Steer to Northern Ontario

POST SCRIPT - GLACIAL POTHOLE - DEEPER NorthernOntario.travelNortheastern Ontario TourismDestination Northern OntarioDestination Ontario Given the radio carbon ...dating data of 1969 the pothole is shy of 4 m and about 12'. Digging today revealed this is one of the deepest and best examples of glacial evidence in Northern Ontario. See the map link...https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit See the next photo of portaging a homemade ladder to the site. You can scroll back to see other posts in the recent days gone by. Yours to discover. See more

MOREL POTHOLE/KETTLE FINALLY LOCATED - LUCKY DAY - PART ONE -THAT'S NOT THE ONE! NorthernOntario.travelDestination Northern OntarioNortheastern Ontario Touris...mHiking & Paddling In Northeastern Ontario This Friday the 13th PM was a lucky one. After 16 years of exploring an irregular shaped rectangle, an area 1 km X 400 m along a railway corridor, more than 100 hours of field work and research, more than a dozen trips to the area, one of the elusive Morel glacial pothole/kettle(s) was located. Part one today, part two, tomorrow, to find the other kettle/pothole cited in a 1972 journal. For now this map link... https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit west of Mattawa within the former glacial spillway, south side of the railway line, between Taggart Lake pipeline corridor and the Taggart Lake Rd. as it crosses the former CPR railway. Yours to discover, more to come.

ICICLES IN TRANSITION - A REFLECTIVE LOOK NorthernOntario.travelDestination Northern OntarioDestination OntarioNortheastern Ontario Tourism The personal ice-fre...e record for paddling the Mattawa is approaching; today was kind of a balmy day. Funny thing what you don't see through the lens until post viewing. See more

EPILOGUE - THIS IS THE ONE - GLACIAL POTHOLE REFERENCE LOCATED - PART II - SUCCESSFUL CLOSURE - MOREL MOTHER LODE NorthernOntario.travelDestination Northern O...ntarioNortheastern Ontario Tourism Destination Ontario This is a "bushwhacking story with many pages." (Now...now easy to get to.) You stare at the map and review the field notes and the references too many times. You wander aimlessly and sometimes through a purposeful grid for years. You give up, not really including one pair of expensive boots recently taken to Vic's Shoe Repair. You see the grainy 1972 reference photo, nothing makes sense. When was the last time you arrived somewhere with no directions and you go back again and again? Then there is a new bit of information from a field note attached to a table. You find one pothole, one day with Laura Kielpinski and know it is not the right one from the photo. The next day, with Dr. Jeff Scott, you go again. "Found it, there it is just like the black and white scanned photo." You debrief...and trace the anatomy of a mystery, riddled with clues and information that has to be interpreted and applied. (Thanks to Dr. Larry Dyke, who had a keen interest in this, from a professional viewpoint, and also bushwhacked...several times.) See the detailed map...https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit . If you want to share and others do not have FBook, use this link... https://www.facebook.com/bill.steer.90/posts/10221937346240453 Yours to discover.

FALL ECOLOGY LESSON - BEAR CLAWS AND BEECH TREES Destination Northern OntarioDestination OntarioNorthernOntario.travelHiking & Paddling In Northeastern OntarioN...ortheastern Ontario Tourism It’s late and the bears are most likely finished their hunt for ripe beechnuts. With more protein and fat than acorns, the nuts are fuel for the coming winter. Each fall bears haul themselves up beech trees, leaving the almost smooth, pale-grey bark peppered with claw marks. Wandered into this nice stand of beech on the north side of the Mattawa River near Kearney Lake. Yours to discover.

SNOWSHOE PARADISE GIFT - SURVIVAL OF CANADIAN ECOLOGY CENTRE - YOU CAN HELP - PLEASE SHARE Snow is on the way and you are one of our friends. Christmas in th...e Forest, New Year's...2021 winter (Valentine's Day, Family Day, March Break) - we are in need of your help. Park in a Cabin - rent one and your stay will mean the Canadian Ecology Centre stays on as we try and survive. See www.canadianecology.ca or call 705-744-1715 (press 0). Or make a donation through the online tab. Here's a digital map link with details, all the trails and pathways...yours to discover...https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit

BEAVERS AT WORK - PART TWO - STORY Ontario NatureNorthernOntario.travelNortheastern Ontario TourismDestination OntarioDestination Northern Ontario You may or ma...y not know Long Lake here within the Park, but you can see the flooded area. The new dam is just to the right or south and includes a trail crossing berm. There is a small outflow that they engineered making a new reservoir for the bank beaver lodge. I removed the sticks and mud as shown and within 15 hours they efficiently had it back in place. When I removed their work I watched the water level of the flooded area subside within minutes (see the sticks marking the extent in the foreground). So many large trees taken down during the past two weeks-they are busy another indication of an early winter! Get the snowshoes ready. See more

BEAVER BEAUTY PHOTO ESSAY - WATER RIPPLES - PART ONE Destination OntarioDestination Northern OntarioOntario NatureNorthern OntarioNortheastern Ontario Touris...mNorthernOntario.travel There is more to come with this evolving story and it takes time to recover these shots...not a trail cam opportunity. Beavers are active mainly at night, but occasionally can be seen out and about during the day. I was fortunate at Long Lake and the next installment of photos points to their engineering skills and busyness! See more

HALLOWEEN BEST SHOTS - BLUE MOON AT THE CANADIAN ECOLOGY CENTRE With some families around the COVID - physically distanced fire...last night was our second full... moon, which the moon may be blue in name only, but in those shots it sure appeared to be. (Worked at the composition especially with the three light sources.) Looking forward to 'Christmas in the Forest.' See www.canadianecology.ca . See more