Ascent of Mont du lac Morency on 2011-07-29| Date: | Friday, July 29, 2011 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Bus | | Peak: | Mont du lac Morency | | Location: | Canada-Québec | | Elevation: | 1010 m / 3314 ft |
Ascent Trip ReportI had two weeks off late July/early August where I had planned to go peakbagging while cycle touring. This plan fell apart as my bike needed some tuning that couldn't be done in time. I decided instead to go hike in réserve faunique des Laurentides and bag a few peaks there. I planned for 2 nights on the trails and prepared accordingly.
On Friday morning, I took the bus towards Forêt Montmorency. I was dropped there around 8:50am. I walked to the pavilion and paid two days' worth of access. I was going to come back on Sunday through here.
I gained the trails and circled around lac Piché from the west. I then gained the logging road towards the draveurs bridge over Montmorency river. I crossed and joined back with the trails until I saw a logging trench cut along the hills that could be used as a shortcut to save some distance. It was a hard slog up the wood slag but I made it to the upper logging road. I then took the trail to chute de la rivière Noire's cabin. It was just over an hour that I made it to the falls. From there, I went along the road towards public lands to the east. It was an easy road hike on a clear sunny day. It wasn't that hot and a cool wind was blowing.
I made it to mont de la rivière Noire's foot, then circled around it towards lac Malin and when I got to the branch, I continued on the road towards lac Morency. I soon reached the crossroads and the bridge over Boily stream and took a right towards lac Morency. A little bit further up, a pick-up truck crossed my way. It was right before the branch for the south access trail to the lake. I dumped my backpack and followed it. After 5 minutes or so I reached the lake's shore and saw a cabin on the opposite side. Backtracking, I took my pack and found a better spot to hide it under my rain cover. From there I headed further northeast up the road towards mont du lac Morency.
The road was easy to follow and soon after circling around the south slopes, I reached the intersection for the summit trail. It was a short stroll until I reached the summit area. To the right of the road I could see higher ground in some thick brush and spruce trees. I battled my way to what seemed to be the highest ground. Making my way back to the road was still a fight, but I was soon on the way down towards my pack.
When I reached it, I decided to keep hiking for a while until I was truly tired. My goal was to gain as much ground as possible in that first day. I made it back to the bridge over Boily stream and the crossroads on the other side. I went north along the road and tried to find good places to cross the woods and reach the roads at Montagne du Malin's feet. Every mapped trail was invisible to me so I kept going, crossing the latter summit from my bagging list for this outing. I walked a while more until I reached the crossroads from where I could go up towards mont du lac Boily.
I setup camp there, hanging my hammock between two not-so-sturdy trees. I ate some snacks and settled for the afternoon sheltered from the bugs with a book - Animal Farm, by George Orwell. I ate during the evening and kept reading until the book was done around 9pm. I decided to go to bed then.
About 30 minutes after I turned out the light, maybe around 9:30pm, I heard some branch snapping sounds nearby. I became very alert and soon heard more snapping and leaves rustling. It was coming closer. I was getting very tense now as I was ensconced in my sleeping bag, and then in a hammock. Getting out of my shelter would prove very difficult and I didn't know what to do. I kept rigid and silent as the animal was getting closer. I could now hear its breath and footsteps on the gravel road. It was very close now. I had my headlamp still on my head and slowly got my hand towards it. I made some noise with the hinge ratchet, and the beast stopped cold. It was a very tense moment that seemed to last forever before I finally had the guts to light the lamp up. As soon as I did so the beast took to its heels and I heard it plunge back into the brush in a cacophony of branches breaking and leaves crushing.
Of course, I could not sleep soundly at all for the whole night.
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| Summary Total Data | | Elevation Gain: | 920 m / 3022 ft | | Elevation Loss: | 866 m / 2842 ft | | Distance: | 27.4 km / 17 mi | | Grade/Class: | 2 | | Quality: | 6 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Road Hike, Bushwhack | | Gear Used: | Tent Camp | | Weather: | Drizzle, Cool, Breezy, Overcast
Few misty showers and changing sky | | Ascent Statistics | | Elevation Gain: | 807 m / 2648 ft | | Extra Loss: | 587 m / 1926 ft | | Distance: | 21.5 km / 13.4 mi | | Route: | Trail hike, road hike | | Trailhead: | Route 175, Forêt Montmorency access road 790 m / 2592 ft | | Time Up: | 4 Hours 45 Minutes | | Descent Statistics | | Elevation Loss: | 279 m / 916 ft | | Extra Gain: | 113 m / 374 ft | | Distance: | 5.9 km / 3.7 mi | | Route: | road hike | | Trailhead: | Road fork towards mont Boily (south) 844 m / 2772 ft | | Time Down: | 1 Hours 15 Minutes | Ascent Part of Trip: Réserve Faunique des Laurentides(July 2011) (1 nights total away from roads)
Complete Trip Sequence:
| GPS Data for Ascent/Trip
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Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by Gabriel Couët
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