Bob's Bachelor Bush Bash

One of the big reasons we went to Ontario this summer was for my friend's wedding. The stereotypical bachelor party is just not Bob's style, so we did something that was. We went canoeing.

 

We paddled Black Donald and Centennial Lakes along the Madawaska river systems.

  The water was warm, and judging by the number of minnows in the shallows was very productive. It was also hot out, but being on the water made the heat a little more bearable. We took it easy, having a general plan but mostly winging it.  We chose our route according to our mood without much of a destination in mind.  It's kind of a nice way to do it, really.  Most of the paddling I've done in the last few years has been down rivers where there's little question about where you might end up.
  One channel we took around an island had a recent collapse along the bank. We stopped to investigate. The picture doesn't do it justice, but there was a pattern in the sandstone that looked like a giant turtle shell. We were out for two nights. After we made camp for the second night, we took it easy. We explored a bit of the area, I took a swim in the warm lake water, we cooked over the fire, and just hung out.

 

It's a pretty nice way to spend a bachelor weekend, really!

Evergreen Mountain

While in Ontario, I did a bit of exploring with my dad. My childhood memory bank is brimming with great adventures while exploring with my dad. I have no doubts about how I caught the exploring bug. Now, living so far away, we don't get to go exploring together like we used to - so I was glad that we got the chance when I was there.

He had his eyes set on Evergreen Mountain. At 417m (1,368ft), it's a high point in the Madawaska Highlands (and may be the high point, from what I understand). My dad had never been there, so of course he had to check it out.



And of course I had to join him.



We started off on an old forestry road, turned onto an old trapline, turned onto an old foot trail, made our way back to an old trapline (after walking through a patch of stinging nettle - ouch!), onto a different, forestry road, and onto a recently-cleared "road" (the purpose of which was not entirely apparent).

We came to a small, pretty lake. The rocks around the lake were not like most of the rocks in the area. They reminded me of the types of rock that might be found in a karstland.





There were some interesting rocks in the area and I really wished I knew more about mineralogy.


While I was staring at the ground, I noticed a teeeeeeny, tiny frog!


It wasn't easy to see the mountain through the trees. Fortunately, we found a way to get there and started making our way up along the ridge.







There were some amazingly-white quartz seams running along the mountain.




Evergreen mountain isn't much of a mountain by Yukon standards, but makes for a nice hike if you happen to be in the Madawaska Highlands.  There was much more to see, but we had to start back down.  Never via the same route, of course.  That just wouldn't work for my dad.  Or me.



We followed a little ravine that ran down the middle of the mountain back to our original trail. The colours in the ravine were fascinating.



On the way out, we passed by a wetland that we had passed on the way in. Beside the trail, I noticed that the water in the wetland was draining down into the ground and disappearing. The wetland is surrounded by rock on all sides. It was fascinating to watch. I'd love to know where that water ends up. I took some video of it which I may or not post some day. Maybe if I get enough requests...



On the drive home we saw a young buck, white-tailed deer...



... and a doe and a couple of fawns. Aww! Aren't they cute!

All-in-all, it was a successful afternoon of exploring. We made it to Evergreen Mountain, saw a tiny frog and some other wildlife, and were confounded by a mysteriously-draining wetland.

It's impossible to go for a hike with my dad without it being interesting.

Climbing with my bros.

A couple of days after we took the kids climbing near Calabogie, my brother, brother-in-law and I went out for a bit of our own climbing fun.


"No climb is too challenging" was our motto.

Most of the pictures are of me climbing because, well, my brother looks too cool when he climbs.

See what I mean?





If I posted a bunch of pictures of him, all I'd get are requests from newly adoring fans asking when I'm going to post more pictures of him. So that's all you get. Three and no more, so don't even ask.

I mean it.

And here's my brother-in-law. He's over fourteen feet tall and can reach the top of the cliff without even thinking about it. Here he is pretending that climbing takes any kind of effort for him.








I mean, look at that reach!

I has been years since I've done any climbing. My very unstylish helmet is a testament to that. It's hard to look cool when one is wearing a giant blue mushroom on one's head. Nevertheless, my lack of coolness didn't prevent me from having some great climbs. It was like riding a bike! But up a cliff!

 When you've done it once you never really forget how to do it.





What style! What grace! What is that? A frog?





This was a spot that I had to attempt several times.  Oh, it looks easy in the pictures, but I assure you that it was not.  It was a tricky little overhang...



... but I got it!

My success inspired me to try another one.





I got that one, too!



Before long, the sun came around and started baking the cliffs.  It got too hot to climb so we packed it in.  It was great to get out and spend some quality time with my brother and brother-in-law.  Later that afternoon I would some quality time with my dad doing what we like to do best - exploring.  Details to follow!