Tuesday 3 February 2015 – The Burma Road

Temperature outside at 8 am: –22C.

We wouldn’t be going anywhere fast, especially as Sue was well exercised after last night’s yoga class with Tatiana (and Ken).

Around 10.30, the blue skies became clouded with occasional snow flurries and the temperature outside warmed up to minus 14C. That saw Sue and Helen and me (Ken works) dash off to P10 for a gentle ascent to Huron Cabin via Fortune Parkway and Ridge Road over the Khyber Pass.

Being so much later today, we found the cabin empty but warm, with the cast iron surface of the stove toasting our sandwiches (buttered on the outside and wrapped in foil) in seconds.

Outside, the birds were enjoying their feeder. That’s a Hairy Woodpecker in situ, with a Common Redpoll flying in.

We returned to P10 via trail 3, also more memorably named the Burma Road. This is one of our favourite (if not The Favourite) trails in Gatineau Park, especially after fresh snow, when the sweeping undulations make for most pleasurable skiing.

Here are Sue and I on the narrow trail before the sharp descent back to Fortune Parkway. Sue’s new jacket performed brilliantly; it’s definitely fit for purpose.

And here’s Helen at the bottom of the sometimes treacherous hill that today was benign and easy, a bit like a very easy downhill green run, perhaps?

A most pleasurable little excursion – 12.5 km, with 210 metres ascent, taking us about two and a quarter hours skiing time.

Here’s the route, etc, should anyone be interested.