On a fine June morning John and I decided to drive to Val David and take a little hike in Parc Dufresne.
Upon arrival at the park's visitor center, we were greeted enthusiastically by helpful staff. Why are employees of National or Provincial Parks always so friendly? Well, first of all they are Canadian, of course. But I guess they also really love their job!

After picking out a slightly challenging trail, we made off to visit two areas that were littered with boulders, remnants of the last ice age. Curiously, the boulders in the first area had male names, while the ones in the second appeared to be female. Try as hard as we might, we did not succeed in guessing what might determine the sex of a boulder.

As we went on through the woods, the day grew hotter and hotter. Mosquitoes soon discovered their appreciation for our blood as a food source. We decided to escape both the heat and the bugs by bushwacking to a nearby lake and taking a quick dip. How disappointed we were to discover that the lake was pretty boggy and filled with dead trees. Swimming was clearly not recommended.

We trudged on through the heat and the relentless bsssssssst of our flying fans. When we reached a peak, a roll of thunder and the first heavy drops indicated a near thunderstorm. Our prayers for water and refreshment had been answered, but a little differently than originally intended.

Not wanting to be caught by the thunderstorm at the top of a mountain, we increased our speed and almost ran down the trail that by now had turned into a muddy river. Within minutes we were soaked. At some point I was completely wet through and through, and gave up running. We reached the visitor's center at a smart pace. A group of dry rock climbers greeted us with encouraging phrases along the lines of 'A bit rainy out there, is it?'. We retreated into the bathrooms and changed into whatever dry-ish clothes we could find in our packs. Ironically, that meant my swim suit and towel for me.

On the drive back I had to face much ridicule from John for my towel-skirt outfit. Lucky guy - his swim shorts looked like ordinary shorts, and he had a dry T-Shirt, too. I therefore declined his request to walk into a Tim Horton's and get him a cup of coffee. What are drive-thrus for, ey?