PandemQuébec Trip Part 1: Mont-Tremblant

With the international trip we had planned for July cancelled due to the pandemic, we heard in early June that Sepaq parks would re-open for camping effective June 22nd. 

The mountains were calling!

Since we already had vacation time booked, we set about reserving some campsites at three different parks - first up was Parc National du Mont-Tremblant.

Arriving in Secteur de la Diable

We'd never done this in a single haul before, as we'd only ever visited on our motorcycles previously (which makes long days both more tiring and more dangerous) - we were on the road by 9am, arriving at our campsite in the La Grenouille campground around 5:30pm, with a few washroom & fuel stops along the way. Check-in is now contactless in Sepaq parks - you don't get a paper permit for your site, you just keep your emailed confirmation on your phone, as all bookings (even for day use) must be done online.

Nous avons arrivée!

Due to the Lac Monroe Service Centre (the place to get firewood) closing at 7pm, we moved quickly to get our camp set up and make some space in the car for wood. Fortunately, we're pretty familiar with our gear, so it only took us about 35mins despite this being our first camping trip in almost 9 months!

The new firewood system is a bit strange, but designed to minimize touch points. Instead of the usual firewood slings, you now get pieces of hemp or jute twine to drape over a frame, which you then fill with your selected pieces of wood. Masks must be worn when entering the building and woodshed, and hands must be sanitized before passing through doorways.

Metal frame with twine tied around a bundle of firewood.

By 7:15pm we were happily settled in to camp.

Tanker enjoying a frosty beverage in the Nemo Stargaze recliner I bought him for Christmas

It was predicted to rain for basically the entire week we were camping, but we had lightly overcast skies for the evening after the end of Tropical Storm Fay had quite clearly dumped a LOT of rain on the campground prior to our arrival. We had a pleasant dinner, a lovely fire, and a good night's sleep.

Tank on the couch by our fire, which was not actually needed in mild overnight temperatures of about 16c.

We woke and breakfasted at a leisurely pace on Monday morning, despite having a lot we wanted to do in the park that day. What can we say - we were on vacation!

There are no pants before coffee, and what better way to start a day than French toast?

With full bellies we set off toward the northern reaches of the Secteur to walk a short but beautiful trail - Sentier Chute du Diable.

Beautiful sunshine to start off

Some overcast passing one of the more impressive root wells

This rock face on the opposite side of Rivière Diable is at least twenty feet tall

Some boardwalk mixed in with the trail

Shallow, rocky, and fast moving

The Chute itself, in all its stunning glory.

The trail is only a mile (1.6km) round-trip, and even with gaping at the falls for awhile it only took us about half an hour. We drove back south a bit, to the head of a trail I have wanted to hike since we first started to visit Lac Monroe - La Corniche.

Map of trails in the north part of the Secteur

You see, I had been able to spot the lookout platform stuck on the side of a mountain overlooking Lac Monroe, but we had never had time to actually head up there. Today would be different!

150m of elevation gain - a 3.2km round-trip

With some small rain showers passing through, we ascended past a beautiful little cascade with a placid pool below.

Unexpected and gorgeous

The trail is well groomed, but not what I would call easy due to the constant steep uphill climb. ITès quite lovely, though, if you want to stop to admire the scenery while you catch your breath!

Roots and rocks and moss - oh my!

The payoff is totally worth it when you reach the lookout - we were fortunate to have a clear few minutes of weather to look down the Lac Monroe & Rivière Diable valley nestled between the mountains.

The lingering rainclouds amid the far-off peaks just added to the view

So happy to be able to share this!

It was past 3pm by the time we descended back to the car, and we needed more firewood, so we popped over to the Lac Monroe Service Centre again after passing a small beaver crossing the road. With wood for the night secured, I got changed and ready to go for a run - I had identified a loop of about 12km that I wanted to check out.

My running hat had a bear on it, so I figured L'Ours was only appropriate

I left right from our campsite in La Grenouille, heading down the rail trail (La Piste du Loup) and following the trail signage. 

It seemed pretty straightforward

I reached a small body of water with a lookout platform, still following signage for L'Ours and Lac a L'Ours

I didn't head out onto the platform

It's rather unfortunate that some fairly vital information on this map had worn away.

Turning off the rail trail, I was welcomed to the woods by rolling doubletrack.

Leaving me wondering why this trail is classed as "difficult"

Despite some recent injury troubles, I was rolling along pretty well and enjoying myself quite a bit. It was a hot day, but I'd packed along my 600ml hand bottle with a (rather expired but seemingly still good) packet of Skratch  mixed in, plus my 600ml BeFree filter bottle full of fresh water from the campground. I figured I could refill along the way if I needed from any lake or stream.

I also had a handful of Endurance Tap gels to keep my energy up, as I'd only had a small fruit-and-nut bar and a few pretzel sticks since brunch.

I ran through some gusting winds and a brief rain shower that made me wonder if more severe weather might crop up in the hot afternoon, but the clouds tore apart as I reached a lake with a sign indicating it was Lac Malard.

I didn't recall seeing that on L'Ours loop, but I figured I'd just forgotten it - I didn't actually have a copy of the map with me.

It turns out I'd taken a - maybe not wrong, but certainly unplanned - turn, partly due to not having been correct about the place at which I'd accessed the rail trail from the road past La Grenouille. 

The pink pin is where I thought I'd joined the trail, and the purple arrow shows my intended route. The green pin was my actual trailhead, and I'd followed the yellow arrow instead. 

There was some pretty significant elevation gain, so I was doing a lot of hiking. Some of the trail was partly overgrown, with the wet grasses and leaves from the rain shower soaking my shoes.

The overgrowth would hide gopher holes and potentially critters as well, so I took it slow and cautious through these parts.

Also: despite liberally hosing myself in bug spray, the deer flies were becoming a major factor.

I reached one of the "huts" that Sepaq provides along many of their longer trails, for use by backpackers, snowshoers and cross-country skiers. I'd love to come do a winter trip on one of these routes, knowing that this is what awaits at the end of a cold, snowy day!

This "hut" looks nicer than my house!

Looking at the nearby map, though, I realized I was in a spot of bother..

"You are here" - umm, I'm not supposed to be..

Ok. Ok ok ok. So instead of my 12-ish kilometer L'Ours loop, I was on the significantly longer Sentier Le Malard. I'll be late getting back, and there's no cell service in the area, so Tank may worry. But, at least I've got my filter bottle, and I keep crossing little bridges over creeks and streams. Just have a gel, drink some water, and keep moving.

And keep going UP

I eventually came to the place L'Ours and Le Malard came together, and headed east toward Lac Monroe.

My actual route

Just after the hard right turn, I saw the side trail off to Lac a l'Ours. Knowing it had been my intent to go to "Lake of Bears" with my bear hat, I started up it, but then realized I had no idea how far it would be and didn't want to be any later getting back to our campsite than necessary. 

It wasn't particularly runnable, either.

So, I turned back after about 30 metres, and started pushing toward the finish. I figured my navigation error would mean about an extra 4km over the 12k I'd anticipated, and which I had estimated to Tanker would take me about 2 hours.

I did have to slow after less than a kilometer, though, and speak soothingly to this sweet girl.

"I'm sorry - I don't mean to disturb you, but I need to get by. Sorry! You're ok! I'm so sorry!"

The deer was far from the only beauty I encountered.

Of course, all of the stream crossings I encountered from the time I realized I was off course were too high above the water for me to reach, and had no safe-looking way to get down the banks. 

I could easily have filled at Lac Malard, but I didn't know I needed to then, and hadn't drank much yet..

I ended up just rationing sips as I hustled and sweated, grateful that the trail had a significant downhill trend to aid my pace.

I might not have made Lake of Bears, but I did find Stream of Bears!

Fortunately I made it back to our campground in 2h20m after 16.4km and 367m of elevation gain (though we all know vert's not real), with about 30 seconds to spare before Tanker was set to go searching for me. It was also about 7pm, so we had a narrow window of daylight remaining for the final activity we had planned for the day - one of the main reasons we'd driven more than 750km the day before with my paddleboard and Tank's kayak strapped to the roof of our little car.

On our third visit, we'd finally get to paddle Lac Monroe! 

I quickly changed, grabbed water to rehydrate myself, and tossed an oatmeal bar in my face to refuel a bit while we drove over the bridge from our campground to the Lac Monroe Service Centre. We launched from the dock near the boat/board rentals, paddled through the huge culverts under the bridge we'd just driven, and into Lac Monroe among the mountains. 

Tall enough for me to stay standing on my board!

Smooth water before hitting the headwind

We paddled to a bit past the Discovery Centre, at which we'd stopped earlier in the day (prior to getting more firewood) to inquire about getting Tanker a 3-day fishing license. We had left empty-handed, though, after learning that on top of the 3-day non-resident provincial license ($33.33), he would have to pay an additional $20 for permits for individual lakes within the park. Tank wasn't that dedicated to the idea of fishing, so we just paddled into the stiff wind instead, admiring the view as sunset drew nearer.

Turning to head back toward the dock, we were rewarded with an incredible sight - a rainbow over the mountains! 

I couldn't have imagined anything so delightful, and I felt such gratitude at being able to have this experience.

Sunset mountain rainbow paddleboard selfie? I think my life might have just peaked.

As we paddled downwind back toward the bridge, a beaver came swimming out from the shore to our left, diving and slapping the water with his tail. 

"Nice beaver!"
"Thanks - I just had it stuffed."
(If you know the quote, I knew there was a reason I liked you!)

I'm so happy we got Tank a kayak so we can paddle together.

It was a perfect evening, even though we only paddled for a mere half-hour. Returning to the dock, we loaded up boat and board, then headed back to our campsite just in time to light the lantern in the Chowhouse as the sun sank behind the mountains to the west. A hearty dinner to fill us up after the day's exertions, and another roaring fire to ward off the damp from the rain showers. 

Garlic chicken sausage pasta with fresh asparagus & mushrooms.

The next morning we breakfasted a bit more efficiently while packing up camp, hoping to avoid any rain under cloudy skies as everything was nice and dry. When the car was fully loaded, we drove south toward the park gate and stopped off at the trailhead for Sentier Lac aux Atocas just before noon. At 1.5km and only 10m of elevation gain, it is one of the more accessible trails in the parc, but still quite lovely.

I mean there's no mountain rainbow, but you can't have everything.

The boardwalks had been munched by beavers in places!

The sun broke through the morning overcast, and the day grew very hot, with the mosquitoes multiplying by the minute. We didn't linger much, but enjoyed the views while staying moving!

*sweating*

Up close and personal with the Devil's River

Back to the car in less than half an hour, we hit the road again to head to our next beautiful destination. There are plenty more things we want to explore at Mont-Tremblant, though, so I know we'll be back soon!

But not soon enough.