July 12, 2025
Ross and I got up fairly early. Ross is heading north today to continue his trip. I haven't ridden north past Jacque Cartier NP, and so I decided to ride up with him, and then break off for some solo adventure.
Today, my weather app notifies me that we are under a "heat advisory" - the forecast high for our area is 81 deg. F. Somehow, I think I'll manage, LOL.
We got on the road about 7:30. Nice and cool 68 degrees as we get on Rte 175 heading north.
This is Lac Jacque Cartier - gorgeous!!
Just south of Saguenay, Ross pulled over for a quick stop. Let me say something about the land here: they have flowers. Flowers are everywhere. Different shapes, aromas, colors - it's beautiful. At home, we get flowers for a few weeks in the early spring, and then it's too hot. This is really nice.
I had a nice time with my friend. Thank you Ross for coming to see me.
Ross continued across the Saguenay River on his own quest, but I took a right looking for something else.
I rode rte 170 east to the Saguenay Fjord National Park. I have a NP Pass, no charge to get in, thank you very much!
At the front gate, I like it already!
I've thought about it a bit - I do not think I've ever seen a Fjord in person. No time like the present. I get to the visitor's center, have a short chat with the ranger there, and right out of the back door, I get right to it!!
There's a short hike (about 5 km out and back) that climbs up one of the shorter peaks within the park. Once again, the NP service has done an excellent job with trail maintenance.
These are the first "colored" mushrooms I've seen in Quebec.
The trail climbs steady and I'm taking it at a manageable pace, stopping along the way to take in the views.
I get to the top and the overlook is majestic.
That's the actual Fjord in the background. The cold saltwater from the St. Lawrence River mixes with the warmer water from the Saguenay River, providing for a unique aquatic biodiversity.
It also makes for a pretty awesome picnic spot!
A Park Ranger was at the overlook and his english was very good. I figure that I've got about 3 more hours (give or take) before I need to be heading back, so I asked him for a suggestion and he gave me some great ideas. So I walked back down the trail.
Mother Nature's Ampitheatre.
I'll admit it - I'm a tree hugger, man. Trees are cool.
Per the Ranger's idea, I rode back out of the park and down Rte 170 east to another park entrance at L'Anse Saint John.
There's a short loop trail on top of a rock that offers some amazing views of the Fjord.
The cell phone camera doesn't do this justice. Seriously.
I rode back down off the rock and something caught me eye as a photo op. This may just be my calendar entry for this year.
I'm having so much fun exploring this whole new world.
The covered bridges I've found (thus far) in Quebec are not that old - perhaps less than 100 years. But they are still very nice.
This one had some local art hung on the inside walls. That's pretty neat.
I passed on a waterfall hike that I really wanted to walk. I could see the HUGE waterfall in the distance, but it's a 6 km walk and by now, it's almost 3:00 pm. I've got at least 3 hours to get back - that's pushing it a bit for my liking. I'll be back, for sure.
It's a paltry consolation, but it will have to do. By now, it's no coincidence - The Québécois people like soft serve.
I get back on the horse and head west on Hwy 170 - again, this is a good road. Curvy enough to hold my interest, and unlike other secondary roads, in great shape.
Heat Advisory, my ass.....
I fill up the bike just outside of Saguenay, and then take Rte 381 south. This a GREAT road - very curvy and at 15-ish (err... 25) over the 90 kph limit, it was quite fun to ride. It winds thought a valley in between a couple of decent mountain ranges - perhaps 700-900 meters each (or so).
Big rocks here. I'll be back to this road again.
I saw a bunch of cars parked at this old covered bridge, so I stopped to poke around.
There, I met 3 young men who were riding on their own. 1 of them spoke very good english. A second spoke enough for us to talk a little, but the 3rd spoke none, so we each had to get a translation from the other. They were very nice and interested in my summer adventure. Since they were going the same way I was, we decided to ride together.
The dude that spoke the best english was riding a KTM 790. The 2nd guy with limited english was riding a honda sport bike. And the 3rd guy with no english was riding a honda valkarie. I left in the back just to watch them for a few curves and it became apparent very quickly that they were very good experienced riders. So I started pushing the bars a little. Soon, the valkerie and the KTm waved me by, and before I knew it, I was scraping pegs with the sport bike. We ran about 40 miles down to Rte 138 (Baie St. Paul), and pulled over at a gas station.
(sport bike dude) "you ride pretty good, Cajun!"
Lol.
We exchanged pleantries and they moved on. This is a vital part of it for Pants. I'm meeting some locals, learning what I can. Loving it.
I bought a Canadian lotto ticket - what the hell, ya can't win if you don't play.
I turn right onto rte 138 and start heading toward the ABB. So long my fine mountains, I'll be back to play another time.
Stay thirsty, my friends....