SEK TRAVELS

Sitting at 233m tall, Mount Royal, Montreal’s hill in the centre of the city, is an inevitable pilgrimage for anyone visiting the metropolis. An iconic city symbol, it was from the top of its peak that explorer Jacques Cartier gave the hill its name and ultimately christened the city down below.

First visiting the city over 7 years ago, I must admit, albeit rather reluctantly, that I was very dismissive of doing a central city climb. After all, back then, I couldn’t really see the point of going all the way up for what, in my view, would’ve been a sea of boring trees. However, being given a second chance to pick up where I left off with my recent stint in Quebec, I decided it was high time to check out what I was missing.

Staying just north of the park, I ended up coming at it from the Mile End side of town. An area worth an article in its own right, the meander down through verdant boulevards, twisting iron staircases and early 20th-century treasures offered a refreshing perspective on a city filled with such a rich mosaic of cultural and national identities. As a result, the 30-minute march flew by, and it wasn’t long before the north side of the park finally came into view.

Marked by the distant outline of Drapeau’s futuristic 70s vision for an olympic stadium, the north side of Mount Royal greets its visitors with a rather pleasant picnic area. On a hot, sunny day, tourists, university students, and residents alike can be found relaxing under the shade of the hill’s first vertical ascent. Most people, myself included, wouldn’t be stopping here for a nice chance to catch some rays and would instead be making our journey into the trees along the Olmstead Trail.

For the most part, this side of the trail was made for an easy walking experience. The well-highlighted path, blanketed by a canopy of maple, oak and ash, saw a slew of both young and old exploring the confines of this wooded paradise. Unfortunately, as with any hill or mountain, there is an eventual need to venture upwards to reach the peak. On this particular trail, this gave parkgoers two options: a long, less-intense loop towards the top or a shorter, heart-pumping experience climbing the Royal Staircase’s more than 500 stairs. Obviously, I chose the latter.

Without context, five-hundred doesn’t seem like that big of a number, and yet, if you put that number against the phrase ‘stairs to climb’, it all of a sudden starts to feel more like 5000. For the first hundred, everything was hunky-dory. You could see those struggling above from down below, but I had convinced myself that it couldn’t possibly happen to me. I’m a young man, after all; surely there’s plenty of energy bounding around for a task like this… However, it wasn’t long before I was proven wrong, and by step 500, you better believe that every breath through my lungs were like red-hot pokers and I’d managed to develop a rainforest’s worth of sweat by the time I’d reached the Kondiaronk Belvedere. All that burn, pain and puddles of sweat, though, quickly melted away as soon as I saw the rays of sunlight bounce off Downtown Montreal’s glass cathedrals.

Standing at the edge of the viewpoint is something truly special, as your eyes are overloaded by the cacophony of towering skyscrapers and Montreal’s monuments. On one side sits the Jacques Cartier Bridge, an iron behemoth of a cantilever that hosts over 35 million cars and trucks annually. On the other, Vieux Lachine and its canal, which forms part of the region’s most important waterway system. Closer to home, however, is the mural dedicated to the memory of Leonard Cohen. A larger-than-life artistic rendering, it pays homage to one of Montreal’s most talented residents.

Finishing taking my breath back, there was just enough time to stop for a quick drink at Mount Royal’s Chalet. A large, cavernous hall, it has nothing of note within its four walls at first glance beyond the odd spot of people watching. However, it was when I sat down for a quick rest that I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was the one being watched. Imagine my surprise when, looking down at me, I saw a cheeky little squirrel staring me down. Loveingly nicknamed ‘squirrelgoyles’, these wooden guardians of the hill hang within the rafters. Each clutching the spoils of a good forage, there are apparently 32 to find hanging above your head.

Heading back after my furry encounter, I was glad to have finally made my Montreal pilgrimage.