Plan for Feb 2-3

Due to the freezing rain that's coming, the trails won't be in good condition for the coming weekend.

I plan to go skate skiing on Gatineau Parkway from P8-P9 on Sunday Feb 3. This stretch a fairly flat with gentle slopes, very suitable for beginners (both classic and skate). It's groomed very often as well.

There are also trails nearby for the more adventurous. From P8, you can head towards Pink lake on Gatineau Parkway.

P8 is on Lac Meech road just past Chelsea. Day pass is $14.

Let me know if you want to join me.

Rideau Canal Skating

Skating Rideau Canal

Beautiful day to skate on the world's biggest outdoor rink. Ice was in excellent condition. Cathy and Wesley accompanied me the whole way. We also met up with Allan and his family and Uncle Burger. Watched little Lele skate. What a fun day!

Of course we had the obligatory beaver tail. Tasty!

Beaver tail time:

A Visit to Herridge and Healey Cabins

Yang, Grace, Roger, and I set out to visit Healey cabin via #50 from P16 on a cold day. Sunny with no wind, it actually did not feel that cold. The trails were in better conditions than I expected, due to recent grooming I believe. The first stretch of #50 is steep and we all huffed and puffed after getting up. The rest of the trail is quite fun with lots of up and down. We got to Healey cabin after I gave Herridge cabin a short visit. Lunch is good as usual and gave us time to chat.

We started on our way back shortly after lunch. Skiers were still pouring into Healey cabin. Yang and Roger went to check out Herridge cabin to get some extra mileage. The ski back is quite fun due to lots of downhill stretches. We got back to the parking lot very quickly, feeling happy and content after a great ski.



Yang and I did a bit of back country skiing in a farm field.

Healey cabin:

Herridge cabin

 Grace on a beautiful trail

Yang and I made our own tracks.

Plan for Jan 26-27

On Jan 26, I plan to xc ski somewhere in Gatineau Park. If the snow is good, I plan to ski from P16 to Herridge cabin. Otherwise probably from P9 again to Keogan.

On Jan 27, I am hoping to skate from Dow's lake to downtown. Here is hoping for the canal to fully open. My kids will join me on the quest for a beaver tail.

P10 to Keogan (From Grace)

今天的雪比第一次来要滑很多， 下坡感觉就用了10分钟。 可惜技术不够， 畅快之余，还是有点害怕， 呵呵。 Jack也有滑到的时候啊，难得，赶紧拍下来。

P10 to Keogan

Grace, my kids, and I went out skiing today. Since we're carpooling we tried our luck at P10. We got lucky indeed and got the last parking spot.

It was cloudy and snowing when we started the climb up Fortune parkway. The tracks were hard and fast due to rain from last night. Once we got up to Fortune Lake, the tracks were much better with a thin layer of new snow. Wind was strong. We quickly got to Keogan Cabin and went inside to have a break.

We met up with Alan and Kimmie inside the cabin. They were enjoying their break as well. The stove was hot and the cabin was warm. We heated our food and had a lovely lunch. The kids played outside with icicles.

The sun came out by the time we were ready to leave. On the down side, the wind was howling now. Wesley, Cathy, and I raced down Fortune parkway and we had a blast. All in all, it was a good ski.

Little More about Jan. 19 Outing

The stretch between P1 to Pink Lake on Gatineau Parkway is good for beginners who started a few skiings on the flat trails already. From P1, these are long gradual slopes and they are much easier to climb or descend.

 

Lessons learned, when taking off a layer of ski jacket, keep the outer layer and strip the inner one.

Trail 15 to Pink Lake with Michael

Nice weather and fresh snow gave us enough control on this intermediate trail, we managed to stay on skis all the way. 3 hours later , we regrouped with Jack and Charlene at Asticou Center. Skiing with company make this outing much more enjoyable.

Trail #15

First time at Pink Lake main Parking in winter

Pink Lake lookout

Skiing in rain

Pretended being die-hard XC skier。
Trail 14 转 Ridge Road 到Keogan.
trail上雪泥和冰为主，蒙蒙细雨一直没停。

Posted by jack on behalf of Alan. Hope he doesn't mind...

Mooney's Bay on Jan 6th

Huron Lookout Sunset

P10 was packed, we had to start from p9. Almost reached junction of Fortune parkway, I realized my backpack ,food and water were still in the car. Finally caught up JF at Fortune lake. Ridge road to Huron is more Interesting than parkway, and it can also be challenging to beginners. We passed by the Huron cabin, went directly to the Lookout. it was at least -15, my frozen fingers could not adjust the camera setting. we just took a few quick snapshots.

Fortune Lake

near Huron Cabin

P13 near Bell's Arena with Mage and Lele

Very cold day. Snow is still good but tracks are getting smeared. Pretty soon it won't be skiable.

xcSkiOttawa presents beginners' day

It seems lots of people are attracted to the white fluffy stuff this year. I am thinking that we'll have a beginner's day this weekend (Jan 5-6) for people to try out xc skiing.

We'll have this event at Terry Fox Athletic Facilicty at Moonies Bay this Saturday or Sunday (voice your choice!). 

If you need to rent skis, rent from Trailhead ($15/day). The facility also has on-site rental but I'm not sure about the price.

Day pass is $2.65 for skiing.

If you know someone who'd like to try xc skiing, forward this message to them.

Update: currently we're aiming for Sunday 10am. If we have energy left, we can resume after lunch. 

Solo P3 to King Mountain

January 1, 2013. Clear and cold, -14C.  Read a good report on the snow condition in the park. I decided to go as far as I can from P3, hope to reach Champlain Lookout. We rode there 6 months ago on Canada day, and I always want to do it on skis.

 by the time I arrived at P3, it was almost 2pm and sunset is 4:30pm.  5 minutes into skiing, I found my Camelbak water line was frozen solid. without water, I cannot go beyond Pink Lake. I put the Camelbak  under the back of my vest , hope the heat I generated melt the ice, despite my wired looking back , it worked.

Not too may skiers went out today, parkway was quiet.

the junction

    Before the black lake climb

on the way to King Mountain. People say there were more trees went down this time than during 1998 ice storm.

just before 4Pm, reached King Mountain Parking lot. It appeared to have a lot of day light on the tree top.  But I decided to turn back, this was a right decision.

down hills skiing, no problem.

Sun light had changed its colour.

20 minutes after sunset at Pink Lake. It looked a lot darker than the picture,  I barely saw the track on the way down. The temperature was dropping.

Almost down. Ottawa city light,  I'll bring a tripod next time.

-16C at P3.

Need to find someone do this together next time.

P3-P4 with Wesley

Yang guided us from P3 to P4 via trails #20 and #21. Beautiful cold day.