Pimisi to Champlain

I sometimes think that the sole purpose of the weatherman is to keep us glued to the tv set so we watch advertisements.  If there is nothing funky happening in the weather, he'll remind you of what allergy symptoms you should be having.  Yesterday was a good example.

The weather was to be cold and windy.  It was--initially.

I'm fortunate to be able to team-teach the Outdoor Education course at Nipissing University with my friends Bill Steer and Laura Kielpinski.  Today was the day to take our students down the Mattawa River.

The day started off with a strong cold wind that forced us back into the parking lot away from the lake.  One of the students pointed out that a few people were voicing concerns about the trip.  That was important.  We needed to talk further as a group.  Get it out there about what are the risks.  Be ready.  Everyone fought their way around the first point.  For some it was a difficult struggle.  I'm sure their muscles were aching.  We could have had a dump in the first 5 minutes of the trip.  Not a tragic end to the trip--but an uncomfortable one.  Lots to learn either way.

The paddle up to Talon Chutes is my favourite tiny little paddle route.  Twenty-five minutes of heaven.  It is a place I have been to many times.  I never get tired of it.  I was amazed at how well everyone caught on or remembered how to keep a canoe going straight.  Well done everyone!

This route has several portages.  Sometimes when the water is running high you can shoot some of them and save yourself the trouble of a portage.  For such a large group (32 people), we rocked the Casbah on the portages.

Pariseau Falls is a beautiful half-way point to have lunch and enjoy the view and sound of the falls.  In the summer it is a fine place to cool off with a swim.  I remember years ago snorkeling up near the falls with my good friends.

The creek that flows out on Elm Point marks the spot where you can join the trail that runs along the north side of the river.  Bill led us to a special spot--just off the trail.  Few people know of this spot.  A special place for me as I said a prayer for my good friend Bernie Zweerman and his family.  Thank you for sharing in that moment.  The wind stopped.

Day-trips are great ways to get students out of the classroom and into Mother Nature.  Where the learning is constant, deep, and memorable.

While waiting to pull my boat out I couldn't resist taking this shot of my bent-shaft paddle.  Lots to say about this paddle and none of it has anything to do with paddling.  It's a metaphor--two-beer story for sure.

Hike then Sail

Today started off overcast and 18 degrees.  Perfect for a hike.  John and I headed up to the Canadore trails.  I've done this hike many times but today I changed up the route and it made all the difference.  The goal was to check out a route for a group of students who will be joining me later in October.  We took the trail that led directly to the Lake Nipissing lookout.  Walking at an easy pace we reached the lookout in 12 minutes.  A light mist was falling and the leaves were bright green many were turning colours.  The forest glowed.  Everything was wet and the smell of the forest was invigorating.  From the lookout we took North South trail to the North Duschesnay trail and wound our way down and around to the creek.  At one point we crossed beneath a large tree that was completely bent over the trail.  An arch of discovery.

The upper bridge on the creek no longer exists so we stepped on stones and crossed to the other side.  We followed the trail on the other side up the embankment then turned left.  It eventually led us close to the creek and we crossed again about 30 meters above the first bridge.  We had to pick our route carefully and jump across the slippery rocks.  We followed the trail south and eventually cut back to the College along the Lower Duschesnay trail.  A beautiful hike.

Later in the afternoon the sun was setting on a placid Lake Nipissing.  I couldn't resist a sailboat trip.  Steve Glass joined me and we headed out for an evening sail.  There was just the slightest wind--so I put out the light wind jib.  Perfect.  Sweet.  Light wind and light conversation.  We sailed south for a while and eventually turned around and headed back to the marina.  The Chief Commanda approached us from behind.  We were barely moving, so the Chief crept up and slipped in between us and the shore.  For once we were the silhouette against the setting sun.  From the Chief I heard, "Smile," and about a dozen camera flashes lit up the night.  It was such a cool visual.

Back to School and Time for a Sail

This week the kids and I returned to school.  Kate to Ottawa U, Erin to SJSH, and John to Our Lady of Fatima.  It was not easy;  the summer was perfect. 

We had not been on the boat for over a week, so this evening--with perfect weather again--we decided to order a pizza and head down to the boat.

The kids have become great sailors.  With Kate in Ottawa, John and Erin crewed while Sharon and I relaxed.   We have had many sails this summer and I have been behind in updating my blog.  Too many adventures--which is a good thing.

The Chief Commanda passed by as the sun set.  Normally we would adjust course and intercept so that we could wave to Kate as she worked.  But (sob--tears of sadness--joy), she has returned to university.

We rarely take pictures or video while motoring back to the marina, but this evening was too beautiful.

Sailing is a peaceful activity.  Everyone relaxes and enjoys.

Project Dare -- 40th Anniversary

This weekend Wendigo Lake Expeditions (http://wendigolake.com), who run the program Project Dare, celebrated their 40th anniversary.  I got the invite and couldn't resist attending.  I headed down Friday night and settled in at Spirit Point, a camp just around the corner from Dare.  Larry the host met me at the gate and walked me to my quarters.  He and his wife Jenn are great hosts.  He was always up and always had a cup of coffee ready for you.  The facilities were beautiful.

I spent the evening with the extended Glass family.  Steve's mom Grace, his sister Julie, brother-in-law Albert, brother Jeff and wife Heather and their daughter Hannah.  Great converstation.

I've been to Dare many times but this was my first experience meeting people who were with Dare at the beginning.  Bob Davies the founder was honoured at a ceremony at the watefront.  Steve Glass, the current director and operator of the facility paid tribute not only to Bob but all the staff past and present who have contributed to the success of the program. Monique Smith our local MPP along with municipal representatives from Sundridge and South River acknowledged the contribution that the staff of Wendigo Lake have made to the region.  A ministry official (Wes) stated that the youth justice system in Ontario has been greatly affected by Project Dare.  Dare sets the standard and many ex-Dare staff work in positions at the ministry.

After an enjoyable breakfast I joined Vince Pawis for a native teaching ceremony.  Vince was impressive.  He gave us an introduction to native teachings.  He is of the Eagle Clan.  At one point he placed two eagle feet in my hands.  I looked at them and realized how they matched the impressions that John and I had found on the beach a day earlier.  Vince laughs easily and has a terrific sense of humour.  After lunch I was scheduled to do the "Flying Fox" zipline into the lake, but after listening to Vince in the morning--I changed plans and headed out to the sweat lodge.

This photo is from the internet, but our sweat lodge looked  just like it.

Vince and his helper Esra began making the sweat lodge the day before.  I arrived to find a low ribbed shelter.  It was no more than 4 feet high and about 12 feet across.  There was a hole in the centre for hot rocks.  We pulled a couple of tarps over top and fijve of us climbed in.  Albert, Julie, Vince, Karl and myself.  Vince guided us in the experience and poured cedar-water on the rocks that were delivered by Esra.  90 minutes later we emerged.  Not a moment too soon.  A very cool experience.

A delicious meal at the Wendigo Lake dining hall, including a  pig roast was the last event planned at Dare for the evening.  The evening social event took place back at Spirit Point.  I hung out with the Dare staff around a camp fire.  One gentleman from the 70's (Eugen...sp?) sang songs about sailing on Georgian Bay with Dare youth.  In the 70's Dare had a sailing program.  Friends rembered old stories and one ex-Dare client Chris, attended with his mother.  He is an impressive young man and is heading to chef school in October.

I eventually returned to the lodge and joined Steve and his family.  The highlight for me was Steve's daughter Sara playing guitar.  She played three of her original songs.  Rare and beautiful for sure.  A great evening.

In the morning I enjoyed a coffee with Steve and Larry.  As I was heading out I was greeted by Dudly the pet pig.  He wished me a safe journey.

I am always tired when I leave Dare but at the same time I find I an energized and renewed.

Eagle Tracks at the Manitous

We have been itching to sail our boat somewhere, anchor it and spend the night.  Thursday night was the choosen day so John and I provisioned the boat and set sail for the Manitou Islands.

We left the North Bay marina (A) at about 6:30 pm and headed out to the Manitou Islands (B).  The distance is about 8.5 km.  There was no wind so we motored out in about 50 minutes.  We picked a spot and backed in to about 7 feet of water and dropped the anchor.  We set it nicely and had no  problems throughout the night.  There was one motor boat nearby--also anchored for the evening.

The full moon illuminates the water.

We had been working on some sort of tarp system for the boat to protect us from sun and rain so we took the opportunity to set it up see how it looked.  Seemed to work fine.  We prepared dinner on the boat's origo stove and I was happy that everything worked well.  We timed the water boiling at 7 minutes--not bad and the stove gave off little or no fumes and the meal was prepared easily.  That night we read our books and looked out at the beautiful full moon.  For a mast light we attached a prezil head lamp--worked perfect.  The boat swung easily around the anchor throughout the night as the wind shifted and a cool breeze flowed in threw the forward hatch and out the screen at the hatch.  John was out and slept till 10:30 the next morning.  I was a bit restless and spent some time up on deck in the early morning watching the moon and stars.  The moon went down at 4:20 am.

View from the forward hatch.  The camera flash has illuminated the picutre, but the moonlight was bright enough for our own eyes to see the deck and beach in the distance.

The First Mate sound asleep.

I was up at 8:30 and watched two eagles on the nearby beach.  The male was perched on a limb, while the female stayed on the ground.  At one point a raccoon chased the female, only to be chased away himself the the male eagle who swooped down protecting his mate.

Both eagles are on the right of the tree.  The male, half way up, and the female on the ground.

Once John was up, we had a breakfast of bacon and eggs and jumped in the water for a swim to the beach.  We walked along and explored looking for the eagle's nest.  No luck.  But we did find eagle tracks on the beach.  Too cool.   I remember the distinct three  for-claws and the one rear talon.  Just over 24 hours later I was holding eagle claws in my hands while participating in a native teaching ceremony at Project Dare--all very cool.  We finished our exploring and swam back to the boat, hauled in the anchor and set out for North Bay.  On the way home we turned on the auto pilot and sat up on the bow of the boat in the shade and enjoyed the ride home.

View from the stern showing the distance we swam to the beach.  A great morning workout.

A great first experience sleeping on the boat away from the marina.

Fun in the rain -- the Chutes

The weather this summer has been fantastic.  Hot and sunny.  The average temperature of Lake Nipissing hovers between 20 and 24 degrees.  Nice enough to swim anytime--day or night--rain or shine.  We have been spending a lot of time on our sailboat taking advantage of the nice weather.  When the rain showed up it gave us the opportunity to get back into our canoe and head to Talon Chutes in the rain.

A couple of John's buddies (Connor and Keenan) joined us for this adventure.  "You guys up for paddling in the rain?"  Everyone was pumped to go.  So we packed up a lunch, threw in some raincoats and headed to Pimis Bay.

The air temperature was about 18 and the water was warmer.  The paddle in was beautiful as always.  The warm rain made it peaceful--even with the three crew.  John and Connor sat at the bow paddling, and Keenan was the designated team biologist (spotted on this trip were: a beaver, beautiful red flower, frog).

Once at the chutes we hiked around to see the "dog-face" rock and climb across the dam.  We discovered a hornet's nest--I took one for the team here--part of being the leader.  After our hike and explore we settled back to the trailhead where the canoe was beached and went swimming in the rain.  Fantastic.  We all enjoyed the warm water and rain.  Everyone enjoyed jumping off the low cliffs on the opposite side of the river.

 

 

The trip ended back at the put-in--just as the sun came out to dry out our bathing suits.  Perfect.

Pine - Turtle - Talon Loop

For now--this is our favourite 5-hour canoe route.  I've written before about Talon Chutes and Pimisi Bay--definetly on our list of places to go, so for now, our new fav route is the Pine - Turtle - Talon Loop.  We stared this trip where the road bisects the portage from Lake Talon into Pine Lake.  We pulled over to the side of the road (Point A), unloaded and portaged the 20 m to Pine Lake.

Pine Lake is a small pristine lake found about 20 minutes west of North Bay along the waterway from North Bay to Mattawa.  There are a few small islands in the middle and a couple of nice camping spots.  We have been here many times.  It is a sheltered lake with high hills on the south side.  We paddled west to the portage (Point B) and spotted some turtles.  It is a short portage into Turtle Lake.

Once into Turtle Lake we travlled about 100 m before we bumped into an impressive beaver dam.  John and I climbed out and we ferried the boat over and admired the work of the beaver.

The last time we were in Turtle Lake was a couple of years ago with Bob Milling and his boys (Gabe and Luke).  We discovered the same campsite that we had visited with the Millings.  A beautiful site at the east end of the lake.  The site had a pair of Merlins nesting and they let us know that we were welcome as long as we kept our distance. 

We kept trying to capture their call--but whenever we started the camera--they stopped.

Turtle Lake has a dam at the western end.  It was fun to run this little set of rapids and explore the narrow lakes that followed.

There is a nifty little swift between Werwolf Lake and Moosegrass Lake (D).  It was fun to move through it and play.  Easy and fun.  At the end of  Moosegrass Lake we encountered a short difficult portage (E).  The terrain and condition of the trees reminded me of a scene from a WWI movie.  It looked like the area had been hit with an artillery barrage.  It would be cool to go back at night and walk through the area.

There is one campsite on Bigfish Lake facing southwest.  We made note just in case we're looking for a one night adventure.  The final lake before Talon is Tillard Lake.  It joins Talon through a narrow winding river.  It was very enjoyable to paddle through this area.  The banks and bottom of the river were sand and the trees along the shoreline were more scrub than the typical mixed forest for this area.  As the river entered Talon the sound of the crickets was almost deafening (F).

The final leg of the journey took us along the western shore of Lake Talon to the portage (A).

This was an excellent 1 day trip.  It took us 5 hours and we loved every minute.

Pimisi Bay -- Ice-Breaker

Today was a great day for an adventure.  The temperature was about 16 and the sun was bright and warm.  A perfect day for our first canoe paddle of the season.  A great place to start a paddle adventure is Pimisi Bay.  Pimisi is about 25 minutes west of North Bay and is part of the Mattawa river system.  It is a popular spot--one of our favourites. 

The topo map view shows where our journey started at A.  Our plan was to head west to Talon Chutes, but the slushy ice-pellets we were paddling in turned into thicker ice at point B and we decided to change direction and head under the tunnel at point C.

 We bumped in more ice in the small bay south of Hwy 17, but were able to skirt around it and find a nice sunny spot for lunch.  John steadied the canoe as I climbed out from the stern.

We enjoyed the warmth of the sun and our picnic lunch.  A little tour around and we discovered a trail that had to be explored further.

The trail led through an area that had some evidence of logging and it meadered past a beautiful small pond.

The trail eventually led to a natural gas pipeline.  The high point of the land gave us a terrific view of the surrounding territory.

John spotted a cool beaver dam, so we crossed it and explored further.  The area south of the pipeline is an impressive wet land.  The satelite photo shows the pipeline and marsh lands.

Point D is our sunny lunch spot.  You can see the thin line of the trail leading to the cute pond at point E and the beaver dam located on the pipeline at point E.

We spotted this structure.  Hunters apparently can spend hours sitting up there waiting to kill something.  With our binoculars we were able to spot one furry creature about 300 metres away.  I'm not sure what it was--a large ground hog perhaps.

We both enjoyed the walk out.  The sun was warm and the snow was bright and crunchy.

It was great to get out for our first paddle.  The boat looks good resting on the shore with the icy water in the background.

A super trip.

Sanctioned Weight-Lifting Competition

On the weekend John participated in his second weight-lifting competition.  This was his first sanctioned event; officials from the Ontarion Weight-Lifting Association monitored the event.

Each event starts with a weigh-in.  John's time was 7 am--so we got up early, had a good breakfast and headed up to the College.  The main event area was empty and impressive looking.

 
After the weigh in we drove down to the water front to relax and enjoy the view.  The sun was bright and shining and the ice was shifting creating a beautiful "crunchy" looking picture.

The snatch--this looks tough to me.

John did very well in his lifts.  He earned the Silver Medal in his weight class.  Well done John.

Coyote Rock Climbing Gym

We started the March break off in Ottawa.  One fun thing we did was visit the Coyote Rock Climbing Gym.  John was eager to scamper up the wall and Erin was cool to belay.  It turns out she is of course an excellent person to have holding your safety line.

Erin on belay!

John scampers to the top.

Rock climbing is such a cool activity.  It's one of those sports where there are no losers--just people working together--to explore together.

Erin and John were excellent.

Weight Lifting Competition -- North Bay Norsemen

On Saturday March 5, Sharon and I enjoyed watching John participate in his first weight lifting competition.  This is not a typical adventure I would write about, but it involved the family, it was fun, and it was tool cool on a lot of levels.  I'll touch on some of levels here.

Larry Sheppard runs the Norsemen Weight Lifting Club in North Bay.  Larry helped me with some students about 10 years ago.  I will never forget his contribution and I am forever in his debt.  I was elated when I heard that John had joined the club.  John's coach is Matt Blanchard.

One thing I like about weight lifting is it is 99.5 percent training, .5 percent competition; it's about training and discipline.  There are no losers.  Everyone pushes themselves to their limit and if you go there and fail--everyone celebrates.  Too cool of a metaphor for life.  I could go on--but I'll save my thoughts on that for another forum.

This local competiton was a smooth operation.  Some of the video highlights Larry's unique way of speaking to athletes, and parents.  He has rapport with everyone.

John was understandably nervous about his first competition.  But his training paid off.

He competed in two competitions: the clean and jerk, and the snatch.

 This event was publicized with possible awards ranging from golf-claps to maybe a handshake and hug from Larry Sheppard.  It was nice to see John win a special award.

Weight lifting is a life-long activity;  it helps with all sports and leads to a healthy and active lifestyle.  I'm looking forward to John's next competition.