Hyggehytte

<i>Better than Provence (except the food)</i> — *Better than Provence (except the food)*

We are excited for your upcoming stay at the Hyggehytte. 🏡

The cottage is located at 12 Chemin Cabana, Notre-Dame-de-Pontmain, QC J0W 1S1. A ~2h drive from Ottawa, see Getting Here.

📶 WiFi is Hyggehytte, password is dog spa day ¹

There are 3 rules at the cottage:

🔪 Dry off the knives completely after use. They can never stay wet or go in the dishwasher, or they will rust that day.
🐿️ Keep doors closed so bugs and critters don’t come in!
🧘‍♂️ The goal at the cottage is for you to be relaxed, comfortable and present. It’s encouraged you do your own thing, and don’t feel you have to be on everyone else’s schedule!

Things to do

🛶 Canoe or paddleboard on the lake
🚤 Boat on the lake 🆕 ²
🏊 Swim in the lake (we like to swim to the point and back!)
☀️ Hang out on the dock or floaties 🦫
🏋️ Use the garage gym
🥾 Waterfall hike or Mont Limoge both are $\sim3-5\text{ km}$ ³
🥾 Ambitious hiking/snowshoeing at Montagne du Diable ~1h away⁴
🥾 Or at Kiamika National Park ~1h away
🔥 Make a fire in the bonfire pit or fireplace ⁵
🍨 Grab ice-cream or pastries in town!
⛸️ Skate in the town
🎾 Play tennis in the town (rackets & balls in the garage)
🐟 Fish from the canoe or from the dock ⁶
🖥️ Work from the cottage⁷
🌅 Watch the sunset from the roof with cocktails and blankets!
🎲 Play board games ⁸
🥘 Cook over the fire (grates in the shed!)
❄️ Snowshoe the lake, or a maintained trail
⛷️ Classic cross-country ski and snowshoe trail ~5min away
🍁 Visit a sugar shack (~March-April)
🦮 Go dog-sledding
🥶 Ice fish on the lake
🌊 River rafting, snowmobiles, or ATVs about ~1h away
⛷️ Alpine skiing about ~1.5h away
🍎 Apple picking (fall)
⛳ Golf a ~30min drive away just outside Mont Laurier

The veranda is our favourite place to read and sip tea.

Getting Here

Address. We know for many of you, getting here is a commitment. That’s why we often offer staying during the week to work (or vacation) here before/after to make the most of your trip. The cottage is nothing without you, so we really appreciate the effort you put into coming and try to make it pain-free when you do arrive!

🚗 From Ottawa ~2h. Google Maps will also suggest a scenic route that goes through Val des Mont. It adds ~5-8 min to the drive, but worth it if you’re not in a hurry, ok with curvy roads, and don’t have kids in the backseat.
🚗 From Montreal ~3h
🚗 From Toronto ~6h (~$150 in gas or ~$20 in electricity, roundtrip) ⁹
🚗 From jondon ~8h (~$225 in gas or ~$25 in electricity, roundtrip)

🛫 From Toronto, you can consider flying from the island to Ottawa for ~$200/person roundtrip, and drive up with us.

🌍 If you are arriving from overseas to Montreal airport, arrange with us to try to pick you up (or rent a car from Montreal airport).

🛫 During the winter, Porter offers flights to Mont Tremblant (~1.5h) from mid-December to end of March. Car rental with Enterprise is available from Mont Tremblant airport, or arrange with us to come pick you up.

Packing List

📖 Book and entertainment
🎲 Games
🕶️ Sunglasses
⛅ Check the weather
(🥕 Groceries if you’re staying here by yourself, see Cooking)

Winter

👖 Snow pants
❤️‍🔥 Warm layers
🥿 Slippers
(⛸️ Skates)
(❄️ Snowshoes)
(⛷️ Cross-country skis)

Summer

🏃 Workout clothes
🩱 Bathing suit
🥾 Hiking boots
🌞 Sunscreen
🤠 Hat
(🧘 Yoga Mat)
(🎾 Tennis rackets)
(🏊 Swim goggles)

No need to bring

🐑 Towels
🛏️ Bedding
💪 Workout equipment

View from inside the cottage, still only half-furnished.

Important Things to Know

🔦 Utility Drawer. In the top drawer closest to the stairs, you’ll find bug spray, thermacells (mosquito repellent device), phone covers for going in the canoe, flashlights, utility knives, etc.
🍫 Snack drawer. When you’re hosted by someone, you’re at the mercy of their meal schedule. No longer. The snack driver right next to the fridge is always available to you if you’re feeling peckish! You’re always welcome to but by no means required to leave a contribution in the snack drawer!
🍺 Drinks. We generally have an ample supply of wine, liquor for mixing drinks, pop, and so on. If there isn’t any in the fridge, check the basement anytime. During the summer you’ll also find drinks in the mini fridge usually stationed underneath the veranda for easy access from the boat house roof and dock! If your hosts are leaving your thirsty, do not be shy to take it into your own hands!
💊 First Aid Drawer. One of the drawers has basic medication, band-aids, a tourniquet, and other supplies. ¹⁰
👂 Sleeping Supplies. In the guest bedroom’s closet you’ll find ear plugs, spare socks, toothbrushes, and eye masks.
🚪 Locking the front door. The front door can be tricky to lock. Drive the handle up all the way (it’s sticky, force it up), then you’ll be able to lock with the key. Please lock it whenever you leave the cottage!
🛏️ Bedrooms. There are three bedroom with queen beds: master, spare and loft. When we host beyond this capacity, we have a queen air mattress and a double air mattress that can either fit in the loft, laundry room, or in the living room. There’s always the couch or a tent too.

We appreciate feedback if something could’ve made your stay better!

Everyone tends to gravitate towards
the boat house roof as the sun sets. We understand why... — Everyone tends to gravitate towards the boat house roof as the sun sets. We understand why...

Check In

The checkmarks are synced between users and uncheck after 24h.

💧 Plug in the water pump in basement.

🔥 Set baseboards in living room, laundry room, downstairs bathroom, and basement.

🛏️ Make the beds in whatever rooms you choose, and find towels (if not already in the rooms). Towels and beach towels are in the console opposite the dryer (or in the dryer). Bed linens are generally on the bed or in the dryer, but if not, they will be in the cabinets in the loft on the right when you walk up the stairs.

🗑️ Put trash bags in bathroom(s) and kitchen (bags are under the kitchen sink)

🚮 Bring food organic garbage bin in from the screened in porch

🪑 Find cushions for outdoor chairs on the veranda in the screened in porch’s closet

Check Out

Inside

💧 Unplug water pump in basement. Unfortunately this means you can’t leave the dishwasher running when you leave. After you’ve unplugged the pump, let the water run somewhere for a few minutes to relieve a bit of pressure in the pipes.

🛏️ Strip beds and bring sheets and towel to the laundry room. If you are there by yourself, please wash the sheets and towels and re-make the beds. Depending on the number of linens used this may require multiple washer/dryer cycles, so consider starting the first cycle early the morning you’re leaving.

🗑️ Empty trash bins in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen

🔪 Clean up kitchen and empty fridge

🚪 Lock doors and windows.

🧹 Sweep kitchen and living room with the broom in the utility closet in the laundry room. If necessary, there’s a central vac hose in the cabinet by the stairs going up to the bedrooms. Other cleaning supplies are in the closet in the laundry room and under the sink. Others might stay the next weekend, so leave it like you found it! There isn’t a cleaner coming.

🐭 Check mousetraps in the basement

🛢️ Set furnace thermostat to Away (shoulder-seasons, winter)

🔥 Adjust all 4 baseboard thermostats to ~11c (living room, laundry room, laundry bathroom, basement door) (shoulder-seasons, winter)

🤩 Leave a review below about your stay!

Outside

📸 Take a Polaroid during your stay and leave it for us!

🛶 Secure floaties, paddleboards, and canoe in boat house

🚶 Walk trash and recyclables to bins on the road. Cardboard and plastics go in the same bin in Quebec! When emptying the organic garbage bin, hose it at the house to clean it, and leave it in the screened in porch to dry off.

🌧️ Bring in outdoor cushions

♨️ Cover the BBQ

🍻 Ensure beer fridge in or outside the basement is off (it is not the freezer in the laundry room)

🚘 Ensure garage is closed

🚪 Ensure basement door is locked

🔑 Make sure you lock the front door and leave the key where you found it. The front door can be tricky: you have to drive the handle all the way up to lock it. It can be sticky, so you may have to force it a bit!

Cooking

You can expect to use our standard kitchen pantry, oils, spices, mayo, ketchup, coffee, etc. If you’re consuming anything in larger quantities, we would really appreciate if it’s replaced after your stay so we don’t show up to our cottage suddenly without oil or coffee!

You’re of course welcome to use the propane BBQ outside, or cook over the fire with the grates in the shed!

There is a standard drip coffee machine, kettle, toaster, etc.

The screened in porch is where we enjoy most
of our meals in the summer and shoulder seasons — The screened in porch is where we enjoy most of our meals in the summer and shoulder seasons

Groceries & Shops

We recommend bringing groceries from your origin city, but there are some facilities available nearby:

🦌 Marché LDC. 5 minute drive in the town of Lac-du-Cerf. Don’t have much fresh stuff, but have the essentials.
🧺 Marché Omni. 15 minute drive and has the essentials, but only a limited selection of produce and meats. Alcohol is available here too.
🍆 Marché Tradition. If you want to buy groceries on the way up, this is your best bet. It’s about 30 minutes out from the cottage. Still fairly small, but larger than Omni, smaller than Metro.
🛒 Metro Mont-Laurier. 30 minute drive and has everything you’d want in a grocery store. In the same strip mall you’ll also find a simple department store, pharmacy, and Home Hardware.
🔨 Garage Martin Leonard. 5 minute drive in Lac du Cerf this place is like a small Canadian tire. It has very minimal groceries, no vegetables, but milk, eggs, bread, pop, etc.
⛽ Dépanneur Pontmain. 15 minute drive to a gas station that has lots of frozen stuff, snacks, beer, and aggressive opening hours.
🚗 Loblaws or Farm Boy. If you’re driving up from Ottawa, one of these is a good option to do groceries on your way! Farm Boy is slightly nicer, but more expensive and doesn’t have everything. Loblaws is a more classic grocery store, but nice!
🧁 Bakery. There’s a cute local bakery, selling mostly sweets, and cakes on order in town. They also sell bubble tea. 🧋 Good destination for a walk.

If you’re short on ideas, we recommend keeping it simple. Throw some meat on the BBQ for dinner with a salad. For lunch, we usually do sandwiches. For breakfast, yogurt!

There isn’t much in the vicinity in terms of eating out. There is a small restaurant in town, but it’s very mediocre. You might be able to find something on Google Maps, in e.g. Kiamika.

Mont Laurier has some nicer restaurants and pubs.

Gym Facilities

At Hyggehytte, your health is important to us. We provide a world-class fitness facility.

Assault Bike
Squat rack w/ pull-up bar
2x Barbell with 400lbs+ of bumper plate weights
Rings (mount in boat house rafters for extra fun)
Adjustable dumbbells (~90lbs)
Skipping rope
Handstand wall
Bands
Massage balls
Box
Flooring

🔑 Code for the garage is on the WiFi slip is on the left of the fridge. Note that you need to press the up-down button ↕️ followed by 1️⃣ after entering in the code!

Power Outages

Power outages are fairly common in the region, but generally brief (less than 30min). If it’s lasting longer, there is a generator in the basement. You will want to call us to help you kick it on. You can find tealights and flashlights in the Utility Drawer. Your hosts will automatically be notified if the power outage lasts more than 10 minutes. You can monitor the status with Hydro Quebec.

The WiFi is fibre and capable of 400 Mbps download, 400 Mbps upload. You can do anything on this connection you might do at home: all-day video calls, streaming, downloading. It’s better than what we have in Ottawa. … ↩
To drive the boat, you need to obtain a boat license. It can be done easily online. ↩
The viewpoint at Limoge is slightly nicer, but the drive is a long, dodgy dirt road—don’t drive it in a sedan! Set your GPS to here and follow the signage. More details here. ↩
There’s a restaurant you can hike to in winter, about 13k roundtrip. Trail map. ↩
For outside, use the firewood half-way up the slope in that little parking inlet! For inside, use what’s in the basement. There’s paper in a basket next to the indoor fireplace. We recommend the upside-down method. ↩
You can buy worms and a Quebec fishing license at the Garage Shop in town, see below—or you can use the fake bait we have in the tackle box. Usually the fishing equipment is in the boat house or the basement. ↩
We have two full sit-stand workstations with 27” USB-C monitor, keyboard, and mouse. One is in the loft (sometimes tucked away in the cabinets), the other is in the guest bedroom—the monitor is in the closet. There’s also of course the option to work outside, dining table in the screened in porch, or the third desk in the living room. ↩
You’ll find them in the drawers behind the couch. ↩
Assumes 10 litres/100km and $1.5/litre of gas. Assumes ~5km/kWh and $0.08/kWh for electric. ↩
Please only use the tourniquet if you have the necessary medical training and can spot a situation where such is required. I.e. Prolonged, excessive bleeding that cannot be stopped with gauze. ↩