I am a would be outdoorsman - that is if I had more time, skills and knowledge. When I can, I love being outdoors, just camping, hiking, snowboarding, xc skiing, snowshoeing, paddling a canoe or trying something new. What I lack in ability, I make up for in enthusiasm and having a go. I'd never really survive for long out there in the wild, but I enjoy pretending I could if I had to...
Refusing to be put off by our recent black fly challenges (and armed with a new bug screen dome and lotion with possibly high radiation equivalent levels of DEET) we set off for a relatively mountainous region an hour or so northwest of Quebec City.
Bug proof
I was encouraged as the route changed from six lane highway to two lane black top (with narrow single lane bridges over small rivers and streams) to a range road that became a dirt track the last few kilometres. We were hoping for something a little remote – our booking advised no electricity or running water and very little cell coverage (all true) – and when we checked in at the office, the friendly welcome and laidback attitude boded well. Also, yes, the campground a few hundred metres away might not have any modern services, but, bonus, was that a fridge full of cold local beers? Well, I’m not saying, but Mrs. PC seemed particularly happy…
A selection of cold locals – the beer, not the people!
Our site was large, shaded and quiet. Spacious enough to accommodate our tent, the truck and the larger than expected dome tent bug screen. My first apartment was smaller. We put it up over the provided bench and picnic table with room to spare. Great for Scout to wander around “indoors but outside” and off leash.
The great indoors
The black fly count was far lower than our previous outing, and we’d have probably been ok without the screen, but it was pleasant to be able to rustle up and eat meals without any bugstractions.
We’re meeting up with friends/family next week, another camping trip, on the Quebec-Ontario border just north of Algonquin Park. I understand it can be a little buggy there, so we’ll be able to entertain in numbers under the dome. Or if not entertain (yeah, they’ve heard our stories before) then at least be comfortable.
A gem!
Anyway, back to the Vallée Bras-du-Nord – it is a gem! Mountainous and green, a pretty valley with great hiking and biking trails and lots of camping options. It would be fun to snowshoe or xc ski in winter, and it has the feel of being a fishing place? I’m not too sure of the fishing scene in Quebec. The rivers and streams are plentiful and appear clean to the untrained eye.
Leafy
We hiked a couple of trails, and our favourite was to the Delaney Falls. My camera was dying, but I managed a few shots. Honestly, if you ever find yourself out that way, the one hour each way hike from Shannahan Information Centre to the falls is a winner. It is leafy and relatively flat along the river valley bottom with a short rise to the falls on well constructed forest trails. Roots, rocks and puddles make it one to watch where you step, but nothing too strenuous, and a perfect length for a warm day. Take bug spray and water and all will be well!
Delaney Falls
Our evenings were warm, one or two sharp rain showers aside, and the best sight in the later evenings was the lightning bugs. Loved seeing those. Only a few, and flashing on and off through the darkening trees. For me, they made camping seem like, well, camping!
Friendly and local
We’re hoping to return in the fall, most likely for a daylong outing to check out the leaf colour and enjoy a vigorous hike on a fresh fall day.
Always friendly, always ready for a hike – any season!
Not too sure about how connected we’ll be internet-wise for the next week or two. I’ll aim to post a short something at the end of the week as usual, and then catch up on my reading after we return home.
A return to these falls in fall? Maybe…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
This coming Monday! Happy Canada Day if you choose to celebrate.
Happy
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I’m so happy to be a Canadian citizen and that Canada is my home. It’s not perfect – is anywhere? – definitely a work in progress, but overall seems to be heading in a positive direction.
Sailing in the right direction?
So, happy Canada Day this coming Monday. Maybe you’re Canadian, know some Canadians, live near Canada or just like maple syrup?!
Cheers!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
“You’ll love it up there, but, you know, black fly season?”
Black fly country? Maybe…
Can’t say we weren’t warned, but goodness, black fly season is a challenge! I’ve camped in bear country, wolf country and spider and snake territory. I’ve been under canvas in the high desert, the low desert, in rain forests and the mountains. It’s been too hot, too cold, too wet or too dry. I’ve even tent camped in a field in England. None of that, whatever challenges they might hold, came close to black flies in the north woods. Banana slugs and ants? I love you guys. And I’ll never complain about mosquitoes again… (I will, of course I will, but they’re a breeze compared to black flies!)
Hotter and more humid by the day – what could happen next?
We rolled up and pitched our tent in slightly overcast and light-ish wind conditions after a day of rain showers. By the following morning the skies had cleared and if you wouldn’t call it hot, the next day or two were pleasantly warm. One or two black flies, one or two mosquitoes but no big deal. Those flies were waiting for the sudden heat and humidity of day four! A lovely morning, with mid teens temperatures and blue skies. These gave way to a bit more cloud cover, increased humidity, a temperature climb and then the onslaught – onslaught I say – of black flies. Onslaught!
Blue skies, green trees, and no problems!
They were everywhere! Oh how I miss the lightweight drone and whine of a mosquito or two. (Like the regular lightweight drone and whine of a contented PlaidCamper before the onslaught. Onslaught I say!) Music compared to the heavy chainsaw buzzing, dive bombing and all out in your face antics of the black flies. They were relentless! I didn’t get a single bite (Mrs PC picked up a few when one got in her hair above the back of her neck – ouch!) so the several gallons of bug spray worked to some extent, but still they zoomed in and away, over and over. And in such numbers – you simply couldn’t ignore them!
After almost two decades camping in various Canadian locations, you’d think we’d have encountered this before, but nope. We will be aiming to avoid another black fly adventure, that’s for sure. Yes, we were warned, and, after the first three days, were still ignorantly wondering what the big deal was. Well, now we know!
“Just leave me alone, man – I don’t want to talk about it!”
I’ll explore a bit more in another post about other aspects of the trip, but, driving home, having been seen off by the black flies, this is what we were talking about the most, so I’d thought I’d share! Definitely a lesson learned and isn’t doing something the hard way a more certain way of remembering the lesson?! There are certainly far worse things than being in the woods in black fly season, but for those few hours before we sounded the retreat, I’d have taken some convincing…
Windows up, seat belts fastened, and go go go!
Mrs PC’s black fly bites are healing, so no external scars, but we’re still reeling from the intensity of the experience. The adventures of an almost outdoorsman? Yup, still an almost outdoorsman, and still learning through mistakes. Usually I like making new to me discoveries, but this wasn’t one of those times! We’re off again next week, a slightly shorter trip, closer to home and not too northerly. Black fly season, the worst of it, is almost done now – isn’t it?!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We almost missed these, what with being busy and the very hot weather. (Next year we’ll ensure we’re busy visiting the lilacs, properly busy, and not running administrative errands in lilac season!) We did catch them, slightly past their best, but aromatic and pretty enough, or so we thought. Aren’t we all a touch wilted yet aromatic once the heat arrives? No?! Just me then…
Wilted? No!
If you don’t know it or haven’t visited, Le Parc du Bois-de-Coulonge is a little, or not so little, additional oasis of green a short walk from the Plains of Abraham. I think the two are connected if you take the riverside route, and I’ll give that a go sometime when it is less hot! The route up is steep, so to date we’ve stayed on the upper ground and walk between the two parks. Also, this time out, our picnic might have been weighing us down – or I’m just lazy in the warmer weather, too lazy to scale any heights?
Above the river
I’m no botanist, but I do know there are many types of lilacs, and I enjoyed seeing the different shades between the ones grown in the park. On approach, from quite some distance, you can smell the lilacs long before you see them. I like the aroma, a touch heady but not too cloying. Not like the aftershaves I used in my younger clean shaven and pre-grizzled days. Those “fragrances”! Not so much cloying as eye-wateringly dangerous. Useful for clearing a room, and to this day I’m always surprised Mrs. PC wasn’t too put off…
Fragrant
We’re off on our next camping adventure, a week or more up in the Saguenay area. Recommended to us by friends as a pretty region to visit, so long as you’re not dressed as a moose in hunting season. I’ve checked the calendar and my outfits and I think we’ll be ok. It’s a land of lakes and trees and absolutely no biting insects. (If I’m wrong about the biting insects, I think I’ve a few dregs of those dodgy old aftershaves that’ll keep ‘em at bay…)
Pretty
Not remote remote, but I’m not too sure if we’ll have much internet connectivity, which is mostly fine. I’ll catch up on your blogs and comments at essential coffee stops or when we get home!
Lilacs in the park!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I often wake up early. It isn’t out of a sense of virtue or a need to get to work or to make a fast start on the day. Goodness, no! I’m a light sleeper, and tend to stir once the birds start on their morning songs.
Our new tent has pretty good blackout, but not sound out. That’s fine by me because 6AM camping is one of my absolute favourite times. I like coffee and I like camping. Is there a better cup than the first of the day brewed on the Trangia – slightly blearily so somewhat carefully – when it feels like the rest of the world is still asleep?
No hurry
The other day it was me and the birds and three deer. The deer stopped to have a staring contest. I won. They blinked first, before moving on almost silently through the trees once they decided I was no threat. Just me and my cup of far too strong (no such thing) dark roast.
“Just you? Wait a minute…”
All was calm and birdsong quiet if you know what I mean. Not entirely quiet, but in a good way. The forest floor was mostly still. In the tree tops, the rustling of leaves stirring on a gentle breeze. Those leaves! Green on bright green, and brighter still as the sun climbed higher, lighting up the day.
Leafy
The mosquitoes and biting types didn’t seem too interested. A combination of my eau de bug spray by Muskol – lemony notes and a hint of, hmm, gasoline? – as well as the woodsmoke and charcoal aroma from last night’s campfire seemed to do the trick.
Bug deterrent
It’s safe to say not all is well in the world. Some understatement, that. However, temporarily disconnected and unplugged, it is safe to say that all was well, under canvas and over caffeinated, in the small corner of the world we found ourselves in.
Disconnected? Perhaps not!
Woodsmoke and coffee – not too sure it’s always the answer, and not too sure what the question even is, but it’ll do on an early summer morning camping in the woods.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We’re away for the next little while, taking some time to test out our new tent and rediscovering the delights of woodland camping.
We’ve been getting into shape, a rigorous fitness plan, and one I’d recommend. It’s achieved mostly by eating all the cheeses on picnics, and then taking slow hikes around the Plains of Abraham.
Not so plain
Here we are below, exiting the frame bottom left. Imagine the shutter speeds necessary to capture us moving so fast…
Must dash
I’ll catch up on your blogs and any comments from the past week next week, when we’re home and with reliable internet. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We don’t travel by train all that often, and when we do, we think “why haven’t we done this for a while? It’s such fun!”
A while, sure, but not this long ago…
We went from Quebec City down to Montreal a couple of weeks ago (perhaps I’ll write about why we went in a separate post) and opted to take the train. Why the train? Why not! Also, lovely though Quebec as a province is, have you ever driven one of the two highways north or south of the river, Quebec to Montreal? Not ugly or dreary, but, to my mind, one of the most boring stretches of road to drive. There’s a train for that journey? Sold!
Not hugely interesting (most boring photo ever? Just wait…)
I don’t say that about the MTL- QC road being a challenge to me lightly – after all, I’ve driven the M5. If you’re ever on the M5 and find yourself thinking “time for a rest stop?” please don’t stop at Taunton Deane service station. There are never, ever, any good reasons, and that includes running out of petrol or needing a bathroom. What about Bridgwater services as an alternative to TD on the M5, OPC? Fair question, and sure, at least Bridgwater service station isn’t Taunton Deane. I guess it’s up to you – Bridgwater or Taunton Deane? Hemlock or arsenic? You decide! M5 services… shudder… (with a tip of the hat and a very close second place awarded to a certain pre-glasnost Soviet style service station found on the M6. If you know where, then you know where and you know to do all you can to avoid stopping. The M6 one is pretty grim, but the patrons at least appear to be alive, unlike the pod people encountered near Taunton Deane. Another shudder…)
Back to the not-so-bad-now-I-think-about-it road between Quebec City and Montreal. It’s not as though the road is particularly problematic. It’s not completely straight and flat, there are large fields, wooded stretches, glimpses of river, and an occasional spire reaching above the trees and towering over small settlements. We’ve never been unduly delayed due to construction. There are ample gas and coffee stops, and, on a sunny day, some of the outdoor rest areas are delightful, pleasant enough to stop and enjoy a picnic. As we sometimes have. Yet the road itself, to me, well goodness, it’s such a boring drive. (On boring, this tedious piece seems to be rather long on roads and such, rather than trains. For a post titled “Station to (service) station” could we get back to trains and stuff? I’ll try – sorry about that!)
Is this the boring photo? One of them!
Anyway, it was fun to take the train, knowing I could enjoy feeling drowsy without having to stop for a coffee. In fact, if you’d like a coffee, there was service at your seat! Same for a croissant. Or a selection of (slightly dubious looking but not Taunton Deane levels of dubious looking) sandwiches. Yeah, the train sandwiches did trigger M5 flashbacks, so I passed on those…
Gare du Palais
The departure station in Quebec City is not too shabby. Station? No, it’s a palace! The Gare du Palais – what a gem! Not all railway stations are created equal… I accept that there are plenty of wonderful, even grand and central(!) railway stations all over the world, but for a small city, the Gare du Palais is grand enough.
Gare du Palais (photo: Wikipedia)
When I was a teen, and pretending to grow up, I’d sometimes travel from Reading to London Paddington on the train. It was a reasonably quick journey and always exciting to be headed to the big city. Paddington Station is a mighty terminus! Reading Station (it might be different now) is/was an important junction on the rail network, but could never be described as a palace. Or mighty.
My most memorable British Rail station has to be Stockport. My parents lived near Stockport for a few years, and I’d travel up by train from London Euston. Even if the UK was experiencing a heatwave, even if it was the sunniest day in the northwest of England since records began, I can assure you Stockport railway station would be the coldest place on the planet. Freezing in winter, and even colder in summer. Penguins shiver at the mere mention of Stockport station. I always had a wonderful time in and around Manchester and Stockport, but it often seemed quite cold. And it always seemed colder than anywhere else near Manchester on the platform of Stockport railway station. Manchester Piccadilly? Balmy! Cheadle Hulme? Tropical! Alderley Edge? Break out the sunblock! But Stockport? Brrr! I’d rather summer on north Baffin Island…(I’ve not been to Baffin, and I understand it gets coldish there, but not Stockport station cold…)
Chilly here, but warmer than Stockport railway station
Let’s warm up! To Europe, and let’s take the train! Our favourite railway journey – I may have mentioned this before, but if I can’t remember, then why would you? – was an overnight rail and ferry and then rail again trip from London Victoria to La Rochelle. We’d sent our bicycles on ahead the week before – so very trusting – and after a mostly sleepless Saturday night, and a bleary-eyed Sunday lunchtime to mid-afternoon wait (nothing, and I mean nothing, was open in Poitiers on a sunny June Sunday back in the 80s) we caught the the onward train to La Rochelle. Happy to have arrived, and clutching our little cardboard ticket stubs that proved we’d been foolish enough to post our bikes to who knew where, we set off in search of the luggage office in La Rochelle station. Well, to our great surprise and relief, there was such an office – and it was open! Our bikes were there, intact and ready for a week of cycling and camping adventures. (I’ve definitely written about the cycling and camping before, so to your great relief, I won’t go on about that again!)
“You know, if neither of you want to drive? I’ve seen PC at the wheel, so how hard can it be?”
Well, although this post appears to have been about travel, we seem to have gone nowhere in particular! Before we completely run out of road or go off the rails, here’s one more thing to share. I’ll leave you with a favourite somewhat railway adjacent track. Track, hehehe… (Oh, enough rattling on, PC – worse than a rickety carriage on old sleepers. Time for you to be shunted into a quiet siding. Off you go!)
Almost forgot the music: I travel – Simple Minds. It reminds me of all the times in the 1980s and into the early 90s when I could have but never did travel a lot more by train in Europe, and particularly to the newly opening Eastern European places. This song (and much of the entire album if you’ve the interest and stamina) reflects that period. Cue my moody and not at all pretentious European look to camera – in black and white, on slightly scratchy film stock please…
Moody
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Hey kids, wanna hear what the old folks have been up to on their day off? Yeah, I know, being kinda retired, every day is a day off, but anyway, here’s what these old squares did the other day.
Square
We shrugged off our blankets, shucked our slippers, then jumped on the bus and headed into town. Once there, on a sunny day – possibly the sunniest in recent PlaidCamper memory (he of the unreliable memory, and tendency to whine about stuff like that – it’s been sunny before, pay no heed) – we wandered from square to square, enjoying the quiet and enjoying the sunshine. Oh, that sunshine!
Pub on the square
Then we did what we almost always do, and went for lunch. Out to lunch you ask? Possibly…
Splendid NEIPA from Boréale
Then it was off to the Palais Montcalm to listen to some baroque chamber orchestra stuff, from Purcell to Vivaldi as interpreted by a chap called Milos with his guitar, and another chap called Johnny Cohen and his harpsichord, with stringed instrument friends providing support.
Squares
It was all very good. Mrs PC loves Milos, for his guitar playing, not his smouldering intensity and good looks, and I love the baroque period, mostly for the wigs. I believe I would smoulder beneath a baroque wig, I really do. Our seats were suspiciously front and centre, to the point where if I’d had feelings for Milos, he would have known…
“Wiggy?! How dare you, sir – this is my own hair!” (Image of Henry Purcell from Wikipedia)“And then we zipped home on our”— no, we didn’t. Could be tempted, though…
Wiggy music, a pub lunch, old squares, and all on a sunny day? Hey kids, you might love reaching early middle age, it’s not so bad…
Old square
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
OldPlaidCamper 