Does 2 years make it “Annual”?

Not sure if the title applies but I’m willing to say – Yes, it does. Time for our second crack at an overnighter in Gatineau Park at one of the interior huts. Last year we skied in to Lusk Lake hut which was a pretty sweet setup but this year we decided to try one of the yurts. I opted to book the Taylor Lake yurt sitting right on the shores of the lake which sounded nice. Of course it was (almost) the shortest day of the year so the scenic vistas would be limited but even still. So with money down we laid our plans for good trip. We weren’t able to convince anyone else that a little overnighter before the chaos of Christmas was an ideal plan but no worries, just the three of us again this year.
the waxing conditions were pretty tough...

Sadly the snow gods didn’t cooperate and the “ski” part of the trip didn’t work out but a bracing walk on a cold afternoon wasn’t too bad either. I'm sure Dave was secretly pleased as the lack of a ski component meant his camp guitar wouldn't take any hits as his ski skills are still in the "rookie" class. The walk gave us a chance to see the progress on the campground washout near the main gate of the Lac Phillipe campground. Clearly those crews have been making good progress thanks to the lack of snow and the work seems to be close to completion (ahead of schedule?).
Work progresses at the new culvert

After the walk in we arrived at the yurt to find the lake frosted over like a sheet of glass. Chopping a hole to collect some water, I found the ice to be a good 2 inches thick so skating would have been a nice option if we’d have brought them along… but alas this hadn’t factored into my plan so we opted to stay on the shore.
Taylor lake as the storm clouds grew
The hut awaits us(photo courtesy of Bryan)

The yurt itself is pretty nice and – with a good fire in the wood stove – warmed up pretty nicely. A good evening spent making too much food, listening to Dave on the camp guitar and being entertained by various electronic devices(more music, a podcast or two and a few videos). We even had some nice howls bellowing from the woods as the local populace (coyotes?) provided some light entertainment. A good evening spent and even a few stars popped out which surprised me as the heavy clouds rolled over upon our arrival so I thought a star show would be out of the question.
The group settles in for the night ahead

As we hit the sack a pretty big storm crashed about outside dropping a little fresh snow (not enough to ski) but we were safe and sound in our bunks in the yurt. After last years experience of stiffling heat in Lusk cabin (that wood stove cranks some serious BTU’s!) Dave had opted to bring only a light sheet for sleeping. This worked extremely well for Bryan and me. As long as we stayed tucked in our sleeping bags, we could outwait Dave as the fire died down and the winter chill filled the yurt. Dave would inevitably be the first to feel the cold and he’d be forced to get up to stoke/rebuild the fire – a task he did efficiently 2x’s through the night (Thanks Dave!).
Checking out the ice wall on the hike out

Morning and a fresh blanket of snow on the ground as we hiked out. The snow was pretty effective at hiding layers of ice on the trail and Bryan and I took the hits with a couple of nice wipe outs as we hiked/shuffled/slid our way along. This allowed Dave to shrewdly skirt any slippery spots and protect his guitar which would have taken the brunt of any fall. I guess our “spotting” the ice patches for him was fair payback for his hard work stoking the fire overnight. A nice hike out and soon we were rolling back to town and watching the snow melt :( Looking forward to next year already when hopefully the snow will fall, the coyotes will be bolder still and indeed “annual” will seem like the appropriate term.
The motley crew (photo courtesy Dave)