Author: Tom V

After we cancelled the “official” hike to Giant for last Sat because of the weather conditions, we suggested that those how were still keen to go on Sun go to the Forum to express their interest.  In the end, 8 hikers made the drive down to Giant Mountain in the Adirondacks near Keane Valley, NY.  They were all experienced hikers who made sure to bring the gear they would need to be ready for anything.  And it turned out they did need all that gear because they encountered just about everything on the climb to the summit including sun, mud, rain, wind, ice, and foot-deep wet snow.  Oh, and let’s not forget the 70 km/h winds at the summit!  But as I mentioned, this was a hardy bunch and they revelled in these conditions.  There were also several great viewpoints along the way.  After six hours on the trail, they were wet and a bit tired, but they were glad they had gone for it!

13 Hikers Got Free Apples and Cheese at Oka

It was sunny and 9 C at 10 am on Sun morning as the 13 of us assembled in the parking lot at the base of the hill in the northern part of the park.  We were there to conquer the peaks of Oka park.  And what’s more, the word was out that there was free food to be had at the top of the trail, so we were on a mission! 

Most visitors to the park take the Sentier du Calvaire d’Oka.  That is the more direct route to the “three chapels” lookout, where the food was supposed to be.  But that would have been too easy for our hardy band of hikers, so we walked to the east end of the parking lot and set out on the Sentier du Sommet trail.  This trail is actually designated as a mountain bike trail, but we only saw a couple of bikes the whole time we were on it.  The first half of this trail has some steep ups and downs.  The skiers among us who Continue reading “Oka Oct 10 Oka Report by Tom”

 

There were 14 people who turned out under threatening skies for our season’s first Sunday hike.  Indeed, as we assembled inside the chalet at Mont St-Bruno, it had started to rain and we were all checking our rain gear.  But when we went outside to take the group photo, the rain had stopped and did not return for the duration of our hike.  The temp was about 12 C.

In our group of 14, there were a Continue reading “Sunday Sept 26 St Bruno…report by Tom”