Dec. 01, 2010 - Issue #789 : Beckett Shorts

Skinny sticks and politics

Ottawa area ski trails unite what Meech couldn't

Even with the mercury hovering at a frigid -25 C with wind chill, it's only through good timing—pulling in just as the tail-lights of a compact flick on—that we're able to find a spot in an over-packed parking lot just a stone's throw from the eastern edge of Meech Lake.

But within moments of joining the steady stream of skiers making their way up the kilometre-long ascent on the groomed trails of the Lac-Fortune Parkway, surrounded by trees ice-encrusted from a recent ice-storm glinting in the sun like crystals against the shockingly blue sky, it's easy to see why the cross-country skiing trails of Gatineau Park are so popular.

Best known to many Canadians as the site of the ultimately fruitless constitutional accord that took place on the banks of Meech Lake, for cross-country ski enthusiasts Gatineau Park is something of a wintertime Mecca. Created in 1938 and now managed by the National Capital Commission—the crown corporation tasked with ensuring that Ottawa-Gatineau lives up to expectations as the nation's capital region—the 360-square-km nature reserve boasts some 200 km of ski trails taking in the forests, valleys and lakes of the southern Canadian Shield.

The northern edge of the park skirts the Gatineau River; its southeastern tip almost reaches the Ottawa River which separates Quebec from Ontario. The buildings of downtown Ottawa—just a 20-minute drive from the heart of Gatineau Park—are visible from the crests of hills in the southern portion of the park. In the middle, the three main lakes, Meech, Mousseau and Philippe separate the southern portion of the park from the more distant, and less-crowded, northern section.

The Lac-Fortune Parkway, our chosen route, is just one stretch of a 30 km series of roads throughout the park which in winter are closed to traffic and converted into an autobahn-like network of expertly groomed cross-country trails. Two parallel tracks set for classical skiing on each side of the road flank the generously wide groomed skate-ski track. As we make our way up the parkway before cresting on the banks of Lac Fortune, the path littered with tiny shards shaken by the gentle breeze from the ice-heavy branches, families of skiers and spandex-clad groups of skate-skiers glide down effortlessly in the other direction.

While it's possible to see most of the park on these primary trails—which are graded in a three-step range of difficulty—shortly after the top of the climb we opt to get off the main thoroughfare and head off onto a classic-only secondary trail. While still groomed, single track sets, the secondary trails offer a distinctly different experience compared to the primary routes. With dramatically fewer skiers, the trail is a much more tranquil environment, the thin path weaving through undulating hills under a close canopy of trees, the occasional herringbone long climbs rewarded with exhilarating, winding downhills.

Continuing west through the heart of the southern portion of Gatineau Park, we head off onto one of the backcountry routes, which only by the loosest of definitions could be considered a trail. Much more challenging and with sections of deep snow, the narrow path winds through a series of small lakes, at one point crossing an expansive bog, the ice-covered bullrushes encroaching on the trail from all sides. Steep uphills through tight trails of trees become blind-corner descents executed while ducking branches, but the solitude of the backcountry is its own reward; pausing in the deserted woods, the absolute silence is punctuated only by the faint sound of a distant plane.

Emerging from the backcountry onto groomed trails once again, we ski almost to the southern edge of the park and stop to warm up in one of the nine wood cabins spread throughout the park, this one overlooking the expanse of the Ottawa River valley. Inside, a wood-burning stove offers respite from the cold. Skiers much more familiar with the park's amenities cook massive sandwiches wrapped in tin foil on the burners, the aroma filling the cabin. Toques, gloves and jackets hang from every rafter and makeshift clotheslines, and strains of English and French conversations mix easily with the laughter at the tables.

Leaving the enticing warmth of the cabin, we circle the southern edge of the trail, following the Ottawa River, with Ottawa appearing in the distance between the trees as we move east for about five kilometres. As the sun tracks low towards the horizon, the temperature drops as we glide down the long, gentle decline of the primary trail we had first climbed four hours earlier, and the number of skiers on the trail picks up in marked contrast to the almost-deserted backcountry trails.

As we arrive back at the lower parking lot, anxious skiers carry their skis past us towards the trail. Despite the encroaching darkness there still isn't a spot to be had in the lot, and as we back out to return to Ottawa, another car is waiting to take our place. V

Gatineau Park, Quebec
Day pass $12 (adult)/$25 (family)/$8 youth/Free (12 and under)

ON the web
canadascapital.gc.ca/gatineau
 

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