TRAVELS of "CONDUCTANCE"

After this many days in the back country,with no cell service, in Northern Ontario you have lots to catch up on.  I’ve done my homework everyday but just couldn’t hand it in.  Do I get a pass?

We spent the day enjoying the beauty and making new discoveries.  When we had our motors and gen  off and sitting still in the little bay off the pool we heard waterfalls.  You can only hear it in quiet.  A new exploration!!!!  We took the dingy over to the spot where the sound was coming from.  It isn’t obvious at all.  We think it is a drainage area for Lake Topaz because it is above us over the bluff.  The pictures will remain in our memory because we did forget the camera.  It was a beautiful wooded area that not many people have found.  Most boaters are cruising by and miss this gem.  It is 2 small coves just out of the pool.  We anchored there for the night.  If we didn’t have quiet we would have missed it too.

Our next stop is just down Baie Fine to Mary Ann Cove.  The charts show shallow waters but it must be about 15 feet deep.  There were 6 boats already here.  We found what we believe to be the best spot in all of the North Channel, thus far.  They cliff on the west side is so deep that if you wanted you could almost back in directly to the cliff and hop off.  We didn’t go in that far but enjoyed our new found backyard.

The travellers in the North Channel mostly have chain anchors, except for the odd sailboat that has to pull up the anchor by hand.  The other common practice is anchoring out normally, backing into your spot and then using rope or two ropes around trees on shore to stop the swing.  Everyone has a dingy too.  Haven’t seen a sailboat or cruiser without one.  Only the cottagers with their day tripper boats are without.

While here in Mary Ann Cove we decided to take Low Voltage our dingy over to the famous Caslin’s Peak.  It is about an hour trek straight up a dry stream bed to the most spectacular view of the islands.  If you can get there you must go.  Pictures just don’t do the scenery justice.  On the peak is a fellow who had his ashes buried into the rock cliff.  “Cork” was his last name.  He has been here since 1950 and his wife joined him in 2001.  The trek back down is less strenuous and you will see things you missed.

Now what to do?  Our backyard was so perfect for us that we decided to have an open campfire and cook dinner on the flame.  Scott and Aiden gathered the wood and watched it while the wood turned to embers for cooking.  They only thing I had that was able to cook on the open flame was back bacon, or Canadian bacon for our USA friends.  It has become the best way to eat back bacon.  So good!

The sunset was a salmon coloured sky with the campfire burning and reflections on Mary Ann Cove were just gorgeous.

By the way, this was a tribute to our friend Marianne, who Aiden has become very close to, as he said that we have to mention her in this blog and let her know that he was thinking of her while he was here.

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We woke up this morning to the call of the wild….and drained batteries.  So making breakfast we started up the gen to have power and charge the batteries yet again.  Enjoying our morning coffee on the back deck we watched two of the boats leave and wondered what the rush was all about.  After some time we decided to pack up and head to Killarney which was about a 45 minute run.  Short compared to those hours on the lakes.  In Killarney we stopped at Mountain Lodge Marina.  The attendants there commented on how slow the start was for the season this year.  Only 2 boats stayed overnight and only 3 coming in for tonight.  We filled up the diesel tank and headed to the corner store for a few added extras to spend the next 3 nights on the hook out in the middle of nowhere.

We left Killarney and traveled about 30 minutes to Covered Portage Cove.  A sweet cove with high bluffs all around.  It is quiet here.  At the entrance to the cove is a local known rock formation that resembles and called Indian Head.  I decided not to have the gen start up for lunch so instead we had a BBQ homemade muffin quiche with fruit and provolone cheese on the side .  Turned out rather well on the grill.  Then Low Voltage came off the davit and we took the dingy into the areas close to shore.  The cove reads about 6 feet on the charts but the depth finder says it is 10 feet.  Since we draft about 3.5 feet it is always nice when there is deeper water.  The water levels up north are significantly higher than usual.  The water temps this year are running around 70 degrees F.  Chilly, yes!

Taking the dingy to the end of the cove we found a trail to the top of the bluff where the mosquitos had us for lunch.  Bug spray helped but not entirely.  At the top of the bluff we could see Manitoulin Island and the waters around the island.  We eventually lost the trail even though the information we read said it was a 2 hour hike.  So we spent about a half hour trying to find the rest of the trail.  In doing so we got separated.  Aiden and I and then Scott .  We had already made up a plan to make a loon sound if we did get separated.  Scott has a tendency to wander away because he has a much quicker pace than Aiden and I.  So as he was trying to find the trail in one direction, Aiden and I were trying to find it in another direction.  Scott did have a cell phone with GPS so I wasn’t worried about him.  He realized that when he did call out for us we didn’t answer.  So he was worried that we had lost him.  Which of course, we did.  Aiden and I decided to go back to where we knew the marked trail was and figured Scott would meet up with us.  So we walked slowly and enjoyed the view of the cove with its pines and black water.  We kept calling out every once in awhile but not with the loon call anymore.  So through the northern forest the calling of “Scott, Dad” rang out every 5 minutes or so.  I heard a very far off call back after about 40 minutes of “I’m coming”.  We did catch up with each other and found out what had happened.  As Scott went off in his direction he ended up by the water and called us.  We didn’t answer so he knew we were out of range.  His hope was that we didn’t try to follow him.  He didn’t know exactly where he was so he climbed the bluff again to get his bearing.  That is when he discovered that he had somehow hiked to the next bluff.  So back down he went hoping again that we didn’t follow.  Once he was in the valley between the 2 bluffs that is when he heard our faint call to him!

So now the boys are out fishing again.  I’m enjoying the sound of the gen again booting up the run down batteries from the day.  I’m sure we are PO’ing the sail boats here in the cove.  3 hours is a long time in complete quiet with a gen running.  It is what it is!

FYI for our non-boater friends – “on the hook” merely means to be anchored!

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After yesterday’s bouncing around on the lake we decided to leave early to beat the changing winds that were expected to be SW which would be the worst for us going west. Traveling past Pelee Point and Pelee Island, the southern most tip of Canada we noticed more shipping activity. Lakers coming out of the Detroit River passing us. There was one from St. Catharines so, of course, we had to take a picture. A little bit of home. Lake Erie played nice today but only due to us leaving early.

Upon getting into the Detroit River we decided to drop anchor and have a hot BBQ lunch. Beautiful homes are located along both sides of Canada and the USA. The waters here have a turquoise colour leaving us to think of the Caribbean. We made the decision to stay on the Canadian side but first we cruised between Windsor and Detroit. Two beautiful waterfront cities. No docking on either side while in the city so we passed by with the camera and memories. Detroit starts with its massive steel mills, while Windsor has virgin forests. Such a polar opposite.

Heading passed Belle Isle, an American island that has been made into a walking path park and Peche Island the Canadian Island still prestine in its forests. We are staying at the Lakeview Park Marina just opposite Peche Island. Nice marina, with laundry, showers, all amenities except walking to downtown. You would need a car or taxi. Tight squeeze for Scott when coming in due to winds of Lake St. Clair which is visible over the breakwater.

After hooking up Conductance we took Low Voltage out for a spin and a hike on Peche Island. This is the old Hiram Walker Estate. You know, Canadian Club whiskey tycoon. He had his home on the island but as it is now it is only ruins and nature paths. We did see swans with their little ones, turtles, a mink having its dinner, and so many various birds. It is the kind of place that you would go if you want to get back to nature. Unfortunately the island is loosing its shore on the north side to Lake St. Clair and its weather. No protection from the winds and surf so the north walking trail is about 2 metres in knee deep water.

Tomorrow we are on to Lake Huron and getting to Goderich. Hoping for calm waters this time ’round on Lake Huron. Last venture out there was trying to stay ahead of a storm when we were coming home from our Trent Trip.

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