So the walk was L’Escapade at Rigaud on the Sunday. L’Escapade set me thinking, a rare event these days, what does it mean and why call a trail in the woods Escapade? So off to Google land I went and I came up with the following definitions. Mirriam Webster
“an exciting, foolish, or dangerous experience or adventure”

Oxford dictionaries
“An act or incident involving excitement, daring or adventure “

But it was the Urban dictionary that caught my eye:
“a carefree adventure in which a group of individuals runs about late at night, preferably scantily dressed. “

So that’s what attracted 22 walkers out a cool blustery morning, sadly not a lot of scantily dressed people there, mind you it would have been a horrific sight if some of our members had tried. However two boxer dogs who were present certainly met all the criteria of the Urban dictionary, a good woof woof for them.

Once we had gathered all the latecomers, or should we say Audi drivers and St Lazare natives , we were able to start the walk. The walk itself along the xcountry ski trail provides pleasant walking along wooded trails, popular with many people who want to get out for exercise on a Sunday morning particularly if they had a large dog, of

which we saw numerous. The high light of the trail is a steep little climb about three quarters of the way round which leads to a viewpoint looking South to the far hills of Owls Head and the Adirondacks. It was a happy group sat in the sun enjoying the view, mind you some seemed to have their tongues hanging out. Eventually it dawned on them that there was a further 3kms back to the parking lot over undulating ground, still soon we were back.

Not a bad outing followed by a takeover of Tim Horton’s by 12 walkers, now that was an escapade..

St Bruno is a pleasant parc  close to Montreal, just over the river, and as such it attracts a multitude of folk. Families, walkers, groups of walkers, runners, refugees from Calgary, circus performers, you know the usual crowd. So it attracted a good turnout of  BTNSC members, rumor had it we were 24 at the start and 25 at the finish. Now that was no Cirque de Soleil illusion but the missing person apparently got lost on the way to parc, so we left the chalet leaving instructions on where we were going. In retrospect it seems incredulous that someone who could not find a huge parc would be able to find a group wandering around aimlessly along wooded trails, but unbelievably it happened.

So there we were wandering around the pleasant trails of the parc in what was a very civilized manner, could that have been an Calgary influence, extremely doubtful they are more famous for Stampedes.

It is amazing that the parc can absorb so many people yet it did not feel crowded, it helped however being able to turn right on the red light, a delight for the crazy Montreal drivers. That and being able to cross a cone free bridge to a view point on the lake, such a luxury. Still it was a bit unnerving seeing in the woods eyes watching us all the time. Only the great white hunter was able to stalk these beast down and photograph the stag the rest of us had to settle for a pretty laidback doe close to the path, still a deer is a deer is a deer.

A good morning’s walk.

It was a splendid day for hiking at Prevost — sunny and 5 C. After a delay due to the late arrival of our hike leader (me!), 12 of us finally set out at 10:20 am.

It’s sometimes difficult to get other members to lead a hike if I’m not there.　 I tell people, it’s not a big deal, just get the trail map and use it in conjunction with the trail markers.　 But there are a couple of places we go to that are exceptions.　 Rigaud, when we start from the Sanctuary, is one of them.　 We usually have to get our local expert Christine B-M to guide us.　 The other exception is Prevost.　 I have done this hike over a dozen times, but even with a clear map of the desired route, I sometimes struggle to keep us on track.　 There are trail markers here and there, but there are many poorly marked turns that are tough to find even when I know they are coming up and I’m looking for them!

The first challenge is finding the correct path up to the summit of Mount Shaw.　 As usual, we briefly took some wrong turns and did a bit of back tracking before we found our way up to the summit with its big boulder. Now, to call this lookout “Mount” Shaw is a being generous, even by Laurentian mountain standards.　 But there is a nice view, so I guess that’s what counts.

As we made our way down to Lac du Paradis, we were joined by a late-arriving Kelly and her handsome pooches, Thor and Loki.　 So now we were 13 plus two dogs. We paused to admire the lake and watch the dogs frolic in the water.　 Then it was up to the power lines and the steep path parallel to them.　 We then went along the upper ridge and emerged at the first of the two main lookouts. We continued along the edge of the ridge to the second lookout, where we took a lunch break.

I then tried to follow the MOC trail further north, but I could not find the turnoff and wound up on the roughly-parallel WZ trail.　 So a bit longer than planned, but it was a nice way down also. We went back the usual way — west on the WN trail, then south on the JE trail before joining the dirt road (closed to traffic) and finally the P’tit Train du Nord.

It was another classic day of hiking at Prevost.　 Stats: 9.0 km, 3 hr 10 min, 13 very happy hikers (plus the two dogs).　 For five people, it was there first time at Prevost, and they especially enjoyed discovering these great trails not so far from the city!

The day before the Sun Nov 1 hike the weather forecast for Mont St-Hilaire was for rain and wind.　 Like many of you, I reflexively thought, “We can’t possibly hike in the rain!”　 But then I thought, well, why not?!　 It’s not like I don’t have all the weather-resistant gear and clothing I would need!
Normally, we likely would have cancelled.　 And if there was going to be any heavy rain, we surely would have done so.　 But the forecast was just intermittent light rain, and after having to miss the previous two Sun hikes, personally I was keen to get out in the woods and I thought maybe some others might be also.　 So I figured, let’s give it a try
My call for hikers was answered by six people.　 In the end, three had to opt out for various reasons, and so there were four of us who met up at Mont St Hilaire at 10 am.　 It was indeed raining lightly as we gathered in the centre d’accueil.　 We were a determined bunch, especially two of the group who had unexpectedly stayed out partying the night before until 3 am!　 A lucky thing the clocks changed overnight and they had an extra hour to recuperate.
After congratulating ourselves for having made it this far (i.e, driving through the rain to the park!), we set out on the trails.　 It was 7 C and still raining lightly, but the Weather Network and the radar map predicted it would end in about 30 minutes.　 Sure enough, the rain did stop and it did not rain again for the rest of our hike.　 The wide, well-maintained trails of the nature center were wet but not muddy.
We took our usual clockwise route.　 We first climbed to the Burned Hill view point, where there was only a partial view due to low cloud cover.　 We then continued on to the more prominent Pain de Sucre look out.　 By the time we arrived there, the rain had stopped and the visibility of the surrounding areas was surprisingly good.　 Pain de Sucre is a popular stopping point for park visitors and there are usually many people crowded onto the big rock.　 But on this day we were the only ones there.　 This exposed view point was one of the only spots where we felt the strong winds.

Indeed, we had to take care not to get blown off the rock!　 But everywhere else on the hike, we were completely sheltered from the winds — it was downright tranquil.
After descending from Pain de Sucre, we decided to forgo the usual trek north to the Dieppe and Rocky view points.　 Instead we cut across the center of the park from west to east on the purple trail (sentier mauve).　 We then walked south on the trail that skirts the edge of Lac Hertel.　 We paused at the small wooden lookout deck to admire a large group of ducks on the lake.　 We then continued south back to the centre d’accueil.
Hike stats: 8.5 km, 2 hr 26 min and 4 happy hikers.　 Not bad for a day that

originally looked like it would be a washout!

Rain showers in the forecast, plus winds, bridge closures and road work cones rather put a damper on our plan to go to St Hilaire so we went to plan “B”, a walk around Cap St Jacques just for the exercise. So it came to pass that a fine group of walkers gathered at Cap St Jacques, indeed a fine group with a selection of off island people turning up. These included a lost soul from St Lambert trying to work out where he had left his bike, a club less golfer from L’ile Bizard and a resident from Ile Perrot who had managed to sort out a way onto the island. A grand total of 11.
Not a lot to decide where to go, just pick up the Rabbit by the ears and away we went We managed to keep  up a steady pace and given that we were sheltered from the wind and it wasn’t raining our morale was high reaching the farm in good time. Concern was expressed in the group about discrimination on the farm with white and non white chickens being segregated, however no one seemed inclined to start a protest. Our thoughts of an early coffee started to disappear as the weather improved and we ventured onto the squirrel. Again progress was good, passing a few beaches but now catching the wind, until we found ourselves trapped in a pen at Havre aux tortues, for a moment it felt that we were going to be deported off the island however the misunderstanding was cleared up, or so I am told and we were free to go. Now with a sense of urgency in our step we knocked off the last few kilometers back to the cars and at last a coffee at Tims.

Val David always has interesting walks, and Oct 18 was no exception. A bright cool day, -2C attracted 3 dogs, Samson, Max and Hyena with 14 human companions. We found out that there was a running race on some of the trails however our leaders Samson, Max and Hyena did not seem a bit interested in the options suggested by the warden as their minds were made up where to go. They were however concerned about controlling 14 non canine bodies in their charge, so they fell back on the trusted canine tool, a lead. A rope was produced and the 14 lined up in pairs and told to hold the rope, “garderie” style as instructed by Hyena. Good try dogs. Off we set, up the steady and steep climb in parts to the Mt Condor Ouest lookout. The trail’s could be a little tricky with ice that had formed under a covering of leaves, still the leaders ensured our safe passage by running up and down the trail between the 14’s legs. A few runners did pass us going up and we found a gatorade stop at the lookout, we also found out the most of the runners had already passed and were offered free Gatorade if we wanted it. It  now became evident the our leaders, Samson, Max and Hyena’s map reading skills were pretty limited, sniffing the map and sniffing the trail did not score very high in the where are we going stakes. So they wisely enrolled the aid of “the scientist” and an” old guy” to sort out the technicalities whilst they assumed the bigger leadership role.  Up and down a few more steep little climbs found us at the Mt King Lookout, a more exposed lookout with a vertical drop below of 30 to 40 metres. Our bold leaders with their nose to the ground completely ignored the no entry sign pinned high up a tree and encouraged us along a narrowing “trail” above the cliff. Everyone seemed to manage to get across, particularly if you had the advantage of 4 legs. Glenn came nearest to disaster slipping on a difficult step, but saved himself,  had he not, now  that would have been the highlight of the report. A refreshment break was taken beneath the crags of Mont King, but it soon became clear that it was cold, which probably accounted for the lack of climbers. The sun had gone in so after a quick bark and fight the leaders opted to go down. Probably a good call as it started briefly snowing come hailing as we walked down the path. We also passed a few Nepalese porters carrying huge loads up the trail, actually they were climbers carrying bouldering pads or sometimes referred to as crash pads, a safety aid. A final walk along the Petit train du Nord and we were back at the Chalet Anne-Pichė. A quick thank you to our leaders Samson, Max and Hyena for the spirited lead, and a check that Helene had her car keys  the group dispersed , some home others for a coffee and muffin in Val David.

It was our traditional Thanksgiving weekend hike at Oka last Sun.  Twenty-two of us gathered under cloudy skies and a temp of 12 C.  There was a breeze and we were all taken aback at how cold we felt in the parking lot.  But we knew that feeling would quickly dissipate once we started hiking uphill in the shelter of the trees.  Besides, we had a mission!  There were apples and cheeses waiting for us at the top.  And maybe chocolate?

We got a passer-by to take our group photo at the trail head.  By the way, this passer-by was passing by on roller skis!  He was already training for ski season.  Us Beaver Tailers are dedicated skiers, but we’re not *that* dedicated!

Off we went on our quest for free local produce.  Most of the climbing comes during the first 3 km before we reach a small clearing with a couple of picnic tables.  This is marked as “Le Sommet” on the park map.  It is actually the highest point of the hike, but the clearing is surrounded by trees so there is no viewpoint.  We attempted to regroup here, but people were consumed by thoughts of possible chocolate at the lookout and they could not be held back!

The next 3 km was easy going, except for when the trail kicked up for the final approach to the lookout with the three chapels.  The bad news — no chocolate this year!  But there was a cornucopia of Spartan apples and large cubes of Oka cheese.  The bounty was being portioned out by park personnel as part of the park’s annual celebration of local culture and history.  While we snacked we enjoyed the view and remarked how the leaves were slower to be changing colours this year.

It was another 2 km down the gently sloping Sentier du Calvaire, past the small chapels with bas-relief wood carvings depicting religious scenes.  The stats: 7.9 km from 10 am to 12:15 pm, with a temp range of 12 C to 15 C.  A great little hike for a busy holiday weekend!

25 hikers and 2 dogs arrived at the parking lot at the Sanctuaire in Rigaud for our first official Sunday hike. 24 hikers and 1 dog set off.   The one hiker and dog that did not start must have had an inkling of what kind of hike it would be!

Many remembered doing the hike before but, for a few new members, the rocky start of the hike was new to them. The hike was led by Christine Bouckley-Moore with military precision this year with the addition of her second in command who would act as the official sweep for the hike, Claude, and walki-talkies! The Beaver Tails have succumbed to the hi-tech trend you say – fear not – some of us still got lost! Well not lost exactly we just kept on the usual path instead of veering off onto a short cut due to the fact that we were too busy chatting or looking for mushrooms that we missed the ribbons indicating where the shortcut was.

It was a nice sunny day with terrific views from the cross (it was clear enough to see Montreal! Sorry we did not have adequate camera equipment to capture it).

So depending on which group you were in, you either did 8.3 or 9.4 km. The 9.4 group finished not only with more mileage but some edible mushrooms. We did leave some mushrooms behind mostly because we could not tell if they were edible or not. Perhaps some orienteering and mushroom identifying courses are required in the future!

Out thanks go to Christine and Claude not only for their guidance on this hike but for their work in making sure the trails are maintained.

The title was snatched from the St Bruno gang by a last minute ski on the 12 April at Far Hills by Scott (never say die) B and his friend Peter J . So that truly is that…

It was bike riding weather on Friday, but that night the weather veered back towards winter one last time.  We had a nice blanket of damp snow on Sat morning.  I went for a solo ski at Cap St Jacques at 11:30 am.  The trails had not been groomed, but several other skiers had already passed and had established tracks.  There were not too many bare spots, but there were some puddles to skirt around.  It was fun to be out at CSJ one last time.
On Sun at Mont St Bruno, four of us could not resist the prospect of an April ski outing.  The fact that we were able to ski this late in the season on the South Shore, instead of having to travel up north to the Laurentians, made it all the more special.  I know there were many more of you who would have wanted to be there if you had not been preoccupied with Easter holiday activities!

The parking lot and waxing room were much quieter than usual when we arrived at 10 am.  Amazingly, all 27 km of the classic trails and all 8 km of the skate trails were open.  The trails were all rated as “passable”.  The coverage was thin, Continue reading →