Today was our first paddle of the season. I had been itching to go for a few weeks so a quiet Saturday morning looked like the perfect opportunity. The weather was good. 14 degrees and the weatherman giving us a 30 percent chance of showers. Perfect.
John was keen. So we finished up our breakfast packed a lunch and loaded the canoe on the van. It is always fun to drive to Pimisi Bay. We have so many great memories driving this route. We found the gate to the park locked, but that didn't stop us. We portaged around and got ready for adventure. John decided he would begin learning how to stern the canoe today.
The water was perfectly calm. Beautiful and quiet. John did a super job paddling to Talon Chutes. We were alone on the water. A couple of Canada geese were making a tremendous racket as we passed them in the narrow channel--about halfway to the chutes.
The view from the top of the chutes is always special. John was all smiles as usual. We explored up the trail to the dam. Last year I was stung by a hornet or wasp while crossing the dam. We checked things out and found the remains of the nest. Too early for a nest this year. We crossed the dam and lowered ourselves to a narrow wall and continued across to the other side. We scouted around and found the start of the trail. I had been here once before with some Nipissing University students so I had an idea of the route to an open pit mine. The trail was faint but we were able to follow it. There were a lot of trees bent over the trail. Evidence of a micro-burst from about 5 years ago.
About 800 metres down the trail we stumbled upon an old engine block. Within 25 metres we found other pieces of equipment from the old mining days and a small open pit, now filled with water. We rested. Enjoyed lunch. The rain sprinkled on us for 40 seconds.
It is easy to get turned around in the forest. So for safety we marked the location of the dam on the gps--just in case. The walk back was easy and we took time to explore the north shore of Talon Chutes. We have never been on this side before. The view from this side is spectacular. People have been known to jump into the water from here--dumb idea. There is spray painted warnings on some of the rocks. Lots more exploring to be done up here.
The paddle back was sweet. John guided the boat back on the opposite shore and once back at the put-in we celebrated his first sterning trip.
