Oncoman
Active member
Day 2 : Mon. 20 Aug.
We woke up under a cloth of fog and temps barely above freezing point. After a hearty warm breakfast we had a group meeting. Gisèle could not see herself continue on under such terrain and cold temps. The springy walking condition was too rough for her. As for the other 3 girls in stronger physical shape, they wanted to push on for another day before deciding to turn back or not. So we decided to split the group in 2. I would bring Gisèle back to safety at Manic-5 and then try to rejoin the group 3 days later from the south at the south end of lac Joyel, a 3 km long lake encased between mountains, hard to miss, with directive however that if one party was not there then one was on his own and good luck. So we parted in opposite directions. Gisèle and I revisited Jauffret and this time had very nice views of the Réservoir Manicouagan way down below. I had lightened Gisèle’s back to about 8 lbs. This plus the downhill made for good time and by 14h00 we were back to the car and 2 hrs later at the Manic motel just before heavy rain started. I felt sorry for the group up there fully exposed. We both enjoyed a hot shower, warm meal and a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed.
Day 3 : Tue. 21 Aug.
Up at 04h00. After a 2 hrs gravel road drive was on trail by 07h15 but not before checking out Nomade camp at trailhead. Camp was closed, but met some squatters there and chatted briefly with them. They had climbed to the plateau and had slept in the lean-to at Lac Quintin before descending the following morning. Due to inadequate dressing & limited orienteering skills they had not dared adventuring beyond the lean-to. There are no cairns to guide you beyond the lean-to.
Southern end trail up plateau was in bad shape. Very muddy with numerous blow-down. Took short break at Lac Castor about half-way up plateau. No sun all day, but despite low clouds visibility was very good. Slightly cool but comfortable with brisk pace. Minimal bugs. Near tree line saw some Thé du Labrador, which makes an excellent herb-tea with anti-inflammatory properties; good for old bones. Also saw arctic cotton in low watery mossy areas on massif, which natives use to make garments; as well as arctic blueberries growing less than 1’’ from ground and so tiny. Also noticed that on the toundra green plants do manage to grow amongst the lichen, but in order to survive they have to agglutinate in tightly bonded patches in order to preserve heat, like the Antarctic Manchots Empereur. If you stick your finger inside such plaques you will be surprised of the heat there contained. Bagged Provencher peak, my 2nd 1000m. Actually there are 2 pks each separated by about 500 yards, the northern one being the higher one according to 1978 map, but by my GPS the southern one is higher by 10m. and that was the one with the bigger cairn on it.
Reached lean-to by 12h30. Took 45 min. pause to eat. Beautiful view of Lac Quintin in total solitude and silence except for the murmur of the wind…so appeasing. Then crossed small brook and went uphill about 400’ to reach ledge where I unexpectedly came upon an aluminium cross , testimony of a requiem for a young 26 y/o man who died there swept under an avalanche.
And then the remoteness and vastness of the territory to cover shook me. I still had 1½ days ahead of me to meet the group at the designated rendez-vous; but would they be there and if not, as agreed upon, I would have to carry on solo either forward or backtrack. I had absolute confidence in my physical and psychological capabilities as well as very good confidence in my orienteering skills; but what if I got injured all alone in such a remote place. And that dam sign I just past reminding me that Nature can sometimes be very cruel. After a long 5 min. of hesitation I pushed on deeper and deeper into the toundra and it was not after a good ½ hr of trekking that the shivers in my back disappeared and that I was able to be fully subjugated by the arctic landscape.
That afternoon I summited Goéland mountain, barely 2½ hrs after leaving the lean-to and then immediately headed towards lac Magic taking no pauses. My backpack weighed at most 35 pounds and I felt very strong. Had a bit of difficulty descending steep slope into valley but was extra careful. I then had a long tiring uphill into taiga before reaching the southern end of lac Joyel just before nightfall, slightly under 12 hrs after leaving my car and a full day ahead of schedule. Met there a group of 4 guys from Québec City. We shared a hearty evening meal and exchanged hiking stories but all retired early, tired but so happy.
Day 4 : Wed. 22 Aug.
My new Québec friends decided to move north. I asked them to say hello to my group should they be so fortunate as to meet them and tell them that I was fine. I then headed east towards Marjolaine, a peak rarely visited. Contrary to previous day it was sunny and hot. The bugs were terrible, nothing like I have ever experienced in my life. Everything here is small, flowers, trees, fruits - but not the bugs! You have them swarming into your eyes constantly, you breath them through your nostrils & you swallow them all day. AWFUL!! I did have a mask but after a while it’s just too warm to keep on. I just can’t imagine the torture in July!
After a very long detour in other to avoid a deep ravine, I finally reached the lower shoulders of Marjolaine where I had the surprise of finding a 6’’ deep caribou path into the moss with occasional wolf footprints. I followed this path uphill for a while until the path turned east. I then headed south for the summit, reached 4 hrs after leaving base camp. There, I was somewhat surprised to find a cairn. The views of Veyrier to the west were superb on that clear sunny day. To the east, where no one or hardly dares to venture, you could see an infinite amount of peaks. I thought to myself that if I revisited the Uapishka and wanted to see caribou, east I must go!
By 15h00 I was back to base camp and, Oh JOY, there was Luce & Pierre to greet me. They all had made it safe and sound and their moral was excellent. Likewise they were very relieved that I had made it and was doing just fine. They never crossed paths with the Québec group. As for Lucie & France they had decided to trek on the Veyrier plateau that afternoon despite the bugs. After a ½ hr of warm greetings I also decided to summit Veyrier hoping to see caribou; in reality hoping to meet the 2 girls, but as I later found out they had turned back before reaching the summit and our paths never crossed on that immense plateau. I was in great spirits and had wings to my heals. Reached the summit in just over an hour. Found there a cairn as well as a geodesic plaque on large rock. Again saw no caribou, but flocks of Lagopèdes . Later heard that another group had seen 3 solitary caribous near the summit the previous day.
Upon returning to camp the group had decided to celebrate our reunion with a meal of wild trout fished barely ½ hr ago from lac Joyel, fried in oil with bolet mushrooms, also freshly picked. DELICIOUS! We then made a campfire and talked well into the night, gazing at the stars with occasional “Étoiles filantes” and “Aurores boréales” or was it a dream…maybe the mushrooms.
We woke up under a cloth of fog and temps barely above freezing point. After a hearty warm breakfast we had a group meeting. Gisèle could not see herself continue on under such terrain and cold temps. The springy walking condition was too rough for her. As for the other 3 girls in stronger physical shape, they wanted to push on for another day before deciding to turn back or not. So we decided to split the group in 2. I would bring Gisèle back to safety at Manic-5 and then try to rejoin the group 3 days later from the south at the south end of lac Joyel, a 3 km long lake encased between mountains, hard to miss, with directive however that if one party was not there then one was on his own and good luck. So we parted in opposite directions. Gisèle and I revisited Jauffret and this time had very nice views of the Réservoir Manicouagan way down below. I had lightened Gisèle’s back to about 8 lbs. This plus the downhill made for good time and by 14h00 we were back to the car and 2 hrs later at the Manic motel just before heavy rain started. I felt sorry for the group up there fully exposed. We both enjoyed a hot shower, warm meal and a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed.
Day 3 : Tue. 21 Aug.
Up at 04h00. After a 2 hrs gravel road drive was on trail by 07h15 but not before checking out Nomade camp at trailhead. Camp was closed, but met some squatters there and chatted briefly with them. They had climbed to the plateau and had slept in the lean-to at Lac Quintin before descending the following morning. Due to inadequate dressing & limited orienteering skills they had not dared adventuring beyond the lean-to. There are no cairns to guide you beyond the lean-to.
Southern end trail up plateau was in bad shape. Very muddy with numerous blow-down. Took short break at Lac Castor about half-way up plateau. No sun all day, but despite low clouds visibility was very good. Slightly cool but comfortable with brisk pace. Minimal bugs. Near tree line saw some Thé du Labrador, which makes an excellent herb-tea with anti-inflammatory properties; good for old bones. Also saw arctic cotton in low watery mossy areas on massif, which natives use to make garments; as well as arctic blueberries growing less than 1’’ from ground and so tiny. Also noticed that on the toundra green plants do manage to grow amongst the lichen, but in order to survive they have to agglutinate in tightly bonded patches in order to preserve heat, like the Antarctic Manchots Empereur. If you stick your finger inside such plaques you will be surprised of the heat there contained. Bagged Provencher peak, my 2nd 1000m. Actually there are 2 pks each separated by about 500 yards, the northern one being the higher one according to 1978 map, but by my GPS the southern one is higher by 10m. and that was the one with the bigger cairn on it.
Reached lean-to by 12h30. Took 45 min. pause to eat. Beautiful view of Lac Quintin in total solitude and silence except for the murmur of the wind…so appeasing. Then crossed small brook and went uphill about 400’ to reach ledge where I unexpectedly came upon an aluminium cross , testimony of a requiem for a young 26 y/o man who died there swept under an avalanche.
And then the remoteness and vastness of the territory to cover shook me. I still had 1½ days ahead of me to meet the group at the designated rendez-vous; but would they be there and if not, as agreed upon, I would have to carry on solo either forward or backtrack. I had absolute confidence in my physical and psychological capabilities as well as very good confidence in my orienteering skills; but what if I got injured all alone in such a remote place. And that dam sign I just past reminding me that Nature can sometimes be very cruel. After a long 5 min. of hesitation I pushed on deeper and deeper into the toundra and it was not after a good ½ hr of trekking that the shivers in my back disappeared and that I was able to be fully subjugated by the arctic landscape.
That afternoon I summited Goéland mountain, barely 2½ hrs after leaving the lean-to and then immediately headed towards lac Magic taking no pauses. My backpack weighed at most 35 pounds and I felt very strong. Had a bit of difficulty descending steep slope into valley but was extra careful. I then had a long tiring uphill into taiga before reaching the southern end of lac Joyel just before nightfall, slightly under 12 hrs after leaving my car and a full day ahead of schedule. Met there a group of 4 guys from Québec City. We shared a hearty evening meal and exchanged hiking stories but all retired early, tired but so happy.
Day 4 : Wed. 22 Aug.
My new Québec friends decided to move north. I asked them to say hello to my group should they be so fortunate as to meet them and tell them that I was fine. I then headed east towards Marjolaine, a peak rarely visited. Contrary to previous day it was sunny and hot. The bugs were terrible, nothing like I have ever experienced in my life. Everything here is small, flowers, trees, fruits - but not the bugs! You have them swarming into your eyes constantly, you breath them through your nostrils & you swallow them all day. AWFUL!! I did have a mask but after a while it’s just too warm to keep on. I just can’t imagine the torture in July!
After a very long detour in other to avoid a deep ravine, I finally reached the lower shoulders of Marjolaine where I had the surprise of finding a 6’’ deep caribou path into the moss with occasional wolf footprints. I followed this path uphill for a while until the path turned east. I then headed south for the summit, reached 4 hrs after leaving base camp. There, I was somewhat surprised to find a cairn. The views of Veyrier to the west were superb on that clear sunny day. To the east, where no one or hardly dares to venture, you could see an infinite amount of peaks. I thought to myself that if I revisited the Uapishka and wanted to see caribou, east I must go!
By 15h00 I was back to base camp and, Oh JOY, there was Luce & Pierre to greet me. They all had made it safe and sound and their moral was excellent. Likewise they were very relieved that I had made it and was doing just fine. They never crossed paths with the Québec group. As for Lucie & France they had decided to trek on the Veyrier plateau that afternoon despite the bugs. After a ½ hr of warm greetings I also decided to summit Veyrier hoping to see caribou; in reality hoping to meet the 2 girls, but as I later found out they had turned back before reaching the summit and our paths never crossed on that immense plateau. I was in great spirits and had wings to my heals. Reached the summit in just over an hour. Found there a cairn as well as a geodesic plaque on large rock. Again saw no caribou, but flocks of Lagopèdes . Later heard that another group had seen 3 solitary caribous near the summit the previous day.
Upon returning to camp the group had decided to celebrate our reunion with a meal of wild trout fished barely ½ hr ago from lac Joyel, fried in oil with bolet mushrooms, also freshly picked. DELICIOUS! We then made a campfire and talked well into the night, gazing at the stars with occasional “Étoiles filantes” and “Aurores boréales” or was it a dream…maybe the mushrooms.
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