Canada - Niagara Falls

No trip through this part of Canada would be complete without seeing the Falls from the Canadian side, and a fitting way to end the month's stay on the north side of the border. And guess what, all those stories you've heard about "the only side to see Niagara Falls from is the Canadian side", are absolutely true...as you'll see below!

Our stay in this region was at a small campground in the middle of orchards. Yes, it turns out that this part of Canada is ideal for growing apples, peaches and grapes - especially wine grapes.

http://www.winedining.net/niagara.html

The beautiful countryside coupled with the free tastings all along the "Trail" made the stay a bit more enjoyable. So, we explored the area for a couple of days, and saved the Falls for last. As it turns out, our favorite Canadian wine was actualy from another area, Pelee Island, which was a bit too far off our rote to visit. http://www.peleeisland.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/home.html

We approached the Falls from upriver, and walking by I remember thinking what a neat whitewater run this would make! Within a few hundred yards, it became clear why none dare run this stretch, the consequences of failure to pull out would be pretty dramatic!

Walking a little further brought a view of the spectacular ride one would have in their canoe down to the bottom. I guess the consolation would be that the "Maiden of the Mist" would be waiting down there to recover one's remains!

It was a dreary, rainy day, but still allowed us to see the "American side", and I must say this is definitely the place to be for the most spectacular views. I guess the sun bursting through to give us a colorful rainbow over the US falls made up for it.

As we headed back to the parking lot, I decided to climb above the crowded walkway and was rewarded by this breathtaking panorama of the entire Falls, with the rainbow hovering below "our side"!

Au Sable & Manistee Rivers

The Au Sable River in central Michigan’s Lower Penninsula is a long-time favorite of both paddlers and fisherman since the turn of the century. The River is noted for it’s trout population, and a 22 mile stretch dedicated to ideal habitat for “catch & release only” fly fishing. http://www.flymartonline.com/article205.html

Our journey started in Grayling at Penrod Outfitters carefully designed campground and launch site, http://www.penrodscanoe.com/ and continued through the lower 18 miles of this habitat. Penrod shuttled our truck down to the takeout for a modest fee, so we definitely recommend these folks!

Compared to most rivers we had been on that did not contain rapids, the Au Sable is very fast. We completed the paddle in about 5 hours, including a lunch stop and several short ones to stretch our legs.

Crystal clear water, punctuated by stretches of emerald green grass, waving like a hula skirt in the fast current were interrupted only by the numerous man-made cribs, log jams and bankside lay-downs providing ideal trout habitat.

The day would have been perfect were it not for the cool temps accompanied by annoying 20-25 knot winds. As you can see, Kim found a fleece very comfortable at midday in the bright sunlight (yeh, I know about Louisiana, sorry!).



The “Au Sable River Boat” caught my attention, a cross between the Ojibway canoe and a Cajun pirogue, they glide effortlessly along with the current while providing a rock stable platform for the fisherman. And the fisherman were all from the “GoreTex Club”, wearing only the finest of clothes & paraphernalia.


By 3:30 after the eighteen miles in the windy conditions, returning to the trailer and a bowl of piping hot chili was as much of a treat as floating the River.

The morning of the 18th brought another paddle in the Grayling area, another river, but a much different story. From the put-in the the take-out, I really enjoyed the tranquil, remoteness of the Manistee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manistee_River

The River is also a “trout river”, it is not as popular or “maintained” as others, and also does not have the high level of paddle traffic. From beginning to end, brought a slower flow, and a narrower stream, with far fewer homes and camps…what a treat. Many birds graced the banks, including several Great Blue Herons, numerous ducks (mostly teal) and even a few shorebirds.

We enjoyed this paddle so much, we didn't take many pictures, just relaxed & went with the flow of the River!

The return to Goose Creek Campground was just in time for lunch. The Campground is also a favorite of trail riders (horses). We witnessed that some horses and canoes don’t get along, when a cowboy was thrown and almost trampled by his horse while trying to cross the River right in front of an oncoming canoe. I guess it was supposed to be macho, but looked pretty stupid to me!
We broke camp early today and headed for Flint, for a few days near good internet & cell connections.

Canada - Lake Superior Gargantua Harbor

Our last day at Lake Superior Provincial, we drive down the long, long 4WD road (well sorta') to Gargantua Harbor. This is a beautifull spot, reminding us of the Caribbean with it's blue-green clear waters. Of course, you wouldn't see this rock beach down there.

The waves were rolling in pretty hard at 2-3 feet so we elected to not paddle and took a walk down the beach. From this area, we could see the remnants of an old fishing village way down in the back of the Harbor.

Our plan was to hike over there ( a couple of miles) but turning back to get a pack, we saw a fellow loading tons of camping gear in a canoe. When I asked about the conditions, he said he'd done it many times before (paddling out to the shelter of a small island, then over into the harbor. I helped him launch, and to Kim & I's amazement, watch him paddle through some pretty high rollers, and and then over to the Harbor. Well, that was it! If he could go in a canoe, I surely could make it in the Seda sea kayak! By the time I launched, things were a little rougher and Kim decided to hike over and meet me at the old fishing camps.

I skirted the Island, as he suggested, and met some other 'yakers who were leaving it to paddle northward. They suggested I stop later and check it out. But for now, I was anxious to get over to the back of the cove to meet Kim.

The paddle over was fun, although I didn't have my skirt on an probably should have. The back of the Harbor (cove) was a neat spot. I pulled up the kayak at the old fishing camp. The water was beautifully clear in both directions, with remnantes of the old cribbing for docks on either side.

And the scenery on land was equally beautiful!

We wandered around, looking at the only cabin left standing and noticing what appeared to be a sunken boat out in the cove.

A short paddle out on the return did indeed confirm our suspicions. From what I could see above and below, it was an old steam-powered, wooden hull vessel, probably from the early 1900's.

On the paddle back I stopped at the Island, pulling into a protected cove on the side opposite the open Lake. I climbed up to the highest point to get a better look at what was there, and on the way up discovered some old pots laying on the side of rocks.

At the top, it became clear where they were from. Hidden deep in thick growth was an old light-keepers cabin. I pushed on to the Lake side of the Island and was treated to a breathtaking view down the lakeshore.

Another couple of hundred feet below me, the waves were crashing hard into the rocks, making me realize that the seas were building, and it was smart to be on the protected side for the paddle back across the open water.

With the action on the water building, I hurried back to the other side, got a quick look at the old light-keepers place, launched the Seda, and began the fun paddle back across. Going with the waves, the kayak was "surfing" most of the way back. What a fun way to end a fun day!

Canada - Lake Superior Provincial Park

Like Sleeping Giant, here is another of Canada's North Shore treasures. We enjoyed this area so much, we spent a full week here, taking advantage of numerous hikes, wildlife, shore walks including pictographs & potholes, and a couple of nice paddles.

When we were at Naturally Superior Adventures, last week, David, the owner had mentioned that he always tried to have live music for his guest and friends. He had invited us to return to hear "Gruff" a unique bluegrass group that blended an upbeat modern (and somewhat Cajun) style with traditional bluegrass sounds. They write all of their own music, and play almost no covers. The setting in the large Lodge Room was perfect, opening out to a beautiful view of the sunset over the bay.

http://www.myspace.com/thegruffband

The next day was spent exploring the northshore area near the Park, and a little bit of its history. We located a few ancient pictographs against a high ledge that proved a bit challenging for "mere tourist" to reach, but no problem for us seasoned hikers!

We found it interesting that when compared to American counterparts, the Canadian parks allow one to explore farther out to edges and closer to danger without barricades or rails, leaving things just "as they were". Farther up the shoreline, we hiked a rocky area along the lakeshore that was dotted with large potholes. These are spots in the surface rock where small loose rocks get trapped in the daily tidal & wave action, swirling round & round over the centuries, eventually wearing a large "pothole" in the surface. We saw similar occurances in areas where glaciers had done the wear.

It was interesting to see the many variations in rock form, color & texture along the shore. The areas of potholes and worn rocks were some 20 -30 feet above the waterline. It was hard to imagine the enormous forces that have been at work over the years, storms that hurled fierce waves high up the shore to create these artworks of the past.

The diversity of this Park was amazing. One day exploring these rocky shorelines then the next into mountainlike hiking country and peaceful paddles on glass smooth lakes.

Day 3 included a hike around "Trapper's Lake". I guess the most unique feature of this small wilderness was the similarity to South Louisiana ponds.

Dotted with waterlillies and hyacinth, and a few blue-winged teal, we felt right at home while sloshing through the muddy perimeter trail.

It was a rainy, dreay day but the lake presented a wide variety of views making the long hike around both interesting & enjoyable.

Hiking out was just as interesting as the loop around the Lake.