Lower Duchesnay Creek

Today was a beautiful day for a hike.  -1 and no wind.  Probably too warm, but a great opportunity to try out John's new snow shoes.  He received a gift certificate from Sharon's cousin Don Nichol for Christmas, and decided to buy a pair of 21" Little Bear Snow Shoes.  Perfect.

The day before Christmas we had headed down to Restoule Provincial Park to scout out the Stormy Lake look out.  It was a fun day, and I'll describe it in detail later--when we go back.  The bottom line was we needed snowshoes.  So, armed with the right gear, we headed to the lower end of Duchesnay Creek.  We were there yesterday and had a good hike.  Today, with the snow shoes on we decided to explore further.

The "A" on the topo map shows our starting point.  With permission, we parked at the convenience store across the highway.  The day before we went down the trail and headed south-east towards Lake Nipissing.  It was really cool to walk beneath the bridges and check-out the engineering that went into putting these structures up.

It was a short hike, but very scenic and there was a sense of adventure as we walked beneath the bridges to the lake.

Today we checked-out a satelite photo of the area and noticed another bridge farther up the creek.  So the goal today was to explore the creek in the other direction and check-out the other bridge.  You can see it in the north-west corner of the satelite photo.

The snow was about 1/2 metre deep and powdery.  I have a 30" pair so I led initially, but once we got down from the highway to the level of the creek John led the way.  Open water was flowing in some spots and the sound was sweet to hear.

The trail along the creek was level with a few logs to climb over.  Eventually we came across a beaver lodge and a "sink hole" foreshadowing things to come.

A creak here and there as we walked reminded us of how far the level of the water has fallen since freeze-up.  As we rounded the beaver lodge, the ice gave way and John fell through.  It happed so quick that he had no time to be afraid.  He was laughing as he hauled himself up.  The water was flowing beneath his feet.

We continued our trek with me leading.  As we approached a small water fall we noticed a huge pile of discoloured snow sitting on the ice.  I can't explain it--see the photo.

To be safe near the fast moving water we decided to head-up a steep section of terrain.  It was hard going.  Steep and slippery.  Fortunately our snowshoes have deep sharp cleets that help prevent sliding.  Up and across we went.  We spotted a beaver dam that we considered crossing, but decided to keep going across at a steep angle.

Just after the dam, with me leading we headed down to water level.  I crashed through into knee deep fast-flowing water.  Too cool--literally and figuritively.  John was laughing.

I wasn't sure how the cold water in my boots was going to affect my enjoyment of the rest of the hike so to be safe, we back-tracked to the trail head.  We'll head back another day to check out the other bridge and the rest of the trail.

This is a great trail only 6 minutes from home.

Christopher Luke Zweerman

I've been putting off writing this post because I'm still shaken and I'm not sure it belongs in the categorie of "Bernie's Weekly Adventures."  However, upon reflection, this blog is about where I go, what I do, and how I think and feel about it--so this fits.

My good friend Bernie Zweerman (along with is wife Gabe and son Brandon) lost his first boy to a tragic accident.  I can barely type those words.  I travelled to New Market on Friday to visit and attend a celebration. The funeral would be the next day.  I travelled with Patty Ann Dennis.  She's in her 70's and was the chaplain at Regina Pacis where Bernie Z and I taught together.  She said a prayer in the car for a safe journey and for comfort for Bernie and his family.  She packed a lunch for me with my own water bottle and my own bag of cashews.  You might call her a detail person, but anyone who knows her would say that's just the way she is--thoughtful.  We hadn't seen much of each other for 15 years;  the conversation rarely stopped on the way down.

Friday night was spent listening to friends and family describe CLZ.  I won't get into the details here.  He was a special person whose life--though full, ended early at 26.  A first year medical student in Australia, running for student council.  Accidents happen.  The funeral the next day was difficult for me.  Major pause.  Losing a child--too tragic to contemplate.

The point of my story is the ride home.  Patty Ann is knitting and singing Christmas carols.  She's stuffing sandwiches into me.  "Eat another Bernie."  There would be no waste--CLZ would not tolerate waste. "Eat this one--it's different."  I ate 13 sandwiches.  I commented on how extraordinary CLZ was.  For ex: in grade 8 he would summarize his study notes and sell them to other students--and give the money to charity.  At university, although he was an honours student--he won the volunteer award.  Patty Ann said, "... it's the simple things he did..."  He loved his family.  He cared about others.  He volunteered.  He donated to charity.

I can do that.

Mapping Software

Bill Silver, a cool guy who knows everything--well he knows enough about enough stuff to be in the category of a guy who knows everything.  How's that.

He passed along the tip of the mapping software called mapper.acme.com.

This software acts just like google maps with the added feature of being able to print topo maps.  Plus you can link photos to it from flickr and easily pick-up gps coordinates.  How about being able to generate a url of your map and emailing it to someone.  That's cool.

Discover...

I'm sitting at the table researching an adventure for tomorrow and I found this inspiring video for the Discovery Channel.

Canadore Trails - Solo Hike

The weekend was winding down and adventures planned earlier didn't work out.  The first was to create an access door into my attic.  Doesn't sound like an adventure--but I'm not yet a handyman--so it was an adventure.  It was until I realized I need a carpenter.  So I'll sub-contract that adventure out.  The second attempt was a trip with John to look at a sailboat.  Bad weather moved in and our trip south was cut short at Sundridge.  Finally, with the Christmas lights up and dinner time closing in I suggested a trip to Canadore.  John headed over to grandma's to help with her tree so I headed out solo at about 4:15.

The trails are only 8 minutes from the house so I knew this would be a hike that I could squeeze in before dinner.  The temp was about -7 and the snow was falling and the wind was brisk.

 This is a hike I've done many times but never alone and never with dark approaching.  It was a peaceful walk and I really enjoyed the different scenes.  From the high-tech looking campus to the snow covered forest.

The Old Cabin 17T 0615400, 5133108

The snow was fresh but I still scrunched as I walked along.  No one else was on the trail and I found myself hearing every little sound.  The trees creaked as the wind moved them around.  A large area of deadfall seemed eerie in the approaching darkness.

The Lookout.  17T 0615194, 5132946

As I walked back from the lookoout I noticed a faint pink (dusty rose as the famous teacher Gary Meehan used to say) glow through the trees.  The distant lights from the campus were reflecting off of the falling snow.

By the time I had returned home, the Christmas lights on the house were beautiful to see.

The hike was a great way to end the weekend and to take time to reflect on how fortunate I am.

Eau Claire Gorge

Today was -1 and overcast.  A perfect day for a hike to Eau Claire Gorge--located about 50km east of North Bay.  My son John and his two friends Connor and Keenan were the adventure seekers today.

We travelled by van to the trail head and walked in from the parking lot area.  The hike is only a couple of kilometers but the geography and scenery is spectacular.  We were looking for fun and adventure.  We were hiking and taking pictures (a few snowball fights), but also tracking down a couple of geocaches.

We took the trail from the parking lot and headed counter clockwise around the trail system.  It starts off flat and gentle towards the Amable du Fond river.  Gradually the drop increased until the peak at the gorge where the height is about 35 feet.

Here is a sample of the sound of the water.

Lunch at the pioneer cabin--with a few snow ball fights.  17T 0660802, 5124669

We found the first geocache off the trail from the main viewing point of the gorge.

After the gorge the trail levelled off and the explorers crossed a small bridge as they continued to the next treasure.

The second geocache of the day.  It was cool to venture off the trail through thick forest and into a dead-fall area.

This Geodetic survey disk was less then a km from Connor and Keenan's home.

 This was a great half-day trip.  We left home at 11 am and were home by 4 pm.

Urban Safari to Toronto - Urban Peasants

This weekend everyone felt the need to get away for  a change.  We have some friends near Toronto we had'nt seen for a while and a good friend was playing live music.  So off we went right after school on Friday.

We chose a hotel with a pool and waterslide--just for fun.  The Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughn was a good choice.  (17T 0618265, 4849882)

On the first night, Sharon and the kids settled into the hotel and I headed down town to see Joe Kelly play in his band the Urban Peasants.  This was a cool experience for me.  I really enjoy seeing Joe and his friends playing.  Anyone playing their own music is a treat.  They were playing at a place called Mitzi's Sister (17T 0625833, 4833071) located at 1551 Queens St. W.

 
I got to sit and drink beers with the band while they picked out some songs for the night.

I really enjoy listening to live music.

Here's a brief sample of the Urban Peasants.

On Saturday we visited with John and Marlene and their two kids David and Ashley.  (17T 0604425, 4869324).  We invaded and they let us stay for dinner.  Fun good people.  Later in the evening I snuck out for a cool picture of the moon.

Early Sunday, John and I headed out for breakfast with John, David and Ashley.  I'm not big on complaining but the breakfast choice was terrible.  Sorry John--good food but jeepers.

We ate at a place called Sunshine Grill (17T 0617421, 4853861).

I couldn't resist capturing the sound of the place.  We ended the morning with a trip to Bass Pro.  A busy place with lots of outdoor stuff.

A moose and snow--it felt like home.

The kids liked the fish.

The drive home was easy.  The traffic slowed to normal north of Orillia and we settled into a quiet ride home.  Glad to be home.  Just in time for a little NFL.  Great ending to the Jets game, bad ending to the Baltimore game.

Cranberry Trail - Night Hike

A night hike is always special.  Even when you are going down a trail you have been down many times.  At night--everything is different.

Scary faces with happy smiles

Tonight was no exception.  The occasion was my son John's birthday party. His crew included his three buddies: Nathan, Connor, and Keenan.  All in the 13 yr old range--John was turning 12.  Imaginations ran wild along the trail.

The Fort: 17T 0622085, 512057

The Cranberry Trail is in Callendar--just outside of North Bay.  It runs behind the Osprey Golf course towards Lake Nipissing.  For GPS geeks: 17T  0623625, 5121293.  The hike in is only a couple of klicks (my gps lost signal on the way in so I don't have an accurate reading).  The trail is about 8 feet wide and level and smooth the entire way.  The temperature was about 14 C a comfortable temperature for sure.  When we started the sky was overcast and there was still.  Once we reached the lookout the first stars appeared.  We could hear a few Canada Geese out in the darkness over the bog.  The wind started to pick-up.  We ate our snack and exchanged a few stories. 

Cool things happen when simple things change.  In the darkness, a sign that may have been over looked in the day light becomes a becon to home in on.

This was our first night hike in a long time.  Usually the only time we hike at night is when we are camping.  But with the season over for this year, night hikes will become a regular part of our weekly adventures.

Talon Chutes Day Hike

This was a great day with Bill Steer and the students from Nipissing University. I've been to Talon Chutes many times but the difference today was having Bill as guide. Wow. What a cool trip.

The drive to the trail head was east into the rising sun.  Very nice way to start an adventure

We met at Corbeil corners at 8:30 am and car pooled to the trail head. About 8 minutes away.

I was a little tardy with my batteries--so I'm missing photos. When my camera went dead I switched to my flashlight batteries--which went dead so I switched to my GPS batteries--which went dead.

Start here, with the GPS coordinates

(I just came back from buying batteries.)

The walk in was a brisk 31 minutes.  The ground was just sleightly frozen and we crunched around the gravel pit before heading down the trail.  A frozen deer track was perfect for creating a plaster of paris sample.  (we were not prepared for that today)

The hike is a easy walk down a road with a few trees over the route.  Easy for everyone.

I've picked some pictures from google maps to help illustrate the journey.  You can see the falls from the satellite photo--a cloudy day when the satellite passed over.

Satellite view of the Chutes--one of my fav places.

Once we were at the dam, we crossed over and walked another 200 metres to an old brucecite mine.  There was some old machinery rusting in the forest.   After a cup of coffee we headed back to the portage trail at Talon Chutes and explored the terrain just off the beaten path.  15 m over from the river is a whole other adventure that I had never seen before.  The highest point at the portage is rarely seen by the average tourist--who stays on the beaten path.

I'll be heading back here soon with my kids to capture some cool photos and just experience the beauty of this area.