PandemQuébec Trip Part 3: Parc National des Grand-Jardins - Hiking Trails

I sort of ran out of time and energy last week, so you get the rest of our adventures in the "Big Gardens" this week instead.

Promise it'll be worth the wait!

After our scenic post-water trail lunch, we headed back to our campsite to get changed into proper clothes, but headed right back out again as soon as we could. I had given up on running at Grands-Jardins as all of the trails in our local secteur had 250+ metres of elevation gain, except for one little 2km loop off the edge of our campground. We had originally wanted to hike the Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes trail, but at 8.5km with 480m of elevation we had zero chance of making it before sunset. Instead, we decided to hike the 4.8km Sentier La Chouenne, which was deemed suitable for families at only 250m of gain. 

Map of our secteur - that's a whole lotta topographical lines all squeezed up together!

Fortunately, I was able to get a pair of socks and trail shoes onto my swollen-with-horsefly-bites feet, and our poor little overloaded car was able to make the short trip up the kilometer-long hill - that tops out at an astonishing 18% grade - to the Mont du Lac-des-Cynes Visitor Centre parking lot, where we'd find the head of trails. 

Yes, we leave the boats on the roof - it's just easier that way.

It was almost 6pm by the time we got going, so we knew we couldn't dawdle too much - sunset was around 8:30pm, but darkness comes fast in the mountains and we didn't want to be caught out on the trail.

All trails start together, then branch off in different directions.

We did bring a pack with water and wind jackets, but not headlamps. Not necessarily smart.

We had hiked some of this trail previously when we climbed via ferrata here in 2016, as you have to hike up quite a way in order to get to the training wall and parcours.

You cross over a couple of little bridges..

..spanning beautiful little mountain streams. 

The trail is nicely groomed for the first couple of kilometres - crushed gravel, with implanted steel troughs to control the damage caused by spring melt runoff. It does, however, climb quite steeply from almost the very start. 

Elevator going up..

The trail starts at a decent elevation to begin with - about 480 metres above sea level, which leads to an environment more alpine and arctic in character than its geographic location would suggest. 

Which also meant these trailside blueberries were not yet ripe enough for snacking.

This is steeper than it looks, and goes on seemingly forever.

The passage of ancient glaciers has also left its mark on the mountains - depositing erratic boulders that might have traveled hundreds of miles before they were left behind by melt.

Don't they know you should pack out what you pack in? Leave no trace, dangit!

Around a half kilometer in, the trails part ways - Sepaq parks are often very particular about where dogs can and cannot go, but La Chouenne is pooch-friendly.

AI believe this was also the last distance marker we saw - 2km to the summit.

Even if you don't feel like climbing all the way up - with more than 1 meter of elevation gain for every 100 metres hiked - there are spectacular views to be had most of the way up.

At least if you find the Laurentians as charming as I do.

Everything is on such a large scale here - even a simple shoulder of rock poking out beside the trail.

Around two kilometers in, the crushed gravel gives way to a set of somewhat overgrown wood-framed stairs.

Unfortunately for you, Tank was the only one to get a photo of them, so you have to see my butt as well.

The stairs go on for about 4 or 5 standard flights - covering at least as much vertical ground as horizontal distance - before disappearing. The remainder of the trail is basically a rock-strewn washout for the last ~250 metres or so, though we did see a pile of timber at its base that may indicate the park intends to extend the stairs upward.

This seems less family-friendly than we would have expected, though to be fair there was a lady coming down as we headed up who was wearing Birkenstocks..

Now nearing the summit, the views around you become even more jaw-dropping.

Mountains for miles

Of course, in some cases it isn't the scenery that has your jaw dropping.

Tank remains unconvinced that vert isn't real.

With another slurp of water from our bottles, we put in one last push up toward the top.

Which might - by the looks of things - land us on the surface of the sun

Oh, my..

Tanker actually took the lead for the last bit of the climb, as we approached the wind-swept summit.

I swear it looks like he's running here, just to make me look bad.

Once on top, we had no words.

Definitely feeling like we're on the roof of the world.

Views for days - the Charlevoix crater is incredibly impressive

With the sun heading down and the wind gusting around us, I was starting to get a bit chilly in my sweaty tshirt and shorts - I considered putting on my wind jacket from the pack I'd carried up, but I was also getting a bit fatigued after the big climb and our adventures on the water trail earlier that day. It manifested itself as an abundance of caution while wandering around on the rock up top, for which I won't apologise as a fall would have disastrous consequences, but also as a desire to make sure we had plenty of light for the steep trail down to the parking lot. I may have whined a little.

 

Which I am sorry for, as no-one needs to put up with that.

So, with one last good look at the astounding vista surrounding us, we agreed that the hike up had been 100% worth it.

A full 360 degree look - feel free to click on this to see it larger.

Now it was time to descend, which is - possibly contrary to expectations - not in fact easier than ascending. The loose rocks of the washed out portion made me nervous of my footing, despite wearing a trusted pair of trail shoes; I always worry about my foot slipping out from under me, falling backward and hitting my head on something unforgiving. So, Tanker mountain goated his way down ahead of my granny-paced arse, periodically pausing to let me catch up.

I might not have much trouble with the up, but he definitely ruled the way down.

Doing the trail in reverse gave us some additional gorgeous views to those we'd seen on the way up.

The cragginess of the peak ahead is so much more impressive than this photo shows.

The return to the crushed gravel was welcome, though still warranted some caution. 
Then again, I'm clumsy as heck.

We were a bit surprised to see a couple of people on their way up as we made our way down, but figured they must have headlamps and perhaps better familiarity with the trail - I know I wouldn't have wanted to be out there after dark even with a light source, but I was also tired and hungry after a long day. One fellow was sporting an expensive-looking camera body with some impressive glass, most likely in hopes of getting some sunset photos.

I was perfectly happy to catch the last rays of sun as it dipped below a mountain peak as we descended.

My quads were starting to complain quite a bit by the time we clomped our way down to the trailhead, after a much-needed stop at the trailside vault toilet a few hundred metres from our end point. It was only 2 days since our steep hike and my somewhat unintentional 10 mile run at Mont-Tremblant, so my legs were still a little heavy and quite happy there was a couch by the fire in my near future!

Realistically, the view from the parking lot of the Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes Visitor Centre is pretty epic in and of itself!

For perspective, the parking lot that was our start and end point for the hike is visible to the right of Tank's shoulder in this photo from the summit.

We paused in the car to have a snack before heading back down to our campsite, and to make use of a bit of connectivity - there was a little bit of cell service in our campground near the comfort station, but perhaps the higher elevation of the Visitor Centre lot offered a better line to the nearest cell tower, or the Centre itself acts as a boost. In any case, I was able to sync my watch and post some stuff while I munched an energy bar - you can see my Garmin data for Sentier La Chouenne here.

We got back to camp just before darkness set in, ate a whole heap of food by the fire, then turned in under a clear sky blanketed with millions of stars to rest up for the next day.

Of course, nothing happens before coffee and brunch.

Breakfast bagels and Tanker's amazing camp coffee.

We got our campsite packed up by 11am-ish, then drove less than a kilometer out to the entrance to the Pied-des-Monts campground to check out one last trail before our departure.

The peak ahead - towering over the trailhead - is the same one we'd seen the top of from the summit of La Chouenne the evening before.

Without another soul in sight, we hit the trail that looked like the poor cousin of the others in the park on paper - just 2km long, with only about 10 metres of elevation change. 

The approach didn't exactly inspire high hopes.

What we found, though, was a highly varied and absolutely lovely experience that would rival any of our local trails for beauty.

A pretty stand of birches to begin.

As you enter the Pied-des-Monts campgeround, you cross a bridge over a rocky, rushing stream. It soon became apparent that this same stream would be a major feature of Sentier Le Gros Pin.

A bridge more reminiscent of the Bruce Trail

Yowza!

The trail follows he stream for awhile through the forest, before veering off.

Walking against the current

Departing from the flowing water, we found a patch of ferns that made us wonder if this trail ends up being a bit neglected due to the other, showier options nearby.

It certainly didn't seem to have had much traffic.

Shortly thereafter, though, we were passed by a family of 3 heading the other way - clearly we weren't the only ones out for a mid-day stroll.

Beaver lodge with a view!

Curving away, we began to find evidence of a little tributary to the main stream.

Which we got to cross via these stepping stones.

The forest changed to mostly coniferous - what one might expect from a trail named The Big Pine.

With lots of mossy rock to boot.

Tank crossing another trickle

The next portion of the trail felt more ancient - reminding me of places in Algonquin's interior, untouched by the masses.

This view likely hasn't changed much in a thousand years.

Another massive glacial erratic

While there had been no rain for days, we still managed to find some wet spots along the trail.

Muddy patch and one of the sparse trail blazes - yellow plastic with a reflective strip.

Emerging back into more hardwoods, we could clearly hear the chuckling of the rocky stream growing louder with every step. Soon we crossed another wooden bridge across its fast-flowing width.

Such a lovely sight and sound.

Quiet contemplation.

Past one more bend in the stream - which had a tiny side trail to a gorgeous view of it - we emerged from the trail loop at the sign we'd seen below the mountain's face when we approached our original trailhead. It was only about 50 metres away from where we'd entered.

A last gaze - we never did spot the big pine!

The Garmin data is here, but the short distance and minimal elevation gain belie how enjoyable the trail really was. I'm not sure I've ever seen such diversity of ecology in such a compact area! Our walk had been delightful, and now it was time to load ourselves into the car and head further east - there was so much more for us to explore, and I'll tell you about some of it again in next week's instalment!

'til next time!