Sat.
27 February: Calabogie
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| Eagle's Nest Trail |
Skiers and snowboarders were racing down the slopes of the Calabogie Peaks;
up on the exposed Eagles Nest Lookout, the wind was trying to knock us down;
and along the pristine, remote trail, we snow-shoed through swirling mists of
blowing snow, kicked up by the wind in the trees.
This might have been a test of endurance if the snow had been
deeper. As it was, the six adventurers
steadily made their way along the trail, our snowshoes breaking through a thin
crust of packed snow. Only if we stepped
off the trail did we sink into deeper snow cover.
Nevertheless, it was a good workout.
Our pace over the 8.2 kilometres averaged 2.7 km/hour, which might appear to have been slow,
but in reality we kept up a reasonable speed.
This was a great way to traverse around the Calabogie Peaks, and it was our
unique route. We enjoyed first the view
from the Eagle’s Nest, and then we turned off the main trail into our own untouched
snow-covered woodland wilderness.
The sun made brief fleeting appearances, lighting up the snow like a
movie set, before being swallowed up just as quickly by the fast-moving
clouds.
At an unmarked point on the trail, known only to well-organized trip planners (!), we dropped down through deeper snow to the edge of snow-covered Manitou Lake for the view back to Dickson’s Mountain.
At an unmarked point on the trail, known only to well-organized trip planners (!), we dropped down through deeper snow to the edge of snow-covered Manitou Lake for the view back to Dickson’s Mountain.
Finally we dropped even more steeply down to the edge of the wide,
frozen Madawaska River. Here the wind
was whipping off the surface of the river.
We hid behind a handy building for protection as we enjoyed a
well-earned, but brief, lunch.
This journey might not have suited the casual hiker, but for this
experienced team, it was a nice stretch of the muscles. You can only enjoy this unique journey if you
get the right permission first, from the landowner. This permission was generously granted to us.
We are anxious to return to explore further up the intriguing, lonely Madawaska
River.
The hills were indeed alive today, and the sound of the wind in the
trees was music to our ears.
Note: click on pictures for full size view.
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| A snowy wilderness trail running through the Calabogie Peaks |
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| On the Eagle's Nest... |
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| ...braving the strong SW winds |
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| Ever-changing shadows all day |
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| The forest was alive with the wind in the treetops blowing the snow around |
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| Breaking trail in the remotest section |
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| Perhaps we were going too fast? |
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| Destination: the Madawaska River |
