Taking good advice

 

On a recent sunny day I parked at P13 with an eye to hiking the Wolf Trail. As I got out of my car a guy on skis appeared in the lot having skied down from somewhere off-trail. He indicated he was heading across Meech lake to complete a loop. Since I happened to have my skis and boots in the car I asked myself, how often can you short cut across Meech Lake? Decision made! After crossing the lake, I ran into a couple of local photo-bloggers on their way out from sunning themselves at Healey cabin. Another great idea. Nothing quite like sunning one's self in the spring sun. On the ski out the crust on the lake was softer but thankfully the ice held and I made it safe and sound back to my car. A great day to be out!

Spring ski to Champlain lookout

Went for a spring ski yesterday from P10 to Champlain lookout. Snow was "sticky" which helped a lot on the uphill part of the Fortune Parkway. It started out cloudy but the sun came out and made for a great day of spring xc skiing.

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Perfect sunny day for a Luskville stroll.

Blues skies and soft snow on the trail today. Not what I was expecting after plenty of rain on Friday. I should have brought the red sliding device today as conditions were perfect.

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Pine Road ski/hike

I took advantage of a snowy day to "traverse" from P16 to P15. Bryan and his buddy Rick were hiking in from P15 and I decided to ski from P16. We met in the middle at Herridge cabin. The fire was stoked when we got inside and with a couple of logs added there was an inferno that quickly toasted our foil wrapped sandwiches. Toasted a little too much but who's complaining. Nothing like relaxing by a roaring fire in one of many cabins in Gatineau Park. We would have sent a pic of the refreshments and the fire to those who "could not make it due to work" but the cell phone tower was out of range. After a hearty lunch, we hiked back to P15. Somehow, I managed to go mostly uphill on both the ski AND the hike.

I hope this is the first of many traverse outings in 2014. There are several great ones I have in mind:

• AMR to Elk Lake via Pinnacle Ridge
• Route 73 to Elk Lake via Great Slide and Macomb Slide
• Zealand to Lincoln Woods via the Bonds.

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Short cut to McKinstry cabin

I took advantage of a gap in the "Polar Vortex" to go for a hike/ski to McKinstry cabin via Luskville Falls. It was the perfect temperature at a balmy -10 with a light snow falling! I wanted to try winter hiking in my xc ski boots and McKinstry is just far enough from the fire tower to be a good turnaround spot after the hike and then a short ski. The usual ski to McKinstry is at least 10 K one way and is a bit of a roller coaster of hills along the way. My "short cut" was easier and the 2.5 K ski was great for my first time on xc skis this winter. The Luskville trail is sheer ice below the trail split but the footing got better as there was more fresh snow the higher you got and it was snowing all day. I only saw two hikers on the Luskville trail but it was packed at the cabin which was toasty warm with the woodstove cranked! I forgot to bring a lunch and was envious of those who had their foil wrapped sandwiches toasting away on the stove. The return trip was a breeze other than some slipping and sliding near the bottom.

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Yet another Luskville stroll

Saturday was a good day to head up the Fire Tower trail (again). It was pretty cold and windy out to start but you warm up with the constant uphill and it is always warmer in the shelter of the woods. I was sluggish to start due to a recent cold but felt better once I got up to the Pontiac lookout. A lone skier made the Fire Tower turnaround just as I was taking some photos up there. On the way back down it was much warmer and the sun had come out. I'm glad I went out and earned my spot on the couch on one of the better sports days of the year!

Cold bench, nice hike!

 

 

There were no views to be had today from the awesome bench on the Wolf Trail and it had a thin coating of ice on it. Still, I enjoyed the hike up on a nice hard packed trail of snow past trees coated in snow and ice. Quite the winter wonderland. I sat for about 5 minutes before turning around and returning home to a warmer indoor bench! There is plenty of snow in the park but more would always be welcomed!

 



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Winter arrives on time

Two weeks later and on the winter solstice no less, I headed back up the Luskville Fire Tower trail. It looks a whole lot different after two recent dumps of snow. I opted for microspikes although snowshoes probably would have been a better choice. On the way up I followed the tracks (and trench) of some snowshoers (thanks) to the right at the trail split. There is ankle to knee deep snow up there to enjoy. I didn't linger at the tower and headed straight back down. I did my part breaking trail taking the other side of the loop. I am glad I was heading downhill when breaking trail!

If this winter is to be judged by it's first day, I say this winter will be top notch!

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Spring before Winter at the Luskville Fire Tower

I went for a hike to the Luskville Fire Tower yesterday. Strange that we have already had a decent snowfall and then melt before winter has even officially started. Plenty of local out on the trails (see above). I guess they welcome any opportunity to chow down without having to dig through snow and ice. More snow please!

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Snow-vember on the Wolf Trail!

 

 

I went for a counter-clockwise hike on the Wolf trail today. As per usual, there is a lot more snow in Gatineau Park than I thought there would be. I brought my spikes but did not need them. The sky was overcast but there were some interesting colors in the sky at the horizon line and where the sun was visible through the clouds.

 

 

Here's hoping that this early snow means an extra long snow season this year!!

Fire tower first tracks

Looking for a hike to do on New Year's Day, I headed to the Luskville Falls trail. I decided to avoid the vortex on the Wolf trail that keeps sucking hikers to another dimension (and the parking lots along Meech lake are now closed). There is plenty of snow on the west side of the escarpment too and although it was a cold day it was not too bad once in the shelter of the woods. I was lucky enough to see a young deer at the first lookout enjoying the view (pic above). There is some damage in the forest on the upper parts of the trail but nothing that can't be avoided and in fact all the snow and ice in the trees looks real pretty. It was a fun ride down on my mini sled which used the hiker's trench like a luge run.

More snow please! And more pics

Wolf trail winter wonderland!!

All I wanted for Christmas was plenty of snow. Before Christmas we got plenty of wet heavy snow that I struggled to shovel from my driveway due to a bad cold. On the 27th we got an equal load of light fluffy stuff! So today I took the day off to sample the "white gold" on the Wolf trail. There is a mess of downed trees in Gatineau Park due to the earlier snowfall and apparently some hikers had trouble on this trail on Thursday. Today, I managed to stay on the trail by following the trench and although it didn't look familiar I would say that this is the best conditions up there in a long time. The snow and ice in the trees is really cool. Some trees look like chandeliers and others are just strange shapes all coated in snow. I went as far as the bench that looks south over the park and stopped there to soak in the view.

Is it asking too much to get some more of this white stuff in 2012?

More pics!

Icy wolf trail

We've had a little snow but not enough for my liking. Seeing a sunny day forecast for Saturday I went for a loop on the Wolf trail. It was coated in a white substance which was closer to ice than snow. Most of the trail was passable in bare boots but mixed in were ice flows that would have been better suited to skates. Bring spikes if you have them as it will make for a more pleasurable hike.

Please Santa, all I want for christmas is a fresh and steady supply of snow!

A Cold Bench

A cold bench on sunny winter afternoon beats a warm office every time!

Interesting place for some fine art

What's that saying, you can't see the forest for the trees? OK, so I admit that I'm not sure I what that means. Regardless, today while out on a Wolf Trail hike I did see the forest ON a tree. WTF?!

A nice day to be out and there is plenty of snow up there but there is still room for more!

Penguin picnic area

Currently, more suitable for penguins than picnics!

Have you seen ... the Gatineau Seal?

We are very lucky to have a place like Gatineau Park so close by. A great place in the summer for hiking, biking and cooling off in some beautiful lakes and in the winter a wide variety of ski and snowshoe trails: both on the parkways and in the woods. It is also home to a wide variety of wildlife. I myself have seen plenty of deer, all sorts of birds and a saw beaver couple frollicking in their pond. I know people who have crossed paths with bears. I believe that there are packs of coyotes as well as wolves and even a mountain lion was once spotted crossing the Fortune Lake parkway. Many of these animals are shy and prefer to avoid contact with the humans who visit their "neighborhood".

None, however is as reclusive and rarely seen as the Gatineau Seal. The Gatineau Seal is a solitary and slow moving creature. So slow in fact that you would swear it hadn't moved at all. It keeps a stony silence and you would not notice it unless you happen to be looking up at the right time and in the right direction. I have only ever seen one in the winter time so I don't know where it hides its snowy white coat in the summer months. It has a hypnotic stare and I have yet to stare long enough to see it blink. I first saw one a few winters ago near P16 and saw a slightly larger one on the parkway near P1.

If you are lucky you might see one next time you are out on the trails. Hey, Mr. Seal, You rock!

Leaves, flowers, shrooms and beavers

I went for walk in Gatineau park today. I started up the steep side of the Wolf trail loop. Hard to believe that there are still biting insects at this time of year. There are occasional patches of color but the full color of fall is still a couple of weeks away.

I saw:

some interesting tree mushrooms



a turkey vulture from the Wolf trail ridge (excuse the dot on my camera's sensor).



some nice flowers along ridge road that the bees were loving



and a beaver pond on ridge road with an active local couple!



More beaver shots

Aerating the wolf trail

After two trips with the microspikes on they have already paid for themselves (or I should say I sure am glad I bought them!). The recent thaw and rain has made all the trails in Gatineau Park like skating rinks or thawed them down to the rock. It was interesting to see two ladies setting out from the Wolf Trail parking lot and then one of them slid back down the 15 feet or so back to the level ground of the lot. It defintely was indicative of the conditions for the day. Enter yours truly with his trusty spikes and it was clear sailing. They gripped like a charm and made an otherwise miserable day quite fun. On the south facing ridge section of the trail it was down to bare rock in many places to I took to the "vegetative" ground cover off the side of the rocky trail to save my spikes from walking on the rock thereby aerating the soil. If you notice especially healthy growth there next summer, well you're welcome!

The forecast is calling for a few days of snow and we sure need it!

Winter equipment check

Not the best of starts to the winter. Various weather reports showing large snowfalls but none were happening in around Ottawa. Still there was enough of the precious white stuff to get out on both skis and snowshoes to see if the legs still work and to try out new gear. I hiked the Wolf trail on Tuesday with winter hiking boots and some newly acquired microspikes. Surprisingly there was about a foot and half of snow outside of the well packed trail. Taking the right fork in the loop I got to test the spikes out on the somewhat icy steep sections. They worked great, not crampons but giving some extra stability on slippery sections of trail. It was a cloudy day but the sun came out as I got up on the ridge and I had a nice sit on the bench for about 20 minutes.

On Wednesday I went for a ski around Lac Phillipe where I learned to check my boots before putting them in the car (insoles were missing) and also that the payment for a day pass in Gatineau Park is optional (their term not mine).

Thursday I headed to the Luskville Fire Tower trail. It was quite mild and not as icy as I had anticipated. The steep sections weren't too slippery but the creek ice was solid enough to walk across. I tried out a new pair of winter hiking boots that were a lower cut than my other pair. I found them much more comfortable but I'm not sure if they would be the ones to wear in new or deep snow.

Here's hoping for some fresh snow especially around the Adirondacks where I have a few peaks on the winter to do list.