A real treat

Both Park Interpreters that we talked to about trails promised (not really) that if we took the Le mont Ernest-Laforce trail early in the morning, or late in the afternoon, we would see some moose. There was a little accumulation of snow in the campground this morning, but as we drove to the trailhead, at 8 am, the higher we drove, the more snow. It was beautiful and a real treat!

Route #16 with newly fallen snow; but we were not the first out on the road.

Neither were we the first on the trail. We wondered most of the way up to the top who was ahead of us. It turns out we were not the only ones who marveled at the beauty around us. We met three different photographers, each hauling their tripods and huge lenses, near the top viewpoint for moose.

A little brook that ran along the side of the trail.

This could be our Christmas card this year! 

This is the moose overlook near the top of Ernest-Laforce Trail. We were quiet, patient and scanned the area with binoculars, but no moose.

Near the top of the peak, we were above the tree line. The wind was fierce here, but it is still spectacular scenery.

Panoramic picture of the taller peaks from the top of Le mont Ernest-Laforce.

On the trail down, - red, white and blue.

The Ernest-Laforce Trail was only 4.5 km, so we decided to combine it with another "must do" trail, Le lac aux Americains. When we were at the Discovery Center this afternoon, we learned that Lac aux Americains was named for a group of American botanists, led by M. L. Fernald, who marveled at so much beauty in the Park.

On the trail to Le lac aux Americains we spotted this Spruce grouse that had very little fear of us. We practically had to shoo him off the trail so we could pass.

Just before we got to Le lac aux Americains we came upon this beaver pond. You might be able to see the lodge in the center of the picture, and the dam on the left.

Close-up of the lodge. I'm so glad we went to that program on the beaver at Forillon National Park!

Closer view of the beaver dam. We didn't see any beaver (le castor), though.

No moose here, either. Just a beautiful glacial lake.

Le lac aux Americains, a glacial lake, in the bowl of the cirque, the mountains surrounding the lake.

At the lake was a warming shelter. In the winter this trail is a cross-country skiing trail. This fire in the stove looks like its just perfect for s'mores!

Instead of s'mores we ate our lunch looking out at Le lac aux Americains.

Back at the Discovery Center we learned a little more about the Park. As I believe we mentioned before, the mountains are part of the Appalachians. What I didn't know is that the Appalachians also emerge in Newfoundland (Gros Morne) and appear again from Ireland to Norway. 

This part of the Gaspe Peninsula is called the Gaspe Park Massif, which comprise two mountain ranges. The Monts Chic-Chocs ( from the Mi'kmaq word sigsog, meaning "large sheer rocks" or "insurmountable cliffs"), are 600 million years old and parallel the Saint Lawrence River along an east-west axis. The other mountain range, the McGerrigle Mountains, 380 million years old, lie along a north-south axis.

In the Chic-Chocs, one peak, Mount Albert, stands apart. The rock it is made of is a rarity on the surface of the earth. A remnant of the ocean floor,it was swept away and borne upwards. Beneath its surface, extreme heat and pressure then transformed the minerals into a rock commonly known as serpentine. This make Mount Albert a geological curiosity. It also provides the environment for several threatened or vulnerable species of plants, four that grow only on serpentine - 

Green-scale willow

Green-scale simple goldenrod

Serpentine stitchwort

Mountain holly fern 

Parc National del la Gaspesie became a park September 15, 1937. Shortly after, it was opened to prospecting, mining, and logging. In 1981, with the passage of the Act Respecting Parks, this type of activity was prohibited and the mission became one of conservation.

On a topographical map in the Discovery Center we found a graphic depiction of the Ernest-Laforce Trail that we took this morning - the yellow line with a loop.

A this of Le lac aux Americainsl

Here they are together; Mont Ernest-Laforce on the bottom left and Lac aux Americains in the upper right.