Slow down, old fella

It was a sweet day skiing in the lower part of Gatineau Park. I think I may even have gotten a little sunburnt. Today's route was a loop from P1 along the Gatineau Parkway then Trail 5 and Trail 15 to Pink Lake and then back via the Gatineau Parkway. I hadn't done this route in several years and my recollection was that it was somehow uphill in both directions. Of course that is impossible and just an illusion.

Conditions were perfect with a nice glide. The sun was warm and although it was -10 it did not feel cold at all. I aggravated some muscle strains from earlier in the season and was laboring most of the day being passed by a steady stream of people with babies in sleds and retirees. One retiree (a 78 year old) even stopped to chat before saying he wanted to pick up the pace to get some exercise. But hey, I enjoyed the day and made it back to the car under my own steam. There was some brief alarm when I saw two airplanes that seemed to be on a crash course (see second pic below) but they missed each other and all was ok. The parking lot was 3/4 full at 10:30 when I set off but when I returned it was overflow with lurkers circling the lot waiting for someone to leave. I got home in good time to build a roaring fire and watch some NFL playoff football.