1944-1945 Year Book - the Gatineau Valley Historical Society

Ottawa Ski Club Year Book 1944-45 61
Geographically speaking, the
G.atineau country extends as far
as the shores of the Ottawa
River; for all practical purposes
however, it ends or begins just
where the Pink Lake trail shoots
out of the bush, about a mile
and a half from the street car
terminus. The first part of that
last stretch is still pleasantly
rolling, Gatineau-like land ; the
rest. is flat, pancake-like, strongly
reminiscent of the endless
plains of Eastern Ontario across
the river.
Between the Wrightville car
line and the great ski centre of
Camp Fortune, a trail has been
gradually developed through
years of incessant work by ski
pioneers, attached or unattached
to a clu:b. This is the Wrightville
trail, the most useful perhaps,
and certainly · the most
abused of all our snow waysuseful
because it goes straight
home, whereas other trails wander
round in search of hills and
scenery, abused ibecause it includes
a few flat stretches, and
quite a few steep twisty descents
generally made fast and icy by
the passage of hundreds of
plank hoppers. Such as it is
however, the trail is a great
favourite with the more democratic
members of the ski fraternity.
the penniless and the
"autoless". It is also popular
with the energetic and tireless
because it gives them a chance
to let off steam and stretch their
legs to their heart's content before
getting home. The abuse
or criticism d'oes not come so
much from the old habitues who
Pink Lake
A new Ski Centre
have mastered the art of negotiating
turns and bumps and
can make good speed over flats,
but rather from green skiers,
or ski-tow addicts, who, having
outstayed their leave at Camp
Fortune and missed the return
bus, undertake for the first time,
and with legs already wobbling,
to cover this long stretch of
bush and clearings at the close
of the day.
It is indeed a fairly long
stretch, possilbly ten miles and
certainly not under· nine, made
up of a number of sections or
branches, each called a trail.
These paths were gradually developed
one by one, named as
they came into being, and later
connected to make the great
"Wrightville Trail". Starting
from the lodge of Camp Fortune,
they include the following:
The Lane, a steep grade connecting
with the Ridge Road;
George"s, from the Ridge to
Kingsmere Lake, a wicked little
trail, of bumpy disposition,
known from time immemorial
as the graveyard of poor skiers;
the Mica Mine Trail, from
Kingsmere Lake to Pink Lake
lodge, over MacKenzie King's
broad acres and four long,
smooth, . extremely "pleasant
slides. The last section, which
has been re-routed at various
times during the last fifteen
years until it now takes in all
the sloping ground that can be
found in that part of the country,
is the Pink Lake Trail; it
starts from the lodge, climbs a
bit at first then drops into the
bush by a series of tricky and