Another sunny day and, I was out earlier this morning to get my coffee, and then, think about where I might go. As I mentioned in a couple of my last posts, I was wanting to get into Mississagi Provincial Park for a hike so, I decided to head up there and, see if it was quiet enough.
As I approached the Park entrance, I was happy to see that there were no vehicles parked there so, I pulled into the parking area, alongside Highway 639. The Park won’t open until the last week in May and, I always like to get in there before it does. There is still lots of snow here so, I will be wearing my snowshoes for this hike.
As I started the hike, the snow seemed hard enough to hold my weight but, I’m sure glad that I wore my snowshoes because, it wasn’t like that further on. Anyway, let’s take a look at how this hike went;
There were some old tracks in the snow, from people who had come in here before but, nothing from today.
This is the river that runs from Semiwite Lake, into Jim Christ Lake. The sun is still a bit low in the sky and, there is a lot of glare on this side. Let’s take a look at the other side.
That’s Jim Christ Lake out there and, you can see that the river flow is working on moving that ice out.
With full zoom, from the little Canon S100, you can just barely see some ducks, on the open water, way out there.
The SX50 does bring those ducks a lot closer but, shaky hands make a big difference, when taking long shots like this. In my defense, you have to remember that, when I’m hiking, it takes a lot of effort so, just stopping for a second and, taking a shot like this, with steady hands, is not that easy.
But, I’m not one to hang around in any one spot for long and, these shots were probably a hundred yards, if not more.
This is one of the reasons why I would have preferred that the Park had closed. No trailers are supposed to be left in the Park, during the off-season yet, here they are and, there are more, down in the camping area.
Coming up to the gate house now. When the Park is open, this is where you would stop to pay and, get your permit.
For those of you with more money, than adventurous spirit, here’s what it will set you back, for the pleasure of staying one night at this Park. Having said that, there are plenty of free Crown Land campsites, just a bit north of here. And, they are just as nice, if not nicer, in my opinion.
This might be a comical exaggeration in size but, in fact, it is no joke. When the mosquitoes and black flies are in season, they can literally carry you off into the bush and, feast on your squirming carcass. Anyone who thinks that they know how bad these bugs can get, needs to come up here when they are at their peak. Forget about the bears, it’s these demons of the bush that should be feared.
There’s no doubt that the snow is melting but, in shady areas like this, it takes a lot longer.
This log cabin, on the shore of Jim Christ Lake, was moved here but, at this moment, I can’t remember where they moved it from. As far as I know, they use it to store stuff like canoes inside, for the winter.
At one time, when I owned 12 acres of wilderness myself, I was going to build a log cabin, very similar to this one. But, during the time I owned that property, I saw the light of reality and, I decided that it just wasn’t for me.
Not a heck of a lot of melting going on here yet. And, as I’m writing this blog post, the next day, that rainfall warning we had up has now been cancelled. We are getting some rain but, not that much.
Yep, as anyone who reads my blog knows by now, I’m not in favor of ‘owning’ any life form, which includes pets and, zoo animals. If you decide to keep an animal captive, for whatever psychological reason you have, then you need to realize that your choices are not everyone else’s choices. It’s up to you to contain that animal, no excuses. You chose to keep it captive, so now, you must ensure that it is under your control, 100%, all the time. And, that includes noise, especially in a Park setting. People come here for quiet, not to listen to your dog barking. Yep, I know, your dog never barks, just like it has never bitten anyone, until it does.
This is the Park administration area. These cabins were meant for Park personnel but, I’m not sure if they are being used now, since the Park is no longer under Provincial management. I do know that there is one government official that still works here.
Looking back, as I continue in towards the picnic/camping areas. The snow looks dirty because, it’s covered in spruce needles.
I pass a trail that has been closed, because of bear activity. Even if you don’t see them, bears are everywhere up here.
There’s a big hill here, that goes down to the picnic/camping areas and, it’s always a challenge getting back up this hill.
Towards the bottom of the hill, there is some melting going on and, all the runoff, from higher up, is coming down here.
In areas, where there is some bare ground, I started seeing these butterflies/moths. I’m not sure which category they fit into but, they were all over the place down here.
Just coming out to the Picnic Area and Boat Launch at Semiwite Lake.
Standing out, at the end of the broken down dock, on frozen Semiwite Lake.
As I mentioned earlier, we did not get that heavy rain that was forecast, although, we are getting a bit of rain. Right now, the Easter long weekend is looking like a mixed bag, with only Sunday being full sunshine. But, as we all know, these ‘so called’ forecasts, can change overnight or, even on the same day.
Ever heard the saying, ‘Life is a Beach’? Well, this is my kind of beach, no one around, perfectly quiet and, amazingly beautiful. Once again, I find myself walking on the beach, in snowshoes. 🙂
This is the only kind of beach that I like. I’m not a swimmer and, I’m not a sunbather but, when it comes to quiet, remote beaches, I’ll take that any day of the week.
From here, there is a trail that runs all along the shoreline, to the other beach, in the camping section of the Park. I intended to take that trail but, I know, from past experience, that parts of that trail are prone to flooding, at this time of year. So, I’ll follow that trail, for as far as I can.
Here’s the trail that I’m following but, it’s not this wide all the way down. The trail does get a bit rugged and bushy, farther along.
There were a lot more of those colorful butterflies/moths enjoying the sunshine, on the bare ground, along this trail.
Now I’m into the more rugged part of the trail and, snowshoes are not really suited for this kind of terrain. Yes, I could take them off but, it wouldn’t be worth it because, I’ll be back into snow very shortly.
As I suspected, I came to a river flowing on the trail so, I had to take a short detour, through the bush, to get out to one of the camping area roads, and then, to the beach.
Out on the camping area beach, an inviting seat awaits but, I wasn’t game for sitting down, at the moment so, I continued on.
In the distance, you can see some white cloud cover, starting to move in but, it did not get here in time to affect my hike today.
As you can see, I did find a bit of snow on the beach, so that, I felt a little more comfortable with my snowshoes on. 🙂
This is the beach area, in the camping section. It’s not really a fine sand beach, it’s more of a gravelly beach.
There used to be an old wooden dock, running lengthwise, along this section of the shoreline but, they took that out and, never replaced it. My guess is that, they didn’t want someone breaking their ass on it and, suing Elliot Lake.
Okay, so, from here, I headed into the camping area, where there is still lots of snow.
As far as campsites go, the sites in this park are pretty good. There is usually adequate privacy, between sites and, they all have nice steel fire pits, with a grilling area on top.
This is the beginning of the Helenbar Trail. It’s a very nice trail, especially in the fall, when the bugs are finished. But, as always, be on the lookout for bears.
Many of the campsites are still buried in snow so, you better have snow tires on that wheelchair, if you want to get in here right now. 🙂
I don’t think that I did a hike in Mississagi Provincial Park last year. I guess that I was just to busy doing other things.
Of course, for many people and, this is more heavily weighted on the female side, this is the one and, only reason that they prefer established Parks.
Anyway, it’s time for me to be making my way out of here and, back up that long hill, covered in soft snow.
Once again, I made it out in one piece and, my ride home waits for me. The next nice looking day might be Sunday, of the long Easter weekend but, I’m not one to do too much on these holidays anyways so, it will likely be a quiet one for me. Until next time………… 🙂