Commuted to Lac Philippe (via #51 & #53) from P17 to do the #55 loop around Taylor Lake. Conditions were just as good as yesterday. If the conditions are the same next Saturday the Gatineau Loppet 51 km classic race should be a blast. It looks like the turn from #51 to #50 will be quite interesting - it appears that the course will go straight from #51 into the rock cut on #50 (with snow buildup to fill in the mini-cliff) with a sharp left turn before the racers hit the rock wall on the other side. The Canadian Ski Marathon must have had the best conditions ever.

I met the Brown Lake Express again - on #51. Even though the snowmobiles affect the ski surface they are helping to improve the ski experience - e.g., the ski patrol and the people who are doing maintenance on inaccessible shelters like Herridge, Huron, Western, McKinstry etc. If there are accessible shelters like Brown Cabin and the Lac Richard yurt they should initially be accessed by truck bypassing the ski trails. We have the ridiculous situation where excellent grooming is put down on #51, #53, and #52 only to have the Brown Lake Express to come along, after, to affect that grooming when there are alternatives.