I’ve often hiked or skied into Herridge Lodge and while I’ve always appreciated the sense of history attached to this building today it felt as if I knew it more intimately. Recently I read Katharine Fletcher’s book Historical Walks, The Gatineau Park Story which contributed immeasurably to my richer understanding and appreciation of the early history of the Park. I knew there was history in the Park, but there is more history in these hills than I thought!
This quaint cabin, now Herridge Lodge, was originally built by the Cafferty family, after whom the road (now closed) from Cross Loop Rd to the abandoned air field near Carman Lake was named. The Herridge family purchased this cabin in 1925 and used it as a winter cabin until 1960. I love that the square logs of the cabin have been so well preserved and that the gate sits there welcoming tired hikers or skiers to its shelter. I’ve always referred to the trail to Herridge Lodge as Pine Road (#50) but on reading I see its earlier name was Foxfarm Road because of the fox farms on the lands all around Harrington (Mousseau) Lake. These lands were not sold by Herridge to the FDC (the NCC’s precursor) until 1951. To some this may sound like quite a while ago, but for me I was already skiing the trails of the Gatineau Park so it seems like yesterday to me. That’s sort of scary.
