Oncoman
Active member
Day 5 : Thu. 23 Aug.
We all decided to pay another visit to Veyrier plateau that morning hoping to see caribou but had no such luck. Was more cloudy and cold, but on the other hand less bugs. On plateau Luce & Pierre wanted intimacy so we parted in different directions. We reunited later for lunch at base camp. In the afternoon, the group decided to rest except for Lucie who went to explore the eastern shore of lac Joyel; and as for me, I decided to summit Mount Oxyria, a peak that is not on the list due to insufficient prominence. I was back to camp 2½ hrs later and found Lucie all shook up and excited after having seen 2 small black bears near lake, totally alone a solid hour away from help. Luckily she stayed calm, didn’t run and to her greatest relief never saw the mom. That evening we all retired at a much more reasonable hour.
Day 6 : Fri. 24 Aug.
Woke up under a heavy fog that morning. The fog would accompany us all day; making orienteering, by map & compass only, very tricky. Luckily Pierre & I both had GPS. Also somewhat chilly, but no wind. Going was slow and though we didn’t need to tie up; we nonetheless decided to stay closely apart, with Pierre leading and I as serre-file (file squeezer), giving a short whistle blow as necessary when losing sight of Pierre. After climbing a difficult steep slope with slippery rocks, we met a couple trying to get back to the lean-to left a few hours ago. They were totally disoriented, and though convinced that they had been travelling in a straight line, they had simply made a wide full circle on the plateau in the thick fog. Thank God that they had heard our voices on that windless day. We then all made it safely to the lean-to. Having still another 5 hrs of daylight left and my Frotadou (Parisian slang for loved one) starting to miss me, I decided to head down now and then and drive back to Manic 5 that very evening. I would meet the group again tomorrow afternoon in the parking lot. I informed Pierre of my plans to bushwhack up Mount Coulée de l’Orignal the following morning and my intented route should things go sour.
Was back to my car in 3½ hrs where I had the unpleasant surprise of finding one of my rear tires completely flat. Thanks to azote (nitrogen) filled tires instead of air, it had deflated very slowly allowing me to reach my destination untroubled 3 days previously.
After a 20 min. tire replacement job, off I was.
Day 7 : Sat. 25 Aug.
Things didn’t quite go as planned. The logging road shown on 1978 map had disappeared, being now fully reclaimed by nature. I thus had a 4 km bwk to do, instead of 1.5 km, before reaching tree line and plateau. Woods are very thick here, so after ¾ km I wisely decided to turn back, knowing that I would never have been back to parking for 16h00. Interestingly upon crossing a beaver dam I saw a forgotten beaver trap. OUCH! Should I have stepped into it.
The group arrived to the parking lot by mid-afternoon and after a quick wash-up in a nearby cold stream we parted. The car drive back to civilization and home was long, tiring and boring.
Can’t wait to come back to the Uapishka, or who knows maybe the Torngats next…
I owe an eternal gratitude to Papa Bear for giving me the desire to accomplish this adventurous project. Million thanks Richard!
For pics go here: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7
Enjoy! And may this report give a few of you out there the yearning to venture in the sub-arctic. The Uapishka or Torngats are waiting for you!
Pierre
We all decided to pay another visit to Veyrier plateau that morning hoping to see caribou but had no such luck. Was more cloudy and cold, but on the other hand less bugs. On plateau Luce & Pierre wanted intimacy so we parted in different directions. We reunited later for lunch at base camp. In the afternoon, the group decided to rest except for Lucie who went to explore the eastern shore of lac Joyel; and as for me, I decided to summit Mount Oxyria, a peak that is not on the list due to insufficient prominence. I was back to camp 2½ hrs later and found Lucie all shook up and excited after having seen 2 small black bears near lake, totally alone a solid hour away from help. Luckily she stayed calm, didn’t run and to her greatest relief never saw the mom. That evening we all retired at a much more reasonable hour.
Day 6 : Fri. 24 Aug.
Woke up under a heavy fog that morning. The fog would accompany us all day; making orienteering, by map & compass only, very tricky. Luckily Pierre & I both had GPS. Also somewhat chilly, but no wind. Going was slow and though we didn’t need to tie up; we nonetheless decided to stay closely apart, with Pierre leading and I as serre-file (file squeezer), giving a short whistle blow as necessary when losing sight of Pierre. After climbing a difficult steep slope with slippery rocks, we met a couple trying to get back to the lean-to left a few hours ago. They were totally disoriented, and though convinced that they had been travelling in a straight line, they had simply made a wide full circle on the plateau in the thick fog. Thank God that they had heard our voices on that windless day. We then all made it safely to the lean-to. Having still another 5 hrs of daylight left and my Frotadou (Parisian slang for loved one) starting to miss me, I decided to head down now and then and drive back to Manic 5 that very evening. I would meet the group again tomorrow afternoon in the parking lot. I informed Pierre of my plans to bushwhack up Mount Coulée de l’Orignal the following morning and my intented route should things go sour.
Was back to my car in 3½ hrs where I had the unpleasant surprise of finding one of my rear tires completely flat. Thanks to azote (nitrogen) filled tires instead of air, it had deflated very slowly allowing me to reach my destination untroubled 3 days previously.
After a 20 min. tire replacement job, off I was.
Day 7 : Sat. 25 Aug.
Things didn’t quite go as planned. The logging road shown on 1978 map had disappeared, being now fully reclaimed by nature. I thus had a 4 km bwk to do, instead of 1.5 km, before reaching tree line and plateau. Woods are very thick here, so after ¾ km I wisely decided to turn back, knowing that I would never have been back to parking for 16h00. Interestingly upon crossing a beaver dam I saw a forgotten beaver trap. OUCH! Should I have stepped into it.
The group arrived to the parking lot by mid-afternoon and after a quick wash-up in a nearby cold stream we parted. The car drive back to civilization and home was long, tiring and boring.
Can’t wait to come back to the Uapishka, or who knows maybe the Torngats next…
I owe an eternal gratitude to Papa Bear for giving me the desire to accomplish this adventurous project. Million thanks Richard!
For pics go here: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7
Enjoy! And may this report give a few of you out there the yearning to venture in the sub-arctic. The Uapishka or Torngats are waiting for you!
Pierre
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