Mr. and Mrs. Pants Canadian Adventure, Summer 2025

[Hppants]

. In the US, boaters go by a saying: "Red on Right on Return". This means that when you are looking for safe harbor through a marked pass or waterway, if you keep the red marker to your right (green to the left), then you are going the right way in safe water. On this river, it's the opposite - the red markers are on the south side, meaning they are on the right as you are going out toward the ocean. I don't know if this is a Canada thing, or what.

... I'm not sure what you saw, but the US Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard both say "Red Right Returning" in the St Lawrence and the rest of the Great Lakes.

I figured that you'd be interested in that, and would offer your experience - thanks for doing the research. As a lifelong boater, this is something that I'm keenly aware of and, at least along this section of the river, I saw red markers (on shore, not buoys in the water) on the south shore - meaning they were marking the right heading down river (toward the ocean). I went back and checked all of my photos from anywhere along the St. Lawrence, and didn't seen any cooberation for this, so now of course I'm second guessing myself. There might be an opportunity to get back there before we leave.

[fontanaman]

Fun read. I assume you've been on other grating bridges before... but they're very common in snow and ice country. Mackinac Bridge is five miles of that. I'm used to it but don't like it...but I did freak out the first time on a motorcycle with the feel of the tires wandering... kinda spooky.

I will NOT be doing 5 miles of that. Nope. Not gonna happen - ever.

Hey Pants is the concern about riding on bridges with grated decks or bridges with grated decks in need of repair.

I learned to ride on grated bridge decks pack in the 1970's just because that some bridges were constructed that way.

Conversely I never learned to ride in soft sand very well because there wasn't much of that in Western Washington. I understand the how to ride in soft sand, the execution is another matter.

[gixxerjasen]

Conversely I never learned to ride in soft sand very well because there wasn't much of that in Western Washington. I understand the how to ride in soft sand, the execution is another matter.

If you do end up riding in Utah, you'll get some practice most likely.

It's worth it though.

[Hppants]

Fun read. I assume you've been on other grating bridges before... but they're very common in snow and ice country. Mackinac Bridge is five miles of that. I'm used to it but don't like it...but I did freak out the first time on a motorcycle with the feel of the tires wandering... kinda spooky.

I will NOT be doing 5 miles of that. Nope. Not gonna happen - ever.

Hey Pants is the concern about riding on bridges with grated decks or bridges with grated decks in need of repair.

I learned to ride on grated bridge decks pack in the 1970's just because that some bridges were constructed that way.

Conversely I never learned to ride in soft sand very well because there wasn't much of that in Western Washington. I understand the how to ride in soft sand, the execution is another matter.

I normally don't have a big issue with grated decks, but the one's I've ridden on were relatively short and MUCH more stable. This deck was worn, uneven, and I was moving all over the place. Did not care for it one bit, but once you are on it, there's no turning back.

[N4HHE]

Grated decks are nasty with knobby tires.

[Hppants]

8/17/25

I woke up to rain and wind. The front coming through is relatively thin, but it is quartering us and so it rained all morning. We lounged around in the morning, and after lunch, I lifted weights and waited on the sun to peek through. When it did, with temperatures only in the upper 60s, I decided to ride the mountain bike.

When I ride the Dual Sport bike, there's a section of gravel road that parrallels the highway, and on it, I found this trail head that looked interesting. I figured why not give it a shot? I parked my truck at the head of the gravel, rode a few miles to the trail head, and turned off. So far, so good.



I found this lake - this is nice.





I saw a few hiking trails along the way, but I was trying to find MTB stuff.



Eventually, the rocks on the trail got to be a bit much so I parked the bike and started walking.



The ground got spongy in places - I was thinking that this might be prime moose territory, but no luck.

I tried a few of the hiking trails, but they didn't really go anywhere, so I got back to the bicycle and started heading back. About halfway, I found this trail that looked good.



It was good - nice up and down trail that ran back to the gravel road. I enjoyed that one so much that I rode another lap with it, and then I rode the gravel back to my truck.



Back at the ABB, the temperature is dropping, so after dinner, I lit a little fire in the front yard for us to enjoy.



Enjoying an ambiance fire in mid-August. Absolutely nuts.

Stay thirsty, my friends.....

[FJRoss]

8/17/25

Enjoying an ambiance fire in mid-August. Absolutely nuts.

Stay thirsty, my friends.....

In Central New Brunswick (Fredericton), we have an expected overnight low temperature of 4°C tonight. Frost advisory for the Northern part of the province. Lac Tourbillon is actually about one degree latitude north of where I am. A little early for frost, but not unprecedented. Quebec City low for tonight is a relatively balmy 9°C and getting warmer during the week.

[Hppants]

8/17/25

Enjoying an ambiance fire in mid-August. Absolutely nuts.

Stay thirsty, my friends.....

In Central New Brunswick (Fredericton), we have an expected overnight low temperature of 4°C tonight. Frost advisory for the Northern part of the province. Lac Tourbillon is actually about one degree latitude north of where I am. A little early for frost, but not unprecedented. Quebec City low for tonight is a relatively balmy 9°C and getting warmer during the week.

I woke up at 6:00 am. The sun had already risen, but the temperature was 39 in Lac Beauport, and it's usually 1 degree cooler at Lac Tourbillion.

38 freaking degrees on August 18!! Winter weather at home!

[bigjohnsd]

I woke up at 6:00 am. The sun had already risen, but the temperature was 39 in Lac Beauport, and it's usually 1 degree cooler at Lac Tourbillion.

38 freaking degrees on August 18!! Winter weather at home!

Pile on the blankets, double up the comforter, and shnuggle up to Momma there, Cajun Boy!

[wheatonFJR]

8/17/25

Enjoying an ambiance fire in mid-August. Absolutely nuts.

Stay thirsty, my friends.....

In Central New Brunswick (Fredericton), we have an expected overnight low temperature of 4°C tonight. Frost advisory for the Northern part of the province. Lac Tourbillon is actually about one degree latitude north of where I am. A little early for frost, but not unprecedented. Quebec City low for tonight is a relatively balmy 9°C and getting warmer during the week.

I woke up at 6:00 am. The sun had already risen, but the temperature was 39 in Lac Beauport, and it's usually 1 degree cooler at Lac Tourbillion.

38 freaking degrees on August 18!! Winter weather at home!

Yer giving me whiplash here. Yer using KMs one minute, and the next yer using Fahrenheit.

What country are you existing in? Lol

[raYzerman]

I'm in a whole different temperate zone..... last week sweated to death with temps in the 30's/90's. Cooling off this week, woke up to 16/60F, high of 25/77 today and sunny. Perfect riding weather and I didn't go for a ride, lol. Quebec and the east coast are way north of me.

[gixxerjasen]

it rained all morning.

I decided to ride the mountain bike.

What is normal in the rest of the world caused me a small moment of horror here in Dallas. Must be amazing to go ride a nice tacky trail after a rain. Here, you'd have destroyed the trail and had the worst bicycle cleanup of your life.

[Hppants]

In Central New Brunswick (Fredericton), we have an expected overnight low temperature of 4°C tonight. Frost advisory for the Northern part of the province. Lac Tourbillon is actually about one degree latitude north of where I am. A little early for frost, but not unprecedented. Quebec City low for tonight is a relatively balmy 9°C and getting warmer during the week.

I woke up at 6:00 am. The sun had already risen, but the temperature was 39 in Lac Beauport, and it's usually 1 degree cooler at Lac Tourbillion.

38 freaking degrees on August 18!! Winter weather at home!

Yer giving me whiplash here. Yer using KMs one minute, and the next yer using Fahrenheit.

What country are you existing in? Lol

BION, that is intentional. Interestingly, at least here in Quebec, the locals use Fahrenheit to describe temperature as much or more than celcius.

[Hppants]

I'm in a whole different temperate zone..... last week sweated to death with temps in the 30's/90's. Cooling off this week, woke up to 16/60F, high of 25/77 today and sunny. Perfect riding weather and I didn't go for a ride, lol. Quebec and the east coast are way north of me.

We had some of that "heat wave" (using that term comparatively only) last week as well. Later this week, things are looking to moderate, but I'm not seeing a high of 80 degrees F anywhere in the future. Me thinks the "warm phase" might be over. The locals tell us that usually the "peak" is the middle of August.

Absolutely amazing.

[Hppants]

it rained all morning.

I decided to ride the mountain bike.

What is normal in the rest of the world caused me a small moment of horror here in Dallas. Must be amazing to go ride a nice tacky trail after a rain. Here, you'd have destroyed the trail and had the worst bicycle cleanup of your life.

The soil here is a sandy clay - not much silt. On the trails, it packs very well and it drains extremely fast. The rocks here that present themselves within a river delta (nearly everywhere) are not surprisingly (for the most part) - round. Ironically though, they pack nicely into the soil and it would seem that the under soil is rather stiff. So when you are riding over the rocks, you get a feeling of steady underneath you.

4-6 hours after even a moderate rain, it's good to go. I like it a lot.

[raYzerman]

Just checked the longer forecast for here for the coming week... cooling down, highs of 18-23/66-74, overnights around 15/60. It will be cooler where you are.

[FJRoss]

I'm in a whole different temperate zone..... last week sweated to death with temps in the 30's/90's. Cooling off this week, woke up to 16/60F, high of 25/77 today and sunny. Perfect riding weather and I didn't go for a ride, lol. Quebec and the east coast are way north of me.

We had some of that "heat wave" (using that term comparatively only) last week as well. Later this week, things are looking to moderate, but I'm not seeing a high of 80 degrees F anywhere in the future. Me thinks the "warm phase" might be over. The locals tell us that usually the "peak" is the middle of August.

Absolutely amazing.

We had a low of just +3°C last night and the northern part of NB hit 0°C! Our high for today is 22°C and back up to 29° by Saturday. Still, the nights are cooler and it is all downhill from here.

[gixxerjasen]

Looking forward to only seeing two digits on the F thermometer tomorrow.

[bigjohnsd]

There is a thread for this WEAX crap - viewtopic.php?t=2366 LOL

[Hppants]

8/18/25

The forecast low for this morning was 42. They missed it - when I woke up at 6:00 am, it was 39 in Lac Beauport, likely 38 here. August 18 - unfreaking believable. My peeps back home wouldn't believe it if I told them. We call this weather..... winter.

None the less, the sun is shining and the mountains are calling, so I must go. Today, I'm going to hike the Mont Wright Municipal Parc. It's only about 20 minutes from the ABB, 2 exits up the highway. I pack my lunch and leave about 10:00 am with the temperature warmed up to about 57 - perfect.



This is really nice.



I met a gentleman at the parking lot and he made me a terrific route that basically covers all of the trails in the parc, along with all of the overlooks, etc.

His route was choice, man.



They have big rocks here, overall I'd say the biggest I've seen in Quebec.





Good visibility today.



I see signs of rock climbers here. I hopped around a few of these boulders, but didn't get too serious, lest I bust my arse.



Moving on. There are also big trees here. I spotted several large elms, sycamores, and even a few decent sized maples. I don't remember seeing trees this big anywhere except on the Plaines de Abraham in Quebec City - Elms there are 1500 years old.



I'm climbing a little, but hardly sweating in this wonderful weather.





Whenever these big bolders broke off the top, it must have been quite a sight to see.



My friend at the parking lot advised me about this section of the hike. He classified it as "difficile" (difficult). I didn't pay it much mind, but now that I'm here, it's straight up!



And I mean - straight up!





This lady and I took a break halfway up and had a nice conversation. She rides a GS but doesn't take it off road.



Starting to see a clearing in the distance - I think I'm close to the top.



And to the victor goes the spoils.



Lunch on top!



From the summit, I followed my friend's route along a ridge up high. Every hike in Quebec has been such a joy. These people do a wonderful job of maintaining their playgrounds.



The overlook at the other summit is not to shabby either!



I worked my way down, taking my time and sniffing along the way.



All told it was about 4.5 miles and about 1,500 of climb. A really nice walk in the woods - this one was one of my favorites. Tomorrow, it's time to start packing to leave and move on to our next place. We have time, but I'd rather take the packing in chunks - spread it out a little.

it's hard to imagine we've been here almost 10 weeks. I've certainly made the best of my time here, but still, it's gone by so incredibly fast.

Stay thirsty, my friends.