Keep that fire burning

An awesome day to be out skiing and considering the bus strike and time of year it was surprising that there were few people out skiing. But hey, less traffic on the trails. There are many fine ski trails in Gatineau Park (200 km of them in fact) and several great cabins to ski to but none are finer than a run up to Lusk cabin from P19 on a sunny winter day. It is mostly up hill to the cabin but that just makes for a fun and relaxing ride back. The cabin itself is nestled half way up the escarpment beside a small lake.

Today it seemed that there would be nobody there as Bryan and I made it most of the way there before being passed by a guy who was carrying more weight in patches on his pack than my entire pack. Then when we got to the cabin there was a couple who seemed to be cooking their gloves and socks on the woodstove in the provided cookware. They had further committed a faux pas by allowing the fire to die down. In the spirit of the season we waited for them to leave before discussing their lack of cabin etiquette. And of course we went out and chopped some more wood and stoked the fire up good. A few toasted sandwiches hit the spot and fueled a blazing downhill run (45 minutes up trail 54 and 15 minutes down). Thankfully we got back on the road in time to miss the traffic. A nice sunny day at Lusk cabin and likely not the last day there this season.

She's a cold one out there

It was cold out Saturday. I'm talking cold you can still feel in your bones long after you are back inside. I set out for a ski from P7 and took trail 8 to the Champlain Parkway. There was plenty of snow on trail 8 for a backcountry trail but in a couple of spots there were ditches with not quite frozen water which called from some quick thinking. It is great to see this much snow on the ground already. Add in the snow-bomb from Sunday and we will be set for the season.

It was much colder on the parkway than in the woods but the skies were cloudless and blue and the track was fast. I had planned to go as far as the lookouts and maybe Western cabin but instead I made a hard right turn on the Fortune Parkway and the cozy confines of Keogan cabin. After warmup and a snack and some bird feeder photography I set off back to the car along Ridge Road. As always the last 2 kilometres to P7 are some fun fast downhill gliding.

A great day to be out but for sure a day to stick to the wooded trails.

PS
As requested by a subscriber(since I only have two I have to comply):

• Make delicious muffins from scratch


• Cracker


• Among the bears


• Do not own a cell phone, never have


• Passed out while taking off boots after a hike of Nippletop and Dial


• Best bowl of soup ever ... Beef lentil at Greenleaf hut

That was awesome!

The youngest in our group today described the trip from P16 to Healey Cabin and back as her best ski ever. Her father might suggest that the sample size is too small but it was a great day to be out skiing this was the perfect distance for my sore legs. Yesterday's sunny skies had given way to some brief snow flurries and it was much warmer. I got on the road a bit late so I missed the main section of the group but I got to P16 just in time to meet up with Kenmore. We missed seeing the vT van in the lot but soon met up with them about 15 minutes down the trail.

Three generations of vTs were out today and all enjoyed the trip into Healey and the lunch of chocolate, toasted sandwiches and assorted fruits. The activity out at the bird feader was active with woodpeckers, blue jays and chicadees all having lunch. I like Healey cabin as it looks kind of like grandma's house tucked away in the woods. The trip back was fun with more down than up and one of the best descents to a parking lot in Gatineau Park. Awesome indeed!

Winter...you're back!!

First ski outing of the season. There has been snow in Gatineau Park for several weeks but Wednesday's dump of 30-40 cms sealed the deal. I headed for P10 and although I had not bought my pass I got by with a "forgot it at home". I like skiing from this parking lot because at the end of the day you get an effortless cruise of 2 kilometres down the hill. I made a nice loop up the Fortune parkway and Ridge road to the Champlain Lookout and then back via the Champlain Parkway and the Fortune Parkway.

As per usual with the first xc ski of the year, several muscles groups announced their displeasure with this "new" activity but no permanent damage was done. It was a nice sunny day albeit quite cold until I started back towards the car. It was cold enough that I got an ice cream headache on the descent but I am guessing the people on their way up would not have been sympathetic. I stopped in at the visitors centre on the way home to get my pass.