Refuge Tétras

Finally we arrived at the Refuge Tétras. This is a cozy cabin in the 'middle' of the park that in which you can reserve a bed. It holds up to 8 people and makes for a comfortable stopover at the end of a day of hiking. We arrived, put down our stuff, explored a little bit (particularly scoping out a spot for some sunset pictures later on) and sat down to eat. After eating we spent most of the rest of the evening watching the sun go down over the lake and the stars come out. Here are some images from in and around the Refuge that night. The first is of the lake beside which the Refuge is situated. The next ones are of the sunset (and the surrounding landscape including the cabin itself during the sunset). Finally, the last image is an Iridium Flare that we watched from the Refuge.

Between Mont Jacques-Cartier and the Refuge Tétras 2 of 2

The path from yesterdays post was luckily not like that for the entirety for the entirety of the 5km between the Summit and the Refuge. Here are some of the other views from that trail (including a couple of much improved trails!) The first image showed some snow we came across on the path; a veritable Christmas in July (it in fact was July 25th). The second a little lake (Okay, a pond) right beside where the snow was. The third shows the path descending again below the treeline with a lake in the background. That lake is our destination and if you look really closely, you can see the green metal roof of the Refuge close to the lake in the middle of the trees. Finally, the last image is of a slightly improved path on the way to the Refuge.

Between Mont Jacques-Cartier and the Refuge Tétras 1 of 2

Since the next step of the journey that day was to make it to the refuge (Refuge Tétras) in which we were going to sleep that night, we continued on. Since there are several photo worthy spots and stories along this way, this chunk of the trip will be a double header! The most shocking thing about this next part was leaving the summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier. By this I mean that we left the well groomed, well maintained and oft traveled path to the summit and started on its polar opposite (for the first bit at least). As soon as we left the summit I literally said out loud, "Where is the trail?" The next few images show the trail we were on for the next kilometer or two. Rocky lichen plastered, large rocks made up the entire trail (if you can call it that) to the point that we only knew where we were going by following the Inukshuks! Fun stuff!

Summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier

Yesterday's pictures showed the climb to the top of the mountain, so naturally, today's images showed some of the views from the top. Since Mont Jacques-Cartier is one of the highest mountains in Quebec (I believe the second highest in Southern Quebec is what they brag) ... this just may be the highest toilet in Quebec. One of the attractions that bring people to this park is the wild Caribou herd. Apparently you can get very close to them and they are almost a guaranteed view on your hikes. Well, we weren't so lucky. This was all we saw on the trip; a few on a crest in the distance only barely seen through a spotting scope. Of course ... the view was awesome!

Heading up to the Summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier

On the first day of hiking during this trip, we started by heading up from the base of Mount Jacques-Cartier to the summit. For the most part this is a very well maintained, scenic and relatively easy (despite the incline) hike. About halfway up there is a lake that one can visit (and is seen in a couple of the pictures below). Below are some of the highlights from the climb up.