User blog:Glflegolas/Public Service Announcement -- Glflegolas is back.

G'day folks,

Yes, I am indeed back from my vacation in Quebec (well, technically, the Gaspe Provincial Park), as you may have noticed, if you looked at the suggestions forum. And, I have seen much; in fact, I have climbed several peaks over 1,000 meters in height. Most summits over 1,000 meters are bare; there are no trees or bushes up there, at least once you get over the treeline. You may have heard that the trees end very suddenly at the treeline, and that is indeed true; the trees end right at that line; they don't grow another meter up the mountain beyond that line. Below the treeline is the great boreal forest, the largest biome on this planet.

Some of the mountains I saw were Mont Albert (1,080 m), Mont Xalibu (1,140 m), and Mont Richardson, at 1,180 m. My favourite was probably Mont Richardson, because it was the highest I climbed, and because it has a narrow conical summit, so you can see in all directions. Another interesting thing was the clouds; the mountains were high enough that I was actually above some of the clouds and could watch them passing through the valleys. Mt. Richardson isn't the highest mountain in the park though; that title belongs to Mt. Jaques-Cartier, at 1,270 m. This is the highest peak in all of Atlantic Canada, and the highest peak for 450 kilometers in all directions. I didn't go up that one because it was too expensive, but the view from that peak isn't nearly as good as that from Mt. Richardson. However, the glacial valley I saw when climbing Mt. Albert was also pretty unique.

Did you know that in that park, I had seen many great things that you will usually only ever see if you go north of the 55th parallel...
 * A caribou
 * Snowfields near the summits (and lots of snow in the fields)
 * Permafrost
 * The great boreal forest
 * Artic tundra
 * Rare plants

So, you could almost say that this trip was an excursion into the Far North. And, with an average yearly temperature of -4 degrees Celsius, the climate is very similar. Compare that to Halifax's yearly average temperature of 8 degrees Celsius.

Glflegolas (admin) Send a Messenger  23:05, July 10, 2015 (UTC)