It is a rare treat at my age (66) to be presented with the opportunity for a new experience. The pictures of Parc-du-Saguenay’s Via Ferrata were an enticement to me that proved more compelling than Christine’s disapproval. Her concerns are understandable given her own fear of heights and the death of a good friend who fell this last May while hiking in Scotland.

A Via Ferrata is a technical mountain climb along an established path that features permanently installed climbing aids (often of iron or steel) such as cables, hand holds, iron rungs, ladders, and narrow beam bridges. Harnesses must be utilized as the Via Ferrata ascends and crosses sheer cliff faces, often hundreds of feet above the valley below.

Via Ferratas are popular in the Alps, and are less well know in North America. The modern incarnations have their roots in the 19th Century as these aids were permanently installed along popular climbing routes in the Alps. The First World War saw the construction of Ferratas in order to facilitate the movement of troops along perilous mountain paths. It is believed that there are now over 1,000 Ferrata routes in Europe.

Parc-du-Saguenay’s Via Ferrata likely ranks as one of intermediate difficulty. It features very steep cliff ascents, in one place beyond vertical, traverses with minimal hand and foot holds, short passages across 4 inch wide beams, and precipitous rock scrambles. All of this takes place hundreds of feet above the valley below. It requires a fair degree of upper body strength and a constitution immune from fear of heights.

Finally, the real gem of the experience is the crossing of the valley by a 1 foot wide, 300 foot long open sided cable bridge.

The expedition is limited to 8 participants and an experienced guide. There were 7 in my group. The route took a little over 3 hours to complete, including the 30 minute assessment and training portion.

A short near ground course provides the guide with teaching aids with which he demonstrates the use of the equipment. It also allows him to assess the abilities of the participants. Any person who does not appear capable of competence, lacks sufficient strength, or displays excessive fear, is denied further participation. Everyone qualified in my outing, but I confess that I was initially concerned that I might “wash out” because of my age and my pronounced hand tremors (a life-long genetic condition that has worsened with age) which can easily be misinterpreted as fear or Parkinson’s disease.

As it turned out my “test” went very well. Throughout most of the journey I and a young couple from Belgium and France were placed ahead of our guide, Sebastian. He later told me that he frequently has to reject a candidate out of concern that their fear or lack of ability present a danger to all participants within a group.

The entire experience was beyond my pre-departure comprehension. At times it took on the aspect of an out-of-body experience for me… clinging to the face of cliffs, climbing ladder rungs where my head and hands were further out than my feet, which sought to swing free beneath me. There was little fear, virtually no adrenaline, only exhilaration. In this I may have been alone among my fellow climbers. I was the only member taking pictures and often hung hands free by my harness to point and shoot my camera. As I write this I remain a bit mystified at my reactions. Perhaps they derive from my trust in the equipment and those who designed the route. However, I did find an internal voice cautioning me to always make sure that one carabiner was firmly in place before repositioning the other. My life depended upon that small detail.

One of the members of our group was a young lady from France who might be 5 feet tall but only if she stands on her toes. She was situated ahead of me with her boyfriend in the lead. As we crossed the cable bridge the arc of the safety cable took it beyond her reach. At 10 foot intervals we were required to unclip from the cable and then reclip past each of the attachment points. She was unable to do this until in unison I and her boyfriend reached up and hung our weight from the cable, pulling it down to within her reach.

Although I was the sole native English speaker, a comradeship of accomplishment developed within our group. The combination of the interpersonal experience along with the physical and emotional challenges created an incredibly memorable experience!

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS: Later in the day Christine and I traveled to place along the Fjord where a short hike rewarded us with some of the most astounding views of this incredible region.

Our entire day was spent enjoying an excursion upon the waters of the Saguenay fjord. We boarded a very large Zodiac-like vessel, departing from the dock at camp on the west side of the fjord. We traveled north about an hour at an estimated 20-25 knots and were treated to views of the magnificent cliffs and hills that glaciers had carved out over 10,000 years ago.

The fjord is fed by both a freshwater lake to the north, and tidal saltwater from the St. Lawrence to the south. The freshwater being lighter, in the central and southern reaches of the fjord it creates a freshwater layer that is approximately 50 feet deep. The saltwater remains below that layer, extending to the depths of the fjord which are up to 900 feet. A unique marine environment is presented that supports over 70 species of fresh and saltwater fish.

This is considered the ice fishing capital of the world. In the winter folks come from near and far with their mobile ice huts and assemble in 3 “villages” upon the ice. The locations depend upon the fish they seek, some dropping their lines deep for ocean varieties and others shallower for freshwater species. In all, over 1,200 ice trailers are arranged in grid fashion upon the ice.

Approximately 20 years ago the waters of the Saguenay became so polluted that pregnant women were cautioned not to consume the fish. Beluga whales, Peregrine Falcons, and many other species were threatened, including the rarely found Greenland Shark, the second largest carnivore shark after the Great White.

The imposition of environmental protection measures upon the municipalities and industries along the Saguenay have restored the waters and habitats, but it took 20 years for the pollutants to be “flushed”.

Our boat arrived at the picturesque village of Santa-Rose-du-Nord. We disembarked and enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the town.

We encountered a most unusual “Nature Museum”, founded and operated by a most unusual woman.

Approximately 50 years ago she began assembling an array of stuffed animals, samples of plants, molds, insects, and just about anything else that drew her fancy. The collection, which includes 2 stuffed Greenland Sharks, is contained in 6 rooms of her home. Ten dollars allowed us a tour and me permission to take 3 pictures. The experience was… odd.

Continuing our wandering we came upon a quaint little restaurant located in the lower portion of an equally quaint home. Maison-Mina is staffed by the incredibly charming Mina and her gregarious husband who does double duty as the town’s mayor. $16.50 each provided us with a fantastic 4 course lunch. Christine enjoyed a roast pork while I had a local favorite which is a version of “shepherds pie” made with salmon. Mina spoke no English so Christine reveled in the opportunity to recall her French. I got by with sign language and smiles. The entire experience was priceless.

We returned to camp later in the afternoon, in time to weather a brief evening rain shower, eat a light dinner, enjoy a campfire, and marvel at the clearing night sky. See if you can see the meteor that I captured with my camera!

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS: Tomorrow I hike to the Via Ferrate des Geants. It is a 300 foot long open cable footbridge that hangs hundreds of feet above the valley below. The bridge is accessed during a 4 hour hike that includes portions where one must proceed by clinging to a series of cliff faces. The bridge is crossed one person at a time. Christine has decided that she will pass on this activity. Below is a telephoto image of the bridge I took from upon the waters of the fjord and some additional pictures taken during the cruise of the fjord.

Quebec City was first settled by Jacques Cartier in 1535, but was abandoned the following year. It was again founded, this time by Samuel de Champlain, and became a permanent settlement in 1608. It is one of the oldest cities in North America. With it’s intact fortress and classic old European roots, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. A walk down any of the narrow winding streets will transport one back to France of an earlier time.

We made camp about 15 minutes from the ferry docks on the south side of the St. Lawrence. We left the car behind at the dock and $6.00 purchased both of us foot passenger round trip tickets to the old city.

This was our second visit to Quebec City. For us the charm has not worn off. By day it is a bustling tourist Mecca with shops ranging from inexpensive tourist kitch to high end (and high cost) haute couture. If one remains within the old city it is easy to forget that Quebec City is home to over 500,000 residents and it is the center of government for the Province of Quebec.

The side streets abound with small boutique hotels and restaurants. “5 star” accommodations and dining are center stage. Indeed, the skyline of Quebec City is dominated by the phenomenal edifice of the Hotel Chateau Frontenac. It resembles a fortress Castle by day, but at night it is nothing short of magical. It is considered the most photographed hotel in the world. Built in 1893, it has 600 guest rooms arrayed on 18 floors. The base rate for a room is $600 per night with the “Gold Experience” floors upping the ante to $950 per night.

We concluded our visit with dinner at Restaurant Saint Amour. A true gourmet experience. Christine enjoyed a combination Beef Wellington and Filet Mignon. I savored the house specialty of Fois Gras with accompaniments and a second plate consisting of smoked octopus served upon Risotto infused with its ink. Remarkable!!

The return trip across the St. Lawrence provided a mystical panorama of the stunning skyline.

Tomorrow we head to the fjords of Parc National du Saguenay. The promise is for incredible scenery, grand hiking, and whale watching.

Peace Everyone. Pete

We are heading northeast along the north shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Montréal is about 2.5 hours from Ottawa, and Quebec City is about 2.5 hours beyond Montréal. Yesterday Ottawa, today Montréal… tomorrow Quebec City.

Founded in 1642 as a missionary colony, modern Montréal is a huge city situated upon an island. Nearly 2 million people live on the island with another 2 million residing in the immediate surrounding area. It is Canada’s second largest city after Toronto and the 8th largest city in North America. Montréal is supremely international with 80% of the population fluent in two languages and 20% fluent in three. It is connected to the world over, and as an example at least 18 flights each week depart Montréal for China.

It is one of the top university cities in the world with a university and college student population of over 200,000. Chief among the institutions of higher education is McGill University. McGill is ranked 1st among universities in Canada, and is perennially ranked in the top 30 in the world. Admission is competitive, but for those fortunate enough to make the cut the costs are remarkably reasonable. A student attending from the United States faces an annual cost for room, board, and tuition of less than $20,000 US, which is about 2/3 the cost of most US state universities.

Montréal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics, known for the accomplishments of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci and Decathlon champion Bruce Jenner. The stadium that was erected remains the most expensive ever built at 1.6 billion dollars. The 1976 Olympics are also noteworthy as the only Olympic Games where the host country did not win a gold medal.

Clearly this city deserves more than a single day, yet that is what we allocated to it. In order to take in the essence of the city we booked a “hop-on-hop-off” Grey Line Double Decker bus tour. The cost was about $50 US for each of us. A bus picked us up at camp and returned us there at the end of the day. Thus we avoided the rush hour stresses, parking stresses, and we were able to relax and take in a well executed tour of Montréal’s highlights. Nevertheless, the tour was much like viewing all of the offerings at a banquet, but being limited to a taste of just a few items. In our case those samples were the St. Joseph Oratoire Basilica and McGill University.

St. Joseph’s is the largest church in Canada, and boasts one of the largest domes in the world. It began as a small chapel where the saintly Brother André lived and worshiped.

He developed a reputation as a miraculous healer. Indeed, there are thousands of crutches hanging floor to ceiling near his crypt.

The thousands of pilgrims who sought him justified the construction of a larger and again still larger edifice. Brother André did not live to see the completion of “his” Basilica, but it has become a monument to his life and legacy.

At his request, after death his heart was removed and placed in a reliquary to protect the church.

Everything about the church is larger than life, including the remarkable carved Stations of the Cross, and towering wood carved images of Christ’s Disciples.

Today was the first day of the new school year at McGill. We visited the bookstore for a couple of wearable souvenirs and then wandered around campus.

It is amazing that such a bucolic setting exists within the heart of downtown Montréal and it is even more amazing how college students appear to be so young these day! We hold some hope that one or more of our grandchildren will consider McGill in their future.

Tomorrow Quebec City.

Peace Everyone. Pete