Attention Quebecois

[dentonfabrics]

A question for the Canadien VFTTer's (or Americans in the know)...

I'm hoping someone can help me with some info on the area north of Quebec City, les Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. I noticed that there are a lot of forest roads which (supposedly) lead to backwoods lakes off of Rte 175 to Saguenay and Rte 169 towards Alma. It seems to be such beautiful country, I was wondering if there were any "possibilites pour l'aventure" there.

I noticed that some of the turnoff's on Rte 175 were for "camps". Are these logger camps or sportsmens camps? Does this imply "No tresspassing"?

What are the laws regarding overnight camping and campfires in Laurentides?

Are there hiking trails to "destinations" (summits, viewpoints) thru those woods?

Any other info would be of great interest to me. When I google "laurentides", all I get is info on tourist resort areas which doesn't sound anything like the place I'm thinking about. I already have plenty of info on Parc Jacques-Cartier (a beautiful place, by the way), I'm more interested in the next 200km north.


merci

 

[el-bagr]

I :heart: le royaume du Saguenay. Some of the land you're thinking of (to the east of the road through L'Etape) is the Parc des Grands Jardins. Much of the rest is part of the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides -- which can be hard to research, as there doesn't seem to be as centralized an information-source as there is for some U.S. properties. There are some neat little trails around, and lots of long dirt roads for solitary rambling. In Grands-Jardins proper, there are some nice viewpoints like Mont du lac des Cygnes, etc.

Down some of those side roads marked "camps", there are -- well -- camps. Some of them are privately-owned (often on leased land); others (hundreds) are available for rent through the Reserve:
http://www.sepaq.com/rf/lau/#tab-hostings

In the winter of 2001, we drove down one of those roads "to see the lake" that we suspected lay to our west. (Lac Menard, I believe.) It was -20 C. The road was snowy, but packed. As we drove farther down the road, its pitch got steeper and steeper... until it was clear we had to get to the bottom in order to get back up. Down at the bottom of the road were a few small camps, where three Quebecois were lounging around outside, fully garbed in winter clothes, smoking cigarettes and playing with their small dog. We explained the situation, and tried to drive back up the hill -- to no avail. We put sticks under the wheels to try to get better traction, but kept slipping out partway up the hill. The folks laughed pleasantly. One pointed to the Massachusetts license plates and asked (in French, their only language) where that was. "Silly fool, didn't you learn anything from the nuns in school?" said the other guy. It's a province west of Ontario!"

Happy with his knowledge, our geographer offered that he and his buddy would give us a push to get started up the hill. As they pushed, the first guy kept clutching his chest and groaning. "Let him drive," said the geographer; "he just had a heart attack. Besides, he's less drunk than I am." So we let the "less drunk" guy get behind the wheel, and pushed from the back. The "less drunk" guy made it about a quarter mile up the hill, then wrecked into a snowbank and was only barely able to back down to the cabins.

We were at our wits' end. (And I'd been told not to drive down the road in the first place, as it "might be" steep and slippery.) So when the "less drunk" guy told us to climb on the hood, keep our weight over the tires, and hold on to the wipers... we did. The drunker guy pushed, and the less drunk guy floored it. We rocketed up the road, our extra weight over the front-wheel drive making the difference. We hollered from our reckless joy.

Gratefully, we thanked the less drunk guy when we got back out to the 175. We asked him how we could repay him. "Oh, there's only one thing I want," he said. "A ride back down to the camps!"

 

[spider solo]

Great Story !!

 

[dentonfabrics]

Great story, E-B!

Saguenay surprised me for being so developed. I was surprised how sprawled out they are. I can understand your attraction for the wilderness area. With miles and miles of balsam firs packed together like matchsticks, it really gives off a primeval vibe.

I can't make heads or tails out of that website. I think the links to their reservation server is screwed up as I keep getting conflicting information. Think I'll have to try that 800 number instead and pray someone there speaks English better than I speak French.


bob