Ice Shelves on Lake Huron - What Humans Began, Nature Completed!

 Ice Shelves on Lake Huron - 

What Humans Began, Nature Completed!

Last Saturday started out like any other day - the promise of a hike in our local area. Little did we know that it would lead to an experience that we would never have expected!

The Boom Camp Trails, just south of Blind River, Ontario, are one of our frequent places to hike, and we love to swim in the shallow waters of Lake Huron in the many coves that punctuate the trails. Last November, our curiosity was piqued when we decided to follow a road near the entrance of the trails which we had not yet navigated. After a 2 km drive, the gravel road ended where the Mississagi River empties into the Great Lake, and we were surprised by the extended sandy beach area that skirted this part of the coast. We decided that we would return the following summer and see if it was good for swimming. 

In January, we thought it would be a good idea to take a walk along the beach, even though the sand would be snow-covered. Alas, when we got to the start of the road, a gate barred our entry, and we could see that the road, itself, had not been maintained.

This last Friday, we suggested to our friends, Julie and Chris, that it would be safe to take their two dogs, Jett and Dexter, for a walk along the road as there would be no traffic allowed along it. We agreed to meet at around 8:30 the next morning. However, when we arrived, the gate was nowhere to be seen. We concurred that traffic would be sparse and the dogs are well-disciplined, so it would be safe to walk to the beach. 

Dexter and Jett were very interested in a squirrel that had evaded them!

When we got there, we cast our eyes along the beach and were intrigued by some ice formations about 1 km along the coast. They seemed to be like small hills, and we were determined to see them close up. 

The first sighting that created curiosity

Upon our arrival, we were complete floored by what we saw. There was a line of ridges made up of huge crystal-like rocks of ice that had piled up on top of each other. Although it was not as magnificent as the icebergs we had seen in Newfoundland, it was still breath-taking to see the formations that reached heights estimated as high as 30-40 ft. 

Almost like huge crystals

We loved the blue tint as the light played upon the ice

We estimated that this pile was at least 30-40 ft high

A couple of people have told Mark that this is an award-winning shot!

We had to take a short movie clip of this splendour...

We spent an hour or so safely exploring them, and taking photo after photo of this unusual phenomenon. (We had seen some ice formations on Lake Superior, but never here, on Huron). 

Julie and Chris with Jett and Dexter

The block of ice that Mark is sitting on seemed to be emitting its own light source

Remembering that we had also arranged to meet CJ and Art, some other friends of ours, for an afternoon hike, we concluded that we wanted them to enjoy what we were witnessing, and so we excitedly called them to make arrangements for them to meet up with us and spend some time exploring along the coast a little further. 

Nipping back into Blind River to grab a bite to eat, we met with them, and our mutual friend, Kathy, and returned to the end of the road by the beach area. 

Sure enough, their response was as full of awe as ours had been upon first sighting of the 'ice mountains'. Once again, cellphones were put into use as pictures were taken. The clear blue skies of the morning had given way to some cloud coverage, but it was still splendid to see the ice formations, and the way the light played upon them showing different shades of blue and green. During the several hours we were there, we only saw about half a dozen people who were out there, taking it all in. 

Art and CJ were more than happy that they joined us in the afternoon

Kathy's smile says it all!

The 'motley crew' being socially distant.

Us with a couple of our 'nephews'!

On our way back to the parking lot, we happened upon the Mayor of Blind River, and her husband, who related that they had been out on that trail two days beforehand, and there had been no ice shelves at all. Apparently, an ice breaker had been out on the lake, and the huge dislodged chunks of ice had been worked upon by winds and waves, culminating in the spectacle that we now saw before us. What humans had begun, nature had completed!

We were fortunate to have discovered them when we did as, the next day, the parking lot was filled to the brim, and the approaching road lined up with vehicles. Friends who visited that day told us that it was difficult to get a decent picture without people being included. 

Also, on the following day, someone posted a video taken with a drone over the ice formations, showing the channel that had been cut by the ice breaker - a channel that could not be seen from our vantage point. Here's the video clip, courtesy of Northern Playtime:

What had been planned as a brief excursion along a 2 km road and back, turned in to a 7-hour experience, with good friends and our 4-legged nephews, to boot! 

As we have often found, to our ongoing joy: the best days are those that have not been planned... the ones that happen spontaneously. 

Walking on Water - Hiking on the Lake!

 Walking on Water - Hiking on the Lake!

Getting ready for our expedition on the ice

One of the joys of living in Northern Ontario, is the beauty of a crisp, cold, winter's day, when the skies are totally blue and the sun is beaming in all its glory. 

Mark is eager to get going!

Today was such a day, and we decided to venture out onto Elliot Lake, itself. The temperature was -17 degrees Celsius when we stepped off the 'Old Beach' (Spine Beach), onto the lake surface. After several weeks of sub-zero temperatures, the ice must have been a foot or more deep, and the lake was completely frozen over. There were in excess of a dozen ice huts to be seen, as well as multiple tracks made by snowmobiles over the last few days. Today, we saw a few snowmobiles crossing the lake, and there were a dozen or more people enjoying the frozen lake, either on their own with their dogs, or with their family. It was easy to remain socially distant from everyone, and we felt totally safe walking out. 

Following one of the many snowmobile trails - it was almost like a network of railway lines

Several ice huts, just off Spine Beach

We decided that we would cross from our local beach (Spine) and journey towards the 'new' beach, (Spruce Beach). Just off Spruce Beach, there is a landmark rock, which is often shown on t-shirts promoting the city. During the summer, people of all ages swim out to the rock, climb it and jump off, having a lot of fun in the whole exercise. 

'The Rock' in the summer

The same 'Rock' today

Just north of this rock, there are two islands. We crossed to the smaller one and had a snack and a drink, called a dear friend of ours, and hosted a Facebook Live session, during which we walked across to the rock and back again, sharing the scenery with those who joined us. By this time, the temperature had risen to -8 degrees Celsius, and it was warm enough to shed our coats, winter hats, scarves, and gloves. We left them on the small island while we visited the rock. (If you have a Facebook account, and would like to view the Live Session, just click the blue link above). 

A welcome sip and snack

Just a gorgeous day with the warmth of the sun taking the edge off the cold temperature

This short video clip shows the view we had while enjoying our snacks.

After completing our snacks, we decided to do a figure of eight trek around the two islands. We'd been erroneously calling the larger one, 'Sylvan Island', but when I looked it up on the map for this blog, I remembered it's actually called, 'Sylvah Island'. 

In between the islands

A variety of tracks between the islands

We're estimating that the perimeter of the larger island is around 1.5 - 2 km, so it took us about 30 minutes to complete its circumnavigation. All the while, we kept looking up at the sheer blueness of the sky against the evergreen trees, feeling totally happy and blessed to live in such a beautiful area of our Province. 

Outcrop of rocks, showing the toboggan hill on Sylvah Island

It's always interesting to see familiar places from different angles. We enjoyed seeing the two beaches, but also our hospital, with the white smoke emanating from its tall chimney. (Mark made me laugh when he said that the white smoke must mean that a new Pope had been elected!!!)

White smoke from the hospital chimney

Beaver Mountain - the highest accessible point in Elliot Lake, overlooks the town and the lake - and we had climbed up to the top the other day, taking advantage of this recent spell of good weather. 

Beaver Mountain - the highest accessible point in Elliot Lake 

Elliot Lake from the top of Beaver Mountain, showing Sylvah Island, the smaller island, and you can just see the 'rock' to the left of them

Selfie with Elliot Lake in the background (from the top of Beaver Mountain)

It was also the first time we had seen the new jetty/pier at the boat launch from this vantage point, and it was nice to see Westview Park from the lake - a place where I have conducted several weddings since moving here, in 2013. The most recent wedding was for dear friends, back in August of last year. That day was slightly overcast; however, today was totally in contrast to that. 

The relatively new pier/jetty extending from the boat launch

Westview Park - the site of many outdoor town concerts, as well as a popular wedding venue

On our return journey, we were carrying our coats and gloves, and the scarves were in our backpack. There was no wind so the temperature stayed constant and pleasant. 

We estimated that our little expedition was just over 6 km, so we had our exercise for the day!

Our route today

Holding you all in our hearts this Christmas...

Holding You All in Our Hearts, this Christmas.

Hi Everyone,

Knowing that Christmas is going to be very different this year for so many of us, we felt we wanted to send you one more little message in time for tomorrow. 

Hope you enjoy our new little musical offering...

Love and hugs to you all and thanks for supporting our blog through the year. 

Alan and Mark 

XXX OOO

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Merry Christmas to one and all!

 Merry Christmas to One and All!

Dear Friends, 

This has been a challenging year for all of us, and so we wanted to send some Christmas Cheer your way. 

Hope you enjoy our rendition of one of our favourite songs from the movie, 'The Polar Express'. 

May we take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, with wishes for a safer and healthier year, in 2021. 

Love and hugs from us both, 

Alan and Mark 

XXX OOO

Our Visit to the Polar Bear Habitat, Cochrane, Ontario

 Our Visit to the Polar Bear Habitat, Cochrane, Ontario

Today, we were able to dust off one of our long-term bucket list items - one that we've toyed with for several years. Since international travel is restricted, because of Covid-19, we have stayed within Ontario, avoiding any obvious 'hot-spots'. A visit to Timmins had been on the cards for a couple of months, and since Cochrane is just over an hour's drive away, we decided to combine the two adventures. 

We set off from the hotel about an hour earlier than planned because there had been a dense fog warning for the route we were going to take, and we thought we would need the extra time to drive safely to our destination. As it happened, the fog had cleared and so we had a beautiful journey in the morning light, as the sun began to break through the clouds, affording us of some typical views of Northern Ontario. 

Long, straight roads are typical of many parts of Canada - including Northern Ontario

Upon arrival in Cochrane, a small town with a population of about 5500, it was obvious that polar bears took centre stage, as there were signs and figures to be seen everywhere!

This one, on the island of the town's small roundabout, beckoned Mark, who just HAD to have a selfie with it!

Cochrane is also the bouncing off place for the train which goes north to Moosonee - a remote part of Ontario which is not accessible by road. It is located on James Bay, which is a part of Hudson's Bay. Polar bears are sometimes to be seen there, though, apparently, sightings are becoming more and more rare. A train travels there three days every week (less often than normal, due to the recent health restrictions). 

Luckily for us, there is an enclosure within Cochrane itself, which made it unnecessary for us to make that journey. Mark had booked us in for an entry time shortly after the Habitat opened. (Entry times were being staggered to promote social distancing).

At 7 hectares, the enclosure is the largest polar bear habitat in the world, and is home to three polar bears: Ganuk, Henry, and Inukshuk. Their stories are detailed on the habitat's website:(https://canadianpolarbearhabitat.com/the-bears/)

We have often said that we'd love to swim with the bears, a program that is normally offered that allows for this to be safely done - with a protective, transparent shield between them and the brave humans! However, like many attractions, there are some activities that are temporarily discontinued.

There is a large lake within the enclosure, and the bears have access to it at any time. In fact, they have few restrictions and can stay outside, or remain within a purposely-built shelter whenever they choose to do so. Immediately upon our arrival, Paul - the store and site supervisor - ushered us through the main doors into the viewing area as he had just seen (on his monitor screen) that Inukshuk was making his way into the lake. After jumping in, he was playing around, doing flips and diving under the surface and coming up to play some more. Mark managed to capture him just as he came close to the bank before returning to his swim. 

Inukshuk emerging from the water after his first plunge of the day

Thanks to Paul, we were able to witness that, before the polar bear swam away to the other side of the lake, out of our sight. 

Moving round to another part of the enclosure we were fortunate as, for the best part of half an hour, we had the privilege of watching Henry, who spent the whole time lying next to the fence where we could see him quite close up - just a matter of a few feet away. He took brief notice of us and we could often see his nose wrinkling as he sensed us. 

Henry was using his amazing sense of smell to make himself aware of our presence

We didn't get to see Ganuk as he was sleeping in the shelter during our whole visit.

Returning to the first viewing area, we kept our eyes peeled watching for Inukshuk, in case he should make another appearance. Sure enough, within minutes, Paul stepped out to join us and told us that he had seen the bear catch a rabbit on the far side of the lake and that, if we repositioned ourselves, we would probably see him just around the corner in a small cove. When we espied him, we were able to watch him as he made his way into the water, once more, playing with a ball, lying on his back, and having a grand old time!

Inukshuk has just caught a rabbit

Playtime in the water

Here's a video clip of this playful bear: 

Watching this playful creature as he frolicked in the lake, gave us a sense of pure joy

(If you can't see the video, try clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHWpzSzB_8o&ab_channel=AlanSteed

After spending quite a long time watching Inukshuk and his antics, we returned to the centre, where we watched a movie in the theatre, perused the information on the displays, and visited the gift shop. At this time, we were alone in the centre and Paul spent over 30 minutes chatting with us and answering the questions with which we peppered him. Paul shared with us that Henry can be with Inukshuk, or with Ganuk, but Ganuk and Inukshuk don't get on with each other, in spite of Ganuk being the son of the latter! Paul was a mine of information and we counted ourselves really lucky to have met him. 

Armed with that information, the awesome experiences of these wonderful creatures, and a host of photographs, we chose to return to Timmins via a different route, bringing to a close a very enjoyable and fulfilling time in Cochrane - a return to which is a done deal!

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For further information about the Polar Bear Habitat, please visit their website at: 

https://canadianpolarbearhabitat.com/

You can also watch their live camera feed at this link: 

https://canadianpolarbearhabitat.com/watch/