Journal Entries

This hike is one of the best we have found within an easy drive of Montreal so far. It has it all: a small mountain to climb, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, swimming holes, and fantastic camp sites (if you know where to look).

It was very nice to have @celine with us today for this hike! Unfortunately, @mypictograph was sick so he decided to stay home for the day. While he was disappointed to miss out on the great swimming hole, the consolation prize was that he had the PS4 all to himself :-)

@brienne and I both got new trail shoes this week. Both of us back to Inov-8 after a long hiatus, I got the Trailtalon and she got the Roclite. I am relieved that some online Canadian retailers are now providing free shipping for returns. It makes the whole process a lot easier. I was able to order three pairs of shoes, and will return the other two.

Sorry Merrell and Altra, you guys didn't win this time.

Views from the ridge looking out over the southern end of Parc National du Mont-Tremblant.

Back yesterday from a 6-week stint working as a camp counselor, @mypictograph decided to forgo the opportunity to sleep-in and joined us for the day. While he claimed his trail legs were a little rusty, he didn't seem to have any problems keeping up.

Strong, fit, and confident on the trail, @brienne still knows how to set a blistering pace. She can't be all that traumatized by the AT... though tent sleeping is still a touchy subject.

Armed with Quebec National Park passes for the year, and a summer where we aren't travelling out of the province, we are finally getting the opportunity to explore the parks and trails of Quebec. There is so much to do around this province, if only we had a personal Star Trek transporter to get us around...

Today we decided to check out the Le Centenaire trail at Parc National du Mont-Tremblant, a large park 1.5 hours drive from Montreal. We were aiming for around a 14km hike, the map said it was going to be 14.5, but the GPS said it was 13.8... so somewhere in the middle.

A Tougas child in their natural habitat (though she wouldn't admit it ;-) I love this photo. No stranger to life on the trail, @brienne looks like a natural.

One of the things I really like about this trail is that there are a lot of views to be had as you go due to several large sections of exposed rock - a rarity for many of the areas we have hiked around Montreal.

@reneetougas and I are now in the process of training for our 2-week trip on the Long Trail this coming September. Today we did a 14km loop at Mont-Orford that included a beautiful ridge walk called Pic de l'Ours. We even managed to convince @brienne to join us, who brought both her tenacity and her bling to the occasion.