Mont Mégantic QC

Date:        July 10, 2010
Trails:     St-Joseph, Sentier du Col, Mont Megantic
Distance:      13 km,  8.1 miles,  2693 ft elevation   level 3
Weather:    overcast   21° C, very humid
Company:    R.A. 

    After a week of humidex of over 40°C, I didn’t think I was going to hike very far. We got off the bus to a cool temperature of 20°C but still humid.  Several of us decided to go up to St-Joseph and then decide if we wanted to continue on to Mont-Mégantic.  We started up the trail at 10:30 am and as soon as we were climbing, it became very hot. We hiked with a group from Détour Nature. The trail climbed continuously and the one viewpoint, 2.3 km, offered a foggy view.  At 12:00, we arrived at Mont St-Joseph and I ate my sandwich. We left at 12:15 and found the signs for Sentier du Col.  This is a nice spongy trail with easy ascents. We followed John and his big footsteps and soon arrived at the Grande Ourse junction.  We decided to continue with John leading and then Vivianne.  Although not difficult, I was beginning to feel tired.  We came out on the road at 1:45 pm and turned right towards the hut and continued the last .4 km to the observatory. We met everyone at the lookout. There was a small hare feeling very uneasy with all the people and I was able to take several pictures before he scooted off.  We had the rest of our lunch and then headed down at 2:15 pm.  The upper portion of Sentier du Mont-Mégantic is a bit steep and then the trail is a gradual downward walk.  We got to the Grande Ourse and the notes said to turn right on Trail 4 (another 3.1 km) but the map said to continue straight along the same trail (2.2 km).  I thought we should stick with the notes but I ended up staying with the others and continuing on the Sentier du Mont-Mégantic. This part of the trail is beautiful with a brook on the left hand side of the rail.  There has been extensive trail maintenance and it was the nicest part of the trail.  We arrived at the Accueil at 3:45 pm, changed and then joined the others for a beer before leaving for Montreal at 4:40 pm.  The bus dropped us off at 7:15 pm and I was home at 7:35 pm. It was very hot & humid in Montreal so I was glad that I had gone hiking. Nice dinner with Bob, Diana, & Joseph.
 

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