Week 3
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 Act 2
Day
15:
Woke up to some nice mist over the lake, which faded
over breakfast. Started off with the Nokomis trail, a nice hilly hike
with a few lookouts. One of those looked out over Old Woman Bay, which also
has a nice beach to wander, which I did. After lunch, I went on the South
Old Woman River trail, just across from the campsite. Its a quiet trail,
wandering along - a river! I later drove up to Wawa for some food and gas.
Day 16:
Nice morning, a little overcast, but a good day for a
nice long hike. I headed out for the Awausee trail, about 10km, with lots
of ridges to climb. Everything started out fine, but then the trail
seemed to get a bit rocky and I didn't see any trail markings. I decided
I could still salvage the situation by climbing up the ridge, hoping to catch
up with the trail again at the top. Well, it didn't quite work, so after
wandering around for 20 minutes, I started back down. I ended up catching
the trail just before the spot where I took a right instead of a left.
After my 45 minute excursion, I was quite worn out, so I didn't continue.
I did head out to a short trail, the Agawa Rock
Pictographs trail. The trail winds down to the coast of Lake Superior with
a 10ft shelf sloping into the lake, with the native rock painting above.
Since things weren't as calm as they could be, with waves crashing
up the ledge, making it nice and slick, I didn't venture any further.
There were some other rocks nearby, so I got myself set up and had
lunch, although I still couldn't see any paintings. From there, I travelled
to the Pinguisibi river trail. It just follows the the river, but there are
some nice rapids and waterfalls to walk over. A great place to come
back to with water shoes, a bathing suit and warm weather. As for wild
life, I did see a trout jumping in the river.
The sun sets nicely over the Lake Superior, so I went back to
the Old Woman Bay and set up to watch it set. After that, I headed back
to the site, I lit a fire and enjoyed a few stars.
Day 17:
Rain greeted me in the morning, as I tried to make pancakes,
although only one even remotely resembled a pancake. A rather brave
grey jay landed on the table with the intent of taking my sacrifice to the
pancake gods, but left after I covered them
up.
Hiking in the rain didn't really appeal, so I drove down
a nice twisty road to the lakeshore. It's one of the access roads to the
costal hiking trail. The rain started to let up, so I ventured down to the
Orphan Lake trail. Everything started off alright, but soon the rain picked
up. After I hit the lakeshore, the trail headed back along a river. As
the rain got worse, my pace picked up. By the end of the trail, I was soaked,
and it only took me 1h45min to finish a 8km trail. I took a shower to dry
off, then went to Wawa for some groceries and dinner. On the way back, I
saw a dark, lumbering, four-legged beast crossing the road in the distance
- closest thing to a bear that I've seen.
Day 18:
Time to move on, so I took down the old tent and headed
off for Thunder Bay. It didn't look that long on the map, but seemed
like quite a long drive. Stopped in at Marathon for some lunch and arrived
at Sleeping Giant PP around 5pm. Finally decided on site #157 at the
Marie Louise Campground. Not a lot of privacy, but the site, again,
has a nice lake view and since there were only 3 of us in the area, in was
a good spot. Saw a pair of foxes dining on some dirty dishes - this
park's substitute for racoons.
Popped into Thunder Bay for dinner. Found a bank
machine and finally got a chance to see my mounting VISA bill - ouch! Getting
back to the park, I saw a deer wandering through the campsites.
Day 19:
As I mentioned above, this park doesn't have 'coons,
but foxes. Could be a good thing, but foxes are more intelligent, and more
curious. I found this out a 7am, as a fox was investigating my tent
and tarp. I tried to make some noise, but this didn't work. I hit the
side of the tent, but this resulted in the fox hitting back - right at my
head. So I took the possum approach and stayed still until the critter
got bored and left.
When I got up a couple hours later, the sky was blue and waiting
to be hiked under. I decided to travel to the Ouiment Canyon. Its kinda like
the Grand Canyon only north east of Thunder Bay. Its main focus is the fact
that the climate at the bottom of the 100m canyon is the same as that 1000km
north, in the subarctic tundra. As for wildlife, there was a porcupine resting
in a tree in one of the smaller ravines.
On my way back to the park, I enjoyed the country roads
a little too much, lost control, and nearly ended up in the ditch. After
I got back to the park, I was again greeted by a brave fox who seemed only
interested in being chased. I headed down to the small community of Silver
Islet, its claim to fame being an offshore silver mine that yielded over
$3 million worth of silver in the mid-1800's. Its a small community, but
it has a general store, so I could buy some milk and a detailed map of the
park (since the park office is closed).
Back in the park, I went on a short trail, called Ravine
Lake, and then went on another which led to a rock formation called the Sea
Lion - a slab jutting into the lake which has resisted erosion over the years.
Day
20:
The plan today is to head out onto the rock formation
which lends the park its name - the Sleeping Giant. This rock formation is
another case of one certain type of rock resisting erosion while the surrounding
rock is worn down. In this case, 5 mesas of rock stand in an arrangement
that resembles the Head, Adam's Apple, Chest, Legs/body, and Knees/Feet.
The trail leading up to the Giant is reached by some old logging
roads that
have been abandoned and converted to trails (don't worry, I've no plans to
drive there), so I had the opportunity to bike there from the campsite. Fairly
rewarding view from the top, but with a little too much foilage in the way.
Back at the site, over dinner, I sat at the lake and,
while eating, a fox came over and sat about 4 feet from me. Knowing the fox
for the pest that he is, I got up and chased him away. I also heard
some people walking along the beach, and as I realized, they probably would
have appreciated a quick picture of a fox sitting nicely by the beach. Oh
well.
I started a fire, but soon heard some splashing nearby
on the lake. Upon closer inspection, two otters were swimming along, just
offshore, while diving, digging and enjoying dinner. Once the fire burned
down, I travelled into Silver Islet for some dessert, since the General Store
was having a Midnight Tea until, suprisingly, midnight.
Day 21:
Once again, a travel day, but this time its a short trip.
I packed up, but left my tent and the tarp out to dry. I went out for a quick
hike on the Piney Woods trail - nice hike with an O.K. lookout and lots of
signs of moose. When I came back, I packed everything up and headed out of
the park. Along the way, I stopped at a rather precarious lookout bolted
onto the side of a cliff. The lookout was quite nice, giving a nice view
of Thunder Bay - both the city and the body of water (yes, that is where
it got its name).
Once in the city, I stopped at the Terry Fox monument and looked
back at the Sleeping Giant and the park from its lookout. I stopped at Centennial
Park and took some time to bike the recreational trail around Boulevard Lake.
I then checked in at the Venture Inn for a comfortable night's stay. For
dinner, another treat - Prime Rib at the Keg. After that, a quiet evening
in front of the T.V. (wow, it's been a while since I've done that).