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Showing posts with label TONGUE_LE-4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TONGUE_LE-4. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Process: Contribute to the sladdakavring (LE-4)
Lac-à-l'Épaule: Substitute for Legault Lake Have you ever been to this waypoint? Have you been to another waypoint with the same name? Do you know this place by another name? Do you know of the history of the area? Do other bodies of water — ponds, streams, rivers, lakes — have meaning for you? Contribute to the virtual sladdakavring (Swedish for tongue rug). |
Lac-à-l'Épaule : substitut pour Lac Legault Avez-vous déjà visité ce lieu? Est-ce que vous connaissez ce toponyme par un autre nom? Vous en savez davantage à propos de l'histoire de la région? Est-ce que d'autres étendues d'eau — étangs, ruisseaux, rivières, lacs — ont une signification pour vous? Contribuez au sladdakavring virtuel (suédois pour tapis à langues). |
Tweet your story @tongue rug or fill out a short form! Tweetez votre histoire @tonguerug ou remplissez un formulaire! |
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
Process: Penage, Bear, Skimenac and Hüaonjacaronté
I enjoyed reading Sudbury, Rail Town to Regional Capital (Eds C.M. Walker and Ashley Thomson, 1993), a book which spans one hundred years: from the “muddy construction camp for the surveyors and labourers building the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883” to Sudbury’s rejuvenation in the 1980s having surpassed its reputation as a one-industry town. Matt Bray writes of the tense climate that could be felt in this mining town following WWI in the chapter entitled “1910 to 1920”: he describes events leading to a frayed relationship between the normally cooperative English and French communities. The xenophobic undercurrents that prevailed in the postwar era were probably at the root of a
“1919 [town] council decision to reinforce the British image of Sudbury by renaming a number of streets, especially those with German and other “unpronounceable” – mostly French – names; du Caillaud Street, for example, was changed to Howey Drive.” (90)
The name “du Caillaud” refered to Frédéric Romanet du Caillaud, a native of Limoges in France. A mining prospector who had made a series of visits to Sudbury in the early 1900s, Caillaud commissioned the construction of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes after his wife recovered from an illness in 1907. This memorial shrine is set on a rocky hill behind Van Horne Street with a 20-foot grotto nestling a 6 foot bronze statue of the Virgin Mary engraved with the inscription Regina Gallorum (Queen of the Gauls). This hundred-year-old shrine is still the site of pilgrimages and Marian gatherings today.
The practice of renaming streets often harbours a political bent. The rue de Caullaud/Howie Drive shift spoke of the antagonism that existed at that time between Sudbury’s two largest ethnic communities, the French Roman Catholics and the Protestant English elite.
I wonder if francophones still referred to the street between themselves as “du Caillaud” for a period of time after the official renaming? It was my interest in these often hidden stories that lie behind name changes — the palimpsest of placenames on maps through time — that led me to the creation of the Tongue Rug project. I was curious about how geographical markers can act as repositories for memory, carrying varied meanings and associations for different people.
I found one of the old paper forms that I had distributed during my earlier cycling trips:
With the Tongue Rug project, I researched topographical markers that bear my interwoven family names. I chose bodies of water as the main areas to explore because their interconnected, meandering structures can resemble family relationships. Like a lake forming from an undulating river, like a river running dry and cutting off from another body of water, family ties are never static and are constantly evolving.
I was also drawn to water because of the occasional discrepancy between official names of lakes on maps and the names given to these same lakes by local residents. Just like the name of a landmark can reflect local history the chronology of changes to this name can tell an even bigger story…
I did uncover a few alternate placenames: Penage, Bear, Skimenac and Hüaonjacaronté... A work-in-progress with the Twitter Tongues.
Panache – Penage (PA-1)
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The inspiration for this project had been the co-existing names for the same lake in Whitefish, Ontario: Panache and its anglicized equivalent Penage. I wondered if there was also an Ojibwa name for this body of water since a significant portion of Panache Lake lies within Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake First Nations).
An interesting aside: Atikameksheng Anishnawbek’s proposal entitled “G’Wiigwaamnaaniin”, which means “Our Homes”, was chosen to participate in the Holme’s Group pilot project “Building Homes and Building Skills” with project planning and development set to start this month.
Bauer – Bear (A-1)
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I have yet to document Bauer's Lake in Minburn County, Alberta, but it is most likely named after a family in the area, as there are a few businesses nearby with the same name such as Bauer Auto & Tire LTD. in Mannville. This body of water is also known as Bear Lake, either because there is a significant bear population in the area, or perhaps, because it is a phonetic equivalent to the German word “bauer” which means farmer.
Angers – Skimenac (A-11)
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Protected Planet touts itself as the new face of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). I was impressed with the interactive map and its database — its capacity for collaborative work. I found Angers River in their database because this salmon river had been designated as a protected area by the Québec Ministry of the Environment. While visiting the Cascapédia River Museum during my cycling trip in the Gaspésie, I had discovered that this waypoint was also referred to as “Anglers River” by sport fishermen and “Skimenac River” by the Mi’kmaq community. A provincial salmon fishing brochure also identifies Angers and Skimenac as the same body of water at the confluence of the Cascapédia River.
I wondered though at the spelling of “Skimenac” as I came across a Point Skimenack in New Brunswick (Eskumiinaak in Mi’kmaq) in the book List of Micmac Names of Places, Rivers, Etc., in Nova Scotia compiled by Elizabeth Frame, of Shubenacadie, for the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1892.
Is “Skimenac” or “Skimenack” then the anglicized versions of the Mi’kmaq word “Eskumunaak”? If so, does “Eskimunaak” bring up the Inuit practice of eating raw fish, keeping in mind that this is a salmon river?
In A First Reading Book in the Micmac Language by Silas T. Rand (1875), I also found mention of “Mount Scumunaak” (Eskumunaak). If “Scumunaak” is a version of “Eskumunaak”, then perhaps Skimenac river means “a watching place”? The French spelling (Pointe Escuminiac) would seem to follow this definition: a lookout point.
Lac-à-l'Épaule – Hüaonjacaronté (LE-4/LA-5)
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I had documented Lac-à-l'Épaule for its historical significance in terms of Québec's Révolution tranquille and because my two other waypoints were not accessible by bike: Legault Lake and Lapalme Lake in the Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Côte de Beaupré area. According to La toponymie des Hurons-Wendats report put out by the Commission de toponymie du Québec in 2001, the name “Hüaonjacaronté” was used to represent Lac-à-l'Épaule and the whole hydrographic basin surrounding it. This report underlines the importance of First Nations names in Quebec’s history as evidenced in placenames like Canada, Québec, Saguenay, Abitibi, Chicoutimi and Kamouraska which all date from the 17th and 18th centuries. Though the spelling may differ from the original names, many place names in Quebec (and Canada) still retain their Aboriginal roots.
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A second hand bookstore find (Illustrated Dictionary of Place Names: United States and Canada, ed. Kelsie B.Harder, 1976), shed light on the meaning of some of these placenames. “Kamouraska” stems from Algonquian and refers to the “rushes on the side of the river.” (266) Also from Algonquian is “Québec” (“where the river narrows”) referring to the geolographic location of Quebec City. The name Quebecq first appeared on Guillaume Levasseur’s map of 1601. (445) “Rimouski” is a Mi’kmaq term that probably means “where there are moose” (459) and Temiscamingue is the French spelling of the Algonquian “Timiskaming” which means “at the place of deep dry river.” (548)
As of yet, I have not found the meaning of the word “Hüaonjacaronté” which first appeared on a map drawn on a piece of birch bark by Chief Nicolas Vincent Tsawenhohi in 1829. The immense hunting territories of the Huron-Wendat people were drawn from memory and would later become known as the Vincent plan.
I'm hoping I may be able to get at some answers by writing a series of tweets with appropriate #hashtags. I will need to do some trend research beforehand.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Process LE-4: Contribute to the sladdakavring
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Stories / histoires: ...
Tweet your story @tonguerug or fill out a short form.
Envoyez un tweet à @tonguerug ou remplissez un court formulaire.
Tongue Rug: Legault Lake (LE-4)
Substitute: Lac-à-l’Épaule (Hüaonjacaronté)
Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Beaupré Coast, Quebec, CA (47.65N -71.7W)
I am interested in how placenames can change over time. How several names for the same body of water can co-exist: a waypoint can have an official name on a map but be referred to by another name in the community. How the meaning of a name can shift depending on the context. Have you visited this place? Do you know this waypoint by another name? Do you know of the history of the area? Do other bodies of water — ponds, streams, rivers, lakes — have meaning for you?
Tapis à langues : Lac Legault (LE-4)
Substitut : Lac-à-l’Épaule (Hüaonjacaronté)
Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Côte de Beaupré, Québec, CA (47.65 N -71.7 O)
Je suis intéressée par la façon dont les toponymes peuvent se transformer au fil du temps. Comment plusieurs noms pour un même corps d'eau peuvent co-exister : un toponyme a un nom officiel sur une carte, mais parfois ce même toponyme porte un autre nom dans la communauté même. Comment le sens d'un nom peut changer selon le contexte. Avez-vous déjà visité ce lieu? Est-ce que vous connaissez ce toponyme par un autre nom? Vous en savez davantage à propos de l'histoire de la région? Est-ce que d'autres étendues d'eau — étangs, ruisseaux, rivières, lacs — ont une signification pour vous?
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Process: Émile tongues
Poring over one of my topographical maps — 021M12 Lac St-Henri in the Baie-Saint-Paul region — I had noticed that two lakes from different bloodlines were situated in the same area: Lac Lapalme ( LA-5 ) and Lac Legault ( LE-4 ). I had nicknamed these waypoints the “Émile” tongues, as two historical figures in Quebec with these family names share a surname: Georges-Émile Lapalme and père Émile Legault.
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View Émile Tongues in a larger map |
Georges-Émile Lapalme (1907 - 1985) was a politician, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, and the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. He is often said to have been the thinker behind the Révolution tranquille, inspiring Jean Lesage with the electoral programme he wrote for the Liberal Party (Pour une politique) in 1958. It was because of G.E. Lapalme’s association with Lac-à-l'Épaule, that I substituted the more remote LA-5 and LE-4 waypoints with this lake.
Émile Legault (1906 - 1983) was a key figure of 20th century theatre as a playwright, stage director, professor and critic. Ordained as catholic priest in 1930, he founded a troupe of young actors in 1937, Les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent. The chapter on the early beginnings of the theatre troupe (1937-1952) in Hélène Jasmin’s Père Émile Legault : Homme de foi et de parole (2000) was a fascinating read. With few financial means and an overload of enthousiasm, all the actors in the troupe worked together towards a common goal, sharing administrative tasks and creating the decors and the costumes. Madame Dullin sewed the latter from burlap bags and a goat brought from the Savoie provided meager rations of milk and cheese to the troupe (7). For Legault, compagnonnage and anonymity went hand in hand, and was essential to preserving team spirit. Not one actor took the spotlight, as the roles were inter-changeable; the troupe members who did not have assigned roles learned each other’s lines to take on the role of souffleur (11). In the mid-forties, the actors lived in a commune for a short while in Vaudreuil in the area of les Chenaux, a small colony looking out on the Deux-Montagnes lake (24).
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Montagne du Père-Legault North-East of Mont-Laurier in Antoine-Labelle, nestled between Lac Placide and Lac Cadieu there is a mountain (400 m) named after Émile Legault. |
The section on Legault’s origins in Ville Saint-Laurent were also of interest, especially the paragraphs detailing the enterprising spirit of his father, Omer-Wilfrid Legault. At a time when business was down at the branch of the Ville-Marie bank that he managed, O.W. Legault, along with some friends, founded a manufacture in Joliette to transform cultivated tobacco. The manufacture supplied chewing tobacco to lumber camps and even went on to launch its own cigar brands: Le Pélican, Le Champagne and Le Blue Bonnets, (38) in reference perhaps to the Blue Bonnets Raceway. Georges-Émile Lapalme’s father, Euclide, was also a tobacco manufacturer in Saint-Esprit-de-Montcalm.
What interested me about O.W. Legault, was that he invented an English associate to attract a larger customer base: Legault & Thompson. This borrowed name helped him through difficult times, though the sudden rise in popularity of the cigarette around the world would soon decimate cigar sales. (39) What linked these two stories for me was the sense of mutability — inter-changeability and invention. As Émile Legault’s theatre troupe philosophy was centered on compagnonnage and anonymity, the various roles in the group could be freely interchanged. O.W. Legault not only borrowed a name for his business, he invented an associate who existed by name only.
As an adoptee born with another name (Monique Legault), I've always been intrigued by the ghost figure, how blood ties and kinship form families and create bonds. When one adopts a child, that child then adopts the adoptive family’s history as her own. If she does not know her own genealogical history, then this new history is indeed a substitution. If she does know details of her pre-adoption past, she simply adds the mix to the equation. A mash-up of family trees using the splice and tongue graft technique known in horticulture. Though I may share blood ties with the first Legault ancestor on Quebec soil, I also share kinship ties to the Lapalme family tree through the process of adoption.
This brings me to wonder, what is a name? Does our identity rest on a haphazard mixture of inherited values and created values? What is the role of invention in the ever-changing process of identity formation?
YouTube: LE-4
Lac-à-l'Épaule : Substitute for LE-4 ( map l path )
Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Beaupré Coast, Quebec, CA
Do you have a story about this placename?
Visit other placenames.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Path: LA-5, LE-4
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Day 1 – July 27, 2009
Rivière-à-Pierre to Fossambault-sur-le-lac
Woke up early to a rainy morning. Packed up my bike and headed down the Lachine canal to the VIA Rail station to catch the 8:30 train to Rivière-à-Pierre. Took off my front wheel and was able to stuff my bike and tent in the box they provided. The scenery was grey and gloomy, as it rained throughout the ride. Right before Rivière-à-Pierre a group of canoeists got on, smelling of campfire, looking ravenous and chilled to the bone. When I got off at the station, there were about six other cyclists ready to board. The rain had stopped but the air was heavy. The sun tried to pierce through the clouds, but just created a blanket of damp heat. My breathing was raspy, but as the first few kilometers of gravelly road passed through a forest, the air cooled a little. The trail was a little monotonous but at the same time, it gave me plenty of time to think as I just had to plod along in a straight line, brought out of my reverie by the occasional big dumb horsefly. Many doves of a brown-rose colour and the frequent cawing crow. Eventually fields appeared on either side and the sun peeped out. For the most part, I was on my own. I crossed only one other pair of cyclists and a few locals on the trail. I startled a calico cat who jumped and glided in the tall glasses as if it were a hare. I had to laugh out loud as it was so graceful in its fright. There was the occasional picnic table and portable toilet. I had enough snacks to tie me over. Passed the communities of Saint-Léonard, Saint-Raymond, Lac Sergent, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier and finally reached Fossambault-sur-le-Lac in the afternoon. I could have kept going, but it started down pouring, so I circled back and headed for the campground. I got soaked to the skin and had trouble finding my way as my maps got all wet and I had to turn off the GPS. Of course, as soon as I entered the campground, the rain stopped. Though I was grouchy, I was relieved that I would not have to pitch my tent in the rain. The annoying thing about cycling solo is not being able to share camping fees. It cost me $40.00 for a little damp square of earth. Not my idea of camping. It was the kind of campground where families go with their trailers and stay the whole summer. There was no privacy between the lots. I'm surprised I didn't hear anyone snoring. Was next to a family with a very noisy dog who whined and whimpered when left alone. Went to bed early and packed up early the next morning, anxious to get going.
Day 2 - July 28, 2009
Fossambault-sur-le-lac to parc de la Jacques-Cartier
Was on the Corridor des Cheminots, which leads to Quebec City, before I knew it. I didn’t have detailed maps so I was uncertain how I was going to get to the parc de la Jacques-Cartier, otherwise known as the parc des Laurentides. I stopped on the side of the road close to Wendake to pore over my maps. A cyclist stopped to see if I needed help, Andrée from Charlesbourg. A local, she knew all the routes and advised me not to take my planned route through Tewkesbury as it was extremely hilly. The smaller roads through Lac Saint Charles would be a better option. She was on her regular training route, but said if she had time she would circle back and ride with me. I turned onto Boulevard de la Colline and went and ate a late breakfast. I asked a rather handsome cop for more detailed instructions and he obligingly wrote down the route for me.
At Grande Ligne, I hesitated. The direction looked wrong as I referred to my GPS and map. I decided to go the other way. Thankfully, I ran into Andrée who was headed towards me from Charlesbourg. She laughingly informed me that I was heading towards Quebec City, not north and offered to ride along with me for a bit. She suggested we take a more scenic route turning right on Bellerive, left on Rivière Jaune then right on Éthier to join Boul. Talbot, which is the 175. There was a lot of traffic but it had a decent shoulder. It turned out to be a boiler of a day. We were both sweating profusely. We stopped at a gas station in the shade to look at my map. Andrée, perhaps hungry for a good ride, offered to go a little further as it was part of her regular training route and Stoneham promised nice climbs. (Or perhaps she was worried because I was on my own. Fair enough, anything can happen. Though I do spend a good amount of time planning my trips I do leave a lot of room for error, for whims, for encounters. And I can’t control traffic. That’s where I have to let go. I realize that part of this project is about letting myself be helped by people instead of always striving to be self-sufficient. Or appearing to be so… Embrace the vulnerability, allow the other to experience the small joy of helping another. It is another way of connecting, to ask for help.) She was much faster than I was. I am generally slow because of the asthma, but also because of the camping equipment. I am however a steady cyclist with good endurance. Stoneham was indeed a very quaint town. We stopped at the 175 junction and chatted before parting ways. She told me about her recent trips with Vélo Québec and some of the trips she did overseas with her partner. She even gave me her phone number and told me to call her if I needed anything at the park. Truly a very kind person. She did me a great service, probably saving me hours of cycling. I slathered on the sunscreen before steadying myself for an uphill climb. Insane traffic whizzing by, but the shoulder was generous enough. I reached the park entrance only to find out I had another 10 km to go before I got to reception – with some wicked hills. The scenery as I entered the Jacques-Cartier valley was breathtaking. It felt so green and clean compared to the aggressive highway traffic.
I had registered online for my campsite – le Grand Duc — so I simply had to sign in. I decided to treat myself and dug out my quarters to take a hot shower, wiping the layer of dead bugs stuck to my legs. It was another 5 km to my campsite, following the Sautauriski river. I was delighted with the site, surrounded by evergreens and mossy areas with the river babbling in the background. They even delivered a bag of wood for the campfire. I pitched my tent and cycled back to the registration area to pick up my cell (which they agreed to recharge for me) and eat supper. I did not have room on my bike to bring cooking equipment and so I settled for a sandwich at the cantine. Back at my site, I started a fire and read, but after about 20 minutes of contentment, it started raining hard. I had to retire to my tent. I tried to read as late as I could so that I was not wide awake at 3:00 AM, but finally dozed off around 10:00. I knew I had a rough ride the next morning so I needed to rest up. At one point in the night, I woke up. My tent kept flashing white. I was so sleepy, I thought it was fireflies at first until I heard the sky cracking. Eventually the rain came down like nails and I realized that there was a thunderstorm directly overhead. Alone in my tent, I'll admit that I was scared. There was another group of campers in the next lot, so I was not completely on my own. It was more of an existential aloneness in that I felt small and vulnerable in my flimsy shelter. There was nothing I could do if a lightening bolt were to strike me. I felt like a petrified little rabbit as I froze and adopted the fetal position. I just had to wait it out for what seemed like hours. I admit to mouthing a continuous plea to the heavens. People say that there is very little chance to be struck by lightning, but it is an irrational, animal fear that takes over. I always think of my mortality in thunderstorms and in planes — situations where I have little control. After it died down, I slept in until 8:30 AM, exhausted.
Day 3 - July 29, 2009
Secteur de la vallée to secteur Lac-à-l’Épaule return
The next morning it was muggy and the air was heavy with the threat of rain. I was wheezing more than usual going uphill. I was apprehensive about my ride to Lac-à-l’Épaule. Lac Lapalme (LA-5) and Lac Legault (LE-4) while in proximity of each other, were simply too remote to attempt cycling there alone. Lac-à-l’Épaule was chosen as a substitute, not only for its proximity to the other waypoints, but for its historical significance. While political figures like Churchill, Roosevelt and de Gaulle had all met at the remote fishing camp bordering Lac-à-l’Épaule at one time, Georges-Émile Lapalme had also been a visitor. On the 4th and 5th of September 1962, he met with Prime Minister of Québec, Jean Lesage, and other cabinet ministers including René Lévesque to discuss whether they should launch an election on the theme of the nationalization of Hydro Québec. The expression “tenir un lac-à-l’épaule” stemmed from this historic meeting. This idea of gathering in a remote outdoors setting to discuss issues, to defend views and possibly come to a compromise, appealed to me considering the symbolism of the coordinates of the LA-5 and LE-4 waypoints. The Lac-à-l'Épaule area also has historical value for Aboriginal people. In the 17th century, Jesuits followed a "montagnais" trail from Lac-à-l’Épaule to the lac Saint-Jean area1. (The Montagnais-Naskapi tribes now call themselves the Innu nation. "Montagnais" is a french term meaning "mountain people" while "Innu" means "people"2.) In terms of mapmaking, the Huron-Wendat chief Nicholas Vincent Tsawanhonhi (1769-1844), whose name means "he who sees clearly"3, described this lake as "Hüaonjacaronté" on a map in 1829 that is known as the "Vincent plan". This lake warrants more research has there is probably a rich history that I've only touched upon.
I had to ride a good 10 km just to get out of the park and another 20 km uphill on the 175, which leads all the way to Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. The good thing is that I did not have all my camping equipment with me, so my load was a little lighter for what would be a 437 metre climb: from 277 to 714 metres. Riding alongside a continuous flow of transports, trucks and campers, all going extremely fast, was stressful — this despite a fairly wide shoulder. At those speeds, you never know what could happen. My nerves were on edge from the constant noise. The last 10 km climb was made further difficult by construction, as they were widening the highway. The three lanes converged to two, with room for a shoulder on only one side. I followed the same strategy while on my trip in the Gaspésie. Whenever I saw a transport truck coming towards me, I would get off the road onto the gravel. That way if a transport was coming up behind me, there was less chance of an accident. Overall, vehicles tried to give me space when they could, but there was simply not enough room for two transports and a cyclist. When I arrived at the accueil Mercier, I was somewhat shaken and relieved to be off the highway. Unfortunately, the lake was on the other side. I told the park worker about my project and he suggested a spot where I could get a good shot of the lake. He also advised me not to take the mountain bike path back to the campground when I inquired about it. It was a good 17 km away through rugged terrain and I only had a hybrid bike. Plus it would be foolhardy to go alone. I stocked up on water and bought sunglasses as I had lost the nose attachment to my old ones. Though it was cloudy, my face was sore from squinting. An interesting detail. On a portion of the road on each side of the highway was a tubular metal bridge that was difficult to cross on my bike. I assume that it is a bridge designed to stop animal traffic as I could not imagine a moose navigating the tubes. On the highway island, I woke up a man who was lying across his quad. I wanted directions, but I also wanted to make sure he was ok. I spoke French but quickly switched to English. I think he was American. I thought it a strange place to catch a nap. I first went to the Pavillion du lac-à-l’Épaule — the historic fishing lodge? Unfortunately, I was unable to walk around as a group had already booked the lodge according to the park worker who came to greet me. She also suggested I go a bit further to the “effluves”. I assumed this word meant falls as I found a cascading waterfall. But when I looked the noun up later, I was surprised to see that it meant exhalation, breath. “Émanation qui s’exhale d’un corps organisé” — Dictionnaire encyclopédique de la langue française. I probably did not hear her well. Perhaps she mean “l’effluent du lac”? And yet, the exhalation of the lake is more poetic. It was a nice vantage point as from that angle, the lake seemed to float in midair, contained by a barrage of rocks, with the waterfall running under the bridge I was standing on to become the Lac-à-l’Épaule river. This waterway feeds back into the Jacques-Cartier river, at the foot of l’Épaule mountain. There was a small cabin nearby with a panel explaining that salmon eggs were being cultivated inside and that the saumoneau would be released back into the river. (The park has a tiny museum display where I learned that in the beginning of the 19th century, the Jacques-Cartier river had been depleted of its salmon stocks and the caribou had also been over hunted.)
I decided to take the same shoulder on my way back so that I was facing traffic. It felt safer to see the oncoming vehicles, and there was simply no shoulder on the right hand side. I used caution though veering off into the gravel when anything large came my way. As it was all downhill, I was soon out of the construction zone and on the right side of the road. All was going well when a freak thunderstorm hit. Barely had enough time to put on a windbreaker. Thankful I had bought the sunglasses as they stopped the water streaming down my face from washing away my lenses. The rain was pelting the pavement and despite the poor visibility, the traffic did not slow down. Felt exposed to the whims of the sky and traffic. On one steep climb, I thought it safer to walk my bike. I wasn’t sure what the best course of action was: to stop and hide, or to try and out race the storm? Gradually the rain lessened and the sun even peeped its way out. As I entered the park, I biked those last kilometers at a snail’s pace, my muscles burnt from that intense climb. Though I was soaked to the skin, I was content to take in the park’s scenery and simply breathe in the clean, crisp air that follows rainfall. I met another camper back at the site, Ronald Oosting from the Netherlands, on a visit from New York. He was also an artist, specializing in figurative wood carvings. We were banned to our respective pup tents for a good two hours by the heavy rain, but when I emerged he very kindly shared his piping hot supper. We enjoyed the campfire and traded tales until the next rain fall. Though it was a grueling ride, I’m glad that I was able to document Lac-à-l’Épaule. Seeing how remote it was, I realize I have to let go of cycling to the LA-5 and LE-4 waypoints in the Réserve faunique des Laurentides. A future hiking and camping trip perhaps, as there is a cabin nearby on Lac-Henri-Mercier. It’s too bad because I was 29 km away from the Secteur Jumeau entrance, and from there it was only another 115 km to Chicoutimi. My A-6 waypoint, close to Mont-Apica, will probably have to be left to the imagination.
Day 4 - July 30, 2009
Parc de la Jacques-Cartier to Neuville
Packed up my tent, and was at the cantine by 7:30 looking forward to a hot coffee before I set off. Unfortunately, it was not open so I hastily munched on my remaining rations: a granola bar, a stick of cheese and some prunes. As the 175 was all downhill, I was at the Stoneham junction before I knew it. Decided to keep going but quickly discovered why Andrée had suggested the alternate route. Cyclist are not allowed beyond the intersection of the 73 and the 371, which leads to Tewkesbury. I had to backtrack, and turned left on Crawford which I was relieved to see brought me to 1st avenue and then on chemin de l’Hibou through the village. I decided to go straight towards Lac Delage. What I failed to realize was that Grande Ligne was also on the other side of the lake. I had to circle back once again. In Lac Saint Charles I went the wrong way again. I wasn't thinking clearly as the sun was intense and I was getting hungry. By the time I stopped to eat, I was surprised to see that I had already cycled 55 km. Once outside the park, a sign said that Quebec City was 40 km away. Of course, I was on small backroads and kept getting lost. The Corridor des Cheminots used to be an old railroad, passing mostly through suburbs. Nearing the end I chatted with Bernard, a friendly fellow who I was surprised to see cycling while wearing a speedo — wouldn't that be uncomfortable? He offered to show me a shortcut to the port area as he too needed to visit a cycling shop. I tried to buy the nosepiece to my sunglasses, but they did not have them in stock. He offered me his own as we had the same glasses. He knew of a sports warehouse. It was very sweet of him as I had not had much luck in the past with spare parts. This trip was truly a mix of grueling rides and kind people.
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Neuville |
Setting out towards Montreal, I enjoyed the new Littoral trail bordering the Saint-Laurent. Unfortunately, it stopped abruptly at Sainte-Foy. I asked a few people for directions: crossed the parking lot, up Ross, left on Saint-Louis, followed a Chemin du Roy sign… and promptly got lost, cycling around in circles. It was my fault for not having detailed, recent maps. I eventually got back to the 138 and decided to call it a day in Neuville. I found a B&B on the main drag and happily soaked in the view of the Saint-Laurent from a garden swing.
Day 5 - July 31, 2009
Neuville – Trois-Rivières
The next morning, I admired the pretty houses in Cap Santé and stopped to eat my lunch in Deschambault at an old fashioned country store. Bought some goatmilk soap close to Grondines and talked to another cyclist going the opposite way. We both remarked that there were very little cyclists on the roads. I knew I had a lot of ground to cover, so I did not stop much except to photograph the occasional church steeple or Croix de chemin. It was a flat route but I had a head wind. Near the end of the day, I made my way to the old section of Trois-Rivières, crossing the rivière Saint-Maurice. I was so struck by the architecture – the Couvent des Urselines especially – that I decided to stop at a B&B instead of continuing on ahead like I had planned. A good choice as Trois-Rivières was celebrating its 375e anniversary and the streets were animated with people strolling about. The terrasses were full and street performers were on every corner. At night fall, on the Rue des Ursulines, I watched “Parade Issimo” by Les Sages Fous which featured big mechanized bird puppets, a hit with the kids. Then the more sober “Stones” by the Orto-Da Theatre Group from Tel Aviv, Israel. It was all very well planned: the first performance more ambulant with the kids following the puppeteers like the Pied Piper, while the second one provided little stools for its audience. The historical setting added to the magical quality of the night.
Day 6 – August 1, 2009
Trois-Rivières – Montréal
The next day was very hot and I was exposed to the sun on treeless country roads (rangs) surrounded by fields in Maskinongé, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Viateur — away from bathroom facilities and food amenities. My GPS turned off right before Louiseville, so I lost track of perhaps 15 km? I ate in the late afternoon at a cantine outside of Saint-Sulpice and had a nice chat with the owners. I admitted that I was already very tired. If I took the 138, it was more straightforward, but with lots of traffic. As they told me that L’Assomption was quite pretty, I decided to take the Route Verte, not fully realizing how many km it would add to my day. My route turned out to be a real labyrinth: I got lost in L'Assomption then in Charlemagne trying to find the bridge to Repentigny. One person gave me directions in one way and another sent me back to the same spot where I first asked for directions, by the Céline Dion globe. I eventually got onto the island, but it was the night of the Francofolies and the fireworks competition so the trails on the east end were congested. I had to walk my bike though the old port. I just wanted to be home and take a long bath. I finally relaxed once I was on the Lachine canal as it is so familiar, I can ride it in my sleep. I inched along at a turtle’s pace, my behind and knees sore, finally getting home at 9:30. I had never done such a long day before — about 175 km. But it was worth it to see the Chemin du Roy and all the historical stopovers on the way.
Day 1 – July 27, 2009 (Rivière-à-Pierre to Fossambault-sur-le-lac)
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
8:30 |
Montreal Rivière-à-Pierre |
|||||
| Depart: 1:30 Arrive: 5:00? |
Fossambault-sur-le-lac Stopped GPS because of rain |
58.8 km | 3:24 | 27 min | 110k/h? | 17.2k/h |
Day 2 - July 28, 2009 (Fossambault-sur-le-lac to parc Jacques-Cartier)
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 8:20 Stop: 10:30 |
Lac Saint-Charles N 46°53'331" W 71°22'282" |
32.6 km | 1:49 | 37 min | 36.7k/h | 17.9k/h |
| Arrive: 2:00 |
Parc Jacques-Cartier N 47°10'508" W 71°22'175" (264 m) |
51.1 km GPS battery ran out around Stoneham |
2:47 | 1:04 | 49.9k/h | 18.3k/h |
Day 3 - July 29, 2009 (Secteur de la vallée to secteur Lac-à-l’Épaule return)
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 10:20 Stop: 12:35 |
Secteur Lac-à-l’Épaule N 47°14'292" W 71°14'807" (714 m) |
30.6 km | 2:05 | 10 min | 45.3k/h | 14.7k/h |
| Depart: 12:50 Arrive: 1:08 |
Bridge by Salmon Nursery, Lac-à-l’Épaule N 47°14'191" W 71°15'095" (655 m) |
|||||
| Depart: 1:18 Arrive: 3:15 |
Reception, secteur Vallée N 47°10'508" W 71°22'175" (277 m) |
65.9 km | 3:50 | 29 min | 123 k/h? | 16k/h |
Day 4 - July 30, 2009 (Parc Jacques-Cartier to Neuville)
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 7:45 Stop: 9:15 |
Stoneham |
28.1 km | 1:19 | 10 min | 106 k/h? | 21.2k/h |
| Stop: 10:55 |
Lac Saint-Charles N 46°53'331" W 71°22'282" |
56.7 km | 2:50 | 19 min | 20 k/h | |
| Stop: 12:30 Stopped: 30 min Leave: 1:25 |
Quebec City Port N 46°49'095" W 71°12'036" (12 m) |
74.6 km | 3:42 | 30 min | 20.1 k/h | |
| Stop: 2:25 |
End of Littoral N 46°45'832" W 71°16'701" |
|||||
| Stop: 4:30 |
Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures | 112 km | 6:12 | 1:09 | 150 k/h? | 18 k/h |
| Arrive: 5:00 |
Neuville N 46°41’864" W 71°34'631" (9 m) |
119 km | 6:37 | 1:11 | 17.9 k/h |
Day 5 - July 31, 2009 (Neuville – Trois-Rivières)
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 8:55 Stop: 11:25 |
Deschambault N 46°38'919" W 71°55'721" |
37.8 km | 2:11 | 13:37 | 326 k/h? | 17.2k/h |
| Depart: 12:00 Stop: 3:45 |
Notre-Dame-de-la-rive (outside Trois-Rivières) N 46°23'773" W 72°26'925" |
95.1 km | 5:23 | 44 min | 17.6k/h | |
| Depart: 4:00 Stop: 5:15 |
Trois-Rivières |
110 km | 6:19 | 1:03 | 17.4k/h |
Day 6 – August 1, 2009 (Trois-Rivières – Montréal)
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 8:30 Stop: 10:50 |
Louiseville N 46°15'356" W 72°56'454" |
20 km? GPS stopped – lost 15 km? |
55 min | 20 min | 183 k/h? | 21.7k/h |
| Depart: 11:25 Stop: 12:30 |
Saint-Barthélemy N 46°11'508" W 73°07'580" |
39.8 km? | 2:00 | 27 min | 21.7k/h | |
| Stop: 2:00 |
Bethierville Public bathroom in park facing church |
58.1 km? | 3:05 | 41 min | 18.8 k/h | |
| Stop: 4:00 |
Cantine outside of Saint-Sulpice | 89.2 km? | 4:49 | 55 min | 18.8 k/h | |
| Depart: 4:40 Stop: 7:10 |
Got lost in Charlemagne. Eastern tip of Montreal Island |
128 km? | 7:06 | 1:15 | 18.0 k/h | |
| Arrive: 9:30 |
Ville Émard | 163 km? 163 km + 12 km (Louiseville) = 175 km |
9:29 | 1:25 | 17.2 k/h |
Progress: July 27 - August 1, 2009
Traveled to and documented: Lac-à-l'Épaule, (Parc Jacques-Cartier, Quebec, CA). LA-5 Lac Lapalme and LE-4 Lac Legault (Laurentians Fauna Reserve, La Loutre - Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Beaupré Coast, Quebec, CA) were too remote to travel to by bike.
Lac-à-l'Épaule : Substitute for LA-5 ( map l path )
Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Beaupré Coast, Quebec, CA
Do you have a story about this placename?
Visit other placenames.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Process: Legault/Legnault
In a previous posting, I had noticed that the three different family placenames seemed to either bunch together or trace migration paths. For instance, in the Outaouais region, there are many Legault placenames that follow the Ottawa River: Legault Stream/Ruisseau Legault in the Lachute area ( LE-9 ), Legault Point/Pointe à Legault in the Hawkesbury area ( LE-6 ), and Legault Waterway/Cours d'eau Legault, Legault Peninsula/Presqu'Île des Legault and Legault Stream/Ruisseau Legault in the Thurso area ( LE-1 LE-8 LE-10 ).
In the Gaspé region, Angers River/Rivière Angers and Angers River South/Rivière Angers sud are found in the Sunny-Bank area ( A-11 A-13 ), while in the Matane region, A-11 continues and an Angers bridge is located in the St-Jean-Baptiste-Vianney area ( A-10 ).
Only one map, from the twenty odd topographical maps (1:50000) I researched, documents bodies of water from different bloodlines — 021M12 Lac St-Henri in the Baie-Saint-Paul region. Using a placename database, I had located two lakes in that area: Legault ( LE-4 ) and Lapalme ( LA-5 ). Yet, when I looked at the actual topographic map, Legault was mispelled as Legnault. Lac Lapalme, tiny in the vast network of waterways, was within 2000 metres from the Legault waypoint, a tear-shaped body of water.
I'm pleased to have found one map that has two lakes in close proximity because I have always likened interconnected waterways — which join and separate through time — to kinship and bloodlines. The location of these two lakes in a geographical manner, is akin to a genealogical manner of interpreting the map. It is a visual reminder of the close proximity of my two families, as my adoptive parents lived twenty minutes away from my birthmother when I was growing up. The probability of our paths crossing, perhaps unknowingly, was high because we lived in close vicinity. This fed my interest in synchronicity and the chance encounter à la Breton. The two lakes (Lapalme/Legault) also have further meaning for me as an adoptee who has reunited with my birthmother; it serves as an example that the two lakes/families can coexist in the same space — not so much "either/or", as much as "and/with".
I am interested in documenting the different kinds of maps and orderings that mark a place — whether it be official (Canadian Topo map), virtual (Google, Mapquest, Bikely), or ephemeral (sketches from memory, imagined maps). This Legault/Legnault map is obviously a personal map for me, and yet just one of the many possibilities that exist for the same place dependent on the person.
I am aware that I search for meaning in my fortuitous encounters during my travels, that each small discovery on a map is heightened by my own expectations. Mapping out a project which sometimes deals with the personal, I am unable to hide my own motives or desires. I can only state them and keep working, hoping that the particular still resonates for a wide audience through universal themes like family, memory, language, place and time.
Thursday, March 28, 2002
Map: Legault Lake / Lac Legault ( LE-4 )
Legault Lake / Lac Legault
Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Beaupré Coast, Quebec, CA
47.65N -71.7W
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View Tongue LE-4 in a larger map |
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