Today's ski with Helen and Sue (Ken went hard core with another group) started up Fortune Parkway from P10. After a couple of kilometres we took the freshly groomed trail number 3, aka The Burma Road.
This is a lovely trail, one of our favourites, albeit we still lacked the usual sunshine. The weather was warm though, no lower than minus 2°C, so ordinary gloves were fine.
Sue is pictured above, heading along the trail under snow laden branches with Hairy Woodpeckers, Chickadees and Blue Jays singing and tapping as we sauntered past.
Visits to the Étienne-Brûlé and Champlain viewpoints preceded our lunch stop in Huron Cabin, where the fire struggled to toast our sandwiches. Viewpoint views were very clear today, but there's a barrier at Champlain due to 'collapsing infrastructure' (a phrase that could come in handy in the UK soon).
There were more people out than yesterday, but Gatineau Park still wasn't very busy. It costs $20 a day (£12) to ski here, unless you have a season's pass (mine cost £75 - and I'm happy with that) or a pass borrowed from a library; the default charge for late return thereof is $2 a day. Sue has one of those, plus several free day passes that come with the seasons passes that Ken, Helen and I have (two each).
The 5 km downhill back to P10 via Ridge Road (#1) and the Fortune Parkway takes just half an hour at an easy pace. The road signs such as the one in the lower picture always amuse me.
Here's our itinerary:
P10 > Fortune Parkway > #3 > Étienne Lookout > Champlain Lookout > #1 (Ridge Road) > Huron Cabin > #1 (Khyber Pass) > Fortune Parkway > P10 - 15km, 300 metres ascent, taking 2 hours 40 mins plus lunch stop.
The return journey home was punctuated by a visit to a small bridge near the Visitor Centre, where a beaver has been seen collecting tasty branches and dragging them into its under-surface lair. There was plenty of evidence of its presence, but it elected to stay at home whilst we were there.
Good news from home - Lisa reports the decorating is coming on apace.
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