Lake Temagami

We booked three nights at the Finlayson Point Provincial Park to restore our faith into the outdoors. The Hwy 11/17 round trip two weeks ago rewarded us with amazing wildlife encounters, but little excitement when it comes to the Jeep and tent accommodations. This time, no wildlife but we comfortably mastered the overnight rain shower in the camping trailer. In the morning, the clouds still lingered in the area and this was the best excuse to do some off-road wheeling. Read all about the Silver Centre trip on the next page.

First night
The sky was clear and the temperature dropped to the mid teens. This kept the mosquitoes away. The camp fire was not just for the ambience, the heat made it enjoyable. We had to wait until after 11 PM for all the stars to shine. Most campers packed it in and the fires and lights were out. The perfect time to get the tripod out and play with long exposures. For the camera nerds out there, we have the Sony Alpha 77 II and this image was saved in raw format. The focal length is 16mm, ISO 1000, f/2.8 and 30 sec exposure time.
Most of the pictures are taken with this camera and the stunning lens that came with it. A 2.8/16-50 zoom lens. The 75-300 telephoto zoom lens is not as remarkable, but works great during daylight when mounted on the tripod. We shot the pictures from the bald eagle two weeks ago with the telephoto zoom.

Early first morning
We brought the canoe to do some fishing. The alarm went off at 5 AM. After the clear sky and the cooler temperature, there was fog on Lake Temagami. This morning I was alone, Ursula decided to sleep a bit longer. I had to paddle just over 1 km to get to the spot.

The fog was denser once I escaped the narrow section of the northeast arm of the lake. At times, I only saw water around me and no clear reference point where I was . This would make for a very boring picture, so I didn't take one.
The sun started to colour some of the clouds in a light pink. I knew that this will only last a few minutes. Once the sun is up, the fog will dissipate and it will be a day like so many before. This morning, it was the fog that made the place magical.

Needless to say that I forgot why I came out here so early in the morning. Once the fog was gone, I had not much time left for fishing. I didn't catch one, but on the bright side, I also didn't lose a lure. Considering the picture perfect morning on Lake Temagami, it was time well spent.

Cleanup instead of blueberries
Our main goal for this trip were the blueberries. We headed to Kirkland Lake for a coffee before we drove to the area south of Esker Lake Provincial Park. We always found blueberries there. Not this year, they were mostly dried up or not yet ripe. It is an area of about 1km in length and the ground is all sand. People left their mark, there was garbage along the path. Time to get out the garbage bag and cleanup the place. That's why we bought the Spare Tire Bag for the Jeep. This is Crown Land and there is absolutely no excuse to leave anything behind. Too many people are just careless or they are simply pigs.

Third day to Silver Centre
With only three nights at the Finlayson Point Provincial Park, the third full day was dedicated to adventure. It was a successful mission. An amazing off-road trail, a beautiful lake to go for a swim and dinner at Whiskeyjack in Haileybury. Click the Next Page button below to read about our escapade to Silver Centre, a ghost town south of Cobalt.