5/21/26
A nice day for a stroll. The day led me to Oka park which is on the north side of Lake of Two Mountains in QC. A historical place adjacent to Kanesatake (Mohawk) community. The area is historically significant for the Oka crisis in '90 involving an armed standoff with Kanesatake resistance over ancestral land and burial grounds.
There are several trails to hike in Oka, i believe 18-20km of trails. A simple 4.7km trail was about right for me for the day as it included my son, daughter, wife, and friend from Germany...and my dog Dewayne. The family spent some time near the beach & boardwalk area of the park while Dewayne & I took to the trails for a little while.
The walk was pleasant with a nice reminder to embrace the peaceful forrest and landscapes!
Along the way about 2km in, we reached a junction when a moment of annoyance hit that briefly stripped away the peace... a city "detour" sign! "wtf is this horsesh*t!" as i broke the peaceful silence of the hiking hour, Dewayne stopped and looked up at me with a comical pitbull tilted head curious look. Ha, living in Montreal has created a disdain for construction signs as they appear spontaneously, routes change rapidly, and are a daily battle when trying to navigate a day traveling in the city because drivers on the road are the worst of the worst. Just when I thought i escaped it for a day, God tossed in his sense of humor for me. Did i just have a moment of road rage out on the trails? I laughed it off and continued.
As i continued, I got an even bigger laugh as that moment made me recall a time when my friend Craig and I were hiking back to our cars after a long exhausting hike in the Adirondacks years ago.... when we were in our ultimate end of hike "zen" mode. I was walking behind Craig and was using a walking stick (branch) for the hike... I tossed it into the woods in stride not thinking anything of it since i didnt need it anymore. When it struck the other sticks and leaves on the side of the trail, the noise startled Craig and he quickly lept into a "ready, set, fight the bear" stance! After the potential threat was resolved, we laughed out whatever energy we had left!
Going from ultimate peace mode to "wtf" in 0.2 seconds without warning keeps the heart strong!
A very nice day in nature enjoying the trails. I snapped a few photos of the day. Dewayne & I stopped for a quick self-timer photo... enjoy it in the photo section. I was humored by how proud Dewayne owned his pose and dominated the photo.
After the trails, we had the best smash burger i've ever had with a side of smoked paprika fries. and enjoyed conversation with the owner of Als Food Joint on Kanesatake Mohawk Territory, where we had our meal.
Enjoy & stay Gold!
Justin (& Dewayne)
A nice day for a stroll. The day led me to Oka park which is on the north side of Lake of Two Mountains in QC. A historical place adjacent to Kanesatake (Mohawk) community. The area is historically significant for the Oka crisis in '90 involving an armed standoff with Kanesatake resistance over ancestral land and burial grounds.
There are several trails to hike in Oka, i believe 18-20km of trails. A simple 4.7km trail was about right for me for the day as it included my son, daughter, wife, and friend from Germany...and my dog Dewayne. The family spent some time near the beach & boardwalk area of the park while Dewayne & I took to the trails for a little while.
The walk was pleasant with a nice reminder to embrace the peaceful forrest and landscapes!
Along the way about 2km in, we reached a junction when a moment of annoyance hit that briefly stripped away the peace... a city "detour" sign! "wtf is this horsesh*t!" as i broke the peaceful silence of the hiking hour, Dewayne stopped and looked up at me with a comical pitbull tilted head curious look. Ha, living in Montreal has created a disdain for construction signs as they appear spontaneously, routes change rapidly, and are a daily battle when trying to navigate a day traveling in the city because drivers on the road are the worst of the worst. Just when I thought i escaped it for a day, God tossed in his sense of humor for me. Did i just have a moment of road rage out on the trails? I laughed it off and continued.
As i continued, I got an even bigger laugh as that moment made me recall a time when my friend Craig and I were hiking back to our cars after a long exhausting hike in the Adirondacks years ago.... when we were in our ultimate end of hike "zen" mode. I was walking behind Craig and was using a walking stick (branch) for the hike... I tossed it into the woods in stride not thinking anything of it since i didnt need it anymore. When it struck the other sticks and leaves on the side of the trail, the noise startled Craig and he quickly lept into a "ready, set, fight the bear" stance! After the potential threat was resolved, we laughed out whatever energy we had left!
Going from ultimate peace mode to "wtf" in 0.2 seconds without warning keeps the heart strong!
A very nice day in nature enjoying the trails. I snapped a few photos of the day. Dewayne & I stopped for a quick self-timer photo... enjoy it in the photo section. I was humored by how proud Dewayne owned his pose and dominated the photo.
After the trails, we had the best smash burger i've ever had with a side of smoked paprika fries. and enjoyed conversation with the owner of Als Food Joint on Kanesatake Mohawk Territory, where we had our meal.
Enjoy & stay Gold!
Justin (& Dewayne)
