After a slow start, we had a successful cross-country ski and snowshoe season. Five fun day trips and a wonderful weekend in Magog made for a lively winter. We were treated to two awesome Saturdays in Arrowhead Provincial Park complete with ice skating in the forest, a blustering but beautiful cold day at Kawartha Nordic (thank you Dorota and Lilian for building a roaring fire in the Tanney cabin), a perfect winter wonderland at Scenic Caves (thank you everyone for sharing delicious treats at the party), and a fantastic finale at Highlands Nordic.
A huge thank you to all the hike leaders who made these trips possible: Brenda Menezes, Janet Patterson, George Lennon (who stepped in at the 11th hour), Michael Humpage, Duro Vukman, Geri Poulouski, and Brenda Dalglish. Special thanks to Shaya Petroff for collecting trail fees. To all those whose trips were cancelled: sorry you missed out. I hope we can count on you all again next year.
Magog greeted us with good snow and Saturday’s storm turned the Parc National du Mont-Orford into a magical winter wonderland. Except for some clumping (some of us didn’t get the wax quite right), ski conditions were great with many fun trails to explore and cozy trail side cabins to warm up in. Our snowshoers enjoyed discovering the parks’ many scenic trails and some danced through the forest (thank you Emma Rosal for the super video). Most participants enjoyed the town of Magog with its waterfront trail and many bars and cafés; some found Memphré and many savoured an après ski and shoe pint of Allez Pou-Pou at the Microbrasserie des Cantons. Thank you so much Roland Mark for scouting out the town and the park with me in early January.
Here’s hoping 2024 brings a steady winter with consistent good snow.