Sounds like a great place to do some paddling...especially the clear water, coral and abundant marine life...although, being a bit of a swamper, I'd enjoy the mangroves too.
Unfortunately, I haven't been out paddling in at least 3 weeks. I had a work-related injury to one shoulder during early August and I'm still getting over it. A couple of times, I've decided that I was probably fit enough to go out paddling, but ended up paying for my impatience. I don't know if I'll get out on the water many more times this year, but I'm hoping to enjoy the fall colours along a couple of my favourite rivers before the snow flies.
To compensate for the lack of paddling, I've been doing a lot of hiking. Last weekend we hiked in Gatineau Park which is just north of Ottawa in the Gatineau Hills -- they are a low range of glacially-worn mountains which form part of the Canadian Shield. It's an area that is similar to the low mountain ranges in Vermont which are heavily wooded with maple, birch, ash and beech with some conifers, but with exposed granite faces here and there.
We chose the 5+ mile Wolf Trail, a rugged but popular circuit which winds along through a wooded valley and eventually leads up over the top of a mountain with several open granite faces which afford a great lookout over the Ottawa River and the Ottawa Valley.
We decided to do the trail in reverse... I'm not actually sure why... That would have been a very serious mistake if we hadn't have been in fairly good shape because the elevation climbs about 700+ feet from the lower part of the trail to the mountaintop. If you walk the trail in the "usual direction", the ascent is fairly gradual and not really too demanding. Done in reverse, you are climbing upwards almost constantly and have to do a few scrambles up rocky trails.
We realized our "mistake" about a half hour into our hike when we began to meet the odd hiker coming towards us in the "normal" direction. A couple of them seemed quite familiar with the trail and commented, "Doing it the hard way, eh?" as they passed by...(-:
The weather was amazing... one of those last days of summer...the perfect ones with dry, warm air and a clear blue sky that goes on forever when you stand on a mountaintop looking off to the horizon. But there was that smoky scent of fall in the breeze... just enough to remind you that this really is the end of summer.
BTW, one note of interest: Dried-out fallen beech leaves have to be about the slipperiest thing I can remember walking on. I'm kind of a renegade when it comes to hiking... I like to wear low-cut, very light moccasin-type boots. I'm very accustomed to wearing them while climbing and scrambling on trails...but on those beech leaves... Aaiiiiieeeee!!! Suffice to say that I had a few very exciting moments slipping along down steep beech-leaf strewn trails... But then again, perhaps I've just invented a new sport... Leaf Surfing...(-:
Next trip: This coming weekend is out 25th anniversary and we're planning a good hiking trip for the occasion...longer but slightly less rugged... Probably pack a small gourmet picnic lunch and a bottle of very good wine... The weather is supposed to be fantastic... should be an excellent day... |
