I returned to Canada, four years after my first trip, hoping to catch the autumn colours and the famed red maple leaves. Lucky me was more than handsomely rewarded this time round…

At the enthusiastic behest of the folks at the Montréal youth hostel, who had “promised” mountains of flaming ruby, my companion and I were lured into taking an excursion out to Mont Tremblant - the
	popular ski resort in the Laurentians, which is the wilderness expanse of Quebec province. The mountain also happens to be the highest peak in eastern Canada at 3,175 feet,
while the Park, or parc du Mont-Tremblant, is Quebec’s largest protected area with almost 1,000 square miles of sprawling territory.

Montréalers are really a lucky lot. Barely half an hour out of the city,
	rolling hills interspersed with lakes came into view. While not exactly fiery crimson, the forest was a myriad of pretty colours, as if tantalizing visitors like us with sneak previews of what was to come. With a welcoming appetizer like that, nobody could complain about the many local stops along the way as we rumbled on contentedly in the bus for almost three hours.

The “National Geographic” prelude came to an abrupt end when we were dropped at the youth hostel. The cosy little place is conveniently located at the Mont Tremblant Village, about three miles west of the mountain itself.

Inspired by the alluring scenery thus far, we hurriedly dumped our luggage and excitedly ventured out to explore in the remaining hours
	of daylight. Nothing like the splendid autumnal colours, couched in warm sunset rays, to uplift the spirits. Oh, our hearts were singing as
we took a really long walk to the centre of the village, making detour after detour into inviting side paths and discovering quaint cottages, pretty signage and mysterious blue lakes (or lacs in French). My friend was clicking away endlessly on her camera like a possessed woman, whilst I, was dreamily making plans about early retirement and migration…

Miraculously, we did reach the centre before dark. Part of the road was undergoing paving works but it would take a lot more to dampen our happy state. The village was quite a self-contained place, with its own market, post office, eateries and other amenities, despite the rural feel.

We were just in time to witness the lovely sunset at Lac Mercier. And we sauntered on along the bank of the lake, quite forgetting ourselves in
the surreal surroundings until the last vestiges of dusk faded away. After all, we hail from a country which is invariably green all year round. It helped too that I have a natural inclination and affinity towards warm palettes, for we seemed to have stumbled into a William Turner painting…

After a night of lyrical dreams (where I could have sworn that I was spouting French poems), I was rudely awakened by my early bird of a companion who set the alarm at 7 am, sigh. But this was going to be a great day ahead… except that it had to rain, drats.

	We were making our way to the Mont Tremblant Resort today, which is on the slope of the mountain. This is the touristy part where the luxurious hotel, the Château Mont Tremblant, and the whole works of
boutiques, bars and restaurants, sit. But first, we had to get there.

Rather than take the road, we decided to stroll along the Rivière du Diable, which proved to be an excellent choice. It was a picturesque route with more vibrant autumn foliage to perk us up on this chilly morning. And the river views were simply gorgeous. Even the heavens were blessing us, lightening the rain into a drizzle, and eventually clearing up.

But the “distracting” landscape also slowed our progress considerably, as we picked leaves and “murdered” more film. What should have taken 45 minutes stretched into a two-hour sojourn, before we finally arrived at our destination.

It was amazing that the scenery could be bettered but the resort, or rather, its setting, was simply stunning. The multi-coloured forests
were even more startlingly vivid here and the looming clouds added a dramatic touch. We approached, silently revered, onto this enchanting land. The place was, pleasantly, not as touristy as I had expected. Oh, the crowds were present. Still, the layout with
the striking clock tower, was elegant and with an awesome backdrop like the blazing Mont Tremblant, there was really not much room to enhance the breathtaking picture further.

After visiting the Information Centre for maps, we took the obligatory free tram up the resort. And then we parted ways – she to shop and ride the cable car to the summit while I headed for the trails up. I was itching for a hike, and a glorious mountain like this was simply irresistible.

For some unknown reason, everything is simply called “Tremblant” here, from the Village, the Resort to the Mountain itself. To add to the confusion, there is a Club Tremblant, another resort, on the opposite shore of Lac Tremblant (what else?), the lake at the base of the mountain.

The much cherished name derived from a legend of the Amerindians, the first inhabitants of the area, who had named the peak after their god, Manitou. When nature was disturbed by humans, the fable goes that Manitou became angry and made the mountain tremble, or montagne tremblante. Hence, the impressive namesake, with apparently enduring staying power and populist appeal.

Anyway, here I was finally ready to scale The Mont Tremblant which, thankfully, remained calmly stable during my hike.

I chose the longer grand-sounding Le Grand Brûlé 6.5 km trail which was presumably less steep. The succinct map description read as: “through a boreal forest, glades and trails of Versant Soleil, around a pond, through a rocky cliffside section offering a magnificent view and making its way around a beaver dam”. Sounds good, although there was that minor detail about “moderate going down, strenuous going up”.

The lady at the Information Centre did say it would take only a couple of hours to reach the top. That, however, did not take into
account an unfit me, my earlier lengthy walk in the morning, and plus… I got lost.

Soon after I found the start of the trail above a rock, having first gone up a series of steps and past a waterfall, I was to take a wrong path – a particularly steep one which should have rung alarm bells but instead had been attributed to the “strenuous” tag. The “path” got more
	and more difficult until I was thick in the woods where every direction seemed like a possible route. I decided to try one out and ended up on a boulder area with
flamboyantly painted leafage and exquisite views. When in doubt, take a photo break. This is my motto and it always helps to soothe ruffled nerves.

With calm restored, I then turned “mountainwards” and “crashed” my way through the underbrush. Eventually, a road was found, and at its opposite end, the elusive trail signs appeared once more. Hurrah!

After the false start, I had learned my lesson to pay strict attention to the orange signs. The true path was actually quite pleasant to hike on, with a reasonable gradient, and fellow hikers appeared from time to time.

What a rewarding and beautiful experience it was. Glistening leaves –
prettier than any that I have ever seen – in magical golden and crimson, adorning the earthen forest floor and draping the water surfaces; silver-bark trees clothed in rich autumnal glory reflecting hauntingly in mysterious ponds and juxtaposed with mazes of fallen logs like a Picasso painting; open exhilarating panoramas of the
sparkling resort and azure lake – this time at “official” viewpoints; the many remarkable images were simply intoxicating!

Everything was worth the while of this extraordinary trek – the ultimate highlight of my trip. By the time I reached the summit some three and a half hours later, it was one physically exhausted but profoundly
	satisfied gal. As I whizzed down the incredible mountain on the cable car to meet up with my travel mate, I was still in a state of semi-daze.
But one thought kept recurring on my mind: I could not think of a more beautiful word, than “Tremblant”.

© Ong Hwee Yen 2002

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Comments joseph lui i just got back from a guided tour to mt. tremblant. but i only saw the very superficial autumal glamours of nature among the laurentians. your site pictures seem to be more elaborate. happy exploring! Chee Kwan Thanks for your great essay and pix of Mont Tremblant, am going to Montreal this Sep, think I must make a sidetrip there! C Thank you for the beautiful pictures of Mont Tremblant! Beautiful crimson colours!--Enjoyed Ken I jerk off to your site, like all the time. The autumn colors really do it for me, can't explain it. Other canada stories: Canadian Rockies, the Hiking Paradise, foto memoirs ~ montréal & québec city, foto memoirs ~ niagara falls & Alaskan Sojourn ~ Whitehorse & Klondike Highway.