Walk in the heart of an ancient forest

(Mayo) The history of Quebec is closely linked to that of its forest, long exploited as if it were inexhaustible. Consequence: very few forests today resemble those that covered the territory before the arrival of the Europeans, with their trees several hundred years old. And rarer still are the ancient forests that can be visited, such as the Forêt-la-Blanche ecological reserve in the Outaouais region…

Simon Chabot
The Press

The approaches to Lac La Blanche are quite steep. And that’s probably part of what has protected the magnificent hemlocks that have been growing there, very slowly, for three or four centuries. Since the time in fact when the coureurs des bois traveled the country for the fur trade. Just that.

You reach the area where these slender giants grow, which can reach 60 m in height, by a path with many flights of stairs, about 1 km walk from the reception of the reserve, itself located at the end Saddler Road, in Mayo, Outaouais.

Under the hemlocks, the light changes, filtered by the canopy. The sun’s rays are so sparse that fewer trees are sticking out of the ground. The space seems to open up and the gaze carries quite a distance, in a horizon where the long silhouettes of the trunks, devoid of branches at their base, stand out from the ambient soft green. The air is fresh. And the wind, quiet. There is something bewitching about the calm that reigns here. Almost sacred.

“It’s like a living museum, in a landscape that you don’t see much elsewhere”, observes Renée Giroux, president of the Friends of the Forest-la-Blanche, which maintains the 12 km of trails and organizes educational activities, including occasional guided tours. “There is a kind of energy that emerges from the forest when you walk there. Many people tell us that they come here to relax. »

The reserve of just over 2000 hectares is also home to some yellow birch trees around 400 years old. “The trunk of one of these, on the moose trail, is very wide,” says guide Robin Stolba. However, no tree has the size of the gigantic conifers of the West Coast, which benefit from a much milder and humid climate, the guide points out.

A precious territory

In addition to old forest stands, the reserve protects rare plants and undisturbed wetlands visited by moose and where herons nest. The trails lead to some of these areas, but there is no question of leaving them to explore the rest of the territory.

Barely 5 of the 75 ecological reserves in Quebec are open to visitors. You need special permission to go to others, especially for the purpose of scientific research.

Among these reserves, a certain number encompass ancient forests, such as the three-hundred-year-old sugar maple-beech and hemlock stand of Boisé-des-Muir, in Montérégie, or the aptly named Vieux-Arbres reserve, on three islands. of Lac Duparquet, in Abitibi. Cedars over 800 years old, among the oldest trees in the east of the continent, grow in this place sheltered from human activity and fires. A venerable individual, with a diameter of 20 to 30 cm and barely 4 or 5 m high, would even be almost 1000 years old!

It is difficult to know how many intact forests survive in Quebec. The Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks has identified 256 exceptional forest ecosystems, including many old forests, but also rare forests or refuge (for endangered species). However, the Department points out on its website that several other sites of “similar value” are not classified, in particular because they are on private land or are protected under other laws.

Other forests to visit

The SEPAQ network hosts some of these sites, but they often remain inaccessible. At the Duchesnay tourist station, however, the Coureur des bois trail crosses an old maple grove. A day of fishing on Lac à l’Écluse, in the Papineau-Labelle reserve, will also allow you to walk along a maple-yellow birch stand, some of which are 425 years old.

Easier to access, the trails of Mount Wright Park in Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, near Quebec City, cover 1.9 km^⁠2 three quite distinct old forest stands, dominated by maple, birch, then spruce, some of which are almost 300 years old.

Birds of prey, including red-shouldered hawks, like to perch at the top of the tallest trees to hunt, says Gabrielle Dutil, of the Two Shores Forestry Association, which co-manages the park, which is very popular during the color season. Until October, visitors are invited to take part in a rally to learn more about the ancient forest, which leaves no one indifferent.

“It’s quite touching to see how strong nature is,” says the project manager. This forest that goes beyond the ages, it makes us feel small and fragile. We admire him with great humility. »