Snowshoeing - Freshwater Bay

We enjoyed yesterday's excursion so much we decided to hit the trails again today. So once again we packed our gear into the car and headed to the trail head. Unfortunately we missed it, we stopped at the wrong spot. There was a skidoo trail there which we started down but it didn't go very far. So, after much snowshoeing in circles and head scratching we managed to figure out where we went wrong. This left us with two options: we could head back to the car and drive to the proper spot, or, since we now knew where we were and where we wanted to be, we could just make our own trail across country till we met up with the path to Freshwater Bay. Naturally we went with the second option. There was nice fresh snow to tromp through, and the terrain was fairly open making for pretty easy going. There were a few patches of denser forest which we were able to work our way around. Then we came to the cliff. The sensible thing to do might have been to turn around, but we were having such a wonderful time and the cliff wasn't really that steep we decided to keep on going. So after a fun slide down the slope we were back trekking cross country. It wasn't long before the few patches of dense forest had become the norm and we were forced to do some serious bushwhacking.

You can see Tracey making her way through the forest in the picture above. The terrain here had actually opened up nicely and wasn't as steep as other sections, it made for nice snowshoeing. I wish I had some pictures of the more extreme portions of our adventure but well I kinda had other things on my mind at the time.

After our time spent getting to know the native flora, we finally made our way to the trail with the help of a local moose who had left a trail for us to follow. We unfortunately didn't get to meet the moose and offer out thanks, but that may be for the best as Mya and the moose may not have got along well together.

We finally arrived on the trail to Freshwater Bay, we could see the ocean ahead of us, and many other travelers had been down the trail leaving it well packed down, you didn't really need snowshoes for the rest of the trip to the bay. There were still obstacles ahead of us before reaching the bay. After successfully running the gauntlet of the forest, the trees made one last ditched effort to thwart us from our goal.

But we would not be thwarted, it managed to pass the tree blocking the path and complete our journey to

We took a little break down by the ocean, had our sandwiches and tried to light a little fire. After some valiant efforts we gave up on trying to light a fire, next time we will take matches with us. So after posing for our group shot (which we forgot to do yesterday) we headed back up the trail.

We followed the trail back to the road then took the short walk down the road to the car. We had had enough adventure for one day and I think Mya was getting tired. Thus ended our 3 hour, 6.25km adventure.

Snowshoeing - Petty Harbour Long Pond Dam

It has been a while since the last post, there have been a few adventures since then. There was a trip to Florida.

Then our trip to Moncton to see Bruce Springsteen 

 and the associated car troubles along the way (nothing that a little PL Premium couldn't fix - thanks Marty). Jigging for Cod.

Trace caught one, I decided that what with all the Cod fishing moratorium that maybe I shouldn't remove any Cod from the ocean so I caught a Skulpin instead. There were also numerous hikes along the East Coast Trail. 

But this was our first time out snowshoeing with our new snowshoes we got for Christmas so I think it is certainly blog-worth, that I have time to blog about it. And so on to the snowshoeing. 

We planned to get an early start and hit the trail, and we were up getting ready at the crack of 10 o'clock! After getting a quick breakfast we made a couple of sandwiches and loaded up our packs and hit the road. The hike wasn't far away but we took a short detour to Tim Horton's as our quick breakfast proved in sufficient. We also got a tea and a coffee but since the hike was only a couple of minutes from Tim Horton's that turned out to be a bit of a waste. I have to remember to get the almost full cups out of the car tomorrow. The hike set out from the side of the road out to Cape Spear and took us into the dam on Petty Harbour Long Pond.

It was a nice walk into the dam, skidoos had been down the trail making for pretty easy going. We ventured off the path a few times to try going through the deeper snow. The deeper snow is certainly harder work then on the packed down trail. 

The trail down to the pond was shorter then we expected and since we were still feeling fresh we continued our trek along the lake and over to the dam.

There was a nice snowy hill on the back of the berm which formed part of the dam. It made for a really nice sliding hill!

After sliding down our hill we continued along the creek below the dam. We found a nice spot to have some trail mix and scotch.

Did you notice the stick in middle of the stream? Mya certainly did.

Needless to say the stick is no longer there. We followed a trail along the creek through the trees snowshoeing through pristine untouched snow. The trail took us down stream to where the creek swelled into a small pond, the forest also closed up here forcing us to turn and head back to the car.

Our first snowshoeing trip was a big success, everyone had a great time. Can't wait for the next one!

 

Thanksgiving 2011

I flew into St. John's Saturday at 12:40 p.m. The plane was supposed to arrive at 12:30; it took a bit of work to calm Trace down as she was quite set on going and telling the pilot off for being late. But as they say, better late then never! We had a nice relaxing afternoon Saturday and that evening went over to Alex and Priya's place downtown to have some scallops, nachos and few drinks with Alex, Priya, Jess and Sam.

Me, Trace, Jess, Sam, Alex and Priya

Sunday was Thanksgiving. We got up bright and early (ok, maybe not that early, but did get the turkey in the over only 30 min later then planned) to prepare our bird for the 11 adults and 2 children we had coming over that evening. Alex and Priya came over a little later to help. Priya made a delicious vegetarian Shepherd's Pie and an Apple Pie for dessert while Alex was put to work peeling vegetables. Trace and I, after getting the bird all dressed and in the oven cooking, went over to Bowring Park for a nice walk. It was a lovely walk but the end of it was a little rushed as we had to get back to the car then go for a quick run into the grocery store before returning to the house around 3:30 to start the vegetables cooking for the guests who were due to arrive at 4.

I had planned to take some pictures of the turkey and meal but we were kept very busy and I never quite got around to taking pictures. All in all, we felt it was a huge success! Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. Jess and Sam arrived first and were followed shortly after by the rest: Tammy, Tonia and Johnny, Sab and Norm and their two kids Devin and Samantha. Our guests provided wine, a pumpkin pie and a white cake (which turned out to be chocolate much to Devon's dismay). Tonia stepped in to help prepare the gravy in a kitchen which was scurrying with activity. Finally everything was ready and served much to everyone's enjoyment. I'd like to give special mention to our stuffing that we made from scratch which, in the words of Jess, looked gross but tasted good.

After dinner Alex, Priya, Jess and Sam laid down for a nap while the rest of the guests departed. I developed a very deep and long lasting appreciation for dishwashers that evening. After everything was tidied away, we were ready for a nap ourselves. That was not to be however as Jess appeared then and roused the rest of the crew and we had a tightly fought game of scrabble. Alex and Priya came out the victors, but I suspect Alex may have brought Priya in as a ringer so we shouldn't get too carried away with the congratulations. After Scrabble it was time for Jess and Sam to depart. We then began another game, one that allowed us to really demonstrate our intellectual skills. It was another well fought match as one person would manage to climb a ladder and leap ahead of the others only to land on a snake and slide back down to the bottom of the pack. We were all very closely matched in skill and the game turned into something of a marathon. In the end I can't remember who ended up winning, but there was much relief by all that the competition was over as the intellectual strain was wearing us all down. (Editor's note: I won BTW!!!!!)

That brought to an end a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Everyone needed to get to bed as we had to take Priya to the airport to catch her 5:50 flight back to Toronto on Monday morning. I feel I need to comment at this time on Priya's fashion sense - I would never have believed it possible to pull of the whole rubber boot look the way she can. She made a pair or rubber boots look stylish. I don't know how she did, but she did.

After returning from the airport, it was time to catch a few more zzzz's as the sun had not even risen yet. Much later that morning we returned to the world of the conscious and went for a lovely hike with Summer.

Our timing was impeccable as several brief but heavy rain storms were moving through the area Monday Morning, but when we started down the trail, the last of them had passed by and the sun was out to accompany us on our way. Some of the people we passed coming out of the trail as we were entering had not been so lucky.

Summer was very happy to be going on the hike with us, and also very curious about my camera.

Summer checking out camera

 The trail meandered along the rugged coastline providing many gorgeous views of the ocean.

We climbed down onto the rocks and had a nice lunch.

After lunch Trace demonstrated her rock climbing skills

to get closer to the ocean waves crashing onto the shore.

Afterwards Summer was obliged to wait patiently while Trace dried out her socks.

 And I was left just hanging around.

After the socks finally dried we hiked back and, after a brief stop in Petty Harbour, returned home for a rest.

Petty Harbour

Rideau Canal - Sept. 2-5

The Rideau Canal was built after the War of 1812 to provide a secure means for the transportation of goods from Montreal to Kingston by avoiding the exposed stretch along the St. Lawrence river. You remember the war of 1812; that was the one where the Americans decided to try and take over Canada while the British were busy in Europe with Napoleon. The one where the White House earned its name for the white wash that was used to cover over the burn marks from when we set Washington ablaze. Special credit should be given to Dolly Madison who purportedly saved a large portrait of George Washington from the flames in the soon to be called White House, whilst her husband, the president, and his cabinet were fleeing westward into the hills of Virginia.

Anyway, as I was saying, construction of the Rideau Canal was prompted by uncertainties arising from the war of 1812. Construction began in 1826 under the supervision of Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers. By 1832 construction of the 202 km waterway with its 47 masonry locks and 52 dams was complete. 175 years after its completion, the Rideau Canal was designated as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site. Today the Rideau Canal  is a haven for boaters who enjoy leisurely traversing the length of the system.

Much of the Canal operates as it was originally designed to do back in 1832. Canal staff operate hand cranks to open and close the lock doors. At several locations hand operated swing bridges are still used although electrical swing bridges have replaced the hand operated ones on the busier roads.

Bascule Train Bridge, Smiths Falls (raised by hand or DC motor, 1914-1978)

Long Island Lock - Boats entering lock - Hand Crank in Front Right of Picture

Long Island Lock - Boats being lowered - Swing bridge open on far side

Long Island Lock - Boats decent completed - Lock doors opening

Our excursion on the Rideau didn't include any of the above sites but they are typical of the locks seen along the length of the canal. Our journey began at Chaffey's lock (the 37th lock along the canal). We launched our canoe and with Mya sitting sedately in the middle, we paddled across Opinicon Lake to Davis lock where we camped Friday and Saturday night.

Our Campsite at Davis Lock

After setting up our campsite we cooked some delicious sausages for supper. I know that technically they were breakfast sausages but we lived on the edge and had them for supper anyways. It was a beautiful warm evening for September; we removed the fly from the tent and were able to watch the stars as we lay down the sleep.

Saturday was yet another beautiful day. Mya and I got up and enjoyed the beautiful morning with Mya going for a refreshing swim while I took a few pictures.

By this point I was getting pretty hungry so I made some breakfast sandwiches and dragged the third member of the expedition out of our tent. After enjoying the delicious repast we set out to attempt some geocaches around Sand Lake.

Our first one we found hidden in the rocks on a little island in the middle of the lake.

Watch Your Sign 3

As we paddled around the lake searching for our caches we saw several birds, some on the water and some in the air.

A Loon on Sand Lake

Some kind of hawk I think.

We found our second cache at the base of some cliffs tucked into a back bay of the lake in a fish sanctuary. We would have found this one sooner if I had listened to Trace.

Cliffs of Dover - Triumphant Trace as she finds cache

We then went to Rock Island where we found our third cache and had a wonderful refreshing swim.

Rock Island

After leaving Rock Island we headed for the last stop on our trip around Sand Lake - Birch Island. One of the islanders had set up a series of six caches that took you on a lovely tour across the island. One of the interesting sites we saw was the Birch Island Branch Library.

Birch Island Branch Library

We were only able to find 4 of the 6 caches as we walked the length of Birch Island. We might have fared better if someone hadn't left the information sheets with the hints in the canoe.

It was a wonderful day and by this time we were getting tired and hungry so we headed back to camp where I made supper while Trace played with the camera.

And Mya slept.

The next morning we awoke to ominous clouds rolling in and thunder booming in the distance. We were up at the washrooms when the storm finally hit. The skies opened as the three of us waited in the doorway for the rains to abate. After several minutes we were finally able to return to our campsite. A shirt and a towel had been blown into the trees, and the canoe had been blown off the dock and was half full of rain water, but otherwise our camp had survived the storm - our tent was still cozy and dry!

As it was our last day camping we proceeded to pack everything up and load the canoe for our return journey to Chaffey's lock.

Before leaving we tried to get a group shot of us on our rock. Unfortunately one member of our trio was less then co-operative.

We had to settle for taking the picture in front of our rock instead. Which, apart from Mya feeling the need to stick her tongue out, worked much better.

John, Mya and Trace in front of our rock.

We canoed back to Chaffey's Lock and fortunately the rain held off as we paddled back. We did have to deal with a head wind and a fair lop on the lake, but made it back unscathed.

The last day of our Rideau Excursion was spent roaming Ottawa. We visited Hogs Back Falls, where the Rideau Canal departs from the Rideau river and both find their separate ways down to the Ottawa River.

We then headed downtown, where we walked from the along the Canal from the Pretoria Bridge down to the Byward Market (as an astute reader may have noted, the Byward Market, as well as Ottawa's original name of Bytown are both derived from Lieutenant Colonel John By's name) and enjoyed some scotch and a nice supper at The Highlander Pub.

Sadly the time came for Tracey's flight back to Newfoundland bringing an end to this installment in our adventures.