Just like two weeks ago at Rigaud, the forecast was for rain — 80% chance of 1-3 mm was the morning prediction for St Adolphe.  But I tweeted at 5 pm on Saturday that I would be there, “come what may”.
I had been in Ottawa and on Sun morning I drove to St Adolphe via Aut 50 E and Rte 329 N.  There was no rain the whole drive and the views of the autumn colours along Aut 50 were the best I had seen in years.  At this time of year, the drive out of town to a hike can be more of a joy than a chore.  Nevertheless, I fully expected to be the only person in the parking lot when I arrived at 10 am, but three other hardy hikers were there waiting.   We got ready and I checked the Weather Network’s radar projection — it showed that most of the rain was passing south of the region, i.e., over Montreal.  The rain would eventually reach us but not for a couple of hours or so.  In any case, we all had water resistant hiking jackets and boots, so a bit of rain was not a worry for us.

We set out under cloudy skies and a 14 C temp.  Our plan was to hike trails 2 and 3 for a total of 8.5 km.  The trails are end-to-end loops so the idea was to follow a figure-eight route.  I had a plot of a hike from a few years ago to guide us.  There was more climbing than I remembered–it was a steady uphill for the first 1.5 km.  We did get a 15-minute rain shower during that part but the trails were not muddy and we had the proper hiking gear, so it was no issue.  There were a couple of other brief showers during the hike, but it was mostly rain-free.

The trail was a bit rocky and strewn with fallen wet leaves, so water-proof hiking boots were essential.  Many of the leaves on the ground were brilliantly coloured, so watching your step on the trail was a beautiful view this day.   There were few other people on the trail, but while we were taking a break and some photos at the turn-around point, a couple of runners came by and so we are able to get one good group shot.
The trail intersections are a bit tricky and we often had to stop and check the maps.  But we still managed to miss a turn towards the end and so missed the fourth part of the figure eight.  We finished with 7.7 km and a total elapsed time of 2h 35m.  It was just as well, as a light rain finally began to fall steadily just as we got back to the cars.  But we had a marvellous hike and we all agreed it had once again been worth it to disregard the weather forecast

Jan W writes;

I couldn’t have asked for better weather, and the leaves were still in prime colour.  We (Sue-Anne, Maria, Robbie, Cathy and myself) started from Underhill State Park dressed warmly and with extra layers in our packs, this is mid-October right?…well…we were all wearing one layer less by the time we reached the treeline. We put back on a layer once on the ridge, then enjoyed the sunshine, blue sky, very low wind (for a Mansfield summit….) and coloured mountains below as we traversed.

We hiked up  along the Halfway House trail, then along the above-treeline ridge (taking the Long Trail) until the Chin (summit) and then back down on Sunset Ridge.  In total, it was a bit over 10km, 750m vertical and about 5 hours 15 min.  We spent a least 30 minutes at the summit for lunch.  The only part where we met almost nobody else was the Halfway House trail.   The Sunset Ridge trail had steady hiker traffic, and the summit/ridge even more due to many who drove up the Toll road or took the Stowe Gondola.  There was still plenty of room to enjoy it all.  At the bottom when we left, we saw about 1 km of parked cars lining the access road to Underhill State park…we weren’t the only ones who wanted to enjoy the colours and get in a good hike.

 

It was a beautiful fall day for the Oka hike last Sunday.  The fall colours were in evidence on the pleasant drive along Rte 344.  We gathered in the parking lot in the north end of the park under sunny skies and 10 C.  Perfect weather for hiking.  There were 14 of us who were able to get away from turkey baking and other Thanksgiving-related duties and turn up for the hike.  None of the club’s canine members were able to make it, however, to take advantage of the new dog-friendly policy at Oka.

We set out at 10 am along the usual route.   Most people who visit Oka on a fall day take the Calvaire trail, which is the most direct and easy-going path to the summit with the three chapels.   But being hardy members of the BTNSC, we always set out on the Sommet trail, which few people take.  That route is longer and has a few short, steep stretches.  We did spread out a bit, but we regrouped a few times and everyone was fine.

At 5.5 km into the hike we reached the summit with the three chapels, where we were afforded a spectacular view of the countryside and the Lake of Two Mountains / Lac des Deux-Montagnes.  We were also treated to free apples from the local orchards and generous chunks of Oka cheese.  They have this celebration of local produce only once a year and we always make a point of being there on that one day!

After about 20 minutes of snacking and chatting and picture taking, we started down on the Calvaire trail.  As mentioned, it has many more people on it, including many families with small children.  But it is a wide and gentle trail, so it’s not like anyone is feeling too crowded.  After another 2 and a bit km, we were back at the parking lot.  Total distance of 7.75 km and total elapsed time of 2h 20m.  Sunny and 11 C.
As promised, it was a short but invigorating hike with lots of wonderful colours and views.  Those of us who were lucky enough to take part certainly had something to give thanks for on this holiday weekend.

During the day on Sat, I sent out three tweets to update the Sun morning Rigaud weather forecast.  It kept getting worse.  In my last tweet on Sat evening, I shared the forecast of “80% prob of 1-3mm”, but I also said we would still try to hike.  Perhaps I should have also included the old adage, “80% of success is showing up.”  After all, since the hike was close to the West Island, it was not such a big gamble to show up and see what the weather would end up being.

Those of us who *did* show up were well-rewarded.  It was a perfectly pleasant morning to hike the trails of Mont Rigaud.  Despite the wet forecast, in the end there was no rain.  And by no rain, I mean there was not a single drop during the entire hike.

No doubt because of the expectation of rain, it was a small group of seven who met in the parking lot of the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame in Rigaud.  There were five club members, including Christine B-M, our local trail expert and volunteer leader of this hike.  The other Beaver Tailers were Jan & Cathy, Bob and me.  Hikers 6 & 7 were hiking friends of Christine.  Claude was along for the second year in a row to help Christine by bringing up the rear (of what is usually a larger group) and making sure any stragglers stayed on course.  And white-bearded Alfred just happened to arrive to hike on his own and he accepted our invitation to join us.

It was cloudy and 14 C as we set out at 10 am.  The trails were slightly damp from a bit of rain over night, but the trails were not slippery and there was not a single bit of mud.  We followed the standard route up the hill and around the backside of the mountain.  The trails and turns on this part of Mont Rigaud are all unmarked, so having a guide like Christine is the best way to ensure we do not get lost.  We paused at the usual spots: the “potato fields” of rounded stones, the burned chalet, the beaver dam, and the lookout at the cross.  We then went further west to the top of the ski hill before making our way back to parking lot.  We hiked 9.25 km in 2h 45 m, so back at 12:45 pm.

It was a splendid start to the BTNSC hiking season.  It just goes to show you, even if the weather looks doubtful, it’s often worth it to show up!

Sharon Z report from PTN

Conditions were pretty good except for a short distance at the beginning. We did classic. Skating would have been harder especially earlier in the day because the track hadn’t softened up. All in all it was definitely worth it!

Are they the last skier standing?

At the EOS Party on Sat evening, there were only two people who said they planned to go skiing at 11 am the next day at the P’tit Train du Nord (PTdN).  And one of those two was a maybe.  I certainly did not think I would go.  But back home after the party, I was browsing Facebook and saw a post by the PTdN people with a night-time photo of the freshly groomed trail and the comment that the conditions would be great on Sun.  I was suddenly tempted, but decided I would see how I felt in the morning.
After getting up and moving all my clocks ahead one hour, it was still early enough and the weather was great.  I decided to go for it, despite not having been on my cross-country skis in over a month due to bad weather and scheduling conflicts.  Yes, it was going to be a few degrees above zero, but I wasn’t scared of putting on klister.  I drove to the vieux gare de Mont Rolland in Ste-Adèle and arrived at 11 am just as Mickey and Sharon were parking.  The parking lot was two-thirds full, but there were no other Beaver Tail skiers.
Sharon decided to go skate skiing while Mickey and I prepared our classic skis.  I put the gloppy universal klister on my skis and we set out north.  The klister worked surprising well and we made good progress.  It was about +4 C or +5 C, with sun and no wind.  It was a real treat to be skiing with no hat or headband and a light pair of gloves.  Mickey had skied a lot this winter (including doing the Canadian Ski Marathon) so he was in his usual top form.  Fortunately for me, he dialed back his effort level so that I could keep up with him.  But he did egg me on to go “just another km” and before I knew it we were 13 km out.  The PTdN is a linear trail so I did the math and realized I was now committed to a 26 km ski, my longest this year by far.

The return trip was mostly downhill and given the often icy surface (when the trail was in the shade), double-poling was the easiest way to move along.  We stopped often to take photos, or at least that was my excuse, I just needed to take some breaks!  We finally returned after 3 hr 25 min for a well-deserved lunch at the Café de la Gare.  I was feeling tired and sore, but It was one of my most enjoyable outings of the year!

Oh yes now I remember what winter should be like.

Yes there should be snow, tracks you can see and all the way round the trail. Blue skies and little wind, and temperatures not too cold.
Well Sunday at Gai Luron was a bobby dazzler, just as well because looking a the future forecast it may have been our last skiing day.

Who was out, look at all the photos and just count the skiers with the smiling faces. No photo of Micky Z, the snow was too good for him to hang around.

As we all know the 2016 winter has been very variable, with many hours spent on Google trying to interpret the ski conditions. Finally a 2016 trail condition guide was introduced.

2016 Nordic ski trail conditions:
Excellent , read “good given the conditions.”
Bonne, read “snow covered for most of the time with a slight chance of a track.”
Passable, read “only on an ATV”

As it turned out at Orford on Saturday the conditions could be termed excellent (2016 def.) Around the chalet it was hard packed and icy, as was No1, however most of the club members found the 2016 definition to be appropriate with everyone finding something to satisfy their needs however weird that may be. More about that later.

As usual the Saturday evening was a most enjoyable social event, starting with a wine and snacks at Arthur and Ghyslaine’s condo then dinner in the hotel.

Saturday night it snowed about 10-15cm, and the temperature rose to near zero. What to do? A few opted to go skating at Magog, assuming the lake would be ploughed for skating. Other went back to Orford where the conditions were excellent (2016 def.) Tracking was in progress although the new soft snow caused a few problems and ski skating was tough. Others with a wary eye on the storm warnings for Sunday evening decided that the weekend was a success already and would venture home.

Now for the The Orford Oscars or should I say Razzies.

There are two nominations in the documentary class for the longest time to drive to Orford without traffic restraints.

Friday Feb 26 NDG to Orford starring Monique I.
A summary of life in NDG in winter. Hours spent getting her car up an icy drive only to be blocked by neighbor’s cars, then having to abandon the journey until after rush hour. End result late arrival at Orford.

Saturday Feb 27 Montreal to Orford , a delightful drive in fine conditions, starring Helene C and Cheryl W
A story of friends enjoying time together, that is until they passed the Duty Free store and approached the US border. Who screwed it up, no one is telling.

I will let the reader choose the winner of the Razzie.

The next award is for adventure, or weird things people do., starring Nancy A
This epic story is about a lone skier at the far end of the parc who had urge to cross a frozen creek to reach a trail. It’s the kind of urge one gets all the time. After testing the ice the skier starts to cross then woosh, she is up to her nether regions in fast flowing water. Quick as a flash she jumps out of the creek, skis an all, a little damp. After ringing out her socks, and failing to reach a Uber taxi, the only alternative was to reach a refuge before her clothes froze solid. At the second attempt she came across a refuge with a lit stove where she could dry out. After an hour and nearly setting her clothes on fire she was able to set off back to the parking lot. Is that not weird or what.

Finally a special mention to the weekend organizer Arthur G, without his comprehensive emails the weekend would not have happened. Ta Arthur.

The conditions were looking marginal for Sun, but I still decided to organize an “opt in” outing to Morin Heights.  The weather forecast suggested that it might be a bit colder there and I hoped they had received more snow than rain on Sat.  Eight people responded and said they were ready to go if conditions looked OK in the morning.

On Sun morning I tried calling Morin Heights but their phone line was not working.  But all the Sepaq centers, including Tremblant, had provided early morning updates and they all talked about wet heavy snow and how they could not groom the trails as a result.  So at the last minute I cancelled the outing.  I suggested to the eight people they could try going to cap St Jacques if they had waxless skis (which I don’t).
That did not mean nobody skied on Sun.  Sharon Z was one of the eight respondents, but she missed my message cancelling the outing and drove up to Morin Heights.  She reported that conditions were indeed poor and that even the flat aerobic corridor trail had been damaged by people walking on it.  She then drove to the P”tit Train du Nord where she found the conditions were fine for both classic and skate-skiing.  So she did get in a good ski outing.
I received other reports about people out on Sun.  At least four members did end up skiing at CSJ on waxless skis.  There were a few puddles to contend with but it was still decent skiing.  Two other members ended up at Morin Heights but went snowshoeing instead and had a splendid time.  The most surprising report was from Marlene B.  Her and Brian A happened to be near to Domaine St Bernard so they went there with their skis and with low expectations. But they found the conditions to be just fine.

Once again the moral of the story is: good skiing (and snowshoeing) is out there if you are persistent and willing to take a chance!

It is well known that the Canadian Ski Marathon is not easy, a two day 160kms cross country ski event. This year to add to the fun the weather did not co -operate.
Here are notes from two club members Glen C and Mickey Z who “enjoyed” the weekend.

Clen C’s note:

It was really tough… the first section on Sat was met with very heavy snow, and we were all completely blocked up… only doing 3 km in the first hour. The waxing for both days was very difficult, as the snow was so heavy and also variable. This meant for lots of double poling (the arms a very sore), and climbing was tough too.

On sat, we had lots of rain in section 9, and then we waited at the checkpoint to start section 8, but it was closed due to a stuck groomer… hundreds and hundreds of skiers waited in the pouring rain for directions… we all froze!!! After about 1 hour, they decided to bus everyone to the start of section 7. My caloric burn on day 1 was 3500, and on day 2, it was 3000.

Sunday started off much better, as there was only a little snow… then it cleared to a beautiful sunny day. But, this also made for very difficult waxing, as the temp was near 0. Skiers did not know what to do.. klister, red, silver, etc…

Yes, I achieved my objectives, and finished the last section around 3:20. Feeling really tired and sore. Mickey and I enjoyed a nice Subway sandwich across the street from our hotel (high school gym floor), which really hit the spot!!
Mickey , please feel free to add…

Mickey Z’s note
Terrible. What’s the opposite of fun?

It was the worst conditions anyone can remember – slush and ice covered with a thin layer of powder. Nothing worked – no combination of waxes and klisters. The fewest number of people finished compared with previous years. Unlike last time when I finished all 10 sections with an hour to spare, this time I missed the cutoff. It was the first time in my life that I can say I didn’t enjoy the ski.

I should have bought a pair of no-wax skis.