Lac Saint Jean
We drove through the Laurentides on our way to our B&B. We saw lots of signs about moose, and an elaborate fence to keep them away from the road, but no actual moose. We had a little trouble finding the Gîte de la Montagne Enchantée, but arrived in time for Evan to play outside for a bit before we had dinner with the hosts and other guests. The next morning, we drove to the edge of Lac Sainte Jean to meet our canoeing guides. They said the water was too high for our planned three days of canoeing, so we went canyoning and rafting the first day instead. We walked, squeezed, crawled, and climbed through a narrow canyon with a fast moving stream in it.
running around before setting off for canyoning
we turned off the road into a field on the way to canyoning
at the start of our canyoning adventure
we climbed down into the canyon under the bridge
we put Evan's boot back on once but the water stole it again later
walking through a narrow canyon with water rushing past
in some parts the canyon closed over us
at the end, we climbed down a waterfall
at the bottom of the last waterfall
looking down into the canyon from above
there was a great view of Lac St. Jean as we walked back toward the road
we went back to H20 Expeditions for lunch
After lunch, we drove upriver and helped the guides carry the raft down a really steep staircase to the river. Evan loved the rapids.
the guides told us it was 200-300 feet to the river; we didn't realize they meant vertical feet
looking upriver just before the put in
our put in on the Métabetchouane River
Paul looking over the edge of the 7m cliff he jumped off
Evan said "more rapids" every time he heard rushing water
rapid ahead
we stopped to play in the water
on Lac Saint-Jean
We spent the night in a motel instead of camping since it was windy and rainy.
we spent the night at a motel on the lake since it was rainy and windy
we were so close to the lake it seemed like the crashing waves would come right in
our chalet overlooking Lac St. Jean
canoeing
It mostly cleared up the next day, and we drove a couple of hours to the put in point. After an 800m portage with a really heavy loaded canoe and a canoe/raft, we set off downriver and immediately flipped the canoe in the first big rapid. None of the other rapids were nearly as big, but the river was fast-moving most of the way.
waterfall above our put in
setting off downriver
Evan and Paul were in the more stable inflatable
floating downriver; we didn't paddle much except in the rapids
view of the river from our camp
our cabin; it had benches for sleeping, a propane stove, and a wood stove
path to the bathroom
Evan whacked trees with sticks
getting ready to set off on the second day
view of the cabins from the river
lunch stop
view downriver from our lunch stop
end of a small but long rapid
the river water was tea colored
Evan and Paul going down one of the bigger rapids
this rapid was very long
the last 5km was almost perfectly still
we all got in the inflatable so we could have two paddlers for the last flatwater stretch