I got my fancy new passport card on Friday (10/6) when I came home from work, so I knew what I had to do on Sunday. Hike Mont Mégantic, a 3,615 ft. monadnock in southern QC that had been on my to-do list for a very long time, but the only thing keeping me from doing was the lack of a passport. Between the hiking and the driving, though, it was way too long to do as a daytrip, so I broke up the driving by staying in a motel in Colebrook Saturday night after work (wi-fi, cable TV, nice soft bed- yeeaaaah 
). Sunday morning, I got up, packed up, and headed for the border.
For those of you familiar with the Pawtuckaway Mountains in southeastern NH, Mont Mégantic is basically Pawtuckaway on massive amounts of steroids. Look at it on a topographic map and you'll know what I mean .
Crossing the border both ways wasn't as bad as I thought it would be; the worst part IMO was the funny looks I got from border patrol about my car's back seat, which was full of hiking gear, backpacks, and clothes . It was all good, though. Eventually, I hit the road, but in Canada 8) . From the border to the trailhead, it was about a 40 min. drive on long, straight backroads to the trailhead. Felt weird but cool seeing everything in French and metric. Same for people talking. Fortunately, I know enough French to get by, so reading the signs and buying food and supplies at local convenience stores wasn't a problem .
After what seemed like a long drive, I got to the trailhead, in Parc National du Mont Mégantic. I grabbed a pay envelope, struggled to read the French instructions, and then deciphered enough of it to know to put $8.50 in the envelope, scratch out the month, day, and category on the placard, put that in the envelope, and put it all in a fee box. Once that was all said and done, off I went!
From my parking spot, I took Sentier du Mont Mégantic all the way to the top. Down low, it was so level, flat, and well-graded that with a little tweaking, it could be a universal access trail. Shortly after La Petite Ourse (a small mountain lodge), though, the trail became rougher and more like an actual mountain path. After La Grande Ourse (a bigger lodge with some nearby campsites), the climbing really began. Made for a decent physical challenge, particularly in the last kilometer or so. Near the top, I climbed up some small scrambles- it was the toughest part of the ascent. Soon, I popped out onto the Observatoire grounds and was greeted with good views out toward the mountains along the NH/QC line, La Patrie, Mont Orford, Mont Gosford, and Lac-Mégantic (town and body of water). There did appear to be a more discreet possible high point, so I followed some ground cables to a tower on a rock outcropping. Dunno which knob is the true high point, but I hit 'em all to make sure I truly stood on the top.
I decided to make a loop out of this hike (la Boucle du Mont Mégantic) by following the auto road to the Sentier du Col, which dropped down off to the left. It switched back 2.2 km to the Col-des-Trois-Sommets, which had a lodge complete with a fireplace and lawn chairs; I ate lunch here due to the wind on the summit. From here, I went back to the Sentier du Mont Mégantic via a link path, then went back to the trailhead the way I originally came.
Not the longest hike- t'was about 6.8 miles roundtrip- but a good intro to this strange, previously unexplored nation that is Canada 8) . Really glad I broke up the driving though. Made the whole trip much less exhausting and more fun. Dunno when I'll be back though, especially considering the real estate I have at my disposal for much less driving (White Mtns, Green Mtns, Berkshires ect.). At least I can brag that I've hiked a mountain in Canada . Roundtrip distance was 6.8 miles with 1,700 ft. of elevation gain.
Here's Parts 1 and 2 of the video recap, if you're interested:
Part 1
Part 2
). Sunday morning, I got up, packed up, and headed for the border. For those of you familiar with the Pawtuckaway Mountains in southeastern NH, Mont Mégantic is basically Pawtuckaway on massive amounts of steroids. Look at it on a topographic map and you'll know what I mean
.Crossing the border both ways wasn't as bad as I thought it would be; the worst part IMO was the funny looks I got from border patrol about my car's back seat, which was full of hiking gear, backpacks, and clothes
. It was all good, though. Eventually, I hit the road, but in Canada 8) . From the border to the trailhead, it was about a 40 min. drive on long, straight backroads to the trailhead. Felt weird but cool seeing everything in French and metric. Same for people talking. Fortunately, I know enough French to get by, so reading the signs and buying food and supplies at local convenience stores wasn't a problem .After what seemed like a long drive, I got to the trailhead, in Parc National du Mont Mégantic. I grabbed a pay envelope, struggled to read the French instructions, and then deciphered enough of it to know to put $8.50 in the envelope, scratch out the month, day, and category on the placard, put that in the envelope, and put it all in a fee box. Once that was all said and done, off I went!
From my parking spot, I took Sentier du Mont Mégantic all the way to the top. Down low, it was so level, flat, and well-graded that with a little tweaking, it could be a universal access trail. Shortly after La Petite Ourse (a small mountain lodge), though, the trail became rougher and more like an actual mountain path. After La Grande Ourse (a bigger lodge with some nearby campsites), the climbing really began. Made for a decent physical challenge, particularly in the last kilometer or so. Near the top, I climbed up some small scrambles- it was the toughest part of the ascent. Soon, I popped out onto the Observatoire grounds and was greeted with good views out toward the mountains along the NH/QC line, La Patrie, Mont Orford, Mont Gosford, and Lac-Mégantic (town and body of water). There did appear to be a more discreet possible high point, so I followed some ground cables to a tower on a rock outcropping. Dunno which knob is the true high point, but I hit 'em all to make sure I truly stood on the top.
I decided to make a loop out of this hike (la Boucle du Mont Mégantic) by following the auto road to the Sentier du Col, which dropped down off to the left. It switched back 2.2 km to the Col-des-Trois-Sommets, which had a lodge complete with a fireplace and lawn chairs; I ate lunch here due to the wind on the summit. From here, I went back to the Sentier du Mont Mégantic via a link path, then went back to the trailhead the way I originally came.
Not the longest hike- t'was about 6.8 miles roundtrip- but a good intro to this strange, previously unexplored nation that is Canada 8) . Really glad I broke up the driving though. Made the whole trip much less exhausting and more fun. Dunno when I'll be back though, especially considering the real estate I have at my disposal for much less driving (White Mtns, Green Mtns, Berkshires ect.). At least I can brag that I've hiked a mountain in Canada
. Roundtrip distance was 6.8 miles with 1,700 ft. of elevation gain.Here's Parts 1 and 2 of the video recap, if you're interested:
Part 1
Part 2
