It was 3 degrees when I started out at 3:00. The snow was still very hard, at that hour, but not icy. Conditions were variable, from very good to stale and old. The Gatineau Parkway was in nice shape up to the Pink Lake drop-off, but I declined to check out why the green hazard sign was there. Presumably it was easier to place the sign there than to give it one more pass with the groomer. I started down the roadway to the trailhead of the Pink Lake trail, for a possible atmospheric photo but the snow was very old, overly hard-packed and stale. The downhill turn at Mica was in a similar state, leftover from several days ago, almost solid ice, with lots of nuts and berries embedded in it. At the start of the Champlain Parkway conditions inspired me to turn back. My wax had more or less worked on everything up to that point, but that shiny old stuff would have required something more serious, perhaps Ron's magic formula (or skate skis). By this point the skis had also collected an impressive assortment of seeds, leaves and bark. At www.musicianonskis.ca/blog there is one more photo.