Ice-Fishing, Lac Desert (Mar 15 - 18)

I'm not one to describe myself as an ice-fisherman.  I've gone ice-fishing a number of times--always had fun, but I wouldn't say it is an activity on my winter "to do" list.

It is now.

Lac Desert is east of North Bay and a little north.  It's geography and topography is similar to the Pine, Turtle, Talon lakes area.  There are several beaches along its shoreline, there are also cliffs to jump off--which makes for great swimming and shoreline lunch adventures in the summer.

My brother Kelly came up with the idea to put a trip together to Lac Desert where brother Dennis and cousin Bob Milling have cottages.  It is an isolated area and the tall Pine trees and geography remind me of Lake Temagami and more locally Pine, Turtle, and Talon lakes.  A trip in the winter to Lac Desert was not a new idea, but it was an idea from the Captain and he came up with it while at the funeral for Mike O.  "What are we waiting for--let's do this."

Not long after the date was set, Kelly and I started searching for snowmobiles.  The trek in from the logging road is about 12 k and Bob's 4-wheeler on tracks was necessary but not sufficient.  After carefully talking it over with our spouses, we settled on two economical and rational machines.  Enough said.

Kelly and I left North Bay on Thursday morning at 7 am.  The weather was mild--a little drizzle.  It had been raining for a couple of days so the snow was nearly gone.  The snow slowly disappeared as we moved east and then north.

The Gatineau River as we headed north on Hwy 105.  There were ice bergs floating down stream.

We arrived at the pick-up point around 1:20 pm.  Bob was there to meet us.  He had his four-wheeler connected to a sleigh and loaded with fishing gear and equipment.  We loaded up Kelly's sleigh and headed off to Lac Larche for our first fishing adventure.

A: Pick-up point, B: Lac Larche fishing hole 1, C: Lac Larche fishing hole 2,  D: the cottage, E: original planned location for fishing, cancelled due to ice conditions. 

The snow on the trail was about a foot deep in some places but it was granular and slippery.  This made for tricky sledding on the trail.  There was no snow on the lakes, and the shoreline was slush or thin ice.  On the way in, Kelly's sled--towing a heavy sleigh got stuck.  Bob was able to winch him out and we made our way to Lac Larche.

We fished at two locations. Point B was 20 metres from the trail.  The ice was about 8 inches thick and there was about 3 feet of slush near the shore.  No problem for the "Plow King's" atv or the sleds.

While Bob and I cut holes Kelly set-up some lines.  We were fishing in minutes.  Not long after, Bob scouted down the shore and came back and suggested we try further down (Point C on the Map).  Here the ice was about 1.5 feet thick.  We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery.

Around 4:30 pm the clouds started getting darker and we decided to pack up and head to Bob's cottage.  The trail from the edge of the lake rises steeply in a short distance--about 15 m then turns sharply to the left.  Kelly was able to get up and out with his sled and sleigh, but Bob ground-in part way up the trail. He was pulling a heavy sleigh.  We disconnected it and we were able to connect his winch to a tree and he hauled himself up and out.  Once turned around, he connected to the sleigh and hauled it up.  We were then on our way.  During the 30 minute delay, the warm rain began and stayed with us on the 10 k ride to the cottage.

A comfortable evening at Loon Lodge.

The cottage was warm, dry, and comfortable.  Soon a roaring fire was burning and plans were under way for dinner.

A view from the porch with Arrow in the foreground.

The main beach at Lac Desert.

Friday morning started with hot coffee and a delicious breakfast.  Plans were underway to meet Brad and Dennis at the pick up point.  We loaded up the sleighs and started down the trail with Arrow for another day of ice-fishing.

Dennis and Bradley arrive around 10:30 am.  We were concerned that they might not make it through the mud at the beginning of the road, but the Mercedes had no trouble.  We celebrated with a ham and cheese and started to our next lake for fishing--Lac Poeil.

Bradley and Ardie, "Is this the way to the cottage?"

"... whose idea... onto the ice?"

The Captain checks the ice, Bob du Lac hauls the sleigh.

Bobbie showing how it is done.

B and the Captain, hauling out.

My snowshoes helped keep my feet dry on the ice.  Nice colours in the photo.

The trail back to the cottage was traversed by a stream being held back by a beaver dam.

Back at the cottage and time to relax.

Chill'n on Bob's porch.

Dennis

The Captain

Bradley

Bob du Lac

Arrow, Smooch, Ardie.

Fantastic dinners at Loon Lodge.

Luke and Gabe's cabin.

Sun in the Pines.

The main lodge.

Dennis, Smooch, and Arrow enjoy the view from Pine Lodge.

First fire of the year at Pine.

The boys doing breakfast.

Spring is around the corner. 

Clockwise from the red hat.  The Captain, Bob du Lac, B, Dennis, The Teacher.

On the final day out we loaded everyone and everything and three dogs into and onto the 2 sleds, atv and 2 sleighs.  It took about 70 minutes to cover the apx 12 k to the road.  A beautiful warm day--about 17.  Fantastic journey out and a great ride home with Kelly.

Special thanks to cousin Bob Milling--the ultimate host.  He shared his cottage, atv, fishing gear, food, and stories about family and friends.  

Looking forward to my next trip to Lac Desert.

Kelly has already began scouting out a sled route from here to there.

All good.

Night Hike 3 Amigos

I was saying to my daughter Erin earlier in the day that we need a snow storm--8 hours of blinding heavy snow--lots of wind.  The winter has been tame and I was missing the snowstorms that as a kid kept me in awe and sometimes out of school.

In the evening when the wind picked-up I suggested a snow shoe hike.  John and his two friends Connor and Keenan were up for the adventure.  We headed to my favourite in town snow shoe hike just south of Duchesnay Falls.

I wasn't sure how dark it would be on the trail.  The terrain is in a ravine and I didn't think that there would be any light source on the trip.  However the city lights illuminating the cloud cover created a perfect low level light condition for us.  We brought a headlap and flashlights but they were not needed.  Our eyes adjusted quickly to the low level light conditions and we are able to enjoy the hike with our own natural night vision.

The moonlight helps illuminate the bridge in the distance.

The way the weather has been this year I wasn't really expecting deep snow, in fact we thought about not bringing our snowshoes.  Good thing we did.  The snow was deep, fluffy, and slippery.

The girders of a mysterious bridge.

A view of the Regioanl Health Centre from across the highway.

 The picture below was taken underneath the bridge (there are three) closest to Lake Nipissing.  The boys all commented on the view.  It was a scene from somewhere else (imaginations ran wild)--the arctic maybe--a dark mysterious place.

The boys worked up an appetite during the hike, so on the way home we picked-up a large pizza--it lasted about 6 minutes.

We passed a couple of snowplows on the way home--the most dangerous things we saw all trip.

First ski of 2012

Jumping in with both feet is good advice when you are on a cliff and the water is below.  Skiing however, and this is advice for me and me only, is a little different.

This morning my son John and I decided to go skiing.  I realized immediately that I could not explain how to ski.  Could not put it into words, so I surfed to youtube and found a few how-to videos.  This was good.  Got it--now I remember.  Time to head to the hill.   We are so fortunate to have a ski hill within the city. 

Off we go to the the ski hill.  Specifically the bunny hill for starters.  A few runs and we were good to go to the big side of things.

The weather was perfect -6, and there has hardly anyone on the hill.

The view from the chairlift was awesome.

A great day of skiing, and home in time to catch the NFL playoffs.

It was great to get out and onto the hill.  Looking forward to our next adventure.

Inspired Walk

I never can tell when or where or what will insprire me. Usually happens out-of-the-blue. I was sitting in a dentist's office--waiting for my daughter. The waiting room was filled with books from local authors. In one by Cliff Alger, I read about my late Uncle Walter--too cool. In another by Chris Mayne and Paul Chivers"Northern Shores" http://gulliversbookstore.com/book-launch-northern-shores-nov-25/ I perused a number of breath-taking photos. Some of them were winter scenes near water. I needed to go for a hike. My son John and his friend Nathan were nearby and keen for adventure. So we headed to a local spot where the hiking trail meets the water.

John and Nathan explore the low-lands.

The view south-west from the creek to Lake Nipissing.

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.