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.