This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Few Quebecers know the Pontiac. Yet it is one of the largest wilderness areas in Quebec. We discover it during a long hike in the Davidson forest.
End of December 2021. Davidson Forest, Pontiac region. A well-kept secret in a corner of the Outaouais that is just as important. Few visitors push their curiosity so far as to explore Shawville or Fort-Coulonge, and neither does Route 148, which is called here “Les Chemins d’eau”. This route starts in Petite-Nation, crosses Gatineau and heads towards North Bay, along the Ottawa river artery, and invites you to make memorable discoveries. This far west with its now agricultural, even rural accent, is dotted with farms and cultivated fields that give it a false air of the Eastern Townships.
Terrain variability…
To reach the 1500 hectares of the Davidson forest, you have to follow the Ottawa River, which tells the story of this ancestral Anishinabe territory; from colonization to logging and log driving, during which many woodworkers carried logs at the risk of their lives on the Coulonge and Dumoine rivers. Admittedly, the Davidson forest has hardly been spared massive cutting, but one still finds an astonishing diversity of species on its slopes: walnut trees, ash trees, lime trees, poplars, maples, and even a red oak grove with white pines. On its 400 m peaks, you can admire the imposing conifers that have largely contributed to building the great mansions of Chicago and flooded the ports of Liverpool or Hong Kong.
… and the weather
We had planned enough powder to put on our snowshoes during these three days of hiking with two nights in a Prospecteur tent, but we now have to deal with the regular ups and downs of the weather. In the absence of abundant snow, the walk will take place, crampons on the feet, on a somewhat crusty surface. Departure for a few kilometers of acclimatization from the small peaceful community of Mansfield-et-Pontefrac to tie, with your long hiking bag, close ties that will help you walk on the right foot. The conditions are ideal, but we already know that we cannot count on their stability. Throughout our stay, we will have to face rain, abnormally mild temperatures, sleet, strong winds and freezing rain. A cocktail that will in no way alter the quality of this experience; we will thus have to test the virtues of our technical clothing, to shelter us when the weather gets tough in the comfort of the tent and to taste every second spent above the lake at the Canot for a delicious lunch break under the December sun.
The outdoors, the basis of development
As soon as you pay attention to it, the forest path reveals the traces of the recent passage of many deer that our guide, Louis Harvey, points to with his walking stick: “There is a lot of activity in the forest right now, he says, we risk to see during the hike, especially near the oaks. They love to feed on acorns! Louis is a retired forestry technician and now an active member of the Aventure Hélianthe cooperative, a local group of enthusiasts who want to develop ecotourism in the Pontiac’s backyard. A contagious passion that Louis bequeathed to his son, Guillaume, who chairs the very recent cooperative, whose 23 members support regional development.
As far as the first camp at Lac au Canot, a little fluffy snow begins to swirl between the branches and felt our progress in a magnetic atmosphere. These moments make you enter another dimension of winter, on the other side of the mirror, in a kind of state of grace. A state that seems to be shared by my other traveling companion, Brandon, who does not skimp on superlatives to express his enthusiasm. Brandon is the best ambassador for his region, the Outaouais. Lecturer in political science in town, he becomes a woodsman at every opportunity that arises. He feeds his blog Brandon on the Go, a non-commercial blog, “just for the pleasure of introducing people to this region, which has so much to give, with its incredible agrotourism offer and its passionate cider, wine and craft beer producers,” he says. We could not be in better company to discover the richness of this territory.
Immersive adventure
After a day of tracking the undulations of the landscape, 15 km of ups and downs, without meeting a living soul, we ended this second day in the Prospecteur tent at Presqu’île Lake. Rusticity is a very relative notion; on either side of the wood stove, we install our ground mattresses on a platform strewn with a soft fir tree which diffuses its scent of spruce under the effect of a comforting brazier. The last occupants have indeed left a few logs for the attention of the following us, but we too must ensure the comfort – and the safety – of our successors; so we take out the axe, determined to cut a good quantity of logs that will warm our shelter all night long. That night, a nasty gust of wind caused a memorable brew-comrade in the forest, causing the shattering of several trees in the area. We felt then in a palpable isolation, closer to this great wild nature all around us… so humble.