Mont Laurier to Nominigue

I expected the start line to be elaborately distinguished.

A large sign or an arch, and some plaza or old train station. Something that would say, here you are: congratulations and good luck—depending on whether this was your start or finish line.

In Saint-Jérôme, where we had left our cars and boarded the shuttle, the old train station was surrounded by an elaborately tiled plaza, with water fountains, a clock tower, some old cabooses, and rest stations. An arch indicated the start or end of the Petit Train du Nord trail.

Place de la Gare, Saint-Jérôme.

You knew where you were.

The shuttle bus pulled into the parking lot of an IGA store, and I only realized that we were in Mont Laurier was when the driver shut off the engine. I could see, between this parking lot and a McDonald's, a path cutting between some grass.

This was the start of our ride.

The path did seem to head north but was barricaded where it cut across the road that led us to this spot. Looking later, on Google Maps, it seems the trail runs, broken, for maybe another kilometre, but ends in a deserted lot. Perhaps there is construction to improve the path and extend it to a future plaza.

Either way, we readied ourselves and started our trek. A couple of hundred metres from the IGA parking lot, a Petit Train du Nord sign read 200 kilometres. We'd see one at every kilometre along the trail, counting down the distance to Saint-Jérôme.

Almost immediately, we were met with a detour sign and had to cycle along the neighbourhood streets beyond the IGA. The new route was clearly marked and brief, and for the rest of the day's ride, we had a paved trail that took us through wide fields, wooded climbs, and past lakes.

When we reached Val-Barrette, about 13 kms away, we stopped at a rest station where we could top up our water bottles and use the well-maintained washrooms. At such stops, interpretation centres let us learn about the town and area, with photos that showed what the area was like with its first settlers. Stations were set up with air pumps and other tools, should your bike need some tuning.

At points along the way, we would encounter the people who were on our shuttle bus: three older ladies from Maryland and two couples—one of them from Ottawa. We'd say hello as we passed or if we happened to stop at the same rest spot.

Apart from a few short stops, we arrived at our first destination, Nominigue, about three-and-a-half hours later, covering 58.1 kilometres. The trail brought us to Auberge Chez Ignace, a lovely inn along Lac Nominigue. Coincidentally, everyone on our shuttle ended up at this same spot.

Chillin in the garden.

The view from our room.

The inn has a lovely garden, and a short pathway, across the street, leads to the lake, where the owners of the inn set up a large dock and chairs to enjoy the beauty of the lake. We visited it three times during our stay: once, when DW wanted to jump in the lake to cool off; after dinner, when our friends, Wendy and Peter, joined us for sunset; and in the morning, to observe the calmness of the water.

Peter captured me, capturing sunset.

What I captured.

Dinner was included in the price of the accommodation, and we had an excellent, three-course meal that was of the quality you'd find in a four-star restaurant. They had a well-stocked bar, including some great beer from a small brewery in Mont Laurier.

First course.

Squeezing in for a group shot.

Breakfast was also included and was also very good, giving us a great start for the next day.

When we set out to Saint-Jérôme on Friday, the weather had promised to be mostly sunny and warm for our first day, but had warned of heavy rain overnight and throughout the next day, with off-and-on rain for the final two days. We planned for the worst but hoped for the best, and as we checked the forecast for the next day, we learned that the rain was going to hold off until the early afternoon, so we planned to leave Nominigue early enough to miss it.

I'll continue with the next part of our journey, Monday. Happy Friday!