Actual Destinations
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| Week 4 | Week 5
Act 2
Day 1, September 14, 1998:
After a late start, thanks to an extra long tune-up,
I finally got under way, around 5:30 pm, after a quick stop for some perishable
items. The trip up was fairly un eventful, first travelling up Simcoe St.,
out of Oshawa, to its end, then turning left, I mean
RIGHT, and travelling along Hwy 48 to Coboconk. It
was here that my first notable sighting occurred: a man was trying to coerce
one of his cows back behind the gate, and out of traffic. From Coboconk,
I following Hwy. 35 north, almost to Huntsville, and turning on Hwy.60 into
Algonquin. Another sighting: couple of guys climbing one of the rock faces
along Hwy.35 (is that legal?).
The rain started shortly before I arrived at the Park,
and followed me into Mew Lake Campground, my first stop. I was easily able
to get a site, since there isn't a huge demand on a Monday night in the middle
of Sept. I quickly started setting up my tent on Site # 98, but wasn't
in the mood for getting the tarp up - my mistake. I retired at about 10:30
pm to the occasionally heavy patter of rain inches from my head...
Day 2:
I awoke around 10:00am, with little desire to get up,
but then I realized how wet things had become inside the tent. Seems that
small tents with very small flys (sp?) just covering the top of the dome,
like mine, tend to get wet inside when long legs push against the walls all
night during a rainfall. Oh well.
I decided, after mopping up, that since the rain was
still intermittently falling, I'd travel to Huntsville and see some of the
sights while talking myself into buying some more gear. On the way
back, I stopped in at the Algonquin Gallery to see the exhibits, including
a display of Tom Thompson originals.
After returning to the site, I set up the tarp to prevent
a repeat of the previous night, although the rain was already fading. While
doing so, I was visited by 4 foraging grouse looking for anything resembling
food left on the ground. Later, around a fire, I also had my first visit
from nature's scavengers - the raccoon. It seems that they, too, had been
rained out the night before. The stars came out around 9:30pm and so around
11:30pm I took a walk to the beach to gaze at them.
Day 3:
A much better morning, with not a cloud in the sky. I
packed a lunch then travelled along the Old Railway Bike Trail to its end
at Rock Lake campground. I travelled a little further and went on the Booth's
Rock hiking trail, as well. Sighting: at the old homestead on the trail I
piqued the interest of a marten and played with him around a tree until some
other hikers came by. Since the area looked nice and quiet, I also
reserved a site for the weekend. Along the way, I came across a great walking
stick - it's the right height, right weight, nice and strong and laced with
worm-burrowed trails - character. It was a little tricky getting it back
to Mew Lake, but the bracket for my bike pump helps secure a walking stick
quite well. Other sights included more grouse, many chipmunks (I'm not going
to mention them again, cuz there everywhere) and a fox along the road in
the evening. Again, more stars and a quiet evening.
Day 4:
Another beautiful day to enjoy! This time I embarked
on the 11km Mizzy Lake hiking trail. A nice walk along part of the old railway
(it's everywhere) through some nice lakes and through the forest to see many
animals, including garter snakes, blue jays, and the ever popular grouse
(again, they aren't going to get mentioned too much further). I even noticed
some basking painted turtles on their logs, before, I might add, the trail
guide told me to look for them. I think I saw a movie on them recently...
;)
Since I was moving to another site, I decided to use
up most of my wood in a big fire from 8-12pm. Again, more stars.
Day 5:
After packing up everything under another beautifully
clear sky, I travelled to the Minnesing Bike Trail. The parking lot was empty,
so I had a very solitary ride. There's four loops, and since I haven't done
much actual trail riding before I opted for the 2nd longest, at 17 km. Along
the way there were a few nice lookouts and photo ops - also a great excuse
for taking a break. I also
took a quick hike along one of the intersecting portages to Linda Lake, another
nice spot. The trail took me less than 3 hours, so I think I'm ready for
the longest loop next time. If anyone is thinking about getting out
and doing some more involved mountain biking trails, this is a great
introduction.
Since the afternoon was still young, I decided to take
in a trail as well, so I headed to the Hemlock Bluff trail. Near the cliff
lookout, three large birds went by at a pretty good pace, and the sound of
their wings was quite impressive (the word `flapping' just doesn't do it
justice).
Set up at Rock Lake campground (Site 94) didn't take
long (no rain forecast, no tarp needed!), so I had the opportunity to again
watch some stars.
Day 6:
With a (relatively) early start at 9am, I biked down
to the Coon Lake campground to start
the
10km+ Centennial Ridges hiking trail. A demanding trail, but
with many a rewarding vistas. The highlight came when I heard some splashing
out on one of the beaver ponds and, as I watched, 3 otters made their presence
known. They slowly worked their way towards shore, diving and digging for
food, and eventually one came up on a small beaver hut(?) right in front
of me. I sure hope the pictures turn out.
On a less nature-geared note, I noticed a classic Volkswagen
van pull up to the campground - painted bright red and white.
Again, more clear sky, more stars.
Day 7:
After a slow start to the day, I packed everything up
and headed out, with the destination being Restoule PP. I worked my way through
Huntsville, then turned to the map for some smaller country roads to enjoy.
After an early wrong turn near Burk's Falls, I ended up on a very neat road
just west of Bear Lake, travelling north to Magnetawan. From there
I came across a map of some hiking/bike trails through the roads travelling
up to Commanda (almost to Restoule). I eagerly started along the way, with
some of the roads becoming quite primitive. I soon found myself at an
intersection, with 2 gravel roads and 1 cow path. After travelling along
the one gravel road for a while and realizing it was a dead end, I headed
back to the intersection. Choices, choices. Well, since the cow path
headed north and I wanted to go north, off I went. Everything was going
well, until I came upon a rather muddy, rather rutted section, adjacent to
a pond. For the record, I almost made it across, but my wheels started to
slip and I ended up hung up in the mud. Lucky for me, I had a mountain
bike, so I was easily able to travel forward and reach to first house to
ask someone to pull me out. Thanks to Joe and Allan for their help.
With my spirits a little lower, I travelled to Restoule
uneventfully and set up on site #464. The place was nearly empty and I couldn't
even register till the next morning. Rain was forecast, so I did set up the
tarp (hey, I'm learning). As for wildlife, the only thing of note was
a rabbit crossing the road in Restoule.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3
| Week 4 | Week 5
Act 2