Three Day Challenge: Mt. Gosford

“May your dreams be larger than mountains
and may you have the courage to scale their summits.”
―Harley King

Huddled in our blankets, we stared outside the window as the sun was rising. The third mountain of our challenge lay somewhere over the trees, the tallest of the three at 1180m.

As soon as we could see enough we packed our sleeping gear and prepared a breakfast consisting of oats, a banana each plus a slice of bread with peanut butter. The hike to the top was approximately 7km , and with the days shortening we had to get there in time to return before nightfall. So we put our backpacks on and started walking towards the mountain.

At first we followed a road that led toward the base of the mountain, and after 3km we started walking on a trail that slowly went up the side of the mountain.

The day was overcast again, althought it was not snowing. We could not see the top of the mountain as it was covered by a thick cloud.

For the first couple of kilometers the trail seemed to be a creek, it was covered in pebbles and water. Sometimes the snow covered the trail and we would unxpectedly find our feet stuck in mud. It was slow progress and the trail sometimes went up and sometimes down.

the ugly trails

slowly making progress up

The trail then takes a sharp turn upwards and starts going up the mountain in a snake like pattern but still quite steep. The air gets colder, but we do not feel it due to the effort of climbing.

The silence in the mountains was broken only by our occasional chatter, but even then we walked mostly in silence, absorbing the beauty of the scenery. As we progressed upwards, the trees become slimmer, the snow and ice stick to all surfaces forming eerie figures in our way.

Pretty soon the trees not only got slimmer, but smaller as well, they looked like clusters of ice crumpled on the side of the mountain fully covered in their icy prison until spring. We could feel that we were close to the top but couldn’t see anything due to the clouds. We started seeing a great quantity of rabbit tracks near the top. At one point the snow was so deep we kind of lost track of the trail so we followed the rabbits which led us on the right way. Suddenly the small trees cleared and we saw the rocky summit of Mt. Gosford!

skinny trees

dwarf trees

Only frozen rocks separated us from the few steps till the summit. Once again, we could only imagine the valley below because all we saw was white all around.

summit!

frozen inukshuk

signs to neverland

summit

We took a couple of pictures and started to make our way back. We decided to return through another trail which we hoped would be less steep and would not imply walking on a creek, the only downside is that this one was 9km long. The descent was less steep although we did cross a few creeks, but generally this trail was much easier than the other. We stopped at a lean-to refuge to eat and rest a bit before continuing down.

My feet were starting to hurt more, ever since yesterday I had some bllisters forming on my big toes and now they were really bothering me. On the way up there is not much pressure on the toes, but now each step was additional pressure on the blisters. After a few kilometers we reached the bottom of the mountain and joined a road that led to the entrance of the ZEC about 4 or 5km away.

We reached the car around 3pm with approximately 1 hour of daylight to spare. We loaded up the car and headed back to civilization. That evening we drove back to Montreal, tired and dirty but happy.

The mountains may take alot of  energy to climb but what they take in sweat and effort they give back in happiness and satisfaction, and I may venture to say that they also give another type of energy, one that you can take back to the city with you…

In colnclusion I would like to encourage anybody who reads this to go out to nature, take a challenge, make the effort, invest the energy. You will come out refreshed, you will build your confidence, you will discover your abilities both mental and physical, and step by step you will grow and be able to tackle bigger challenges next time.

And never forget to wear proper clothing for the activity you choose! It is the difference between a cold and miserable trip that can end badly and a challenging but enjoyable adventure.

Until next time!

Three Day Challenge: Mt. Megantic

“Bad weather always looks worse through a window”
-Unknown

Waking up in a sleeping bag curled up in the back of your car can mean two things: you are either homeless or you are up to some awseome adventure, or both…

Last night after climbing down Mt. Orford we had a warm soup and then we curled into our sleeping bags for some well earned rest. This morning as the sun rose up we drove about an hour further east towards Mount Megantic National Park.

Mt. Megantic houses one of the most important astronomical observatories in North America, and the surrounding area has even been designated as the first international Dark-sky Reserve.

Upon arrival we had breakfast at the reception building and then proceeded to walk up the trail. It had snowed all night and there was still a light snowfall, so the trail was covered in a thick layer of fresh powdery snow.

We saw many Moose tracks crossing the trail and sometimes following the trail for a while. We walked quietly hoping to catch a glimpse of this iconic animal. We also saw a few deer tracks. It was good to see so much animal activity.

A little further up the trail two Gray Jays flew over us, looking at us intently, their heads tilted to the side. We offered them some of our trail mix, and soon a dozen Jays were flying in and scooping up the grains off our hands. We had a snack with them as well and then kept going up.

As we progressed up the mountain, we seemed to be walking up into a cloud, and a light snow seemed to continuously cover us in a thin layer of white powder. The trees also no longer had snow accumulate on top of them, but actually sticking to the sides as well. We started to enter an otherwordly scenery.

The cold intensified as the wind crept in between the trees. Soon we reached the top, on which stands the astronomical observatory. The visibility was terrible, with strong winds racing across the summit blowing up the fine snow off the ground.

We didn’t stay long before starting to make our way down the road to find a refuge. After unsuccesfully trying an adjacent building we soon found a refuge close to the top.

Poor visibility

Drying our clothes at the refuge

Here we lit the firestove, dried some clothes and ate a warm soup and dried fruits to refill our bodies in warmth and energy. While the outside was a blanket of white, inside we were warm and cozy. It would make a nice place to spend the night…
Regardless, we had to get back out again and start our way back. I had some blisters starting to form, so my feet hurt slightly but we made good progress and arrived back to the car before nightfall.

We decided to head out to Mt. Gosford that evening in order to start the climb early the next morning. The road was slippery and dark, and after looking around we finally arrived to the Mt. Gosford ZEC, which is at the end of a long back road, which at night seems to lead to nowhere. Here we parked our car under some trees, lighted up our coleman stove and had another soup before going to sleep…

Tomorrow we climb the tallest of the three mountains Mt. Gosford.

Three Day Challenge: Mt. Orford

“You never climb a mountain on accident, it has to be intentional”
-Mark Udall

The fall is coming to its end here in Canada, winter approaching ever surely. The changing season means a different way to interact with nature, it changes the rules of the game.  With the cold, you cannot be careless because it is less forgiving than warm weather.

I had a few days off, and once again my wife and I decided to go out on a short adventure. This time we decided to go out trekking. We decided on three different mountains. Mount Orford, Mount Megantic and Mount Gosford; 850m, 1 102m, and 1 193m of elevation respectively. Mt. Gosford being the highest in southern Quebec.

It was supposed to be another fall adventure, but as things turned out the weekend prior to our little escapade, winter made its appearance in Canada. We prepared our clothing accordingly and we set out on a snowy monday morning out of Montreal. Our first destination was Mount Orford National Park in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec.

After parking at the entrance of the Park, we walked 2km towards the base of the ski resort where a trail to the summit started. The wind was blowing and a light snow was falling. As we were walking we suddenly noticed a deer, right beside us on the side of the road, quietly eating and looking at us curiously. It even took the time to take a selfie with us before we parted ways.

Arriving at the base of the mountain we started up a road to the top. Being on the road we were more exposed to the wind and snow, but as we slowly went up the mountain our bodies start producing more heat and soon the cold is hardly an obstacle.

As we climbed the scenery changed, the wind was stronger and the snow seemed to cling to all the vegetation. The rocks were covered in icicles, and the trees were covered in a thick crust of snow and ice giving it all an otherwordly appearance.

Soon we reached the summit. The snowstorm was now blowing in full force with the wind gusting between 15 and 20kts. We had reached the summit, but there was no view to greet us, only more snow.

We didn’t stay long at the summit before starting our way down on one of the ski slopes, even more exposed to the wind. We were now starting to look like the trees, covered in a layer of frozen snow. I have always loved being outside on a snowstorm, it is awe inspiring; you are surrounded by white all around and feel like in a bubble, and although the wind howls there seems to be a silence prevalent in the air, all is silent when the wind speaks.

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We then diverted into a trail in the wood, the “summit trail”, where we continued our exploration. The trail was covered in a fresh layer of snow making it difficult to identify the rocks and roots on the trail. We climbed up a ridge and then descended into a small valley following a stream bed almost completely covered in snow. After about an hour we turned back in order to arrive back to our car before nightfall. The disadvantage of November is that the sun sets around 4:30 pm so the days are short.

Descending the mountain

Taking a small break

Trail mix

Small creek

We returned to the ski slope and continued down the mountain, as we descended we gradually got out of the cloud that was covering the mountain, we emerged looking like we were from the set of the Revenant, ice hanging onto our clothing and faces. But we were happy, it was a nice day and we enjoyed the first serious snowstorm of this winter.

descending the mountain

covered in ice

We continued 2km till we reached the car and after brushing off all the snow we headed off to find a good place to spend the night car camping. Tomorrow we have our second challenge: Mount Megantic.

To be continued…