google.com, pub-1183232341631896, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 We Discover Canada And Beyond: Cross Canada and Back, Part 39
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30 November 2012

Cross Canada and Back, Part 39



Parc National de la Mauricie or Mauricie National Park of Canada


It's August the 10th 2011 and day 87 of our cross Canada Trip. This is one of those days you just file away in the back and hope that it never appears again.


The heavens opened up and it rained
We broke camp in pouring rain and drove from Alma over Hwy 155 to La Tuque to the La Mauricie region. After hours of driving in the rain, we arrived at Camping Marina St. Roch de Mekinac. 


View On the road from Alma to La Mauricie National Park. in a larger map

This campground was not set up very good, the sewer hook ups were located way in the back of the site..... not good and the people were  mostly seasonal  I think we were the only transient campers.


11th of August 2011, day 88

Today we prepared ourselves to go on a long hike in La Mauricie National Park of Canada. The weather looked pretty good in the morning. We packed our sandwiches, tea, water, chocolate, and bear- and bug spray. 


Anders at the entrance to La Mauricie National Park of Canada.
Our plan was to hike the Lac Solitaire Trail, approx. 6km starting from Rivière-a-la-Peche parking lot. It is an intermediate trail promising wonderful viewpoints and look-outs over lakes and diversified forests. Well, we were only walking about fifteen minutes up the steep hill, when the heavens opened up and it just poured buckets. 


Another wonderful National Park of Canada

So beautiuful
We were soaked to the bones in no time. And with the trail getting really slippery over the mud and roots, it was time to turn around. Back at the truck, we turned the heater on high, and soon we were try again. 


Liz taking in the sights

Wonderful lakes for canoeing or kayaking
We then toured the park by driving from viewpoint to viewpoint. The route through the park is about 60 km long from Saint-Jean-des Piles to Saint Mathieu. This is an absolute beautiful park for hikers, canoeists, cyclists, and motorists. Over 500 square km of idyllic lakes, forests and Precambrian pink granite.


La Maurice National Park of Canada at it's best.


The park includes part of the Laurentian Mountains, which are part of the Canadian Shield formed between 950 - 1,400 million years ago. The park offers several hiking trails from easy to difficult. There are many wilderness campgrounds on the quiet lakes, some places have kitchen shelters and picnic shelters. 

Among others you could rent canoes on Lac Edouard, Le Passage Wapizagonke, and Shewenegan. Boat launching ramps are by the major stops. There are visitor interpretation centres at Saint-Mathieu and Rivière-de-la-Peche, although that one was closed when we were there. 


Canoeing anyone?

Canoe Rental
The park has many hills and valleys, serious cyclists were out in force labouring themselves along the roads. In winter this park must be a wonderland for cross country skiing.


Anders enjoying the scenery.

Blueberries.


There were signs warning us of wild animals, and to please leave them wild. There are an estimated 300 Moose in the park. La Mauricie National Park is the most easterly Canadian national park that is still home to a wolf pack. The wolf is a key species in the forest ecosystem to keep the moose population at a sustainable level. It is estimated that there are about 100 to 125 black bears in the area, some have been tagged so that the wardens can guesstimate their movements and population.

We did not see any large animals, but birds, flowers and wild berries, especially Blueberries were throughout the park.


Lunch time

Liz and Anders enjoying lunch
We stopped at many places and had our lunch at a beautiful quiet lake all by ourselves. We spent the whole day in this park and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Not a hike, but a great journey.

For more pictures from this part of the trip, click on the image on the bottom of the page or go directly to the slideshow by clicking below.



La Mauricie National Park in Québec


Cheers,

Anders and Liz

Here are some shortcuts to all the blogs from our Cross Canada Trip. Just hover over the number to see where it will take you

 1,    2,    3,     4,    5,    6,    7,    8,    9,   10

11,   12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20

21,   22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  29b

30,   31,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38,  39,

40,   41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46,  47,  48,  49,

50,   51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56,  57,  58,  59,

60,   61,  62,  63,  64,  65.

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