Day 29
NM today: 28
NM total:
653
Locks today:
0
Locks total:
70
We had hoped
to get away from the Midland town harbor bright and early, but when we woke in
the morning, the winds were still howling and the flags were still flapping
madly. We decided that we would wait to
see if the winds died down a bit, so instead of a rushed breakfast, we took our
time.
Before we
left Clark decided that he would replace the holding tank filter for our head
because there seemed to be an unpleasant odor lingering around the steps to the
state rooms. It didn’t take him long to
replace the part, but the filter cost almost $150. Fortunately the marine store right there at
the docks had the part he needed so he wasn’t off on his bicycle in search of a
replacement filter.
When all was
said and done, we pulled away from the marina just after 10:00 for the trip to
Frying Pan Bay which is part of the Canada Parks system. We had heard that if you get there early
enough there is space on a dock to tie up. We ended up following Ariel who was also staying at Midland and had the same planned
route / next stop. The dock is a T-shaped dock. Ariel
is on the base of the T and we are on the left arm, so almost stern to stern.
We were
greeted at the dock by local Canadians who basically spend the summer tied to
this dock. They rapidly got our lines secured
with a style of knot that even Clark was not familiar with. They put a slip knot in the line, then fed
the line through the ring on the dock, then back up to put the line through the
middle of the slip knot, then pulled it back towards the ring and pulled it all
tight and tied it off with a couple of half-hitches. I’m not sure I can repeat it but I’m going to
try. The end result is a secure knot
with a quick release.
They were
very helpful in filling us in on the lay of the land and point out the sights
to see and what to avoid. Multiple
trails are on Beausoleil Island with a couple of nice ones near the docks at Frying
Pan Bay, so as soon as we had eaten lunch, we set out to explore. In advance of going on our hike, they told us
to watch out for the bear, the rattle snakes (the length of a picnic table),
and the mosquitoes. We didn’t see the
bear which is a very good thing because we later learned she is a mother with
two cubs. Yikes! We never saw or heard a rattle snake – what a
shame! (Not), but man-oh-man did we find the mosquitoes.
I’m not a great
lover of insect repellant due to my allergies, but I sprayed myself good about
30 feet into the hike. Thick and relentless, the mosquitoes dive bombed us
right, left and center. The trail takes
about 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete according to the pamphlet at the
dock. I was thinking, “man this is going
to be a miserable hike”, but after not too far, we came out into more sunny,
open areas – not the swamp-type setting we started in, and it became much more
pleasant. Most of the trail after the
initial damp area that has a board walk was natural stone and therefore
somewhat rugged. Each step required a
decision on foot placement. Some areas
were steep; other areas were wet; some were covered in brush; and in some areas
along the shores of the bay, the ground was sandy. Basically we had a little bit of everything.
As I trailed
along behind Clark finding my footing on the wet, overgrown areas of the trail,
sometimes calling out for him to come back to provide a secure hand hold while
I tackled something where I felt uncertain, I became nostalgic and thought
about my youth and the happy days I spent walking through the woods by our
house in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. Sometimes
I muttered to myself that I had to marry an engineer who has to see everything
to completion, i.e I knew there was no turning back on the hike, and on top of
that, I had to marry an Eagle Scout who thinks nothing of hiking long distances
with insects in abundance.
We took the
trail called Fairy that circles Fairy Lake, and every so often the trail would
open up into an area with a wonderful view of the water with an even more
wonderful cool breeze to blow away the sweat and the bugs. I decided in some bazaar way I must be a
glutton for punishment because overall I really enjoyed the hike. Compared to the terrain at Arches National
Park in Utah where I sometimes crawled on my hands and knees over sheer rock
face to get to the next part of the trail, this was nothing. Remove the mosquitoes from the picture and
the hike would have been totally glorious!
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| Campsite on Beausoleil Island |
 |
| Trail markers - we took Fairy |
 |
| Fairy Lake |
 |
| Trail made up mostly of rock |
 |
| Hanging with other Mainship-owner Loopers on the docks of Frying Pan Bay |
We passed
the owners of Ariel along the way as
they had taken an alternate route and ended up hiking Fairy in the opposite
direction to us. We were surprised to
find them already back at their boat when we got back as they had further to go
than we did from the point where we met.
They told us that Rock Me Baby had
just pulled in to the bay and dropped anchor as there was no obvious room along
the dock. Shortly thereafter, Rock Me Baby came over to say hello and
found out that a large boat was just leaving so they moved their boat over to
join us at the dock.
A few folks
jumped in to the 72 degree water for a quick swim. Clark grabbed the kayak and went for more
exploration. Others, including me, pulled
up some chairs and sat around to chat and snack a bit before dinner. The locals told us to hide in our boats after
7:00 p.m. to avoid the mosquitoes, so around 6 something we put away the water
toys, chairs, etc., and all went our separate ways to make dinner on our
respective boats.
As I am
typing this blog entry, Clark is strumming away on his guitar – something he
hasn’t had as much time for on the trip as I’m sure he’d like. I’m going to relax with a book for a while
before calling it a night. Tomorrow we
are heading for another anchorage recommended by yet another local. Ultimately all three boats here tonight will
end up in Parry Sound but apparently on different schedules. That’s pretty standard on the Great Loop as
we play lead frog along the way.
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