Trailblazing

I made some randomn plans with Ken to ski in the Lac Phillippe area today. I was surprised to see plent of space in P19 as other lots that I passed on the way there seemed quite busy. It was quite cold in the wind but sunny, a perfect winter day with 25 cm of snow fallen in the last week. I headed towards Taylor lake along Trail 55. I was cooling off rapidly in just two layers of fleece so I was making my way along the shore of Taylor Lake towards the yurt to warm up when I met Ken. We made a quick pit stop at the yurt. It's new location near the shore of the lake is a great spot and I think a local colony of turtles are in agreement. It was cold inside with no fire so we decided on a plan and left.

We took a shortcut across the lake. It looked like the thing to do from the shore but it was hard work making trail in snow that was 2-3 feet deep. I stayed behind taking some good photos before feeling guilty and taking over. It was no picnic getting up the slope to the trail at the other end of the lake but no complaints here about the abundance of snow. It was 2-3 kilometres up trail 56 to the lookout and at first it too was unbroken but we soon encountered a threesome who had skied in from Lac Richard so it was broken until the trail split. Mostly uphill but a lot easier than crossing the lake. It sure was a winter wonderland with snow covering all the trees along the trail. We broke out a short section of the trail to the lookout and then stopped for some snacks before heading back. The descent was a blast in a track that was more like a 2 foot deep trench, gotta love gravity!

On our return, someone had started a sweet fire at the yurt so we stopped for lunch, The fire was so hot that the sandwiches toasted in a couple of minutes and mine burnt on one side. We returned to the car the way Ken had come along trail 55. This has to be one of the nicest trails in the park. It makes its way through a remote valley and has a nice combination of ups and downs. The steep descent away from the lake and the hydro line section near the parking lot make all the uphills earlier on worth the effort. This loop is on the must-do list for every ski season!