Meech Lake - Gatineau Park

Spectacular fall colors in the Gatineau Park today for a kayak trip around Meech Lake (site of the infamous Meech Lake Accord). For directions, refer to the Summer Map for the Gatineau park.

The usual put-in (during the summer ) is half-way up the lake, next to a large parking lot (P12 on the map). If you're not there to kayak, walking on trail #40 along the stream full of rapids is worthwhile (if you don't mind medium-grade slopes along the way)

Another off-season (i.e. not summer) option is the Blanchet beach when it is closed to swimmers. Parking #13 is nearby, after having unloaded your kayak next to the change-rooms. From the parking lot, the Wolf Trail (#62) is even more impressive if you have time to hike it, albeit it's more rugged than trail #40.

Here's a sample of pictures showing the color of the leaves (click on any picture to see full-size):

As you can see, lots of Canada geese still in the neighborhood before the first snowfall (due this Friday).



And what may very well be the largest beaver lodge in the whole park, take a look at these pictures!




The crowds were out in full force on the Thanksgiving Day long-weekend. While there may have been limited space for motorized vehicles, there was lots of room for self-propelled boats :-)

Photo credits: Sylvie Desrochers (all pictures in this post)

15th Kayak Outing - 31 Mile Lake

Perfection rarely happens, when it does you try to enjoy every minute of it while it lasts. Thankfully I took the Friday off from work and headed up to 31 Mile Lake for an overnight camping trip at the peak of the Fall colours.

The conditions were unbelievable! In 40+ years in the area, rarely do we get conditions that are so calm (no wind, no waves, no wake) for such an extended period of time. The pictures speak for themselves, it was like kayaking on a mirror all day long. The "effort" factor was low while the "wow" factor was high, you could hardly ask for more.

































Just before heading out onto the lake, one of the "locals" suggested we head out to campsite #15, apparently one of the better sites, including a sandy beach. We didn't regret that advice one bit, turned out to be an exceptionally pleasant site.










A quick paddle at the end of the day, before preparing supper & packing it in for the night. As you can see from the picture, the lake was just as calm as it was earlier in the day.

6th Kayak Outing

Once you've paddled half-way to Lac Ste-Marie from the Paugan Dam, what's next?

What else than paddling half-way back, this time from Lac Ste-Marie towards the Paugan Dam :)

Four of us headed out in yet another perfect day: blue sky, calm winds, hot weather (but not too humid).

Parked at the public dock/camp-site, paid the $5 parking fee at the house across the street. There's a small sandy shoreline on the south side of the campsite for an easy put-in.



This section of the Gatineau river is very rustic, once out of the lake and onto the river, chances are you won't see a single cottage. The were a few boaters but most were very courteous. Found a very reasonable camping spot where we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the peaceful view. If we go back on a two-day outing, that's probably where we pitch up a tent for a night.

5th Kayak Outing

Finally, after many years of thinking and talking about it, we set out from the Paugan Dam and headed north towards Lac Ste. Marie. We knew we'd only get part-way there before having to turn around but we wanted to discover this area of the Gatineau river and were curious to see how may islands were "kayak-camping" friendly.

We put-in at the boat ramp in the municipality of Low. The ramp is on the Nort-West side of the dam. There are signs at two places along highway 105 where you can turn-off to get to the boat ramp (shown by a blue diamond on the map below).

We made it up to "Ile de plomb" (Lead Island, don't ask me why) near the top of the map before turning back.



There and back, we paddled over 11 miles (18 km) in 4-1/2 hours including about 20 minutes for a shore-lunch. Bugs really weren't too bad at all, just a few during our lunch break. We had the wind in our face heading north, then it swung around and we had a 3/4 tail wind part of the way, turning into a 1/4 head-wind for the last 1-2 miles.

Paddling in this "reservoir" is an easy opportunity to get away from civilisation for a few hours. There are a bunch of cottages near the boat ramp but once you get going, there are very few cottages along the way.

We were somewhat surprised (not to say disapointed) with how few spots (if any) would be good candidates for overnight camping in a small tent. The best spot was probably where we stopped for lunch where there was room enough to set-up a 2-person tent but there would have been a number of rocks under the tent that made that spot less than ideal.

We had the pleasure of meeting 7 or 8 friendly kayakers who had set-out from Lac Ste. Marie in the morning and were paddling (one-way) to the Paugan Dam (with car thing back to Lac Ste. Marie).

The view of the Paugan Dam as we turned the last corner was impressive, from far away it looks more like a floating hotel than a power-generating dam :-)

4th Kayak Outing

Lac la Peche in the Gatineau Park. This time of year, do not venture unless you have a full can of Deep-Woods Off!

This was a recon-mission to survey the 12 camping sites on lac la Peche, to see which ones would be good choices for kayak-camping (most sites are ideal for canoe-camping).

Perfect weather, about 72 degrees F. blue sky, lots of sun, little or no wind.



Note to self: before driving 45 minutes to get to kayak put-in, confirm you have your kayak paddles! Where was my brain this morning :-(

2nd Note to self: don't foget first note to self, or else you end up driving home & back to lake for 90 minutes while you wife fights off the black flies and overdoses on Deep-Woods Off!



http://www.campingparcdelagatineau.ca/reservation_en.html

We found every site except #1 (didn't bother heading back, can't reserve this site) and #9 (we though it was an abandonned camping site). While many have a rocky shoreline, we found a few that were relatively kayak-friendly (sorry but were not going to tell which ones, don't want you competing for these spots with us).

Looks like this area got hit by a tornado last year...



Took us 3 hours to tour the 12 spots (including getting out a few times), not including the 90 minute detour back home to get the paddles!

All in all, we're really glad we we didn't bail out on this, it was a great outing.

3rd Kayak Outing

About 4km on Blue Sea Lake; around Belcourt + Orlo Islands and back. Used the islands to block the wind & waves. Relatively cold day, didn't venture out very far.

2nd Kayak Outing

Perfect blue sky, winds around 10km/h, was thinking of Lac Phillipe but the access road is closed until the long weekend. Headed out to nearby Meech Lake instead. Paddled around the lake (11km in 2h15m) with a stop at the beach at the East end for lunch. Some flies/mostquitoes hovering around our faces during lunch but othewise a bug-free outing.



Lots of other kayaks (>12) and canoes (>6) enjoying the great weather.

First Kayak Outing of the Year !!!

Perfect "ING" weekend on April 21st and 22nd: BikING, HikING and KayakING

Put-in: Lac Leamy, main-parking lot near Reno Depot. Not the best shoreline: rocky, abrubt, brushes. Would have been better near the main beach but the entrance at Greber was still blocked (until end of thaw cycle).



Outing: Lac Leamy to Gatineau River, downstream to Ottawa River, upstream Ottawa River past Rideau Falls to Museum of Civilization, back downstream Ottawa River to Jacques Cartier park for quick picnic, back to Gatineau River, upstream & against the wind (uhgh) back to Lac Leamy. Duration around 3 hours, enough for my first sunburn of the year (still shows after one week).




Notes: This time of year, the currents get pretty strong on the Ottawa River upstream from the Museum of Civilization & the Rideau Falls are really impressive to see.

My new touring kayak

Boreal Design Nanook 17/8

Kayaking on the Saguenay Fjord in Quebec

In mid-August, joined a group of 6 on a 55km (35 mi) kayaking expedition down the Saguenay Fjord. The picture below shows a GPS plot (irregular white line) from our departure at L'Anse-St-Jean to our arrival at Baie Ste-Catherine (near Tadoussac).



The expedition was provided by Fjord-en-Kayak

Our guide on this trip was Wade and his assistant was Marie-Anick.



The food provided on this trip was excellent and included:
- Marinated caribou filet, with wild berry sauce
- Bison sausages and cranberries
- Pheasant marinade with blueberry sauce

Our departure was from l'Anse-St-Jean, a wonderful village nestled in a cove along the fjord.




Our first night was spent in a great cabin built by SEPAQ at l'Anse a la Barge



The second night was spent camping at Pointe a la Passe Pierre.



Saw plenty of Beluga whales on this trip. The picture below shows one letting out air as it passes about 1 foot under my kayak.



For my first kayaking expedition, this was a pleasant learning experience. Also, as my first trip to the Saguenay region, it was an ideal way of discovering this magnificent fjord.



I can't wait to go back to see if our group's Inukshuk is still standing at Pointe a la Passe Pierre!

My wife's touring kayak

Boréal Design Alvik 17/0