Take your pick: adrenaline packed or slow and contemplative?
Published on Mar 4, 2022
To explore the Parc National du Mont-Mégantic in winter, you say? We were particularly delighted by the idea! On the program, an overnight stay in a cozy shelter and all kinds of magnificent views. Mounts Mégantic and Saint-Jospeh, the classics, were on our itinerary, to which we also added the Crépuscules belvedere as a bonus, and which is now a must on the route linking the two main peaks.
By Ian Roberge and Jessica Bélisle
Already, on our way here, we knew it would be an outing we would remember for a long time to come. Indeed, we headed out on our nature trip to the Eastern Township in the middle of a winter storm. The plan was simple: To reach the Petite-Ourse shelter we’d reserved, drop our bags off, keeping only the essentials for the day’s expedition, and head out to complete a loop of about 15 km by combining the views from atop Mount Mégantic, the Pic des Crépuscules and Mount Saint-Joseph.
To be sure we’d be back inside our shelter by nightfall, we arrived at the park’s Welcome Centre very early in the morning. Once we registered, we hiked the short uphill trail (about 1 km) to the Petite-Ourse shelter. We left most of our gear inside and took off on the mountain’s magnificent trails.
We were quickly awed by the great beauty of the surrounding winter landscape. The forest and snow-covered trees inspired calm and a peaceful ambiance, while these fat snowflakes falling from the sky brought even more magic to the decor. We were in total harmony with nature as we headed up Mount Mégantic’s emblematic summit.
Although we were surrounded by a thick fog, we stuck to our plan and continued our hike towards the Pic des Crépuscules, knowing quite well that the view wouldn’t be great. We wanted to enjoy the tranquility here, and the milder weather! The temperature was hovering near the freezing point, which rarely happens here in the middle of winter!
As expected, when we arrived at the Pic des Crépuscules, Mother Nature had only a veiled white landscape to offer us. Too bad, because the view here is truly amazing in the afternoon when the sun begins to slowly set. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the moment and promised ourselves to come back to discover more of what we’d missed. We continued our route by heading up a second trail towards the shelter atop Mount Saint-Joseph, a place we love to visit when we come here. At this stage of our excursion, we just needed to head to the Petite-Ourse so we gave it our all … the conditions were perfect for keeping a fast pace as we rambled our way down to the bottom of the mountain!
Throughout our outing, we were impressed by the maintenance work the park staff had accomplished lately to offer visitors more options. In fact, we were delighted by all the new, well-marked trails and viewpoints they opened up.
As we returned to our shelter, we were welcomed by a warm fire our two friends had started since they decided to just hike Mount Mégantic up and back instead of doing the loop with us. We ended our very full day by preparing a delicious fondue supper! You can be sure we slept very well that night! The next morning, we left our shelter, our heads filled with ideas for future outings in the region.
Overall, we covered about fifteen kilometres and an ascent of nearly 800 metres in the two days we were here. By staying in the park, we were able to plan our distances more efficiently, allowing us to further explore the area.
Since we weren’t so lucky with the weather this time, we still added some winter pictures of the Pic des Crépuscules to inspire you to come and enjoy it for yourselves.
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Snowshoeing in the Eastern Townships: 12 Not-to-Be-Missed Trails
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A Panoramic Container High on Top of Mont Saint-Joseph
