Mont Albert and the end

The next morning, we were treated to the best weather we could possibly imagine for the climb up Mont Albert (except later in the afternoon, it rained, but whatever). The climb was rated as being for those in good physical condition and between 6-8hrs long:we were in for quite a ride. I got a fair number of photos, and I don't think Ill post them all here, remember you can see all my photos at www.flickr.com/photos/biting_flies, take a look!!

There were quite a few streams rushing down the sides of the mountain

Well, we'll skip right to the top of Mont Albert, since it came rather quickly in comparison to the rest of the climb back down. It was perfect weather for grabbing a few photos, with nice clouds and blue skies. The top was very rocky, and kind of tundra-like

The climb down was a whole different story. We did a loop, which was a great idea because we got to see the other side of the mountain (which, despite what any bear may say, was totally worth the climb up). We followed this path along to the edge, and then down we went.

The boardwalk through the trees was very cool, all the trees are stunted

And then came the rocks, and they would keep coming for the next 2-3 km

We were high enough that there was still snow on the peaks

This is one of my favorite photos from the trip, I think I've managed to capture gravity quite well. Thanks to Erin for climbing out on the snow!

This was a woman making her way down the slope with walking sticks. I was quite impressed at the number of people attempting this climb, by this point in the trip I was starting to question my climbing abilities (and the integrity of my knees).

For those of you non-french speaking folk, this sign says "the descent down this slope if very long and very difficult"

Pardon my French, but no shit.

Alex makes his way down

I love the colours in this one

This photo was around the bottom of the slope, from here we still had 6km to go. And here comes the rain.


The rest of the hike was rocky at times, and other times very muddy. All told, it took us 7 hrs for a 17km hike. We all felt it the next day. There are plenty of other trails around the park with lesser difficulties. It was a great place to visit, hike and camp in and I hope to go back there again.

The next day involved biking through the rest of the park and back to St Anne du Monts to pick up the other car. We packed up and started the long drive back home. By this point I was too tired to take more pictures, so Ill end the blog story here. It was an tiring experience, but one well worth the energy. If you ever get a chance to go to the Gaspe peninsula, your in for a treat. The people are friendly, the food is good, and the scenery is great (when its not raining, I think we just had bad luck with that). Thanks for reading everyone!

Into Parc National de la Gaspesie

We woke up all cosy in our hotel beds and were greeted with fog and pouring rain. Because we had gotten behind in the distance travelled, we decided to drive the girls to the start of the hyway which lead to the national park. I stayed behind and did a load of laundry at the local tourism bureau which turned out to be the worst 3 hours of the trip. The tourism guy was a lonely man, I guess he doesn't get too many people coming through there except to use the washroom. So, it was a long 3 hours of slurred English (he spoke mostly french but still tried) and pictures of him in hockey leagues as a kid and his father in the war. Wonderful. But soon, Alex came to rescue me, and as I fled to the outside, I got this photograph. I've converted it to black and white, to give it an older feel (actually, probably didn't look much different 80 years ago)

Driving to the national park with Alex was fun (stopped at a Tim Horton's for some delicious, aka not-instant, coffee, Joy of Joys!). When we got to New Richmond, the weather suddenly cleared up and it became a beautiful sunny day. As we were driving we came across a stack of bikes and clothing, so we pulled over to find the girls

They were down by a river having lunch

We started planning our hike for the next day

The camping at the park was great, Erin cooked up some dinner

And taking advantage of the nice weather, we hung just about every article of clothing out to dry
The next day we planned to hike up Mont Albert. The weather was going to be perfect, and I was going to get some totally awesome photos! Look forward to them tomorrow :)

Tete D'Indienne and the Bayview Motel

We found a pretty good campground that night and settled in. Late at night I got a little warm in my bivy sac so I opened the screen. Apparently slugs like bivy sacs, or they are warmth sucks or whatever, I kept waking up with slugs crawling all over me. And you know, I actually felt bad flicking them off, considering it probably took them over an hour to get that far.

We woke up to no-rain (yet), and a nice view across the bay. The cliffs in the distance are those of Forillon national park (Cap Gaspe), where we had hiked the day before. You can actually see the lighthouse on the point. This photo can be nicely cleaned up, with all the grey removed. But I figured that would just be unrealistic.

Tina and Erin eating breakfast

We hopped on our bikes for a long day of riding. We had manged to get a little behind schedule the day before (rain and bike repairs) so we had over 160 km to ride. During my leg of the journey, it starting pouring rain. Yes, it had poured before, but this was an absolute deluge. There was thunder, and yes, lightning. I met up with Alex at a rest stop and switched riding for driving (props to him for actually starting to bike in the pouring rain, I was already soaked and resigned to stay that way). I had to strap my bike to the bike rack on the car, and it was pouring so hard, that the people working at the rest stop stared out the window the entire time in amazement of my stupidity.

The rest of the day was a drag: rain and fog and nothing to see along the coast. we decided to look for a motel to stay the night. We found a place with a great old man who gave us a super rate on two rooms, we all had showers (cold yes, but still a shower) and used our mini kitchen to cook some seafood pasta. We spent the rest of the night working on three large bottles of Milwaukee's Best.

This photo about sums up the trip. A lot of eating and drinking was done around this map.

Lisa shows off her delicious Coors light as Tina whips up some dinner

Alex and the holy glowing flyswatter hanging above the bed

Lisa 'half asleep in frog pyjamas'

It was great to have a roof over our heads and a comfy bed that night. More rain in the forcast for tomorrow, turning to sunny skies in the afternoon.

Sara's Wedding and Gaspe continued

Hey all,

Sorry for the delayed post, I spent the weekend up in the Muskokas for my sister-in-laws wedding. Everyone had a good time, it was a beautiful setting. Just to satisfy you readers, I'll post a photo of the happy couple, I'll wait before posting the others

The night before the wedding, my husband and I wandered around outside, taking photos of the sunset/moon. Here is one of him and the moon

So, that was my weekend in a very small nutshell. Back to the Gaspe trip.

The next morning, since it was pouring rain, we took a cycling hiatus and drove to Forillon provincial park. It a point near the end of the Gaspe peninsula with cliffs and shorebirds. Its a beautiful area to hike through. We saw whales (sorry no photos) which was really cool and the general landscape is very pretty. Here are a few photos, I'll have to go and get some more when its not dumping rain and foggy.

The rock formations there are really neat, most of the cliff edges look like they are sliding into the ocean

A thick forest we walked through on the way to the point

When we got to the top, we were greeted with a small black bear, we never saw the mother so it was a little nerve-wracking. Didn't stop me from taking photos though. This photo has had the fog filtered out for clarity. It was so thick up there that we couldn't see a bit of the ocean.

A sparrow that was singing away despite the rain.

The rest of the afternoon was spent biking to the city (town?) of Gaspe to get Lisa's bike repaired. We arrived at Camp Tete d'indienne which provided a few good photos the following morning.

Driving pt 2

More photos as promised. Waiting for the cyclists, we parked at a lighthouse (after getting some ice cream; ice cream and cheese are in abundance in Gaspe) and spent some time taking photos. I found some neat rocks with the water crashing in, and there was a steady stream of sea birds making a run for Cap Gaspe (a large cliff point where sea birds hang out) so there were plenty of things to keep me occupied.

A wave pelts a rock, with two Common Eiders hunkered down in the background

Just a Gull, but they are much more majestic and less anoying by the ocean than in McDonalds parking lots.

A sparrow on a fence post

Three Double-crested Cormorants making their way to Cap Gaspe

And finally, human photos. Erin rounds the corner. Welcome to Cap du Rossiers.

Tina flying down a hill

Lisa heading down a hill, dont be deceived by these photos, these girls were going faster than 70 km/hr down these hills. Shortly after this photo was taken Lisa hit a pothole (at 83.6km/hr) and cracked a rim; leading to a nice little non-cycling morning the next day, and an opportunity to get more photos, look forward to those tomorrow!

Day Two of Gaspe: The Drive

So, as mentioned, I spent the second day of riding, riding in the support car. It was a pretty good decision on my part, as this section of the ride was incredibly hilly. Now that Im looking through my photos, most of the days have blurred together, so I may have included a few from other days, but not that you care really. So, onwards.

The day before, we had been caught in the rain, having set our cycling shoes outside, they began to mist.

The road through the inland, I think this hill was about a 11% grade. Notice the huge windmills in the background

A close-up of the windmills, in some areas they just cover the hills

A Black Guillemot, a sea bird that is pretty common in the area. They have bright red feet and nest in the rock faces

I stopped at a rest station to get a few shots, this was a beatiful area, with the ocean coming into the inland and forming a lake.

I drove 4km on a dirt road to see a historic Marconi site. Sadly, all the tours were in French (which Im not so bad at understanding, but no so much as to get a whole tour). So that trip wasnt very eventfull, but I did get a good photo of a Spruce Grouse. So there you go.

I realize that because I drove the entire day, I have many photos to share. I will post some more tomorrow.

The first day of cycling

The camping Saturday night was great, and I awoke to a pair of loons chatting to eachother out in the river.

We started our first day of cycling on Sunday. We had a support vehicle which would be driven to a meeting point along the way. I drove the first day and biked out to meet the others cycling. Here are Lisa, Alex and Erin starting their ride.

A view of the landscape on the North Coast through the car window, very beautiful, very windy. Notice the looming clouds.

Stopped at one of many lighthouses along the way. I didnt stay out of the car for long, it was incredibly windy and pretty cold on the camera hands.

Another shot of the landscape on the north coast, facing west (meaning we were cycling away from the beatiful blue sky)

I wish that I had a photo of the cycling from the afternoon. I switched driving and cycled the remainer of the day. The flat coastal road suddenly turned inward, into the mountains and I was left facing the biggest hills I have ever cycled up. My 7 weeks in Arizona didnt help me here in the least. Never in all my active life have my legs just decided to stop working, but they did this time. Still, having walked a few metres up one of the larger hills, I got back on the chariot and finished the day. However, this climb put my knee out quite nicely, so I ended up driving the following day, it gave me a good chance to get some great photos though, so I was greatful for the opportunity. Look forward to those tomorrow!