Northern Ontario in the Fall

Northern Ontario is beautiful anytime of year but fall has a special beauty all its own. The forests transform from a warm green to a chilly, crisp world filled with color. There are not a lot of Provincial parks open into the fall especially in the north but Arrowhead is available until the end of October.

They have some great trails and a falls called Stubb Falls. A beautiful walk through the woods to a refreshing view. I just love the sound of a water falls.

I was planning on cooking dinner over an open fire but the fire had other plans. Lol! It had been raining and everything was very wet, including the wood. I am pretty efficient at starting fires but this one took a little persistence. Lol!

There is nothing like starting your day with a coffee in the woods. The morning was promising to be a beautiful day for a drive!

I would normally travel up Hwy 69 then turn left on Hwy 17 but decided to take Hwy 11 to North Bay and see what I could find. By the time I got that far north most of the leaves had fallen but it still made for a pretty picture. Checked out my ioverlander.com app and found a great spot above the city. A beautiful view and a peaceful night.

I woke the next morning to rain. Lots and lots of rain! I looked at my weather app and it said more rain. Uggg! It’s hard to walk in the woods when it is raining. Well for me anyway. I looked on the radar and seen semi-clear skies to the west. I am not even sure if I had ever been on Hwy 17 between North Bay and Sudbury and it was a treat. A beautiful drive toward sunshine!

And then it happened! The clouds parted and oh what a beautiful sight!

Since I was now on the otherside of Sudbury you know I had to go to Dunlop Lake Lodge. A friendly hug for my friends and lots of laughs in a most beautiful setting. It cannot get any better than this!

I just cannot get enough of the view off the back deck. It goes well with dinner or morning coffee!

Thursday night is Open Mic Night. What a fun time and the people that got up and played were really good. Great food, great music and an awesome time! If your in Elliot Lake you should go check it out!

Sitting having coffee one morning and a visitor came to visit. They did not come in for coffee though which was OK with me really! Lol!

I have so much fun there. This place is definitely Chipmunk approved!

Heading back east there was something I wanted to check out. I had done some research for a magazine article and found a meteorite impact site. I like interesting and those are interesting. On the east side of North Bay just past Mattawa on Hwy 17 is Brent Crater. A Metorite Impact zone that happened 450 million years ago.

The area is a Provincial Park. After stopping at the gate and getting a day pass I continued my adventure into the Crater. It was at least 35 km into the forest. I lost cell service at mile 13. The road was rough going in but doable.

Coming to the information booth it was an interesting read. The Crater that was left by an impact equal to 250 million tons of dynamite is 3 kilometers wide and 600 meters deep. That must have shook the world! At the information center was also a lookout. You could see the rim of the Crater the meteriorite had created. It was quite a view.

A short distance down the road is a trail that you can get to the bottom, or as far as you can to the bottom, of the Crater. It is a long way down and step carefully trail. A beautiful walk through the forest even if I had to hold a couple trees as I stepped. It had rained the day before and with all leaves that had fallen it was a slippery trail.

The trail is both a hiking trail and a portage trail. I found myself turned around a couple of times. I knew the trail did a loop but when you are deep in a forest sometimes it is hard to tell which way you are going. I was careful to watch for signs as there were times it did not look like much of a trail. With the portage trail intertwining with the hiking trail you want to make sure you stay on the right trail. At the information center there was what looked like a spot for guidee books. There was none there. Take a note and when you check in, grab a guide book. There are poles with numbers referring to an interest point. Unfortunately I did not have a guide book so I know I missed some interesting facts. As I went back up the Crater I noticed this interesting rock formation. The research I did talked of the changing of the rock withing the impact zone. At first I thought the rock was watching me trying to climb the hill. Probably laughing! Lol!

Finally reaching the road it was not a closed loop! When I came out I was not sure which way to go. I had a fifty- fifty chance. One way was 38 kilometers and the other close I hoped. As luck would have it I turned the right way and found my van! Yea!!

A little farther down the road is a nice campground and a beautiful lake. There is also a history trail but it was getting late. Next time I am staying for a few days.

Back down south the trees are changing and that north wind blows just enough to give you a shiver or two.

Great news, the US border is opening to land crossings. Check in next week as I plan a trip across to a Chipmunk Adventure on the other side!

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