Crescent Lake Campground used to have
forty-two campsites but last year, the provincial park service
reduced the number to twenty, which was probably a great
improvement. After we left Lake Wanoka in Wisconsin, all our
campsites were surrounded by others, all filled with other campers.
Because Crescent Lake is considered
“rough camping” with no showers, flush toilets, or laundromats,
plus no view of Lake Superior, it is not used all that much. At
most, only six sites were filled and last night, that was down to
three. It is away from the Trans Canadian Highway, so it is much
quieter than the much bigger and more used Agawa Bay campground.
Since Rossport, we had become used to noise. Even at Pukaskwa, we
were next to the trail leading to the beach, so there were always
voices of swimmers going to and fro.
Crescent Lake boasts an easy trail,
only a two kilometer loop. Yesterday I took it faster than I needed
to but rain threatened all day so I moved right along and did it in
about half an hour. It went around Mudhole Lake and skirted three
others. Most of the time it was on an old logging road. I didn't
need my aluminum hiking stick so I folded it up and attached it to my
fanny pack. Not exciting really, I didn't get lost, fall down, or
meet anyone or anything, but a pleasant walk nonetheless.
While I was walking, Gary was exploring by canoe.
In the evening, he took me for a ride around the lake, though it might be described as along the lake.
Crescent Lake stretches out, which makes it possible for the loon to
live there. Loons have solid bones unlike other birds with hollow
bones. This means that loons sink well, so that they can fish
underwater but they don't fly as well as other birds. They need a
large enough space to take off. At some of our Wisconsin lakes,
they must take about three laps around before they can attain enough
height to get over the trees.
Crescent Lake is narrow but so long it
serves as a runway for the loon. So yes, we had our resident loon.
The six juvenile mergansers were there, as well as a flock of geese
and the sandpipers.
But what we were really after was a
moose. There are “moose” signs all along the the highway warning motorists to
watch for the big beasts, but I have yet to see one. The visitors
centre at Agawa Bay has a sightings book for visitors to note what
they have seen. “Moose” shows up on every page yet I remain
mooseless. That is why Gary took me out on to quietly circle the
lake hoping moose would be coming down to drink. No such luck. Then
we drove to Agawa Bay to return the canoe equipment and to come back
at dusk to seek the elusive moose. No such luck.
This morning, mists rose from the lake, worth a photo:
Today we are at Sault Ste Marie and still we haven't seen a moose and this is my sixth visit to Ontario. Last time I saw one, I took five year old Chris to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and that was thirty years ago.
Maybe the seventh visit will be the ticket.
One final note: I have used toilets around the world but the ones at the Ontario provincial parks are particularly odd. The men's and women's pit toilets are in the same wooden structure, separated by a thin piece of plywood that doesn't reach entirely to the floor. When I was comfortably seated in my half, a male camper showed up opposite and I could see his hiking boots. This dampened my mood.
No comments:
Post a Comment