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Once more Sabine and I drive northwards. This time we start off Thursday in the early afternoon to reach Sudbury in time for dinner ;-) We took the minivan and at first I though, the small car would have been sufficient, too.
However, we take the route via Elmira, Alma, Arthur and Orangeville that became so familiar to us. We get onto the highway 400 few kilometers south of Barrie, only some kilometers later, shortly behind the junction of highway 11 lead to Algonquin Park we get into a snow storm with few meters sight. Quickly the highway is covered under a layer of snow, traffic runs only slowly, but safe. Only the heavy trucks are able to use the deeply snow-covered left lane...
At some point it stops snowing, as we get more north the snow ploughs are already done with their work. We reach Robs apartment in Sudbury in early evening, just in time to munch Burritos and sweet potatoes. We talk most of the evening and watch Blues Brothers. (Some time is gone by since I saw that movie the last time.)
We get a good night's sleep and have a real feast for breakfast, bacon and eggs, muesli buns with Nutella, Greyzer cheese, smoked sausages and German bread from the Farmers Market in St. Jacobs.
Around noon we finally succeed to get our stuff into the minivan. Right now I'm really glad, we do have the big car, with only the LeBaron it would be cramped.
Although we rented some snow shoes - the classical ones - from the Outers Club, we rent some modern ones from the University of Sudbury equipped with a aluminium frame, cause we decided to do a hike on a trail that might be too rocky, too outwearing for the material. And for the difficult ground conditions, chunks of rocks, roots etc. we do need some snow shoes with metal claws underneath. A wise decision as it turns out later on....
It takes us hours to get the equipment and so we start in Sudbury considerably late. We follow the Trans Canada Highway 17 to Sault Ste. Marie to the west, from there we head north, the last bit of the route along the shoreline of Lake Superior. The snow diminishes as we get more north and we are prepared for the worst - a snow shoe hike without snow. But the thickness of the snow layer increases again, we are relieved.
A fantastic sunset accompanies us at Lake Superior, a good gets us into the right mood for a nature and wilderness adventure which waits for us. We have to cross most of the park before we finally reach the campground which we picked as a base camp. Now in winter everything's closed, but we are allowed to stay anyway.
We leave the car at the camp entrance (with those 50 cm of snow we would not get much further ;-)) and start off heavy-loaded, equipped with snow shoes, ski poles and gaiters. We walk about for an kilometer into the campground, what would be a strenuous venture without snow shoes. We choose a site which is wind-protected and - as everything else around here, too - deeply covered in snow. In the beam of flashlights Vroni frees two planes from snow where we are going to pitch up our tents, while Rob, Sabine and I take care of fire wood, fire pit and cooking. Finding fire wood isn't that easy in winter, it is hard to say, if a tree is dead or just lost his leaves. deep in the woods we finally find enough wood and shortly after we sit around the fire. It's not like that we have to warm us up, it isn't very cold and pitching up tents, chopping and sawing wood heated us up already.
Above our heads a starry sky extends which - as far north as we are - isn't disturbed by any artificial light source. An ideal time, new moon, unfortunately there aren't any (or only very faint) northern lights, but a whole lot a bunch of shooting stars, a great firework with the luminous belt of milky way in background.
We cook a big pot of vegetable rice which is enough for the next day's dinner as well. We sit around the fire for some more time before we get into our sleeping bags.
None of us feels like giving rise to stress and so we sleep long into the day. We have to reduce our deficit, which has accumulated during the week.
This morning we have real oatmeal for breakfast, cooked in milk and enriched with apples and bananas. The usual cup of hot chocolate may not be missing, a feast like always.
On a loop around our camp I discover a fresh moose track within 10 meters from our tents. The huge imprints are impressive, I'm somehow disappointed we haven't seen the animal. It is late in the morning as we finally get started. Our plan is to hike a trail loop which is supposed to lead us to some scenic lookouts, we only take along some food and water.
At the beginning we walk on a broad driveway of the campground and leave behind a track of "devastation"; four pairs of snow shoes make the way look like being used by a group of 20 men.
Peat Mountain Trail is a narrow trail, winding itself through forest stripped off its leaves, sometimes running in a plane, sometimes climbing steeply across rocky ground.
Often we are glad to have appropriate snow shoes with spikes and claws, making it a lot easier to walk to demanding trail. Quickly we reach the first look out where a vast, snow-covered landscape extends to our feet, frozen lakes scattered over the area. Directly below us is the Peat Lake, which - like the name implies - diminishes and makes way for new land.
We pass two more lookouts, every time we are amazed by the wilderness of this environ. At an intersection we agree on adding another loop which leads us to Foam Lake.
This lake obtained its name by the foam which is produced when strong winds churn up the surface and beat organic acids deriving from decomposition of leaves and other plant parts to a froth. But who cares, sitting high above the lake and enjoying the beautiful view while having lunch.
We munch the incredibly good Greyzer cheese and the smoked sausages with firm, rich bread and are overwhelmed by the impressions we get. We stay for an hour, sitting in the sun and relaxing for while. Meanwhile it is noon and we decide to go on so that we reach our camp in daylight.
We climb down to the lake surface of Foam Lake and continue our loop. At one point a huge trunk "blocks" our way, we have trouble to move ;-))
Obviously the hike isn't demanding enough for some of us and there is not better way to get rid of the surplus of power than to have a snow fight.
As we finally reach the camp- in daylight - a fire is lit quickly. We eat the warmed up rice and dry our socks and feet at the fire.
This night isn't that starry anymore and although it is partly cloudy and therefore warmer, too, it is significantly more damp, a clammy cold which seeps in everywhere. We are pretty much tired although we walked only few kilometers today. Even though one does not really notices the snow shows while walking the training effect isn't negligible. Nonetheless we stay a the fire for a long time and use up most of our big fat supply of wood in a real bonfire.
The next morning we are lazy once more, nobody wants to step out into the cold which actually isn't that bad. Somehow we get up and after some oatmeal at the newly lit fire we break camp.
We load our stuff into the minivan and drive back for kilometers on the highway until we come to the Rabbit Blanket Trail. We enter a deeply snow-covered side road and park the car. From here we start a loop hike around Rabbit Blanket Lake.
After few meters we discover one or two days old wolf tracks. Along the following trail we can see fresh animal traces, for example a chopped down tree, the work of a beaver.
On the loop trail isn't much snow, what strains the snow shoes, walking on rocks and roots. This trail is made for the mass tourism (means that it is more a short walk than a hike). Every now and then a wooden footbridge reaches onto the frozen surface of the lake, good spots for a short break, a snack and a sun bath.
We walk round the frozen lake and shortly after we are back on the Trans Canada Highway 17.
We have a short break at Lake Superior to enjoy the scenic view on the vast water surface.
On our way back the daylight diminishes the setting sun lets the sky explode in incredible colours...
We get back to Sudbury late in the evening, but we manage to prepare a pasta-meat-vegetable-pan.
We let the day come to an end having a glass of wine and fall asleep tired from being at the fresh air in the last days.
We don't miss the usual breakfast feast and afterwards we drive to the university to return the snowshoes. We drop off Rob at his institute, he has to do some work (sometimes), meanwhile Sabine, Vroni and I drive to the local IMAX movie theatre and watch a movie about Alaska. Very impressive pictures, but I have to think of what we just experienced ourselves in the wilderness this weekend. It takes us some more time until Sabine and I do have our stuff completely back in the car and at 2:30pm we head back to Waterloo.
In the evening we approach the Columbia Lake Townhouses and with that we end a trip that began about 2000 km before. To have a weekend in prospect that we can experience in a park somewhere in nature, untouched snow layers, extended evenings at the camp fire under a starry sky justify all efforts and costs and will always ever lure us into the Canadian wilderness....
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