Ascent of Mont Fournier on 2018-01-21

The second day on this peakbagging weekend would bring me in the Appalachians with three goals. The two last ones located near Pohénégamook, I would stop near Saint-Jean-Port-Joli first to climb MRC l’Islet’s high point. I left Québec around 07:15 heading east on HWY 20. I took exit 414 and followed HWY 204 south. I passed through Saint-Aubert and continued for some time until I reached chemin Arago. It was well plowed and it didn’t take long until I reached my trailhead, the gated comms access road that leads near the summit. I found a well plowed junction for some logging activity just across the road so I parked there and got ready.

I put snowshoes on from the start but past the gate, it was actually quite firm. There were seemingly fresh snowmobile tracks that followed a wide packed trail. The slope was moderate and eased up a bit when the road bent left. I then reached a slight ridge as the trail bent back right and dipped in a shallow valley. The low point wasn’t far ahead and I started climbing again on an easy grade.

The road meandered a bit, following the terrain, before I reached the point where I knew I had to start bushwhacking straight to the summit, breaking trail. I found the forest to be quite sparse in that area and, as soon as I got in, I noticed a pink flag around a tree over on my left. I went towards it and then saw another one further up the slope. I suspected this was a peakbagger’s doing and started actively looking for them. The slope was steep but I found the trailbreaking to still be easy. I lost the flags at some point – probably under the mantle of snow covering the trees – but I soon would stumble upon them again as it seemed to follow the path of least resistance.

As the slope eased, I arrived in a vast clearing and could see the summit just ahead. Getting closer, I saw a snowmobile trail that ran along the ridgeline. I spotted an obvious high point on my left and spotted the benchmark post and fixed tripod right away. I looked around for a mason jar but couldn’t find anything. I didn’t know if there was one or not. I spent a few minutes at the summit before backtracking downhill. As usual, dealing with branches was a hassle bushwhacking down a steep slope and lots of snow got dumped over me.

Back on the trail, I went maybe a hundred meters before I could hear engines behind me. I stepped aside and a group of three snowmobiles went past. It softened the surface slightly but the base was so firm that it didn’t make much of a difference. Over the next ridge and halfway down the long straight, I heard another engine and was passed again by a single machine. Just before getting to the gate at the bottom, a tracked quad came by, obviously checking out the sugar shack equipment in the maple grove on the eastern side.

Back at the road I dumped my gear in the car and headed back towards HWY 20 where I would make my way to Pohénégamook.