Beaver Tails Nordic Ski Club

Val David always has interesting walks, and Oct 18 was no exception. A bright cool day, -2C attracted 3 dogs, Samson, Max and Hyena with 14 human companions. We found out that there was a running race on some of the trails however our leaders Samson, Max and Hyena did not seem a bit interested in the options suggested by the warden as their minds were made up where to go. They were however concerned about controlling 14 non canine bodies in their charge, so they fell back on the trusted canine tool, a lead. A rope was produced and the 14 lined up in pairs and told to hold the rope, “garderie” style as instructed by Hyena. Good try dogs. Off we set, up the steady and steep climb in parts to the Mt Condor Ouest lookout. The trail’s could be a little tricky with ice that had formed under a covering of leaves, still the leaders ensured our safe passage by running up and down the trail between the 14’s legs. A few runners did pass us going up and we found a gatorade stop at the lookout, we also found out the most of the runners had already passed and were offered free Gatorade if we wanted it. It  now became evident the our leaders, Samson, Max and Hyena’s map reading skills were pretty limited, sniffing the map and sniffing the trail did not score very high in the where are we going stakes. So they wisely enrolled the aid of “the scientist” and an” old guy” to sort out the technicalities whilst they assumed the bigger leadership role.  Up and down a few more steep little climbs found us at the Mt King Lookout, a more exposed lookout with a vertical drop below of 30 to 40 metres. Our bold leaders with their nose to the ground completely ignored the no entry sign pinned high up a tree and encouraged us along a narrowing “trail” above the cliff. Everyone seemed to manage to get across, particularly if you had the advantage of 4 legs. Glenn came nearest to disaster slipping on a difficult step, but saved himself,  had he not, now  that would have been the highlight of the report. A refreshment break was taken beneath the crags of Mont King, but it soon became clear that it was cold, which probably accounted for the lack of climbers. The sun had gone in so after a quick bark and fight the leaders opted to go down. Probably a good call as it started briefly snowing come hailing as we walked down the path. We also passed a few Nepalese porters carrying huge loads up the trail, actually they were climbers carrying bouldering pads or sometimes referred to as crash pads, a safety aid. A final walk along the Petit train du Nord and we were back at the Chalet Anne-Pichė. A quick thank you to our leaders Samson, Max and Hyena for the spirited lead, and a check that Helene had her car keys  the group dispersed , some home others for a coffee and muffin in Val David.