@Kathryn Barr and I did an 8.2 km #hike in #Gatineau #Park today from P20 to #Lusk cabin and Lusk Lake, where we had a little fire in the wood stove there at lunch time. There was some #snow around and wind, temperature about +3°C (37°F). No bugs seen. The ATV belonged to a park maintenance guy.

#Autumn #stream in #Gatineau Park today.

#GIF

Scenes from a #hike in #Gatineau Park today with @Kathryn Barr. This was a 7.2 km hike on a day when it reached +18°C (64°F), so quite pleasant. As the photos show we saw quite a few varieties of #fungi and #moss on the trail along with some #larch #trees. We even saw an official bat detector (it had a sign on it, as illustrated) and a bat cave.

Scenes from a #hike in #Gatineau Park, a #wasp.

#insect #insects

Scenes from a #hike in #Gatineau Park, a #chicory #flower.

#flowers

Scenes from a #hike in #Gatineau Park. A little #maple tree in #fall #colours.

#autumn

Seen on a #hike in #Gatineau Park today, #thistle #flowers.

Scenes from a #hike in #Gatineau Park near #Ottawa today with @Kathryn Barr and Alexis. We went from P16 to Meech Lake and back. Really nice walk on a great day. One photo shows a #beaver dam.

@Kathryn Barr and I did a #bike ride to Lac des Fees (Lake of the Fairies) in #Gatineau #Park today. It is a small lake in the south part of the park, but really hidden away and hard to find.

@Kathryn Barr and I did a 45 km round trip #bike ride over to #Gatineau today ti the beach at Lac Leamy. On a nice summer day like this you would think that the beach would be busy, but there were more geese than people there, the concessions and even the bathrooms were all closed. In fact lots of facilities along then way were closed. Odd. We also went in search of ice cream and found La Diperie, which was open!

#bicycle #biking #cycle #cycling #Ottawa

Also seen today on our #hike in #Gatineau #Park - a well camouflaged #toad.

#Ottawa

Scenes from a #hike today in #Gatineau #Park with @Kathryn Barr. We hiked 8.4 km round trip from P20 to Lac Lusk and back.

#Ottawa

A leopard #frog seen in #Gatineau #Park today. This one was fairly big, about 12 cm (5 in) body length. We heard a lot of frogs singing today to as temps reached over 20°C (68°F)

#amphibians

Today @Kathryn Barr did a #spring #hike in #Gatineau #Park from P19 on trails 51 and 53. The surface conditions were quite variable as can be seen in the photos.

@Kathryn Barr and I did a little 9.4 km hike today in #Gatineau #Park, since the ski season was called ten days ago. In the photos you can see why, too! The hike was from P19 to Renaud cabin, the modernist design building shown. The temperature was cool, about +5°C, but just nice for a hike in the sunshine. Along the way I was "framed".

#Skiing for today was 12 km round trip from P20 in the far north of #Gatineau #Park on Trail 50 to the Trail 52 intersection and back. Temperature was 0°C and no wind at all, so quite warm. Our purple wax worked great though!

#xcskiing #winter #Ottawa

#Skiing for today on the fresh #snow we just got in #Gatineau #Park with @Kathryn Barr was just lovely. We skied Trails 50 & 36 on a route that Kathryn had not done ever before and that I had not skied since 2008. 12 km covered with some great hills, too at -6°C.

#xcskiing #winter #Ottawa

It was colder out today with a high of -11°C and a windchill of -24, but @Kathryn Barr and I did 15 km from P9 in #Gatineau #Park up the Champlain Lookout and back.

#xcskiing #ski #winter #Ottawa

Speaking of #xcskiing, this was not impressive. I know we have to live with our #skiing interrupted by #ski races like the #Gatineau Loppet this weekend, but I would prefer to see the race be less disruptive to other people and make less of a mess of the environment. WE are there to emjopy the beauty of the outdoors and this makes a bad impression. This was a refreshment stop for the racers, with hundreds of cups just thrown all over the place.

Brings to mind what Lao Tzu said: "Running and racing maddens men's minds".

#Skiing again today in #Gatineau #Park, before yet another melt! @Kathryn Barr and I skied 8 km from P20 t0 Lusk Cabin and back. This is Kathryn's favourite route, as it has everything, including some good hills and a nice view of the lake from the cabin porch.

#xcski #winter #Ottawa