rkj__'s Ramblings

Photomom

Careful driving if you’re coming this weekend - there are predictions of anywhere from sleet to freezing rain to as much as 1/2 inch of ice accumulation. Looking forward to seeing where you’re going!

rkj__

Caution.  Grab a coffee or a snack, this one gets a little long. 

Erica and i were determined to camp this weekend.  We each had our reasons for really wanting to go.  We had a spot booked weeks ago.  But, a forecast for a ton of rain made it look like that would not be any fun.  So, our next thought was head north, for some winter fun, in April.  But, we really did not want more winter, and we worried that travel would be simply dangerous, with all kinds of ice and snow forecasted.  Environment Canada was warning of a "Potentially Historic Ice Storm."  We continued to watch the forecast throughout the week, and decided to push the decision as late as we could.  The forecast did not improve.  What to do?  Being in Southern Ontario, we can go North, East, or West.  All those options looked bad within a five hour drive.  So, we decided to consider an option we don't usually take.  Head South, into the US of A. 

We considered some logistics.  Passports, check.  Dogs; valid rabies shot.  One out of two.  Unfortunately, our Adventure Poodle would not be able to make the trip, as he got his rabies shot just days before our planned departure.  The CDC wanted him to have the shot 30 days prior to entry.  My parents were able to watch the Adventure Poodle though.  We knew he would be happy, and well cared for; check!  Food.  Heavy restrictions bringing food into the USA from Canada.  Ok, we can do some shopping across the border.  Destination.  To the Googles.  We considered a couple options, and debated some pros and cons.  We decided on Hickory Run State Park in PA. A journey with about 5.5 hours of driving and a border crossing.

We were able to take off around 3pm.  Not ideal, but we've faced worse schedules.  We dropped off Adventure Poodle, and headed to the border.  It took around a half hour of waiting, but our crossing went smoothly.  Hello America! 

Since our plans were made a little last minute, we did not have everything meticulously planned.  We knew we had to get some food, but had no idea where.  We stopped at the first grocery store we came across.  A "Save A Lot."  It was a fairly small store, with the smallest produce section I've ever seen.  Many of the brand names were unfamiliar to us.  We circled the sore a few times, and left with a basket of food.  Since it was nearby, and familiar to us, we grabbed a bite to eat at a Tim Hortons.  We fueled up the truck, and we were rolling again.  Up and down the hills of New York. 

Most of our travels in Ontario are quite flat, and straight.  Our drives are often uninteresting, and just about putting in time, in order to get to our destination.  But, this journey featured a far more interesting drive.  Hills, and curves!  It made the drive seem like less of a chore, and more like part of the vacation.  The truck sure got a workout on some very steep climbs.  For the first time ever, I had my foot to the floor, was not accelerating, and was doing 50 in a 55.  Huh.  That's fine.  I was 0% concerned.  There were lots of other climbs that had the truck revving at about 4500 RPM, but it always held the speed limit.  Night fell on our travels, limiting our views for the last couple hours.  That just meant that we would have some fresh views for the return trip. 

We ended up pulling into the park around 11pm.  Oops.  That's later than they want you to pull in.  We did our best to be quiet, and not disturb any campers.  The site was easy to back into, and nice and level.  The temperatures were nice, and we were snoozing before long.

Even after driving many hours south, we knew that Saturday's weather would be great, but the forecast for Sunday and Monday was showing a high chance of rain.  That's better than snow and ice, but still not as good as sunshine.  So, we planned to make the most of Saturday.  We even set an alarm, so we did not slumber for too long. 

We started our day with the "Shades of Death" trail.  It was an amazingly diverse trail, with waterfalls, green plants (refreshing this time of year), varied terrain, and good conditions.  It was one of the nicest hikes we've done.







The weather was so warm, we could hardly handle it!  We left our sweaters in the T@b, but even in light long sleeves, we were a little overdressed!

After the Shades of Death trail, we headed back to the campsite for lunch.  We were both a little alarmed by how salty some of our selections turned out to be.  We decided to have a little lay down in the T@b before heading out again.  It was so warm, we even fired up the air conditioning.  Refueled, and rested, we were ready for more.

We headed out to see Hawk Falls.  It was definitely a popular spot, but not overcrowded. 



Beyond the falls, we planned to hike a loop.  We were expecting a challenging hike, and certainly found a challenge, complete with very steep, and slippery terrain.  It was fun, grabbing trees, to keep ourselves on the trail, and not sliding down the steep slopes.  But, eventually, we ended up losing the trail, and backtracked.  We did not feel defeated, as we enjoyed the trek anyways. 



Saturday was not over yet though!  We still had time to check out one of the defining features of the park.  The Boulder Field!  I've never seen anything like it.  So vast.  So flat.  Seemingly out of place.  We were not sure how our Mini Adventure Mutt would handle it, but she skipped from boulder to boulder without missing a beat.





We wrapped up the night with a campfire, fueled by nice dry wood from the camp store.  We both felt we made the most of the insanely nice Saturday weather.  The temperatures dropped sharply overnight.  So much so, that even though we were using the A/C in the afternoon, I turned on the heat in the middle of the night, when I awoke feeling chilly. 

On Sunday, we woke up a little tired from our busy Saturday, so we slumbered a bit later.  I took the Adventure Mutt outside in the morning, and found the air to have a bit of a mist to it, making it feel much colder and damper than the day before. 

After some oatmeal and coffee, we headed out for a quest to find a fire tower indicated on the park map.  Somehow though, our quest failed.  We did not find a fire tower.  How can you not find a fire tower?  I don't know.  Poor map reading skills?  Naw, can't be.  They must have torn it down or something!  lol 

Anyways, we shifted our focus to the Fireline trail, and enjoyed some nice views, though we dressed much differently than the day before.








After getting out and adventuring a little bit, we did not feel guilty about spending some time relaxing in the trailer.  Erica had a movie downloaded on the old iPad, so we watched that, and shared lots of laughs. 

It was looking like rain was moving in for the evening, so spending time sitting around the campfire did not seem like a great plan.  But, we still wanted to do something other than sit around.  Fortunately, Erica is great at coming up with fun, spontaneous (or sometimes not so spontaneous) plans. 

For a while now, Erica has been telling me about a chain of fondue restaurants called "the Melting Pot."  She has been wanting to go for some time now, but they don't have any locations near us in Canada, although there is one near us in Buffalo.  Erica found a location in Bethlehem, a little over an hour away from where we were camped.  We had time, so we went for it.  We took some more winding roads, and arrived at the restaurant, perhaps a little under-dressed, and a little dirtier than we normally are when we dine out.  But, none the less, our waitress treated us very well. 

Our night out was fantastic.  The fondue and all the dippers were delicious.  Also, our waitress even brought us a tasty chocolate maple leaf they drew up for us with our desert.  She seemed excited that we came so far, telling us that she had never served any Canadians at the restaurant previously.  I was a little surprised by that, but we were near 6 hours away from the border. 





The drive back to the campground was very dark and rainy, but we made it safe, and tucked into bed.

Aaaand, we stayed there for a good long while.  We woke to the sound of wind an rain.  A lot of rain came down, so we slumbered, and listened to an audio book.



Eventually, come late morning, the rain let up.  It was warm, an actually really nice for a few moments when there was a gap between the clouds.  We both showered up.  Feeling refreshed, we lit a fire, and roasted up some lunch, before packing up.

Perhaps the Adventure Mutt did not want to leave.  She seemed to protest hooking up the trailer!



But, she did yield, and we hit the road.

Again, we enjoyed the scenery, as we made our way through the mountains of PA. 



As we got closer to home, something bad happened.  It started snowing!  Yuck.  As we got closer to Buffalo, the roads were getting kind of slushy.  We passed one vehicle in the ditch, so I was sure to drive with care. 

Fortunately, the borer crossing was quick, and we made it back home safely.  I was pretty grumpy about the weather, but we were very happy we were able to escape it for a few days. 

The overnight low was below freezing, so I made the call to winterize the trailer again for the night.  Better safe than sorry I thought.  I completed the task fairly quickly, having learned the process in the fall.  Only one mistake.  After I was tucked in bed, I realized I forgot to address the water pump.  Whoops.  I quickly popped out of bed, and drained the pump/lines, to avoid potential issues. 

Waking up this morning, it is still icy and cool outdoors, but at least Erica and I have the memories of sunny and warm April days in PA.

Thanks for reading!

jgram2

Is that Adventure Puppy glad to see you’re home, or mini Adventure puppy ready to go again at the slightest sign from you? You two sure know how to make the most of your limited time. Thanks for sharing your adventures!

rkj__

Twojgrams said:

Is that Adventure Puppy glad to see you’re home, or mini Adventure puppy ready to go again at the slightest sign from you? You two sure know how to make the most of your limited time. Thanks for sharing your adventures!

The Adventure Poodle is a pretty chill guy.  He was very happy to see us return though.  Here he is enjoying some snow and ice.



The Adventure Mutt was not too happy to come back to reality, and share our attention with another dog.  Oh well, suck it up pup!


Some people might think the amount of driving we do for such short adventures is a little crazy, but we do our best to not let distance stop us from having a good time. 

ericnliz

@rkj__, Thanks so much for sharing yet another awesome adventure! Seems you two have quite the knack for making the most out of a situation. Glad you enjoyed your trip & have many more!

Ratkity

Amazing story of an adventure! I am always stunned when I come up from Maryland into Pennsylvania and suddenly am in fog, hills, and curvy roads. Beautiful drives. That's where Popper, the service dog, was born. BTW, he's doing nicely with his training and is growing rapidly!

Speaking of pups, did the border folks question you about dog food or bagged treats? Nothing requiring refrigeration though. Just curious. 

rkj__

Ratkity said:

Amazing story of an adventure! I am always stunned when I come up from Maryland into Pennsylvania and suddenly am in fog, hills, and curvy roads. Beautiful drives. That's where Popper, the service dog, was born. BTW, he's doing nicely with his training and is growing rapidly!

Speaking of pups, did the border folks question you about dog food or bagged treats? Nothing requiring refrigeration though. Just curious. 

The border guard only asked if our dog was up to date on shots. We were not asked to present documents to support our answer. We did not get any questions about dog food. Each crossing is different though. You never know how it will go. 

Photomom

Where to shop for food? I know you are not blessed with Wegmans up there in Ontario, but there are a whole bunch of them in Buffalo and chances are you drove close to at least one of them. Check it out next time. You’ll be glad you did.

Looks like you had a wonderful weekend!

rkj__

The story of this trip starts a few days before our planned departure.  It was Wednesday, before our planned Friday evening departure.  I was driving home from work in my truck, and I noticed a slight noise when turning left.  Very slight.  However, I'm pretty in-tune with my vehicle.  The voice in my head told me to check the front passenger side hub.  The front driver side was replaced about 20,000km ago, so I knew it was only a matter of time, before the passenger side would give up as well.  Not wanting to have trouble 2 hours from home, I got out my little emergency bottle jack, and jacked up the front wheel.


Sure enough, once the tire was off the ground, I could wobble the wheel / tire back and forth.  Hub bearings are toast.  Great.  Well, at leas it did not leave me stranded.  Good thing I listened to that voice inside my head telling me to check it.  And, it was only Wednesday night, so I knew there was a good chance I could get it fixed before our planned Friday departure.  I was frustrated though.  It was a another hassle to deal with, it is an expensive repair on my vehicle, and I don't really have a relationship with any mechanic close to my new job.  I'd have to call around and solve that problem in the morning.


Though flustered by the truck issue, I moved my shaken focus to de-winterizing the trailer.  I connected the hose to the city water connection to fill the Alde, and the rest of the water lines.  Well, that is what was supposed to happen.  Instead, I flooded the trailer under the galley kitchen sink, because I had not yet re-connected the water pump hose.  Can I get a break here?  I got the water turned off as quick as I could.  Fortunately, the trailer was tipped tail down, so water did not spread through the whole trailer.  After drying that out, I quickly completed the de-winterizing task.


In the morning, I found a shop that said they could fix my truck that day.  Good.  They found a few other items needing repair, and a mislabeled box from a part supplier meant I would have to pick up my truck on Friday instead.  Ok, that still works, it will just delay packing a little bit.


So, Thursday night, we got the trailer packed, and Friday evening, I drove my truck home from the shop after work.  The truck was now way quieter, with far less rattling and such.  Good.  We loaded the truck, hitched up the trailer, and were on our way.  The drive went as well as expected, and we reached our lakefront plot in Presqu'ile Provincial Park.  Before long, we were tucked inside the T@b, with all four of us (two people, two dogs) fitting in fine.  I thought the addition of the now larger Adventure Poodle would make the trailer feel cramped, but it did not bother me one bit.  


Saturday morning came, and we were both awake fairly early.  As I expected, it was cool by the Great Lake Ontario, so we started with a walk, and a hot oatmeal breakfast.  We spent much of Saturday relaxing, enjoying the view, playing with the dogs, and getting in a high quality nap.





Since we were up early, there was still plenty of time in the day for a little exploring.  So, we headed to the Marsh Boardwalk Trail.


The marsh was still waking up from a long winter, and cool spring.








The boardwalk was lovely.  It was well constructed, with nice composite deck boards, and wound through the marsh.  Remains from a previous edition of the boardwalk remained as well.

The trail then took us to a forest, with some interestingly misshapen trees, that you could ride like a horse.

Having explored enough to not feel like we wasted the day, we went to bed, excited for the next day, which was forecast to be warmer, and have a special Mother's day visit from my wife's mother.


From my first step outside the trailer on Sunday morning, I knew it was going to be a good day weather wise.  The sun was warm, the winds were calm, and although there were tons of bugs, they were of the non-biting variety.


We had a nice calm start to our morning, and then our special guest arrived.  We got all caught up, and had a nice lunch together, before heading out for a bike ride.

It was a wonderful day to ride though the park.  Much of our route featured one way roads, and wide bike lanes.  Perfect.  Another interesting feature of the route was the small barriers along the side of the road, to restrict reptiles and other small animals to using small tunnels to cross the road, rather than risk their lives in automobile traffic.




When I hopped off my bike for a closer look at one of the tunnels, I was greeted by a Painted Turtle.  What a treat.  Clearly, the tunnels work.






We wrapped up our time at Presqu'ile by enjoying the visitor centre by the lighthouse.  This provided an opportunity to learn a little bit more about the park.  It also had a nice model of the lighthouse inside.





The full sized lighthouse was an impressive display of, well, scaffolding, as it gets some refurbishment work done.

With smiles on our faces, we headed home, knowing our next trip was not far away.



THE END.


Well, actually, not quite.  I wish it was the end, but I've got more to ramble on about.


The drive home was going in typical fashion.  A few slowdowns here and there, but we were making good time overall.  Then, I got a very slight clue that maybe something was wrong.  I noticed a very minor vibration in the steering wheel.  Maybe it was just the road surface.  It was not worrying, since it was not as bad as when I've experienced tire balance issues in the past.  However, very shortly thereafter, fairly suddenly, I heard noises that made me say to Erica, I think we have a flat tire, I we need to pull over.  Very quickly, the noise became more and more severe sounding.  I quickly scanned, to see a very narrow shoulder on the highway, but an off ramp just a few hundred meters away, with a wider shoulder.


I brought the truck and trailer to a stop, narrowly off the road way, near the start of the off ramp.  I got out of the vehicle, with Erica urging me to be careful.  I did a walk around the truck, but to my confusion, I saw no flat, or even low tires.  Huh?  I got down on a knee.  No fluid under the truck either.  Trailer tires?  They look fine too.  Front steering and suspension?  That looks fine too.  But, something was definitely not fine.  The shop had the front wheels off for the earlier repair work.  Lug nuts?  Fine on passenger side.  Driver side?  Uhh-oh.  One is missing.  Let's take a closer look.  The stud has sheared off too.  And, the rest of the lug nuts are mostly un-threaded.  Holy ****!  I could only think of one explanation for that.  The repair shop did not torque the lug nuts properly.  I was so mad.  I've done my fair share of tire changes, and never have I had a problem with properly torqued lug nuts loosening off.


Erica urged me to get off the road, and call a tow truck.  But instead, I pulled a little further off the road, and tightened up the 5 remaining lug nuts, and checked the other side, which was sufficiently tight.  We then rolled along the off ramp, and headed to the nearest parking lot, where I re-torqued the lug nuts again.


I then took a few minutes to take some deep breaths, and collect myself.  I may sound dramatic, but we were very close to a terrible accident.  Had that front driver side wheel come off on the highway, I would have lost control of the truck, and we would have very likely been hit at high speed.  We could have lost our truck, trailer, and maybe even our lives.  Deep breath, slow exhale.  Repeat.


I decided that 5 of 6 lugnuts is good enough to get us home, but I did not want to be stupid about it.  I decided we would drive at highway speed for about 3km to the next exit, and check the lug nuts again.  After doing so, I found them all to be sufficiently tight, so I decided we would proceed home.  I was still so mad.  We did not talk too much on the remainder of the ride home.


Thanks to our guardian angel, we did make it home safely.  Yikes.

Of course, I had to follow up with the repair shop.  I approached it calmly and professionally.  I did not go in cursing.  They have cameras in the shop, and they were able to verify that a torque wrench was not used on the wheel.  The owner did not hesitate to admit their mistake, and apologize.  I simply asked that the damage be repaired, and as a goodwill gesture, that they give the vehicle a bumper to bumper safety inspection.  He agreed.  I also followed up on another issue, where they were unable to repair the ABS sensor on the driver side that failed, as a result of a previous shop's shoddy work.  He offered to replace the hub on the driver's side as well, free of charge, which is an expensive part.

So far, it's looking like they will make it right, so that is good news.  All is well that ends well?

Happy camping, and stay safe everyone.  

dragonsdofly

@rkj__, sounds like you paid attention to some of the best advice I've ever been given: 1) Always listen to the voice in your head. Sometimes you disregard that advice and sometimes you don't, but always listen. 2) Never drive faster than your angel can fly, for reasons you can imagine. And it clearly looks and sounds like you didn't. Saying a special thank you to that angel, even though I am sure you already did.

rkj__

dragonsdofly said:

2) Never drive faster than your angel can fly... Saying a special thank you to that angel, even though I am sure you already did.

Thanks, I like that one. 

dsfdogs

@rkj__, first, you and your family are so cute! I love the pics. Second, I always love reading your posts as they are so well written including great pictures. I was reading with baited breath about the issues. Thank God you listened and acted-good lesson for all of us. 

rkj__

dsfdogs said:

@rkj__, first, you and your family are so cute! I love the pics. Second, I always love reading your posts as they are so well written including great pictures. I was reading with baited breath about the issues. Thank God you listened and acted-good lesson for all of us. 

Thanks for the feedback, it's always appreciated.  I'm very grateful that I'll have more opportunities to ramble on about adventures in our T@b. 

Ratkity

I think the Adventure Poodle has special good mojo. How can that happy face not invite guardian angels?

About the lugs.....A similar thing happened to my Dad and our family. I was 11 yo maybe? New Year's Day (a Sunday), heading back from a week in Florida at Grandma's. Tha-thump, tha-thump! Mom yells at my Dad over the din of 4 little girls and windows open "Something's Wrong!"

Dad was hard of hearing then (he's deaf now). "Wha?!!!!?"

Mom screams the same thing. Dad pulls the International TravelAll over on the side of the road and kicks all 4 tires. They are solid. Dad hops in and says nothing is wrong. "hrmmmmm", says Mom.

Same noise, only louder and louder. NOW Dad can hear it. We are in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday and New Year's Day. Dad pulled the hubcap off the driver's side tire and there were two sheared off studs, one missing lug on a bent stud, and the other lugs were working their way off. We weren't rich and Dad wondered what we were going to do. Dad tightens the remaining lugs and we limp down the ramp to a tiny town. 

Thunder and rain start. We stopped by a tiny restaurant that was open and Dad asked if there was a chance there was a mechanic. Cue 4 cute little girls that looked a wee more than shell-shocked. A mechanic was found and opened his shop for us. We lived happily ever-after (we all hated that TravelAll). This all before safety equipment and no mandatory seatbelts. I'm not sure we could even find the lap belts in the back seats. Sometimes it's not just one angel, it's the entire choir!

@rkj__, I'm VERY glad you arrived at home, safe and sound. Also, the shop owner seems to be making things right. 

Great pictures and great adventure!

ericnliz

@rkj__, Thanks for sharing yet another adventure! I'll have to agree with you on the "in tune" with your truck. When something doesn't sound right, it probably isn't, and you should definitely listen and check it out rather than the "aw, it's probably nothing serious". I'm especially glad the shop that did the work stepped up and took responsibility over & above for the mishap. Not often anymore you can find an honest reputable shop. Please, if you will give us a follow-up on the results. I'm especially glad the problem was found before anything serious occurred, and everyone one is safe & sound.  

rkj__

Well, I picked up the truck yesterday from the shop, no charge.  Everything was working as it should.  No other major issues were uncovered in the safety inspection, just some burnt out bulbs for the rear license plate.  I had been putting off replacing those, and now I don't have to.

So, I have to say, that the shop did everything reasonable to "make it right."  I'm thankful for their kind and professional response to the issue. 

rkj__

This past Victoria Day weekend, we spent some time enjoying one of our favourite parks from our travels last summer; Grundy Lake.  I wrapped up our last trip report there with a comment about how Erica had said it was one of the best vacations she had ever had.  So, we were definitely looking forward to being back.  Our only concern was if the mosquitoes and black flies would be hungry.  I've camped in this area, at this time of year before, and the bugs were awful.  However, this year, spring has come late, and many seasonal occurrences are a little behind.  Thus, on arrival at our beautiful waterfront site, we were not greeted by bugs, but instead,by swans! 

We have some pretty substantial (for us anyway) adventures planned for this summer and fall, so we are trying to ensure we are physically ready for them.  Thus, Erica had a nice list of activities to complete for the weekend.  Checking the weather suggested we were going to lose Saturday PM to rain, so we had to make sure we made the most of the clear skies when we had them.

We started with the Beaver Dam trail, which is the one hike we did not do on our last trip to Grundy. 

Since last year, we have made ourselves much better prepared for adventures, and the slight misfortunes that could come with them.  Erica always has a handy-dandy backpack, full of water, snacks, and first aid supplies.  The Thule backpack was originally presented as a Christmas gift to me, but Erica really loved it, so I'm not sure I've worn it yet.  That just makes it an even better gift, Erica carrying the bulk of our stuff!

For shorter hikes, I usually hike unladen, or with a small pack to keep my camera handy, along with a few other items.

As forecasted, rain did move in for the afternoon.  With little to do, we went for a drive around the park. 

After our drive, it was still too early to pack it in, and move into the trailer.  So, we put our amateur tarping skills to the test, and set up a good ol' blue tarp, that was stashed in my truck from that time we brought a truckload of Ikea furniture home on a rainy day.  Yes, Ikea sells tarps.

We set up our chairs, and watched the rain fill the lake for a while, before calling it a night.

Fortunately, the rest of the trip was precipitation free.  On Sunday, we took full advantage of the good weather, and basically did a triathalon of sorts.  We started the day with canoeing. 

This was Willard the Adventure Poodle's first time in a canoe. We were not sure what to expect there, since he is already much heavier than our Adventure Mutt Hilton, and thus much more able to tip us over. Fortunately, we all stayed dry! Erica had to work with him a lot, getting him to sit, lay down, and keep his paws and face inside the canoe. She did a great job of countering some of his worst shifts as well.

They look sedated in the picture above, but they were not always that calm!

For Sunday's on foot segment, we hiked the Gut Lake trail.  I took a lot of pictures on this trail last year, so I was sure not to get too carried away this time. 

Had to make sure to get lots of snaps of our new for 2018 Adventure Poodle though.

For the cycling segment on the day, Erica had a distance goal of 10km.  I wanted to see Pakeshkag Lake along the way, since we did not make it there last year.  Erica's fitness has improved a bunch since last year, which helped her cover the distance, and climb all the hills along the way.

After a very active day, we made sure to relax a little, and watch the sun dip in the sky.

For Monday, we debated taking a trip outside of the park, and doing a big spectacular hike at another park.  But, we decided against that, as there was still plenty to do at Grundy, and we were not fully charged for a big adventure. 

We did more canoeing, and wrapped up our hiking with the Swan Lake trail. 

So, after hiking thee trails, canoeing three lakes, and driving or cycling to many corners of the park, we packed up, and headed home.

The end.

Well, not quite. 

No no, the truck did not break down.  But, the long weekend traffic was looking pretty slow according to Google Maps.  Instead of stopping for fast food on the way home, we stopped at Six Mile Lake for a picnic.  It really helped break up the drive, and keep our spirits up as we battled traffic on the way home. 

We still made it home on time to unpack everything before dark.

'Till next time, happy camping. 

Ratkity

Yay Adventure Poodle and Adventure Mutt!!

rkj__

Pre-read warning.  This trip report is heavy on words, and light on pictures.  Leave yourself a little time to get through this one. 

This weekend, the adventure crew headed to Oastler Lake Provincial Park, for some more time outdoors.  We camped there last summer, and honestly, I did not think we would return.  It's not that I had a bad time on my last trip, but it's a fairly small park, with not that much to do.  And, it's right beside some heavily used train tracks, which means noise and whistles at all hours.  But, Erica went ahead and booked us another round, at the same nice waterfront site we had the previous year. 

So, with little to do at the park, we looked for options in the surrounding area.  Just about 6km away, is the border of The Massasauga Provincial Park.  The Massasauga caters towards canoe-in backcountry camping, and boat-in experiences.  However, they do have a few hiking trails.  One of them that caught our attention was the Moon Island Trail.  The description reads:

"This is a 4 km self-guided trail of moderate difficulty that can be accessed from the Wood’s Bay Day-Use site. The trail traverses various terrain and forest types with impressive lookouts onto Georgian Bay."

Being on an island, meant we would need to paddle to the trailhead.  Sounds fun.  It seemed like a good idea too, since, we have a longer hike, with a similar canoe in format planned for later this summer.  A quick Google showed it as only 17km away.  Cool.  Although I could not find much in the way or reviews of the trail online, we penciled it into our itinerary, and hit the road.  As per usual, we arrived after dark Friday night, and quickly ducked into bed.

We woke up to one concerning weather phenomenon; wind.  Wind and canoes, especially those loaded with dogs, are not a good mix.  What to do?  Well, before making any rash decisions, I decided to get us started with coffee and breakfast.  That's when I learned that cooking over a gas stove outside, and wind is also a poor mix.  The T@b CS's stove actually did a really impressive job of staying lit.  However, the cool wind basically carried the heat away, and the water for my coffee was not even hot to the touch, when I was hoping it would be near boiling.  I was frustrated by the wind, in more ways than one.  Think.  Flame needs a shield.  What's handy?  Dish cloth?  That allowed me to test the concept, and results seemed promising.  However, that was an obvious fire hazard.  What do I have that won't burn?  Aluminum foil.  I quickly crafted a shield to keep the heat from blowing away.  It was quite successful. 

So, we finally got to enjoy our coffee, and a wonderful breakfast hash.  Over breakfast, we contemplated our options.  The wind felt quite fierce at our campsite on the water's edge.  However, slightly inland, or on the opposite shore of the peninsula we were on, the breeze felt much tamer.  How would it feel at the access point?  After some debate, we decided we would prepare ourselves the best we could, and head to the access point, and evaluate the conditions there.  We were quite excited about the original plan, and did not want to bail on it, especially since we did not have an interesting Plan B ready for implementation. 

Erica's canoe tripping experience had us as well prepared as we could reasonably be for a capsize event, a ways from home.  We had a dry sac, loaded with a towel and a change of clothes.  We had two backpacks, loaded with lots of snacks, water, emergency water purification tablets, bug nets, waterproof matches, a pot, tea, and more.  We also had our legally required boater safety kit, with rope, flashlight, and whistle, tucked into a tidy little bailer bucket. 

So, knowing that all our preparation might be wasted, if the conditions were too poor, we punched Pete's Place Access Point into Google Maps.  That's when I realized that the destination was 17km as the crow flies, but 44km by roadways.  Ok, so it will take a few more minutes than I thought.  That's fine. 

After about 40 minutes, we arrived at the access point.  There were plenty of cars in the parking lot, and the conditions, though not perfectly calm, appeared to be reasonable, much to my relief.  So, we loaded our boat, launched into Blackstone Harbour, and were on our way, with the wind at our backs. 

We headed towards the small channel, that would bring us into Woods Bay.  The dogs were being good, and we were making nice progress, and made it through the channel.  Woods Bay turned out to be a little different than what we had imagined.  There was a fair bit of motor boat traffic.  So, in addition to wind, and two dogs, we also had to deal with some wake.  Eek.  We were hanging in, perhaps a bit stressed.  Erica and I had a bit of a disagreement when it came to taking a small break near an island en route.  That lead to us getting tossed around by a wave, and testing us in more ways than one.  Fortunately, we kept dry, and carried on.

Ultimately, we arrived at Moon Island, safe, but a little agitated.  The Friends of The Massasauga greeted us on the docks.  The group had a scheduled trail clean up that morning, that they were wrapping up.  They were a very friendly group, that was happy to help us disembark, and chat for a bit. 

As we started down the trail, some of the volunteers we heading to the finish.  Some wearing bug nets, but some not.  I was expecting this to be a buggy trip, but the cool wind had been keeping all the bugs away up to this point.  We stopped along the shore after just a couple minutes for a cookie.  We were cautioned of some steep sections by a passing volunteer. 

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We then headed into the woods, and were given a warm welcome by a million mosquitoes.  Thank goodness I packed the bug nets.  Had I not, I would have quit 5 minutes into the hike.  Bugs love me, far more than Erica anyways.  It was a warm day, but I covered up, head to toe, with a ball cap, bug net, jacket, light gloves, and long pants.  There were swarms.  I'm not really used to that many bugs.  Typically in the past, I avoided walking into the woods of central Ontario at this time of year, because of the bugs. 

Due to my barrier method of protection leading me to be overdressed for the temperature, I got good and sweaty.  The good news was, that I was not getting bit much at all.  Just a few buggers would attack through my ball cap, or my light gloves occasionally.  That said, I was still feeling a little agitated by the constant buzzing and swarming.  This caused me blow through the trail at a brisk pace, with Erica wishing I would dial it down just a notch. 

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Willard the Adventure Poodle was having a pretty happy time, but poor Hilton the Adventure Mutt was getting crushed by the bugs.  There was not much to be done about that though, and she did a commendable job of soldiering on. 

As a result of the wind on the water, and the bugs in the woods, I did not snap many pictures, but I did try to get a few from the trail.

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It was a nice trail.  It was mostly fairly easy going, but there were some steeper rocky bits to navigate along.  There were a few nice views as well, as the trail occasionally popped out of the dense woods.  You could tell that early in the spring, some sections would have been wet, but for our early June hike, the trail was basically completely dry. 

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Due to our high pace, we completed the trail quicker than we would have typically.  I'll admit, I was a little relieved when we emerged from the woods. 

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When we got back to the trailhead, we saw that the Friends had finished their work for the day, and we were alone on the island.  We took a good long while to eat some lunch and let some sweat dry, before starting what would be a tough paddle into the wind.

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Being almost 9km into our self propelled journey, we were not exactly fresh when we hit the water again.  The wind did fight us pretty hard, and gave us a real good workout, as we propelled our little blue canoe back to the access point.

When we hit the small channel again, we came across a police boat.  The officers on board were checking for boating safety equipment.  I held up our safety kit, and they spotted the whistle on Erica's life jacket.  So, we were clear to proceed.  Fortunately, the dogs did not get too worked up about the officers.  So, take this as a reminder, to always carry the necessary safety equipment, even on your canoe and kayak.  Police are out there, trying to keep you safe. 

Anyway, we used what strength we had, and finally made it back to the access point, good and tired. 

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We all took a dip in the lake.  This was a first for the young Adventure Poodle.  He got his paws off solid ground, and took a few strides in the water.  He did not seem concerned, or unhappy. However, when I was swimming later, he did not join me in the water either. Maybe he will develop an affinity for swimming, maybe he won't. He will certainly get more chances to swim, either way.

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We enjoyed the peacefullness of being the only ones around for a little while, before packing up, and heading back to Oastler Lake. 

Arriving back at the T@b, we were pretty beat, but quite happy with successfully completing the planned journey.  Earlier in the day, we were not sure we would be able to even begin it.  We felt that we overcame a little adversity, at least more than usual.  This completed adventure will make us even more ready to tackle the next ones. 

A nap turned into basically shutting it down for the day.  Sunday morning, the winds had calmed down, and we enjoyed just taking it easy at our campsite, before traveling home after lunch. 

Feeling happy, and excited for upcoming, and not yet planned adventures, we headed home.

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Happy Camping

dsfdogs

Another great write up. After reading your first sentence, I went and got a snack to enjoy while reading. Paddling into the wind is so hard and s l o w. Good on you to have the proper gear. Great pictures too.

rkj__

dsfdogs said:

Another great write up. After reading your first sentence, I went and got a snack to enjoy while reading. Paddling into the wind is so hard and s l o w. Good on you to have the proper gear. Great pictures too.

Good call grabbing the snack. LoL

Thanks for the feedback.

jgram2

I always enjoy your trip write ups and photos. And am particularly happy you live in a distant place we may never travel to, but we are able to see another beautiful area anyway! Thanks.

rkj__

jgram2 said:

I always enjoy your trip write ups and photos. And am particularly happy you live in a distant place we may never travel to, but we are able to see another beautiful area anyway! Thanks.

Thanks jgram2. As long as people are still enjoying them, I will keep posting them. 

I too too enjoy living vicariously through the journeys of others sometimes. 

rkj__

This one will be a short read, I promise.  But, feel free to grab a snack before you start reading anyway. 

This weekend Erica and I headed to Long Point Provincial Park.  We had only one goal in mind.  Relaxation. 

Erica once again hit it out of the park, and picked us a perfect site.  We had packed everything we needed to be comfortable.  After a relatively short, and stress free drive on a Saturday morning, we arrived.

In no time at all, we were getting lounge chair lazy.  That's right.  Lounge chairs.  Packing no bikes or canoes, left plenty of room for glamping items.  With a few very light rain showers expected, we erected our Columbia shelter. 

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Then, Erica made some great sandwiches. 

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Beyond that, there's really not much to report.  We both really enjoyed the relaxation and time together.

The 26 hour stay wrapped up pretty quickly, and we were home on Sunday afternoon, with plenty of daylight left. 

Since we had not been very active, Erica suggested (Erica is always full of fun ideas), that we take advantage of the time, and still fit in something active.  So, we headed to her favourite local spot for a hike.  To try to slow her down, I strapped 10kg of rock salt to her back.  She still managed the ups and the downs with grace and beauty. 

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An intuitive person should be able to figure out why we were doing local hikes with big bags.  Tune in later this July for a fresh new flavour of adventure!

2Cougs

@rkj__- I am an intuitive person and have some thoughts.  Curious if any of them are right.  Will write them down so I can see if I am right.  One idea in particular it at the top of the list  
Love following your adventures!

jgram2

Alrighty then-either you’re getting married, climbing a mountain, or auditioning for The Amazing Race tv competition. There are plenty of similarities amongst those 3 adventures! 

2Cougs

I know in college I would put all my text books in my backpacking pack and walk up the hills of campus.... I was training to be a character in the electric parade at Disneyland.  Dwarf heads weigh about 40 pounds and I was going to be dancing with it on!

Homebodyatheart

@2Cougs I've got to ask...did you get the job, and were you one of the seven dwarfs?

@rkj__ your posts are delightful to read, and the pics are great, too! I hadn't seen a Columbia tent/shelter before. I'm off to google it! Thanks!

2Cougs

@Homebodyatheart- Yep!  Spent the summer as a dwarf.... Only one in seven are Happy, and that was me!

rkj__

jgram2 said:

Alrighty then-either you’re getting married, climbing a mountain, or auditioning for The Amazing Race tv competition. There are plenty of similarities amongst those 3 adventures! 

Well, we did get married already, so you can cross that one off your list. 

Climbing a mountain is something we would have to work up to for sure. 

The Amazing Race, well, that show looks pretty chaotic.  While parts of it could be fun, there are so many popular aspects of the show that would be a struggle for us.  We'd have issues with navigation, fear of heights, dancing, eating local "delicacies" etc.