Hiking the Wolf Trail (#62) in Gatineau Park

Me, Gord and Jivka at Tawadina Lookout

This has been a great hiking summer for me. Along with some a couple of hiking friends that I met through a Meetup.com outdoor group, I've managed to get out for a mid-week late afternoon hike fairly regularly. (This is in addition to a weekend group hike most weekends,) And, add to the delight of my afternoon hikes the fact that I had not one, not two, but three black bear sightings! The bears seem to be active right around 4:30 p.m. , I suppose, at least in July.

Yesterday, July 29th, I did not see any bears, sadly. But JK, Gord and I had a really amazing hike on my favourite trail in the park - trail #62, the Wolf Trail. (No, I have no idea why it's called that..).

The trail - which is officially trail #62 - starts from P13 on Chemin de Lac Meech, right across from Blanchet Beach. Naturally, being 34 degrees and super-humid, the beach was still packed after 4pm, and so were the two small parking lots. Honestly, we almost didn't get parking, and almost altered our hiking plan and headed to a different trail. But luckily, someone left in time for us to grab their parking spot.

Of course, the NCC (National Capital Commission), like every other government organization, is money-hungry. This year, they've installed parking meter machines, and the charge is $11 per car per day, dropping to $5.50 after 3p.m. We paid up, and hit the trail.

From the parking lot, head up the trail marked as trail #62, which is Wolf Trail. The Wolf Trail is a loop that takes you past a few really amazing lookouts that make it worth the very steep climb.

When hiking this trail, I go right at the choice, following the sign that says 2km for Mahingan Lookout. This right-hand path is not only righteous, but is a steady, steep and rocky climb. Some (very few) folks opt to stay left and then descend by the rocky steep part. I find it much better to climb hard in the beginning, then enjoy an easy descent. because, really, once you get to the first scenic lookout, the trail becomes much easier, almost a pleasant walk. And after the last lookout - the magnificent Tawadina - you have a very nice 3.5 km gently descending walk in the woods.

It took us about 2.5 hours to hike the trail, stopping for a couple of short breaks.

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And here's a map and info provided by the NCC:
http://www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/sites/default/files/pubs/gp_trailfactsheet_e3_wolf_0.pdf

Happy Hiking!