My original plan for day 2 had been to climb up Lakeview Mountain and then hike out of the park. I felt physically able to do this, but the thing that ended up changing my plan was how tired I was. Doing close to 30 km of hiking on absolutely no sleep had really taken a toll. I woke up at 5 am, but I really didn't feel like getting up, so I slept in until 7. I realized my original plan wouldn't work now, so I opted to hike the Diamond Trail around Scout Mountain, then hike out of the park.
I might have slept in a bit longer, but right around 7 I saw a couple of goats wandering through my campsite, and they seemed quite interested in my tent. I heard that they could be a bit of a nuisance, so I decided not to give them a chance to try to get into my tent.
It took me a while to pack everything up, but I was starting around 8 or so, which is what I had been hoping for.
The trail from Lake of the Woods to Quiniscoe Lake was pretty easy. I refilled my water at Quiniscoe and headed up the Lakeview Trail.
On the Lakeview Trail again |
The climb up was strenuous, but fortunately it wasn't too long. It didn't take more then a few minutes before I was rewarded with some nice views of the park.
Looking back down at Quiniscoe Lake |
The top of the climb |
On top of the plateau |
The trail did a short descent where the Centennial Trail split off. It then worked its way along the backside of Scout Mountain. There was one little field of rocks that I had to be careful going over, but otherwise the hike was relatively easy.
Looking back at Scout Mountain |
The trail joins the Lakeview Trail again |
I eventually finished the trail and got back to my Jeep. It had taken me a touch over 4 hours to hike down it, but it actually felt harder on the way down than on the way up.
Approaching Noisy Creek on the Lakeview Trail |
I don't actually regret hiking into the park and will probably do it again next time, though I think I'll try one of the other trails into the park. I heard a lot of good things about the trail from Wall Creek.
I returned to Princeton exhausted, but my traditional post-hike milkshake made me feel better.
You can find more information about Cathedral Provincial Park here.
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