I highly recommend this trail for a quiet ski with a more remote feel. A great place to go when the crowds are out and about in the lower end of the park. As a great man once said, "Ask not what your skis can do for you, ask what you can do for your skis"...or something along those lines!

Stoney Swamp by the light of the...

 

I went out for a ski in the greenbelt this evening. Well it ain't green these days and won't be for the next few months. It is amazing how much ambient light there is in the woods. Clouds are blocking out the moon and yet you can ski without a headlight (It helps to know where you are going!). I did a short loop and then went off trail for a bit where the snow was waist deep. The trails are not as good as Gatineau Park, the tracks are not level and the snow is soft and your poles go right through it. That said it is 5 minutes from home and free so no complaints from this guy.

Friday Birthday

I'm sure I've never taken a friday off so early in december to ski but we have the snow and it was Bryan's birthday so we made plans to ski in to Lusk cabin. Ken, Bryan and his dad and I left P19 at 10 and made quick work of the ski in. I was getting no glide but was like spiderman on the uphills! On the way there we got a brief shower of ice pellets that felt almost like rain. Lusk is a nice small cabin and we had it to ourselves. Ken chopped a little wood and we cooked up our sandwiches on the woodstove, sweet!

After lunch the sky started to clear and we had a fun run down the Lusk trail before making a brief refreshment stop at Renaud cabin where we met a local who seemed unimpressed by the early season ski grooming in the park. After listening to the rant for a while I could take no more and I was off like a tornado down the trail to Taylor lake. My headstart bought me time to take some sweet pics of the great snow coverage.

Once past Taylor lake we arrived at Exclamation Point Hill (only such sign that I am aware of). In fact there are two such signs on this hill that is steep and has an S turn and some bumps near the bottom. I got the task of skiing halfway down and filming the rest of the crew. No one got hurt and all had fun! The Taylor Lake loop is one of the best in the park, very quiet and remote. We saw many tracks in the fresh snow that we guessed were wolf or coyote. Our last stop of the day was for poutine at a local eatery. Again, no one got hurt and all had fun.

A New Cabin

Several years ago I went from Herridge cabin down a snow shoe trail and came upon an old building that was all boarded up. Well it seems this old bulding has been renovated and is now the newest in the hut system of Gatineau Park. It is in a nice secluded spot and like all the other huts has a woodstove that pumps out heat so you can dry off and also cook up your tin foiled sandwich.

There was a woman lurking around the stove (pretending to get warm) who showed a little too much interest in what I was cooking up so I retrieved it and sat down to eat. Turned out I had almost burned it anyhow. The ski back to P16 is great fun as the last 2 kilometres are pretty much downhill so it is all gliding and slowing down to make it round corners. A beautiful sunny day to be out skiing and another great cabin to ski to!

Friday Ski Day

Bryan and I took friday off to enjoy the snow that has fallen this week. Turns out there is a lot more of it in Gatineau Park than we thought. We got to P10 around 11 and had to wait for a car to leave in order to get a parking spot. While we were waiting Bryan managed to bend one of his poles AND fall on his can. I showed the correct amount of concern (none) and captured the event on film.

The first few kilometres are steady uphill but the fresh show was sticky and it was an easier climb than previous times. Once past Fortune lake we made a side trip on one of the black diamond trails in the woods. Again there is tons of snow in there, off trail it is at least knee deep. Eventually we arrived at Keogan shelter which is a small hut with about 10 picnic tables and a woodstove. The usual lunch of a toasted sandwich cooked to perfection on the top of the stove was served up. The skies had cleared a bit as we headed back down which made for some nice photos. We stopped in Chelsea for an apres ski poutine at a spot that claims best poutine in the world. Hmm, not sure about that one, but today was sure a great day to be out skiing in the park!

 

I can't believe it is Dec 2!!

I was sore from the first day out yesterday but keen to get in some more skiing before tonight's anticipated dump of snow. There had been a light dusting overnight and I was surprised to find that the parking lots were more full today. The weather was much better yesterday (bright sunny day) than today (clouded and snowing) although it was a bit warmer today. Unfortunately the batteries in my camera were dead so I took no pictures so I will have to post some from previous trips.

Snow on the parkways

I got out for a ski in Gatineau park today and this is about the earliest start to a ski season ever (for me). And in fact there was skiing up there a week ago. The coverage was complete on the Gatineau Parkway from P8 towards the Champlain Parkway with only one bare patch under an overpass. It was a nice sunny day although pretty darn cold. Forecast calls for another 10cm to fall tomorrow!!