26 Hikers at Mount Royal
Despite having partied hearty the night before, 19 revellers dragged themselves out of bed and to Mount Royal. They were joined by 7 other members who missed the party but were not about to miss a good Sunday morning walk. Three dogs rounded out the group. It was a cool day, -4 C under cloudy skies and breezy.
The gang gathered in the chalet at Beaver Lake at 9:45 am. One thing we were surprised to see was that people were already skating on the outdoor rink. Mind you, that ice surface has underground refrigeration and it usually gets going before the snow arrives. None of us had brought our skates so an aspiring skaters among us could only look on wistfully. But three girls did bring their running shoes and tights. Their warm up routine made them look like the Beaver Tail cheerleaders (see photo of the week)! They zipped past us soon after we started walking. So officially we were 23 hikers and 3 runners.
We set out along Olmsted Road, walking past the big stairs and all the way to the trail that loops in the woods below the Camillien Houde lookout. We then retraced our steps to the stairs and clambered up them. After a pit stop at the Mount Royal chalet, we took the road around the cross, and then made our way back to Beaver Lake. We covered 8.5 km in 1 hr 50 min. Afterward, the majority of the group adjourned to the cafeteria style café on the upper level of the Beaver Lake chalet for hot drinks and snacks.
A good morning of exercise and since we stayed in town, we still had the entire afternoon to relax or get ready for the holida