North Channel

As we pass through Little Current, we say goodbye to Georgian Bay, and hello to North Channel.  We still have several stops on our ‘must see’ list, but our time in Canada is nearing the end.

Little Current is a great stop for reprovisioning, and we were in need of some fresh fruits and veggies, as we hadn’t been to a grocery store in more than two weeks.

We anchored in a well protected spot between a small island and the mainland.  The island had some type of stone wall ruins, but we didn’t investigate…we just admired from the boat.  The view was beautiful with the mountains in the background.

Next stop…Kagawong.  Several people told us to put Bridal Veil Falls on our list.

This was our first (and only) marina stay in Canada.  Our original intention was to anchor, but we found our charts were not very accurate regarding depths.  The place that showed a 20’ depth was actually 40+ feet deep.  We do carry 300 feet of chain and 400 feet of line, but we didn’t want to put out that much rode.  I called the marina and asked if they could accommodate a 50’ boat.  The guy seemed excited to welcome us (and we did make it work), but the space was VERY tight. The locals were amused to see such a big boat at their marina.

Following the well maintained trail, it was a lovely walk from the waterfront to the falls. I kept commenting how odd it was that we didn’t see any people on the trail.  It was a drizzly day, but I expected much more traffic.

Interesting art adorned the trail.  Apparently we need to up our art appreciation game, here is the artist’s description of this piece…🤷🏼‍♀️

“This sculpture rejects the separation between cultural and natural.  It rejects the division between an optimistic future and a tragic past. Instead it revels in the intersection between these forces. It is a zero sum game between a doe, a buck, a fawn, a Ford F150 bumper, the emerald ash borer and a propane tank. The work is Whitetail deer in headlights.”

Robert Cram 2017

I get the tragic interaction between the doe and the F 150, but the rest was way over my head😁

Much to our surprise, there were a lot of people at the falls.  There happened to be a parking lot, and stairs that brought many to the falls.  I don’t want to sound spoiled here, but most of our stops have been only accessible by boat, which drastically reduces the number of people at each ‘attraction’.  

I waited patiently to climb behind the falls where I was greeted by a strong, cool, misty breeze created by the falling water.

As we climbed the steps to the parking lot, we were able to get a more Instagram worthy picture (one with all of the people hidden).

Interesting art was also displayed along the road.

The small town offered a very cute museum, which mainly highlighted local history.  However, at the time of our visit they had a traveling display of the Empress of Ireland shipwreck, which took 954 lives in 1914…very interesting!

Back to our island exploration…

South Benjamin Island was our last opportunity to enjoy the rocks!

And guess what…we hit the blueberry jackpot!  Time to make ‘boat’ ice cream!  The best blueberry ice cream we have ever tasted!

This is super easy for anyone to make.  If you are flavoring with fruit, simply mix the fruit with a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Whip cream in a separate bowl then fold milk/fruit mixture into the whipped cream and freeze.

As we worked our way out of North Channel we marveled at the beautiful thistle plants along the shoreline.

We decided to anchor at Drummond Island, and hop over to Michigan the next day.  For some reason I thought the country line ran down the middle of the lake, but SURPRISE…

When I opened Google maps, to see when our unlimited cell coverage would be in effect, I was shocked to see the red line wrap around Drummond Island.  Oops…I guess we had better check into the US quickly!

GGB pt 3, Bad River to Baie Fine

The last few posts have swept you through Georgian Bay fairly quickly, so I wanted to give you the ‘big picture’ view of where this post begins.

We are anchored at the red dot in the middle of the purple circle.

Bad River 45° 56’ 05”N, 80° 58’ 26”W

Exploration by dinghy and climbing!

Bad River is oh so GOOD! Actually, great!  I believe Bad River (and surrounding area) was my overall favorite location in Georgian Bay!

Now for the close up view…

We are anchored at the pink star…ignore the red lines and numbers, those are just route plots.  Devil’s Door, Cross Channel and The Five Fingers were amazing places to explore!

We would travel upstream as far as we could, in the Whaler, and Keith would nose up to a rock so I could climb up for a better view.

This was the first place, in Georgian Bay, where the water level seemed very low.

After getting our fill of the scenery on the west side of the anchorage, we headed for the east side, and found very different terrain.

This is definitely the work of a local…no out-of-towner is going to attempt mooring there!

Time for some rock climbing!  I don’t mean ‘hang from your fingertips on a vertical face’ kind of rock climbing. You would get a more accurate visual if you imagine an intoxicated mountain goat, with 3 legs, trying to gain elevation on big smooth rocks.

But we found BLUEBERRIES! We have been looking for wild blueberries since we entered Georgian Bay, and we thought they would be a little easier to pick.  These plants are 6-8 inches off the ground, and finding a bush with more than 2 ripe berries was very difficult. This plant is the happy exception.

It took a lot of picking to get enough to make something, but our efforts were justly rewarded…

The best blueberry cobbler ever!

The next day we headed to Covered Portage by way of Beaverstone and Collins Inlet.

As we worked our way to the west, the topography changed quite drastically!  We quickly went from smooth pink granite to sheer and jagged outcroppings.

And this is where our good camera took a very hard spill on the pilot house floor…never to be heard from again!!  Luckily, Keith dug out our old camera, and we were back in business!

Covered Portage 46° 00’ 06”N, 81° 31’ 44”W

Exploration by dinghy and climbing.

The anchorage inside the cove was surrounded by these massive walls of rock.  However, the anchorage was pretty busy, and we chose to anchor outside, in a location that offered better protection from the forecasted strong northwest winds.

This rock will protect us nicely…and of course, we had to climb it.

This is the view from the top, while we were (once again) picking blueberries…yum!! With this batch we enjoyed blueberry pancakes, and blueberries in our yogurt.  We have decided that if we find any more we will make ice cream 🤞!

Rest time is good too!

Baie Fine 46° 02’ 40”N, 81° 28’ 42”W

Pronounced Bay Fin

Exploration by hiking, climbing, and hiking some more!

Apparently, the hike to Lake Topaz is in that direction…it looks like a lot of uphill from here!

Most of the trail is a dry creek bed with a gradual uphill slope.

Behold…the three legged mountain goat. As we get closer to the prize, the going gets a little tougher.  

We made it, and we are going for a swim.

Now, to get out of here. The blueberries are on the top of that rock.

We came…we conquered, and we celebrated!

The next morning we decided to get an early start for our 20 mile trip to Little Current.

All was calm at 6:45 a.m.

This is officially our last anchorage in Georgian Bay.  Once we pass through Little Current we will be in a body of water known as North Channel.

What a phenomenal experience!  

I do a lot of reading (especially when we are in places with little/no internet connection), and recently read a passage that sums up my feelings nicely.

“…humans innately can be healed by beauty, especially the splendors of the natural world.” The Oceanography of the Moon, pg 225.

Therefore, my advice to you…if your soul ever needs to be healed, plan a trip to Georgian Bay!

GGB pt 2 Black Bay to Bustard Islands

Before we ever entered Georgian Bay, my ‘minds eye’ set high expectations for the beauty we would encounter.  My research of the area had me dreaming big, regarding the topography and environment.  While we had been impressed, up to this point, it wasn’t until we entered Black Bay that my mental imagery matched our reality!  This post will include two (out of three) of my absolute favorite anchorages in Georgian Bay, where the breathtaking scenery is unmatched!

Black Bay 45° 47’ 36”N, 80° 40’ 02”W

Exploration by dinghy, drone, & foot (including a lot of climbing)

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

I absolutely loved the backdrop of windmills in this location, and the drone made it clear, there were a lot of  places to explore…so launch the Whaler!

The days were quite cool (for us) ranging from 74-78°.  These cool temps (and chilly water) kept us out of the water on most days, but a few times the hike warmed us enough to justify a dip.  A swim was especially justifiable if we had warm rocks to relax upon after exiting the water!  This location was perfect for a dip.

Absolutely amazing!

Our next anchoring location put us in the middle of the windmill farm.  I still felt awe inspired being surrounded by these giants, and I didn’t feel as though they detracted from the natural beauty, at all.

Henvy Inlet 45° 50’ 52”N, 80° 39’ 33”W

Our original plan was to launch the Whaler and do some trolling in Henvy Inlet.  Our friend Shelly, from Oh Henry, told us this was the place to catch record breaking Pike.  However, the day we arrived it was cold and windy, and we both felt a little exhausted from our recent ‘activities’ calendar.  We decided to stay on the boat, but dropped a few lines in the water from the cockpit (which offered good protection from the wind). I landed a nice smallmouth bass, which supplemented our beef/bean taco dinner, with a couple of fish tacos.

Considering the fact that this was the first fish we caught in Ontario, and a fishing license costs $85…this taco cost $43.00 ($42.50 for the fish and .50 for everything else😉) to make…but it was delicious!!

Due to predictions of strong wind, we left Henvy inlet the next day to find an anchorage with better protection.  Therefore, we didn’t really explore Henvy.

Bustard Islands 45° 53’ 45”N, 80° 54’ 20”W

Exploration by dinghy

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

The tops of these trees would lead you to believe the wind was screaming at this moment, but that is not the case.  Many of the trees in this area grow like that…probably because they are usually buffeted by wind from that direction!

Mink!  Our first mink sighting was two minks chasing each other along a big rock.  We sat and watched as they darted into cracks and crevices then reappeared along the water’s edge.  We assumed they were playing, or flirting, with each other…UNTIL the one in the back caught the one in the front.  Yikes…the scream that came from the fury of fur was neither fun nor romantic!  Once they separated, this guy ran for the water as fast as he could move, jumped in from a rock ledge high above the water, and swam quickly to the other side of the cove.  We now assume he was caught trespassing!

Our exploration took us into some very narrow channels.

And on occasion, a little help over the rocks was necessary.

But getting up close and personal is the way we like to explore.

This is the spot we stopped for lunch…spectacular! I would rank this in the top 5 most beautiful lunch spots in my life.

As Keith finished lunch, and stepped into the water to push the boat off the rocks…he found these eggs??  They look to be either from a turtle or a snake, as they were leathery, not hard.  However, they were totally submerged in water, so neither a turtle nor snake would survive.  We placed them back in the water and went on our way… just in case they were viable (we agreed the blackened egg was definitely dead).  Upon returning to the boat I tried to research organisms that might have laid eggs in the water, but everything pointed back to a land nest, from a turtle or snake, getting washed into the water.  If I had known for certain they were dead, I would have loved to cut one open to see what was inside…I know I am weird!

If you can identify these eggs, please share your knowledge!