We woke up early, there was frost outside and chilly inside. I ran the heater till we got up, making it more comfortable for getting dressed. The valley at Edmondson was fogged in but sunny above. As we headed into Quebec we were seeing rainbows in the mist and fleeting glimpses of the leaves in color through the fog.
We found a coffee shop and cookies in Rivière-du-Loup where we caught the ferry to cross the St Lawrence River. We drove east along the river to Tadoussac where we took a second ferry then headed north towards Saguenay up a mountainous valley. The drive was recommended to us at the info center as the drive was more scenic and it would be easier to get a campsite. They were right about the view, and the leaves were showing us their best colours.
We took a campsite up near Saguenay so we had power and water and the all important showers. In the morning we walked Pete through the park and into their maple forest where they harvest sap for syrup in the spring. The forest was a blaze of color as we had a sunny and warmer morning. When we got into the main harvest area they had a network of tubing strung between the trees then to larger collection tubes to larger pipes that all flowed downhill to the sugar shack where they processed the sap to syrup when the sap is running.
We carried on down to Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier (Quebec provincial park) where we found the area awash in yellows and oranges. We checked in at the visitor center and found the campsite was full but as we were self contained we could camp in the parking lot for a fee. We did lunch, then an 11km hike up to the escarpment, about 320m elevation gain, where we came to realize that we weren't as fit as we thought we were. That said, Pete was dragging too so the breaks to catch our breath wasn't a problem. The viewing platform up on the escarpment had a view of the parking lot, river valley and orange hills so the effort was well worth while for the view.
We all slept well and things were warmer for the night but we were all (dog included) feeling the after effects of the hill climb the day before. Not being overly sensible, we did a 5km hike in the morning, this one climbing about 200m in elevation. Nice hike, but the views were limited by the amount of tree growth. Being a weekend in the midst of autumn leaves brings the crowds out so we found the trails were full of people and the park roads were crammed with cars. We headed out after lunch as the second hike more or less did us in for hill climbs for a day or so.
