The Rock Climber
Lake Beauchene
Loon Cabin
Monday, December 8, 2008
LA RESERVE BEAUCHENE
8th – 16th October LA RESERVE BEAUCHENE
On Wednesday 8th October we met up with an ex-colleague of Eric’s who works in the North Bay office of the Ministry of Transportation, for lunch at a Polish deli called Christina’s.
He had generously agreed to allow us to leave our trailer in his driveway for the next week. However in the end, due to the fact this would leave it too exposed to passers-by, we decided to leave it in the campground where we had just spent 2 nights, for a nominal fee.
From the restaurant we headed to our previously agreed upon rendezvous, a grocery store, to meet up with our dear walking/running buddies from London, Don and Aggie. With no trouble at all we found their van and parked right beside it. It wasn’t long before we saw them with their 3year old grandson Amon in hand coming out of the store, clutching good things for little boys to eat in the car.
Don and Aggie had invited us to check out their new venture and spend a week with them in their cabin at La Reserve Beauchene. We followed them northwest to Temiscaming, a small Pulp and Paper Mill town just across the Quebec border and on the upper Ottawa River. From there we travelled for about another hour along a rough logging road, thankful not to be towing, and into the beautiful wilds of Beauchene.
“La Réserve Beauchêne is a magnificent, exclusive 205.7 square kilometre (over 50,000 acres) territory in the high hills of Quebec. The province of Ontario can be seen across the beautiful valley of the Ottawa River. La Réserve Beauchêne contains over 3 dozen lakes each of which offers some of the best fishing in Canada and there are many other lakes in the territory waiting to be explored.”
As we chatted to Don and Aggie we came to understand this is a fish camp which functions as a partnership. They had recently bought into the partnership and in that sense they own one of the cabins, Loon Cabin, and have access to all the benefits the partnership brings. It is also open to the public, a place where people can rent a cabin or a more remote outpost camp, or stay in the lodge. This is of great appeal to those who love to fish or are looking for some peace and quiet in a beautiful setting.
We spent 6 thoroughly enjoyable days with them. The weather was sunny and comfortingly warm. Aggie gave us guided tours of the other cabins and Don took us on a couple of exploratory boat rides on the large Beauchene Lake. We relaxed in the glorious surroundings, went for walks through trees in their fall best and beside lakes, or cozyed up to a log fire and chatted or read.
We enjoyed the company of little Amon who gloried in the constant attention of 4 adults. He soon gained the skill and confidence to climb up and over rocks under the guidance of Eric and Don and willingly succumbed to the bedtime songs and stories with Nana Aggie.
Aggie and Don’s daughter and son and daughter-in-law (parents of Amon) joined us for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Dinner was held in the large dining room of the lodge and we were able to meet some of the other partners.
After the long weekend Amon went home with mom and dad and we stayed on for a couple more days.
It was such a treat to have one final adventure at the end of our journey.
From there we headed back to North Bay to pick up the trailer and drive the last piece south, spending one night in the Cookstown area, before arriving in Nairn at about 1.30 on October 16th.
We had been away exactly 18 weeks and were welcomed home with great purring and cuddles by a healthy happy Nootka.
How fortunate we have been to have such a trip, knowing that our home and cat were held in the safe hands of Annette, Margaret, George, Max and Sam.
On Wednesday 8th October we met up with an ex-colleague of Eric’s who works in the North Bay office of the Ministry of Transportation, for lunch at a Polish deli called Christina’s.
He had generously agreed to allow us to leave our trailer in his driveway for the next week. However in the end, due to the fact this would leave it too exposed to passers-by, we decided to leave it in the campground where we had just spent 2 nights, for a nominal fee.
From the restaurant we headed to our previously agreed upon rendezvous, a grocery store, to meet up with our dear walking/running buddies from London, Don and Aggie. With no trouble at all we found their van and parked right beside it. It wasn’t long before we saw them with their 3year old grandson Amon in hand coming out of the store, clutching good things for little boys to eat in the car.
Don and Aggie had invited us to check out their new venture and spend a week with them in their cabin at La Reserve Beauchene. We followed them northwest to Temiscaming, a small Pulp and Paper Mill town just across the Quebec border and on the upper Ottawa River. From there we travelled for about another hour along a rough logging road, thankful not to be towing, and into the beautiful wilds of Beauchene.
“La Réserve Beauchêne is a magnificent, exclusive 205.7 square kilometre (over 50,000 acres) territory in the high hills of Quebec. The province of Ontario can be seen across the beautiful valley of the Ottawa River. La Réserve Beauchêne contains over 3 dozen lakes each of which offers some of the best fishing in Canada and there are many other lakes in the territory waiting to be explored.”
As we chatted to Don and Aggie we came to understand this is a fish camp which functions as a partnership. They had recently bought into the partnership and in that sense they own one of the cabins, Loon Cabin, and have access to all the benefits the partnership brings. It is also open to the public, a place where people can rent a cabin or a more remote outpost camp, or stay in the lodge. This is of great appeal to those who love to fish or are looking for some peace and quiet in a beautiful setting.
We spent 6 thoroughly enjoyable days with them. The weather was sunny and comfortingly warm. Aggie gave us guided tours of the other cabins and Don took us on a couple of exploratory boat rides on the large Beauchene Lake. We relaxed in the glorious surroundings, went for walks through trees in their fall best and beside lakes, or cozyed up to a log fire and chatted or read.
We enjoyed the company of little Amon who gloried in the constant attention of 4 adults. He soon gained the skill and confidence to climb up and over rocks under the guidance of Eric and Don and willingly succumbed to the bedtime songs and stories with Nana Aggie.
Aggie and Don’s daughter and son and daughter-in-law (parents of Amon) joined us for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Dinner was held in the large dining room of the lodge and we were able to meet some of the other partners.
After the long weekend Amon went home with mom and dad and we stayed on for a couple more days.
It was such a treat to have one final adventure at the end of our journey.
From there we headed back to North Bay to pick up the trailer and drive the last piece south, spending one night in the Cookstown area, before arriving in Nairn at about 1.30 on October 16th.
We had been away exactly 18 weeks and were welcomed home with great purring and cuddles by a healthy happy Nootka.
How fortunate we have been to have such a trip, knowing that our home and cat were held in the safe hands of Annette, Margaret, George, Max and Sam.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
VIA SUDBURY TO NORTH BAY
6th – 8th October VIA SUDBURY TO NORTH BAY
The 300 km drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury follows the direction of the north shore of Lake Huron. We by-passed Sudbury and stopped for a late lunch at a rest stop on its eastern edge.
I remember the first time I visited Sudbury in about 1983. We’d been on a camping trip to Manitoulin Island and were spending a few days by a lake in this area before heading home. All the surrounding hills were startlingly and grimly barren, simply bare rock and gravel, a so-called moonscape.
After the discovery of a rich vein of nickel copper ore in the late 1800’s 2 mining companies, Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd., processed and treated its ores in the area and built 3 smelter sites. In the early days an apparent total lack of awareness meant that the very toxic sulphur dioxide gas emissions were spewing straight out into the environment around. The result was the utter devastation of all the natural vegetation over a vast area, affecting places as far away as Killarney where the lakes became dead. Not to mention the affect it had on people’s lungs!
Since the early 1980’s, both companies have made great technological changes and 3 very tall smokestacks with scrubbers were built, which still spew, but thankfully the fumes aren’t as hazardous. Volunteer groups have worked very hard over the last 2 decades treating the extremely acid soil with lime and planting literally millions of trees on the surrounding hills
“Perhaps the best indication of our community's efforts to change its image and mend its landscape is the successful regeneration of trees and plant life in the area. This is due to a concentrated effort at land reclamation that began in the late seventies and which has earned the community worldwide recognition for its environmental efforts.”
At the rest area where we stopped this time I was able to follow a short 1km guided walk to a series of lookouts. From these vantage points it was quite extraordinary to see the affects of the continuing restoration work, with some hills further along in the process than others. There is a plaque now marking the planting of the 4 millionth tree planted in 2004.
After another 150 km directly east we reached North Bay.
North Bay, about 70km from the Quebec border, lies between Lake Nippissing and Trout Lake so there are plenty of options for lakeside property and opportunities for walking, biking and hiking in the good weather. Our campground, Champlain Park, wasn’t far from the larger expanse of water, Lake Nippissing, and a short walk from a small beach. On a bitingly damp, gusty, cold evening we took the stroll and were treated to a beautiful sunset, before promptly retreating to the cosy warmth of our trailer.
The next day we went in search of the Mattawa River Provincial Park.
What we discovered was that the smaller Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park lies inside the long narrow Mattawa River Provincial Park, “a swath of spectacular scenery encompassing the river and the lakes and much of the valley along its path.”
“Stretching between North Bay and the Town of Mattawa on the Quebec border is the historic waterway of the Mattawa River. This was once an important route for voyageurs, trappers and loggers -- and before them for the aboriginals who began inhabiting the region more than 6000 years ago. In 1970, the Ontario government protected a substantial portion of the river -- from the eastern end of Trout Lake downstream to Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park -- by designating it the first waterway park in Ontario. In 1988, the federal government recognized the Mattawa's national historic significance by naming it a Canadian Heritage River.”
It was the Samuel de Champlain park that we visited that day, spending a couple of hours in their Visitor’s Centre trying to absorb some of the long and fascinating history this heritage river in the time we had.
The 300 km drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury follows the direction of the north shore of Lake Huron. We by-passed Sudbury and stopped for a late lunch at a rest stop on its eastern edge.
I remember the first time I visited Sudbury in about 1983. We’d been on a camping trip to Manitoulin Island and were spending a few days by a lake in this area before heading home. All the surrounding hills were startlingly and grimly barren, simply bare rock and gravel, a so-called moonscape.
After the discovery of a rich vein of nickel copper ore in the late 1800’s 2 mining companies, Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd., processed and treated its ores in the area and built 3 smelter sites. In the early days an apparent total lack of awareness meant that the very toxic sulphur dioxide gas emissions were spewing straight out into the environment around. The result was the utter devastation of all the natural vegetation over a vast area, affecting places as far away as Killarney where the lakes became dead. Not to mention the affect it had on people’s lungs!
Since the early 1980’s, both companies have made great technological changes and 3 very tall smokestacks with scrubbers were built, which still spew, but thankfully the fumes aren’t as hazardous. Volunteer groups have worked very hard over the last 2 decades treating the extremely acid soil with lime and planting literally millions of trees on the surrounding hills
“Perhaps the best indication of our community's efforts to change its image and mend its landscape is the successful regeneration of trees and plant life in the area. This is due to a concentrated effort at land reclamation that began in the late seventies and which has earned the community worldwide recognition for its environmental efforts.”
At the rest area where we stopped this time I was able to follow a short 1km guided walk to a series of lookouts. From these vantage points it was quite extraordinary to see the affects of the continuing restoration work, with some hills further along in the process than others. There is a plaque now marking the planting of the 4 millionth tree planted in 2004.
After another 150 km directly east we reached North Bay.
North Bay, about 70km from the Quebec border, lies between Lake Nippissing and Trout Lake so there are plenty of options for lakeside property and opportunities for walking, biking and hiking in the good weather. Our campground, Champlain Park, wasn’t far from the larger expanse of water, Lake Nippissing, and a short walk from a small beach. On a bitingly damp, gusty, cold evening we took the stroll and were treated to a beautiful sunset, before promptly retreating to the cosy warmth of our trailer.
The next day we went in search of the Mattawa River Provincial Park.
What we discovered was that the smaller Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park lies inside the long narrow Mattawa River Provincial Park, “a swath of spectacular scenery encompassing the river and the lakes and much of the valley along its path.”
“Stretching between North Bay and the Town of Mattawa on the Quebec border is the historic waterway of the Mattawa River. This was once an important route for voyageurs, trappers and loggers -- and before them for the aboriginals who began inhabiting the region more than 6000 years ago. In 1970, the Ontario government protected a substantial portion of the river -- from the eastern end of Trout Lake downstream to Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park -- by designating it the first waterway park in Ontario. In 1988, the federal government recognized the Mattawa's national historic significance by naming it a Canadian Heritage River.”
It was the Samuel de Champlain park that we visited that day, spending a couple of hours in their Visitor’s Centre trying to absorb some of the long and fascinating history this heritage river in the time we had.
SAULT STE. MARIE & THE AGAWA CANYON
3rd - 5th October SAULT STE. MARIE & THE AGAWA CANYON
A couple of weeks before arriving in the city of Sault Ste. Marie we had booked our seats on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, “a one day rail excursion into the Canadian Wilderness”. This was something Eric had had in his bonnet for us to do, something he’d wanted to do for a while, having been to this part of the Ontario several times before.
Sault Ste. Marie lies more or less on the south east point of Lake Superior, and across the St. Mary’s River from Michigan’s own Sault Ste. Marie. The word sault, I’ve discovered means waterfalls or rapids.
The tour train, which leaves from this city, chugs its way along at 35 mph, 114 miles northwards, back in the direction we had just come, towards and east of the Provincial Park, to the Agawa Canyon. Here in this broad canyon the Agawa River flows by on its way down to Agawa Bay, where we had been camping, and where it enters the lake.
Our timing couldn’t have been better, the colours promised to be spectacular. When we arrived at the station at 7am on Saturday morning, there were about 13 coaches, all full to overflowing, with people ready to ooh and aah at the famous fall colours deep in the Northern Ontario wilderness.
It was indeed a wondrous sight. The day alternated between sunny and cloudy and the countryside was ablaze with at times shimmering at times brilliant shades of reds, orange, yellows and greens. The trip one way takes 4 hours and we sat and simply soaked in the glorious scenery. The train crossed over deep river valleys on “towering trestles, alongside pristine northern lakes and rivers, and through the awesome granite rock formations and mixed forests of the Canadian Shield.”
No wonder the much-loved Canadian landscape artists, members of The Group Of Seven, were drawn to this area.
My siblings were on my mind that day and I thought, “Wow, they would just love this, I would love to show them this, I wish they were here enjoying this with us”.
As we neared our destination, the long train made its gradual winding descent, down 500 feet to the Canyon floor. Here we disembarked and had 2 hours to explore and have a picnic lunch. Glad to be able to move our legs after 4 hours of sitting, we walked the several trails to waterfalls and viewpoints. The climb to one lookout platform is a mighty strenuous cardiovascular workout, 250 feet above the tracks. Realizing that there were several hundred other people that we would need to negotiate space with, Eric and I rallied our best hiking style and gunned it to the top, (with no pushing or shoving), so that we could get a good view before the hoards arrived. I thought my lungs were going to explode but it was well worth it, with pictures to prove it.
The return trip was a reverse view of the marmalade spectacle though I have to confess to the occasional resting of eyelids.
We were back at the station again at 6pm.
After spending the weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, we left for North Bay on Monday 6th October. Our journey was achingly close to its end but there was one more adventure we were looking forward to. We had a couple of days to spend in North Bay before we were to keep a rendezvous at the local grocery store on Wednesday the 8th.
A couple of weeks before arriving in the city of Sault Ste. Marie we had booked our seats on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, “a one day rail excursion into the Canadian Wilderness”. This was something Eric had had in his bonnet for us to do, something he’d wanted to do for a while, having been to this part of the Ontario several times before.
Sault Ste. Marie lies more or less on the south east point of Lake Superior, and across the St. Mary’s River from Michigan’s own Sault Ste. Marie. The word sault, I’ve discovered means waterfalls or rapids.
The tour train, which leaves from this city, chugs its way along at 35 mph, 114 miles northwards, back in the direction we had just come, towards and east of the Provincial Park, to the Agawa Canyon. Here in this broad canyon the Agawa River flows by on its way down to Agawa Bay, where we had been camping, and where it enters the lake.
Our timing couldn’t have been better, the colours promised to be spectacular. When we arrived at the station at 7am on Saturday morning, there were about 13 coaches, all full to overflowing, with people ready to ooh and aah at the famous fall colours deep in the Northern Ontario wilderness.
It was indeed a wondrous sight. The day alternated between sunny and cloudy and the countryside was ablaze with at times shimmering at times brilliant shades of reds, orange, yellows and greens. The trip one way takes 4 hours and we sat and simply soaked in the glorious scenery. The train crossed over deep river valleys on “towering trestles, alongside pristine northern lakes and rivers, and through the awesome granite rock formations and mixed forests of the Canadian Shield.”
No wonder the much-loved Canadian landscape artists, members of The Group Of Seven, were drawn to this area.
My siblings were on my mind that day and I thought, “Wow, they would just love this, I would love to show them this, I wish they were here enjoying this with us”.
As we neared our destination, the long train made its gradual winding descent, down 500 feet to the Canyon floor. Here we disembarked and had 2 hours to explore and have a picnic lunch. Glad to be able to move our legs after 4 hours of sitting, we walked the several trails to waterfalls and viewpoints. The climb to one lookout platform is a mighty strenuous cardiovascular workout, 250 feet above the tracks. Realizing that there were several hundred other people that we would need to negotiate space with, Eric and I rallied our best hiking style and gunned it to the top, (with no pushing or shoving), so that we could get a good view before the hoards arrived. I thought my lungs were going to explode but it was well worth it, with pictures to prove it.
The return trip was a reverse view of the marmalade spectacle though I have to confess to the occasional resting of eyelids.
We were back at the station again at 6pm.
After spending the weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, we left for North Bay on Monday 6th October. Our journey was achingly close to its end but there was one more adventure we were looking forward to. We had a couple of days to spend in North Bay before we were to keep a rendezvous at the local grocery store on Wednesday the 8th.
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