Sainte Adèle – Mont Loup Garoup
Region : Laurentides (Qc)
Start : Chemin du paysan, Ste-Adèle
Distance from start : 24km
Parking : Designated parking area
Fee : Free
Trail Markings : Very well identified
Difficulty : Easy – Intermediate
Washroom: None
Map : General map / Hiking map / Ski trail map
Website : Plein air Sainte-Adele / Plein air Pays d’en Haut
Notes : Dogs Allowed / Winter Snow Shoes trails
Dates of hike :April 23, 2016 • 8.77km • Richelle, Ben R., Alex R., Mélodie P.
Trails
| Route | Distance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Alexis | 2.3 km | Advanced |
| Donalda | 2 km | Intermediate |
| Grand-Jaune | 2.4 km | Easy |
| La Gare | 1.7 km | Easy |
| La Grimpette | 0.16 km | Advanced |
| La Millette | 2 km | Easy |
| La Mulet | 2.1 km | Easy |
| Le Golf | 2.1 km | Easy |
Description
This is our second spring hike ever and I cannot stress more the importance of good boots and sun-screen lotion. Even though spring hikes are tough, when it’s your birthday and you want to go on a hike… you just do it, no matter the time of year!
You will notice that I put up three maps for the place. It’s very important that you take both the hiking map and ski trail maps on your treck. In the spring, some of the trails were completely flooded. The hiking trails were harder because of the shape of the snow (you need balance) and the ski trails are easier but sometimes needed some imagination to go around the spring-stream.
In the summer, all this flooding goes away and you are left with a nice place.
The start
You start off in a parking lot near the edge of Chemin du paysan. You have the choice to start off the hike on one of the hiking trails at the shack or to go up the street to meet with one of the ski trails (very easy). We chose the hiking trail option.
Loup Garou Trail Start
We were pretty confused with all the trail intersections that we saw considering that, before the hike, we had not had access to the ski trail list. Luckily, with our data, we were able to download it on our phone and keep moving.
Lac Matley
After passing by Matley, we took the swamp route but later had to go back on our trail and take the Poirier route because the former was completely flooded. When you think about it, we could have guessed that the swamp would have been flooded in the spring… live and learn
The snow bridge broke down after Ben walked on it. He was able to jump it to get back.
Panoramma of Lake Matly
The Poirier Trail
This trail was very nice for the most part. Very well identified as you are walking through the woods and going up and down small summits (with no view points). The spring struggle started at the ascent of Mont Loup Garou, where the trail got tough because you had to walk on a small ledge of snow to avoid falling into a puddle. Our stabilizer muscles tired, we switched to the ski trail at the next intersection.
Ironically, there is no map that combines the two trails so you shouldn’t depend on crossing a ski trail, unless you know the place.
The Alexis Ski Trail
The ski trail was large and the snow was flat. The ascent was pretty easy from here except for a few floodings that we had to use our imagination to get around. Again, I insist that if you are doing this trail in the summer, you disregard the flooding comments. It also makes this blog post a lot shorter 🙂
The Loup Garou Summit
There is a nice little shack at the summit. I was surprised that there was no wood stove but at least the sun was strong and we were able to dry our shoes and socks off a little. There are many piknik tables as well and a very nice view of Mont Saint-Sauveur.
Our little group at the Loup Garoup summit (Ben and I are in the middle)
Loup Garoup Ski Trail & Lake Richer
We took this trail down to be able to see Lake Richer (our friend Alex’s last name was Richer… so this was Important!). The trail was big and easy …. until we arrived at the lake…
The lake had completely flooded the trail (Alex was a lot to blame, it’s his lake after all) and, our friends not having good boots and very wet socks wanted to go around. This went on for at least 20 minutes. If you have good boots, it took me 2 minutes to cross the flooded area.
Irritated and shoes still wet, we carried on.
Eventually the trail hits the Chemin du paysan road and you are just 2 minutes away from your cozy car.
I really loved this hike and the whole Sainte-Adèle region. Thanks to the francophone forum, fous de rando, that I’m subscribed to,I was able to find this hike and now I can share it with you.
Happy Hiking!