Lounging at Lusk

Having put the skies away last weekend (at least in my mind) it was a welcome surprise when we got some snow mid week. Turns out there was 10-15 cm of new snow in parts of Gatineau Park. So Bryan, Ken and I decided to take a chance and head up to Lusk cabin once more. We figured the parkways might be thin but the narrower trail up to the cabin should be good. Well it turned out the parkways were bare in spot (including the first 150 yards) but there was enough snow to do most of the travelling on skis. Sometimes you were in the grass on the side of the road and sometimes you had to take off the skis and walk across the pavement. The snow in the road was crusty and quite rutted from atv traffic.

The trail up to Lusk was as expected, mostly full coverage with some debris and the odd rock or root sticking up and somewhat icy. As was not surprising, we had the cabin to ourselves for a good hour or two. Alone that is except for the chickadees looking for a free meal. You would think they might know a trick or two but no they just buzz about looking for a handout. It was a mostly sunny afternoon and a great time of day to lounge on the deck soaking up the rays, enjoying a few beverages and remembering ski trips when the weather wasn't quite so warm.

Since no one took up the challenge of heading out onto the ice to see how strong it was, we finally headed back down. As usual it was a much shorter trip than coming up. Some more care was required to miss the few bare spots and debris but this is always a nice relaxing cruise. We made one last stop at Renaud cabin for some more refreshments.

There had been a lot more melt during the day and we had to walk about 50% of the trail back to P19 but there was at least one good section near the parking lot to enjoy as perhaps the last bit of skiing until next winter. A great winter season and a sweet day today. Good Friday indeed!