The Transkékéko runs 15 km across the Kékéko massif outside of Rouyn-Noranda, QC. The route is of the hills and valleys style with progressions in plateaus interspersed with valley crossings across technical terrain. The route is heavily wooded and traverses a series of small mountains. The normal route is to travel from east to west from the parking lot on Beaudry Road to Artnfield.
Route description (https://kekeko.cegepat.qc.ca/transkekeko.htm)
Most runners travel the Transkékéo from east to west, from the parking lot on Beaudry Road to Artnfield. The usual practice is to drive first and leave a few cars at the exit of the trail, on Route 101, to ensure a return for all runners at the end of the trip.
The route begins with a small path for 2.7 km. Just before the first lake you have to head to the left (towards the second lake) to reach the entrance of the Transkékéko, which will be indicated on the right, after Lake Despérier, by road signs.
The crossing is a vast plain enclosed by a series of small mountains. Passing through a wooded slope, a promontory allowing a superb panorama of Lake Hector, Icpätina – the highest point of the Kékéko, an area partially covered with conifers, you will reach the intersection of the Faille trail.
You will then run among the hardwoods, meeting tributary streams. You will run very closely along an escarpment 75 feet high, which in winter is covered with one of the most beautiful icefalls in the region.
Next, you will travel up a small narrow gorge and along a stream that crosses rocky thresholds and separates into multiple waterfalls, to reach the small lakes located in the middle point of the Transkékéko. Along the shores of the lake beside a small wood furrowed with beaver trail, is the top of a promontory (commonly called "the coyotte") where you can contemplate these peaceful landscapes.
Descending into a very welcoming golea, you must then jump the stream among the rockery and undertake the ascent that must leads to a short valley. It is by woods pricked with some islets of conifers that you will reach a superb belvedere. Leaving the edge of the cliff for the woods, you will emerge into a clearing towards a rocky platform.
As you travel into an open space looking west, rejoice your view with a panorama before continuing towards the exit of the Transkékéko. The ground sometimes covered with a carpet of moss, sometimes a small rocky cirque enhanced by boulders, will lead you into the gradual descent constituting the last kilometers of the journey.
