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!

 



More pics

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!!

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!

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.

Drip, drip, drip

In his last blog entry, Kenmore suggested going out for a 50k ski today as per the men at the olympics. I opted for a snowshoe hike along the Wolf trail and am satisfied that I made the right choice. Temps are rising and two layers of fleece were enough today. The new snow that fell during the week was welcome and the packed trail is plenty thick but if it stays this warm it will melt soon enough. I enjoyed taking photos of the water drops on twigs in the forest. If you enlarge and look at the drops you can see reflection of trees in the drips, pretty cool. On the ridge I was looking for a section where there was a frozen cedar tunnel when I last hiked here after Christmas. Good news is that the ice melted and the tree is back to standing up straight as trees are supposed to do! A nice day to be out but I hope winter sticks around for a couple more weeks before the spring melt.

Now:


After freezing rain:

New shoes on the Wolf trail

I bought myself a pair of snowshoes just after christmas, figuring it would be a good change of pace to try some of the showshoe trails in Gatineau instead of always xc skiing. Today was the maiden voyage. As expected the trail was a well packed path. I meant to go up the steep way and back down the flatter part but missed the right turn and did it the other way down. I love the way the snow covers up the uneven bits of rocks and roots on the trail. The sky was overcast which dulled the views but there is still some beautiful sights of ice in the trees. The temperature was quite mild so there were a lot of people out enjoying the day. I loved this mode of travel and will do a few more Gatineau trails and maybe venture down to the Adirondacks for some of the easier scenic hikes.

Wolf trail

On sunday I went out for a hike on the Wolf Trail in Gatineau Park. I was hoping it would help me kick the nasty cold I have had for the last two weeks. Also it was a sunny day which is something you have to take advantage of at this time of year! The Wolf trail is always a nice walk heading up from the parking area at the end of Meech Lake to the top of the escarpment with a lookout over the Ottawa river valley and then back. It seems this was a popular hike as the parking lot was almost full and the trails were crowded. The NCC had recently closed all the parkways for the winter (c'mon snow!!) so the trailheads were limited. On the plus side the trails were very muddy which I think discouraged some people and so I had some nice quiet time sitting on the open ridge soaking in the rays and cool breezes. I had a nice chat with a crow that floated up on some thermals. At least I thought it was talking to me but then another crow appeared and they soared off into the distance. It was several weeks too late for the autumn colors but as always a nice hike.

Wolf Trail

For the end of October it was like early summer, sunny with temps in the mid 60s so Bryan and I booked the day off and headed up to the Gats to take in the last of the fall colors from the best viewpoint in the park. The Wolf trail is about 7 or 8 kilometres if you do the entire loop so you can take your time at each of the outlooks. I starts at a parking lot on Meech lake and goes up and over the escarpment to a lookout over the Ottawa river valley. One part of the loop climbs up and then along a ridge with great views to the south. We sat for an hour or so on this south facing ledge. The colors seemed past their prime as most of the reds had disapeared but there were still some bright yellows and fading oranges. When we weren't checking out the colors there was a steady stream of colorful hikers who were also out enjoying the day.

The return part of the loop is lower down and in the forest. On the way back we spent an equal amount of time taking photos of the trees as well as of the leaves on the ground (many looked quite artistic at the time!). What a great way to spend an afternoon! I doubt this weather will last long and all I can say is "Bring on the snow!!"