The weather forecast for our Mont St Hilaire hike promised ideal late Fall conditions: sunny, cool and crisp; with a hint of snow on the ground and ice-rimmed lakes and ponds to skirt. Mother Nature delivered, and 15 of us showed up for the day’s outing. Upon arrival at the Pavillon d’Acceuil a few enthusiastic hikers indicated they would like to do the Rocky loop, that was fine with me as that was my preference as well. Everyone seemed happy, so we set off toward Lac Hertel and the beginning of the trail system proper.
The main trail heading up to Lac Hertel is a wide, smooth boulevard; and the rest of the trail system, although more rugged, is exceptionally well maintained and well marked. Along with the spacious, airy and well appointed Pavillon d’Acceuil, with its friendly and helpful staff, this is one gourmet destination. Definitely worth the seven bucks price of admission.
We took the long way up, Rocky 2 (Rouge), and the more direct route down, Rocky 1 (Bleu). With some invigorating uphill sections, and quad-stressing downhills, we all felt we were earning our afternoon naps and/or beers. At the apex of the loop is the Rocky lookout, with its excellent views north and west. Here we rested briefly, chatted and ate our sandwiches, but in the cool air the chills soon began to descend upon us and we felt compelled to journey on. Rocky 1 is mostly downhill, but with one more steep promontory to climb we warmed up quickly enough.
At the bottom of the hill, where various other trails fan out offering additional hiking opportunities for the eager and hearty, two of our number, both eager and hearty, parted company with the rest of us and headed in the direction of the Pain de Sucre trail and lookout.
We remaining 13 took the boulevard back down to the Pavillon, where some members checked there hiking apps to see where we had been, and others checked there Tim Horton’s apps to see where we were going. Total hike distance about 10k and 375 metres of climbing. A good time was had by all.