Archive for September, 2007
September 29th, 2007 -- Posted in General |
I’m back from my week’s holiday in Quetico, and it was not really what I expected. Here are some highlights:
Drove up on Saturday, and the colors were amazing. The north shore of Lake Superior is absolutely amazing, and thoroughly under-rated - I’d compare it to the Cabot Trail.
I spent the first night in Wawa - a cute town with a lot of motels and not much else (a couple gas stations, a few local restaurants on a small downtown drag that must be busy in the summer). I stayed at the Sportsman’s Lodge, and it was quite nice, and had pork souvlaki for supper
Early Sunday morning I drove out towards Thunder Bay/Atikokan, and fully expected to see a moose along the road, but nope.
The park was closed, so I got my self-service permit (good thing I had cash!), found the access road and was on my way.
I had planned for a 6 day loop, but paradoxically, because the wind was so incessant and the weather wasn’t fantastic, I did more canoeing each day and finished in 4 nights/5 days.
Monday night was a huge thunderstorm - right over top of me. Amazing. My tent was setup, and I was expecting it, and it didn’t last too long. Tuesday was gray and rainy and when I got to my destination that night, I found one of the coolest campsites ever - the fire pit was nestled against a 6-7 foot rock cut. I put rocks on the edge holding one side of my tarp, setup some sticks as supports for the other corners and I had a fantastic shanty shelter to keep my fire from being rained on. In fact, I didn’t even setup the tent that night, and just slept by the fireside, with the canoe propped up to block the wind. There was also a huge stack of firewood (mostly dry) waiting there, so I dried out in an hour, made an amazing supper (risotta with spicy tuna - heavenly!), and slept wonderfully. Wednesday morning was sunny and beautiful - and the contrast was incredible.
On Thursday, the sky looked foreboding, so instead of taking advantage of the paid camping, I figured a warm, dry, soft bed and a hot shower would be nice - so I boogied all the way out. The rain started pouring 2 minutes before I was all packed up, so I got going as fast as I could
I stayed in Thunder Bay, had my shower, and had a fantastic supper at Elements. My waiter was a teacher, married to a physio (weird!) and most of my dinner I was the only one in the restaurant.
On Friday morning I followed the recommendation of my waiter and went to Hoito (T-Bay has the largest Finn population outside of Finland) for breakfast for thin pancakes - delish.
I left T-Bay at 8:00, stopped at a few scenic lookouts and campgrounds, took some pictures, stopped for lunch in Wawa (it’s a hub, I tell ya), and arrived home at midnight.
Now, I’ll treat you to the thoughts of a haggard looking man after a week’s isolation:
1500 km in 16 hours is a long drive, but once you fall into a groove, it’s not hard.
Quetico is not worth the $250 in gas and 3000 kms on my car. It wasn’t any prettier than Algonquin (much less than Killarney)
I have been fascinated by the lifestyle and mindset of voyageurs/explorers, and Quetico gives a good taste of this as the portages and campsites are unmarked (you can camp anywhere you want, as long as it’s low impact, though it’s clear where others have camped before, and they’re usually the best spots) and the portages are absolutely brutal - I thought the book was joking when it talked about “boot sucking mud”, but no, most portages are rampant with such mud, slippery sharp rocks, narrow trails, steep climbs, and bogs guaranteeing soakers. Make sure you have the best boots you can afford if you’re going to Quetico!
I saw no moose, no bear, no deer, no smaller animals (mink, beaver, marten, etc), only a couple of mostly quiet loons and mergansers. Fall is not the time to see wildlife, so next year I’ll maximize my “fall colors” viewing with a motorcycle tour instead (canoeing in the spring, still)
The north shore of Lake Superior (especially between Soo and Thunder Bay) is worth the $250 in gas and 3000 kms and 32+ hours of driving
I wonder if I could be a truck driver - not because I think it’d be glamorours, but because I’m not afraid of being alone.
I set a new personal record on isolation - 3 days, 6 hours without seeing/talking/hearing a person. In fact, the full 7 days were in isolation except for a few “yes, please”, “thanks”, and “lovely day, eh?” comments. I chatted with a hunter on the Thursday afternoon on the access road out of Quetico, and the waiter that night, but otherwise it was just me and my thoughts.
When I’m working, my thoughts follow a multi-tasking linearity, but when I’m canoeing, my thoughts go in endless loops, repeating and linking one another over and over. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it’s freeform, so is maybe relaxing
I’m a Toronto bigot - I despise anything to do with the city (the people, the attitudes, the traffic, the lifestyle) and inherently am small-town-philic - Thunder Bay is an oasis. I think there’s a big part of me that’s hick (wanting to hunt/fish, drive a pickup/ATV, live near a small town, in a trailer (or yurt) on a rugged plot of land, grow a beard, wear cammo and a baseball cap, etc.) I wonder if I can turn Jenn into a hick-chick.
Well, that’s all I remember on the morning after.
September 18th, 2007 -- Posted in General |
So last night was the season premiere of Prison Break. I must say I was really disappointed. I don’t know if they realize that it has a HUGE female audience (umm.. we discuss it at work every week!). Anyway, last night, we all agreed that it was far too gross! I was even tempted to leave! Hopefully it improves but it’s possible I might have to take it off my list - I hate nightmares!
September 11th, 2007 -- Posted in General |
Too lazy to bookmark, so I’ll just create a post with the links I’ve found to build my own bat house: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
September 9th, 2007 -- Posted in General |
There is a Guelph photographer that has a great photo blog that Doug and I have read since we moved here. He appears to always be out and about on the local trails so we always wondered if we would one day bump into him. Anyway, yesterday I was downtown with Jean and Kara-Lynn and lo and behold - I saw the Grand Fogger!. I introduced myself… but was just neat to run into a blogger that I read all the time!
September 3rd, 2007 -- Posted in General |
Well, I don’t complain that I have summers off, but I can complain that this is the last day of summer vacation! Booo!! We spent the weekend doing a few day trips - went to Fergus and Elora on Saturday and then to Goderich beach yesterday where I got slightly sunburnt…. oops! So now today, I have to get ready for work tomorrow…. what to wear on the first day of school? Hmm…