Hiking Mount Gosford, QC
Driving from Quebec City to ZEC Louise-Gosford | Hiking Mount Gosford | Last Day in Quebec | July 2024
Our time in Canada was coming to the close, but I had yet to hike a peak that would count towards my hiking goal. And I simply could not let that go. Quebec has a lot of fairly prominent peaks, and we had driven by so many of them. And so, after some research I decided that we could go as far South as the Maine-Quebec border and camp in the ZEC Louise-Gosford. This would set me up to hike Mount Gosford, the highest peak in Southeastern Quebec.
From downtown Quebec City, we followed freeways and highways South through the villages and hills that make up the Eastern Townships region of Quebec. The area was quite scenic with the green valleys and free standing peaks and is probably worth visiting in its own right someday.
The highways eventually gave way to county/country roads, and we eventually turned off down a long gravel road. It finally felt like we were in a National Forest. That was, until we reached the headquarters. I knew I had to register for hiking and camping, but was expecting a self-register kiosk (I had even gone out of my way to get cash). But instead there was a staffed office and I had to once again muddle my way sheepishly through French and English. Based on my research, I knew there would be a cost associated with visiting, but I estimated it to be maybe 30$CAD. But when the ranger charged my card and handed me the receipt it was for over 55$CAD! What?! I was being charged per person to 1. Use the roads. 2. Use the trails. 3. Camp by the side of the road – not even in an established primitive campground. To make things worse, the area I had thought we would be able to camp at was washed out and inaccessible. I was already exasperated by the language barrier that I just accepted the loss and broke the news to Jess.
We drove down to a trailhead that was still accessible to find it very full. We drove around in circles a little more until we found an abandoned cabin that the ranger had said we could park in front of for the night. The hike was too long and it was too hot for Charlotte, so after making sure Jess and Charlotte were as comfortable as we could manage, I walked the road back to the trailhead, passing an industrial grade maple syrup operation along the way. Once on the trail, I immediately got bogged down in ankle deep mud amid a spiders web of syrup lines. Heavy rains that had washed out the roads had also turned the whole base of the mountain into a bog.
The whole situation was comically infuriating. I felt like complaining about small issues with every step. The cost was too high, the trail was too wet, I missed having my hiking boots. Fortunately, a sure cure for my dark mood is hiking and as the trail ascended out of the mud and muck into a dark grove of spruce trees, I became focused less on my frustrations and more focused on breathing. The trail I was following is part of the ‘Sentiers Frontalier’ – the Frontier Trail – and follows the QC-US border for about 150 km. It’s probably not on my list of long trails to hike…but it’s always fun to dream. I’m not sure if the logistics would be easier or harder if I was hiking.
After a while, I cleared the treeline and came out on a boulder field looking South into Maine. The summit was only a few hundred yards from here and ended at a fun platform with an ‘arrow tree’. I stuck around at the top for a while to catch my breath and enjoy the scenery before heading back down, just as another hiking pair arrived. The hike down was the same as going up: uneventful and muddy. The trailhead had cleared out considerably by the time I got back and I made it to Jess and Charlotte without further event.
We spent the rest of the evening hiding from bugs and debating whether or not to ditch the ZEC and just cross into the US, but ultimately we stuck it out and went to bed early. Overall, we’re probably a bit stingy and spoiled by the USFS, but we felt like we had been nickel-and-dimed by the ZEC and would probably avoid camping on their land…but each ZEC is different and locally managed, so maybe there are better ones out there. Regardless, we were finally ready to leave Quebec, though we know we have plenty to look forward to when we inevitably return.
