Well, we did go xc skiing earlier this week, but I wouldn’t say we were brave…
Black diamond 55? Not that brave (not yet!)
A touch wobbly perhaps, given the course hadn’t been track set very recently, leading to a somewhat uncertain feel underfoot. Or is that under-ski?
Looks dangerous…
Other than the lack of reassuringly recent tracks to follow, we were very happy to be out on skis at last! Compared to our efforts at the start of last winter, we surprised ourselves and the (imaginary) watching hordes with our overall fitness and technique. Yup, we completed a couple of loops and didn’t fall over. A very low bar on very flat terrain, but one we cleared!
Flat, grey, chilly – but fun!
It was fun to be out and active on a chilly day where it could have been easy to take one look at the grey skies and think of something else to do… and anyway, doesn’t the beer taste better after? Maybe!
Maybe? Definitely!
We’re looking forward to getting out on skis a few more times, and, if the current medium term forecast is accurate, that shouldn’t be a problem from a snowfall perspective. Ne vous inquiétez pas, mes braves, nous reviendrons bientôt! Or something.
Ready to go again
Swift and brief this week, almost like an OldPlaidCamper on skis – thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I hope you have enjoyed the festive season if that’s your thing. Now let’s extend a warm welcome to 2025 – and dream of a good year?! Nothing wrong with hoping so…
We’ve (I’ve) eaten more mince pies than is recommended, but as they contain fruit, it can’t be that bad, can it? Almost healthy! We’ve tried to get out and about in the rain and slush, but the rain and slush, sigh. Yes, slush more than snow, so our start to xc skiing this winter has been delayed…(although, as I write this, the sleet appears to be turning to snow?)
A slight delay to winter!
Ok, instead of skiing or snowshoeing, we’ve been making plans for the spring while we wait. Not much of a plan in terms of detail – it’s mostly, if spring is early, or even if it isn’t, the moment there is a proper thaw (assuming we get a proper winter) shall we, and how soon shall we, hit the road? We shall! As soon as possible! Yes! And will we be tenting along the way? No! We will not!
What’s that? No?! Not tenting? What’s going on, OldPlaidCamper? Good question. You’ll have (not) noticed the lack of tent photographs since late July 2024 and there’s a good – and shiny – reason for that. I’ve been meaning to tell you about our 2024 festive gift to ourselves, one we unwrapped many, many months ago. Why couldn’t we wait?! Here is why:
That’s not a tent!
Yes, we now have a tiny teardrop trailer. A bed on wheels with a small kitchen tucked in the back. The trailer body footprint is smaller than our last tent, yet it sleeps two adults and one medium dog in great comfort. Oh, the comfort. I like tenting, but I love waking up without the cold hard ground seeping into a sleeping bag even more. Turns out we quite like a little extra padding in our early middle age. That’s the mattress, not us. Well, mostly the mattress.
For comfort eating
So looking ahead, and once roads and high passes are clear, our plan is to set off with no specific destination in mind – but heading west to start – and see where we might go and what we might find. I’m guessing, in no particular order of preference but determined by geography, open roads, quiet rivers, pristine lakes, mighty mountains, woods and forests, rolling prairies, and some coastline – rocky beaches and sandy stretches. My mince pie beach body is ready. Oh, Canada – watch out, here we come!
Watch out, here we come!
Do you have any particular plans for the great outdoors, near or far, for the coming year? Would love to hear about them!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Enjoy the season, and happy holidays to you should you choose to celebrate. Or, simply enjoy the weekend and week ahead if that’s more your thing, no extra festivities required…
Scout here. OldPlaidCamper is around, but you know how he can be when elections are won by old xenophobes, criminal misogynist wannabe “strong” men and- well, I could go on but then I’d sound like him, and we all know I’m more chipper and less likely to rant than him. So, while he’s off sulking, this week it’s up to me to provide a post. This is about something, or rather, a something that has been lurking and maybe even tracking us in the woods.
Hiding places
OPC can get twitchy – or squirrelly but not as cute (don’t tell him I said that) – when there’s a rustling in the undergrowth. I’ve explained over and over that there really isn’t anything much larger than a deer in our little neck of the woods, but will he listen? Yes, yes, there’s the troll house, but we’ve never seen the trolls, have we?
The troll house (no trolls though)
Anyway, there we were out in the woods last week, and, yup, there was definitely something different in the vicinity. We paused to listen. A sort of low rustling and then nothing. On we went. There it was again! It stopped just after we did. Now, I’m not the nervous sort, not like a certain almost outdoorsman we all know, but I will admit to being a little spooked. Not spooked or annoyed like I get with ravens and crows, and we all know I’m so calm I’ll sleep through a bear encounter, but this time I was ruffled. We moved on. And there it was again! Hmm.
“Wait! Did you hear that? A scurrying behind us?”
As a child, oops, I mean pup, and just like OPC, I was always drawn to maps in books that had places marked with “Here be dragons” and this was beginning to play on my mind. Could it be… no! So, perhaps it was a troll? Except whatever it was sounded too fleet of foot – not lumbering, far more nimble than that. You’ll never guess what OldPlaidCamper said? “I say, Scout, old thing, I do believe we’re jolly well being stalked by a woodland dragon! How beastly. Shall we hide?” (When he’s nervous, he sounds like a prissy child actor in a Sunday teatime BBC adaptation of one of the Narnia books. You won’t tell him I said that will you?)
Eye rolling moment
Oh, c’mon, OPC. There is no such thing outside of your, oops, I mean my, story books! (I’m beginning to struggle with the narrative voice here. It’s not easy writing this. Never mind all thumbs on a keyboard, or a monkey (as if) with a typewriter – I’m all paws. Nope, not easy…)
Where was I? Oh yes. OPC loves dragons, but, unlike trolls, they only exist in stories. I’ve never seen one – have you? OPC says dragons are more real than a Brexit unicorn frolicking in sunlit uplands, but I usually stop listening when he gets started on that. You know, unicorns.
Here be dragons? Don’t be daft, OPC
This post isn’t going anywhere is it? I thought I’d write something more interesting than his usual man goes for walk with dog then drinks beer. I was aiming to be a bit more elevated. More dog goes for a walk with man then eats kibble, and ending with a soft focus photograph of a bowl of kibble and a caption saying “yum!”
I’ll humour him. “Yes, OPC, something has been lurking here!”
Oh well. I’m tired, and I need to go find OPC, see if he needs a walk and feeding, so let’s leave it here this week. He often finishes with something like that, doesn’t he? “Let’s leave it here this week!” Not me. I’m going to say let’s paws it here this week. Elevated. Oh! I almost forgot, and I’d hate to leave you in suspense – was it a dragon? Yes! Yes it was! A baby dragon:
Yes, that’s right, a baby dragon. (I know, I know, but don’t spoil it for OPC – he’s fragile after recent events…)
A baby dragon?! He insisted on calling it that, bless him. To me it looks a lot like a salamander, but try telling OPC. He is adamant it is a baby dragon. And now, when we go to the woods, he’s all “here be dragons!” each time we turn a corner. I’ve decided it’s best to let him believe it, since it seems to cheer him up, and don’t some of us need that at the moment?
Thanks for reading, and we hope you have a wonderful weekend!
As it turned out, the heights weren’t the highest we’ve hiked, climbed or scrambled in the past, but on a warm fall day, and starting at sea level, the near 1400 feet up felt high enough. Got an endorphin high for sure!
Get high
If you’re ever in the vicinity of Camden, Maine, and you’re looking for a mostly moderate (and, in parts, challenging) hike with spectacular views from the heights, then I heartily recommend the Mt Megunticook Trail at Camden Hills State Park.
Happy trails
The hike up through a red, gold and green mixed forest on well maintained trails is pretty special, and if the trail only meandered through the woods you’d be happy enough.
The bonus is, with a little leg and lung workout up some steep sections (steps made from rock slabs and a couple of short and potentially slippery boulder scrambles if it was a rainy day) you’ll emerge up top and enjoy amazing scenes over Penobscot Bay and across the low hills and mountains of the nearby Maine interior.
Some elevation
I’ll let the photos do the work this week – and, as much as I like these images, honestly, they don’t capture the magnificence of the place. You’ll just have to visit! You’d be dizzy with delight, I promise you!
Delight
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
…is what it said on the beer, and who were we to argue? We shared the bottle, enjoyed it, and that seemed right.
We did
Enjoying our time in mid coast Maine in the fall certainly felt right. Being awake at 6:30am to catch the sunrise over Penobscot Bay was alright – mostly because we could see it from where we were staying without having to head outside. Could have, but it was close to very chilly at that time of the morning. Doing what’s right, we opted to wander down to the beach a couple of hours later.
Very pleasant and all, but maybe head down there later?!
I’ve never seen a leafy beach in the fall. The beaches back on the west coast were evergreen and raincoast wonderful, but not leafy. The eastern side is different, a good contrast to what we’ve been used to.
Leafy beach
Those leaves on the shore took a bit of getting used to! Regular stuff for coastal Maine folk no doubt, and our excitement might have seemed odd, but fortunately there was no one to see our strange behaviour. Just (just?!) a pair of bald eagles – lovely to spot them, the first we’ve seen since leaving the west coast!
We did what’s right all week and spent as much time as possible down on the shore. We had one slightly grey morning, and that was great for mixing up the mood and seeing the sea in a different light. Like most places, we know the east coast isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Life isn’t, but it’s generally pretty good if we do what’s right…
Not sunshine and rainbows, but pretty good!
If you can stand it (or even if you can’t) there’ll be one or two more posts about our Maine trip, but let’s leave it here for this week, grateful for the big and the small things. Like not worrying about a bad hair day at the beach. Huh?! (See below)
Bad hair day? Not me!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Rivers and lakes have been a large part of our summer as we’ve explored the big outdoors in this little corner of eastern Canada. We’ve even got on the water – only on for me, never in – a couple of times, most recently on Lake Cascapédia in the haut Gaspésie. Such fun!
Summer beneath the mountains
Up and over the mountains, the lake is reached via a very rough washboard road. It’s worth the effort if your vehicle can take it, with spectacular views when ascending and descending. In the space of a short and bumpy drive, we experienced late summer in the valley, autumn up top, and something in between on the lake.
An autumnal trip, up and over
Dropping into the bowl of the lake, it was very overcast and a good few degrees cooler than earlier. In fact, it almost rained!
A cool grey bowl, but less cold and forbidding than it appears
The paddling was great, with no wind outward bound, and only occasional gusts to paddle into on our return. It was fun to head into the slightly bared teeth of the wInd and put in a little extra effort to cut through some small swells and chop. Enough to feel it was almost a workout!
Almost warm
Moose are a feature of the park, but we didn’t catch a single glimpse all week. Maybe another time… We’d seen eagles climbing and making high turns most afternoons, but didn’t spot any near the lake. We did see one of our favourite bird sights – a few loons near the canoe, busily bobbing and diving, and they didn’t appear bothered by our loony zigzagging presence.
What zigzagging?!
We beached on gravel shores a couple of times to stretch legs and eat snacks. Off the water, the day was a touch warmer, pleasant enough to sit for a short while and then stage our attempt at a Tom Thomson:
Not even close to a Thomson, but we were happy to try!
Back at base, our evenings in the Gaspésie were spent under an almost full moon. From our camping spot in the trees we could see the bright moon on the river just below us. It was so intense we didn’t need flashlights. This image of the moon on the water was the best I could get:
Did the quicksilver moon on water influence our choice of beer the following day? I’m (beer)easily led, so maybe…
A white river, majestic mountains, a quiet lake, loons on the water, two happy paddlers and a good beer back at camp to end the day? That sounds ok, so let’s do it again soon!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We hadn’t realized how much we’d been missing the mountains until we found ourselves back in a high region once again.
Towards the lake
The upper reaches of the Parc National de la Gaspésie were absolutely wonderful, and a particular highlight was the lac aux américaines, a small glacial lake and easy destination found at the end of a short trail.
lac aux américaines
The trail is easy, but be warned, the washboard roads are not kind on vehicles, and I wouldn’t have wanted to use a regular low slung car to get up there. Some did, but goodness, the toll on the paintwork and undercarriage…
The road got far more challenging as it climbed!
Anyway, if you find yourself up there, take the short hike and you’ll be rewarded with the prettiest of mountain scenes. We were fortunate to be there on a quiet and sunny day, not too hot and just right to sit and eat your lunch whilst taking in the lake.
Bend in the river
There isn’t a hike around the lake, but there are several longer (day plus) trails crisscrossing the park with routes above the lake. They’d offer some view if you’re willing to take them on!
Long view towards the lake (from much further back!)
We weren’t in full mountain hike mode, and were quite content to tackle shorter and moderate half day at most rambles. We saw long views, pretty river bends, tumbling waterfalls and rushing waters, and all on sunny days where the early fall light gave everything a slightly golden feel.
Tumbling
The only day where the weather threatened was on our half day lake paddle. It got very dark, a touch breezy, and there were actual raindrops. Raindrops, maybe as many as twenty or thirty. Hardly a deluge, I think we dodged one there.
More about this next week
Anyway, this was supposed to be about the mountains. Mountains! More on the paddling next week! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Steps away from our campsite! Perfect sights and sounds…
Maybe if you spend too long in the woods with nothing but your thoughts, strange things start to occur?
You’re sitting in your chair – finally, you’ve found just the right camping chair, both sturdy and supportive and with a little pocket for your favourite woodsy beverage – and you start to nod off. A day/days of strenuous inactivity can cause pleasant drowsiness, so when you come to with a slight start, you ask, what was that?
Was it the porcupine returning to the scene of his earlier encounter with Mrs. PC and Scout? (A non-spiky encounter – good news on all sides!) Nope, doesn’t seem so.
On low alert
Maybe the crows have returned, believing they hadn’t done enough previously in their attempts to disturb the peace? Nope, no crows.
Must have been an industrious woodpecker, drilling for something tasty up in the higher reaches? Nope, nothing like that.
Berry good days
So, why am I suddenly on alert? Haven’t seen or heard a raccoon, the chattering squirrels aren’t about, but something has intruded, gotten into my empty head. Good thing Scout would warn us if an unwelcome whatever was approaching. No, scratch that. This is the same Scout that didn’t even blink last time a bear wandered through our backyard. A crow, deer or squirrel, then yeah, she’ll let us know. Scout’s many wonderful things, but being a reliable guard, no, not so much.
Rustling, the ok kind
There it is, I can hear it now, a distinct rustling in the undergrowth behind me. Did anyone else hear it? No?! I’ll settle down then, must be an overactive imagination. Take another sip of the rather wonderful bottle conditioned saison from the Bercée microbrasserie we visited earlier. Mmm, excellent. Grains de folie!
May cause odd musings
There! I knew I wasn’t losing it! Look what’s come out of the woods to greet us. No, not him, he’s not real. The second one.
“Are you calling me an unwelcome whatever? Not real?! Sure, have another sip, enjoy it, and maybe I’ll be along later to have a word?”“What ya drinkin’? Looks good! Don’t mind me, don’t be startled, I’m just out on patrol! Watch out for that beardy little fella – come to think of it, he looks a bit like you, doesn’t he?”
Huh? What’s going on? Maybe I’ll keep the other bottle for when we get home, lock the doors, and drink it inside? I love it up in the Saguenay – wonderful lakes and woods, and a great place to sit and let your thoughts drift – but maybe don’t drift too far? You might end up a touch Kenogamachiche here on Lac Kénogami…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
“Gotta go – see if I can track down that other strange little beardy fella – see ya next time!”
Yeah, the latter! We went down to the Chaudière-Appalaches region, an area just to the south and east of Quebec City to camp at a quiet spot on the Etchemin River. The days were warm and dry but not hot, something of a relief after a particularly stormy and humid spell.
Camp here? Ok!
The Etchemin is not a mighty river but it is mighty cool, both to sit alongside and to dip a foot or two into the water. Not so deep in dryish high summer, and navigable by canoe if you don’t mind a bump or two. We chatted to a family of four who successfully paddled stretches of the Etchemin without drama, and that was with two youngsters under ten and a dog. It’s got us thinking about giving it a paddle another time…
The Etchemin, man
We saw a couple head down to fish for an hour or two. I don’t know if they caught anything, but did they ever look happy just to be there! A sleepy river? No, not really, more of a tranquil space, one where plenty was happening.
I’m reading “A River Never Sleeps” by Roderick L. Haig-Brown, and thoroughly enjoying it. An account of his fishing life, I’ve only read the opening chapters so far, and what a dry wit he has. The section on mythic fish is tale telling at its best. I know almost nothing about fishing, having barely any experience, but Haig-Brown’s enthusiasm is catching. His descriptions of rivers he loved on Vancouver Island are wonderful. A new title to me, and highly recommended if it’s a new title to you!
Eagles soaring – but not in this photo
Each day we’d sit by the bubbling and chuckling river, the water sparkling in the bright sun. So much to see! We observed several large eagles climbing in circles, higher and higher to reach a certain height, then swoop down in long and graceful glides. Small birds chattered in the bushes and trees lining the river, with some seeming keen to make a start on the ripening berries. It was a delight to watch a heron across from us, moving with that slow and steady wing beat, an almost lazy, effortless flight upriver and away.
The wider region is a patchwork of wooded hills and pockets of cleared farmland, with many, many small streams and rivers. There’s the bustle and busyness of productive agriculture, and in such pretty surroundings the pace seems bearable. It’s easy to romanticize farming life on gentle summer afternoons if you’re not the one on the tractor or in barns and sheds, tending to crops and livestock…
A visit to Frampton Brasse is never a waste of time, and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to try what is produced so locally! Blue skies, a light breeze, long views, excellent beer and a camping spot down by the river afterwards – nope, it’s not time out, and definitely time well spent! How you spend your days is how you live your life and all that. I think we’re beginning to figure out this retirement lark.
Glasses half full
It was hard to drag ourselves away, but the approaching remnants of tropical storm Debby got us packing up and heading home before the worst of the deluge. The Etchemin will be running high as a result, and likely more navigable by canoe than ever? Hmm…
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
OldPlaidCamper 