SNQ Section Hike, Lanaudiere, Part 1

Trip post morem thoughts:

• The Sentier National de Quebec has been great. It is well marked, pretty, and well worth exploring further. At over 1000 km of trail, I am definitely planning on coming back here many more times.
• The Lanaudiere region of Quebec (1.5 hours north of Montreal) is beautiful. There is a lot to do out there, and is relatively close to home for us. This was a really good find.
• I am blaming my chafe problems mostly on my choice of underwear for this hike. Over all my years of backpacking, I have always used tight-fitting long synthetic boxers and never had a problem. This year I decided to give merino boxers a try. My analysis is that they absorb too much water, and tend to bunch up creating a situation ripe for abrasion. Never again.
• I am always going to make sure I have anti-chafe balm/lube with me.

My one and only camp site for the weekend, 0.5 km from the road crossing which marks the end of the Sentier the Contreforts.

Thank God for mosquito netting! On some sections of the trail the bugs have been pretty brutal. My chosen camp site is apparently one of those places.

My chafing hasn't gotten any better overnight, and is really painful. I have decided to cut my trip short rather than risk making a bad situation worse by continuing on for two more days. This is really disappointing, as the next section of trail is supposed to be really beautiful. I have texted Renee to come and pick me up at the road crossing.

I decide to end my day after 27 km of hiking, stopping just before the road crossing near a creek. My chafing is really bad now, and I have no way to deal with the problem - I neglected to bring any anti-chafe lubes/creams. I don't have different underwear or shorts to try.

The only ointment I have to apply is lip balm, which I decide to try. If this doesn't heal up enough by morning, I may be forced to cut my trip short.

So far the trail has been mostly a green tunnel, with occasional view points to forests and lakes - not unlike a lot of the hiking we have experienced on the Appalachian Trail on our 2104 thru-hike.

Shelter number 2, and the only two people I saw on the hike - a pair of ladies from Montreal, up for a day of hiking on the same section of trail as me. Just prior to arriving I had scraped one of my knuckles on a rock in passing. Moments after I arrived, they noticed my hand bleeding and sprang into action rifling through their med kits to fix me up. They had a good laugh afterwards about responding to the situation like a couple of mothers :-)

I gave them my Outsideways card and told them (if they were OK with it) they might show-up in my journal.

When I started to hike again, I really started to notice my chafing, the inside of my thighs starting to feel quite raw. This is not going to bode well for another couple days...

There was no shortage of water along the trail, and this was one of the prettier streams I encountered.

The trail is mostly dirt with some rocks and roots, though there are a few small sections of exposed rock.

Similar to the Appalachian Trail, the Sentier National has some three-sided lean-to shelters along the way, though not as frequent or well spaced as the AT. This is the first one, located at around km 11 on the Sentier the Contreforts section of trail.

I take a short break here, long enough to get harassed by the bugs. I have noticed that for the first time in my life, I am beginning to experience chafing on my inner thighs. It is mild enough that I don't pay it too much attention.