Mont Ham – Exploring the Twin Peaks of the Eastern Townships
From far in the distance, Mount Ham cuts an impressive figure. The strange hump among the flat rural Quebec landscape looks like a hunchback whale washed up on shore. This solitary rock makes for a great first glance at the Eastern Townships.
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Geography
Part of the northern range of the Appalachian Mountain chain, a series of weathered peaks known for their round tops, Mt. Ham lies at an elevation of 713 metres (2,339 ft) above sea level. To climb up it, one must navigate a fairly steep climb of nearly 400 meters.
Arrival at Mount Ham
At the base of the peak you will find several parking lots and a facility where you will be able to buy your tickets to the site as well as buy a host of goods. You can also buy your tickets online. For general information about the host of activities hosted at the mountain, you can find information at the websites below (in French and in English).
Parc régional du Mont-Ham – 360 degrés de découvertes! (montham.ca)
English – Parc régional du Mont-Ham (montham.ca)
Parking
There are large gravel parking lots across from the visitors center serving as overflow for the small lot located directly in front of the center itself.
Activities
You can obviously hike Mt Ham but mmong the things you can do here are cross country skiing and snowshoeing in winter, camping and disk golf in summer.
There is also indigenous artwork and tepees on site. At certain times of year it is also possible to camp on the summit.
Mount Ham Trails
There are 18 kilometers of trains at Mount Ham, with varying levels of difficulty and steepness to reach the mountain summit. For a long slow climb take the “Panoramic” trail for a long slow climb the “Intrepide” for a quick, but steep, ride up.
Hiking Mount Ham
As previously mentioned the mountain is a hump in the landscape, the early trail will of course be flat. You will soon begin to climb however, on the harder trails you will even have to scale short rock sections. The colours on the lower part of the mountain are magnificent in fall.
Once you near the top of the mountain the trees will give way to a view of the countryside below as well as as more coniferous trees, rather then deciduous trees such as maples and birches.
Petit Ham (South Peak)
Here you will find two peaks divided by a tree filled valley. The first picture is from the first peak, the one to the south, where a modern first nations statue now stands
The second picture is of the statue itself, a woman made of a stange combination of stone and metal.
The southern views of the Vermont foothills from here are pretty but lesser then the ones on the northern peak.
From the peak you will be able to see the north peak in the distance with its distinctive cross.
Gros Ham (North Peak)
The north peak is separated from its southern counterpart by a small valley.
To reach it, a path down the rock escarpment and back up has been carved. The peaks are approximately 450 meters from each other are a short and easy walk, even with the stone walls.
Once up here you will great views north, where lakes are located below. A signpost indicates the proximity of other nearby landmark including famed Quebec peaks peaks such as Mont Megantic.
The most striking landmark of course is the cross.
From the main peak you will have a beautiful view of the fall foliage, where orange colours are predominant. In the summer it is shades of green but still impressive.
Conclusion
This hike may not be the most exerting or gain you the most elevation but what this strange hump in the Eastern Township landscape will do is give you a commanding view of the region including its most striking features (lakes, topography, etc…), one that us especially pretty as the foliage turns orange in the autumn.
