Summer Hike
After the usual IGA+SAQ stop on the way to the chalet, a quick meal and a few steps in the nearby river, we started to plan our first hike to take advantage of this wonderful Saturday’s weather and may be go for a swim?
A few minutes away from our Chalet lays the wonderful Parc of Matawinie, we settled on the Swaggin path for our first hike. After the first few hundred meters, we reached the Swaggin River and followed it upstream.
Nothing beats a walk in the forest to leave the city life behind!
We quickly got to the Rapides of the Swaggin and the Chute of the Swaggin, but decided to push a bit more in the hope of finding a natural pool for a quick swim.
Eventually, we found an opening in the river and popped out a few beers as we were close to the Apéro time. #AlwaysPrepared #12A. Nico got some liquid courage out of it and was the only one who got in the water. Was it tough? Most likely. Was it worth it? He enjoyed it!
We kept on walking after this stop to reach the place where the river forms the Lac Clair (no pun intended).
At that point the path left the river and went up hill. We followed for a while until we met some locals who advised us not to go much further as dusk had already set in. After 2+ hours in the woods, our group was pretty happy to go back to the chalet and start the fire place with a glass of wine!
The Chalet, such a wonderful shelter
It stated to rain almost right when we got back and it didn’t stop until the next evening. But we didn’t care too much. The place was cosy, well designed and perfect for any weather. We spent a lot of time not doing much, reading comics, playing card games, board games and laughing. We are not always easy on each other but it’s all for fun. A’right, truth is that Doud and Claire and I don’t really like to lose so we get can grumpy at times…
The cooking and drinking had been thoroughly planned by Captain Fichant. Out of the 18 eggs we bought, 8 would be used for the homemade pasta, 4 for the pancakes, and the rest for a brunch. You got to be prepared!! So our kitchen got busy, Claire went over the top to make really good fresh spaghettis. No picture because we ate it all! sorry guys!
There were odd moments such as Mathieu’s hairy leg coming out of the Panther plaid.. Oscar barbecuing in the rain… Doud drinking by himself…
Rainy Hike
We ventured on the nearby paths nearby the house to get a bit of exercise. We quickly realized that the area was a real maze because of the ATV’s tracks going all over the forest.
There were plenty of mushrooms and other plants.
Clair improvised a fashion podium to present her latest collection. At some point it looked like the plants took control of her to attack Nico. No one was hurt though.
La Chute-à-Bull
On our last day, we headed towards the main landmark of the area, La Chute-à-Bull. We passed by a refuge on the way, with a dramatic view of the National Parc. Definitely a place to visit during the fall…
Bull was at the head of the company which dragged the wood through lacs and rivers in the late 18th century to take it to the factories where it would be turned into construction materials. The water fall got his name after he had a giant slide made over the water so the wood could pass without being crushed by the 60ft fall.
It was pretty, we got some exercise and listen to the sound of the river one last time before heading back to Montréal.