July 24
End: Lac Beaulieu Refuge
Miles: 15.2
Total: 4537.8
It started raining in the early morning hours. I just lay in my sleeping bag, too tired to be upset. After awhile we all got up, and I sat and listened to the rain. It was light at times and a little heavier at others.
I thought about just staying in the refuge. I would have preferred to just lie there and not eat rather than walk through the miserable Matane Reserve in the rain. But the other two were planning on hiking through it. I packed up my stuff as well, hoping that the rain would stop. As I sat and we talked, the rain seemed to lighten up considerably.
I decided to head out and give it a shot. As soon as I started I found that it really wasn’t raining any more. My legs, shoes and socks all were soaked instantly as I waded through the tall grass which was marked as if it were a trail.
It was a fairly miserable affair but considering the distance I needed to cover and the food I had to cover it, I had no choice but to try and hike. It became clear pretty quickly that I wasn’t going to cover much ground if I wanted to sleep in a refuge that night, which I definitely did.
After awhile the sun came out and I dried up a little, though my shoes and socks stayed damp throughout the day. I climbed Mount Craggy and got a look at Mont Blanc, which looked like a totally absurd climb straight up an eighty degree angle.
Descending, I got more water before starting up the biggest mountain I would do that day. The climb was steep but it could only last for so long. Eventually I got near to the top and came across three hikers from Montreal.
They had reserved three of the four spots at the refuge I was headed for, and one of them implied that if someone else had reserved a spot then I couldn’t stay there, which was technically true but I didn’t appreciate his tone. I had paid over three hundred dollars for the stupid Quebec Hiking Passport. It had been a rough day and I hadn’t even gone very far. The last thing I needed was to be forced to pepper spray other hikers just because they were on my nerves.
I reached the summit of the mountain and checked out the cabin there. It was fine, but I really needed to cover more ground, so I started down the mountain. I was hoping for a painless descent to the refuge, but instead was greeted with a steep descent, thick mud, and a meandering trail that seemed in no rush to get to Lac Beaulieu.
Finally I arrived and cooked dinner a little early. I made sure to keep my things in order and in my corner of the refuge so that the other hikers would have plenty of room. They opted to eat dinner outside and only came in once darkness set in, preferring to sleep all huddled together, leaving me with all kinds of room. That suited me just fine, and I got to sleep in anticipation of an early start the following morning.
