The hike more popular than ever

Deprived of many activities by the pandemic, Quebecers have rushed more than ever on the hiking trails of the province, notes Rando Quebec.

“As everyone has seen, there are more and more hiking enthusiasts. We can assess 30 to 50% more practice this summer, “confirmed the deputy director of the organization, Grégory Flayol, in an interview with” Quebec Matin “at LCN on Sunday.

Up to 120,000 people in search of a little greenery and eager to loosen their legs have set foot on the hiking trails each month. “The season is not over, so we do not have the exact figures, but it is certain that there have been many, many people and new practitioners,” said Mr. Flayol.

Such enthusiasm is not without causing some problems, especially on the most famous and popular trails, where traffic results in accumulations of waste on the trails and the surrounding area. Some organizations are also ill-equipped to receive a large influx of visitors.

“It will necessarily be necessary to invest heavily in reception facilities and trails. […] We are pretty sure that the number of outdoor enthusiasts will increase further in the coming months and during the next season, ”said the hiking specialist.

Better educating new hikers is also a challenge. “We have a lot of new hikers who are quite removed from the outdoor world and who sometimes do not have the right preparation, who may not be making the right choices regarding their safety,” noted M Flayol.

Quebecers looking for a new trail to discover are invited to consult the baliseqc.ca site, which lists hundreds of hiking spots.

“That’s what we would say to people. Do not go to places where everyone is going because there is already too much traffic. If we manage to distribute ourselves correctly over the territory by going to visit other places of practice than the best known, it will reduce the stakes linked to too large a number of practitioners, ”argued Grégory Flayol.