Category Archives: Diaries

Killarney Adventure

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Join Rob and friends as they embark on an eight day trip in Killarney adventure! This Episode 3 concludes the trip in Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park, with reflections on the good and the lessons learned (never bad)!

In the first episode, the trip started at the Bell lake put in. In the second episode, we saw Rob made the hike up to the iconic white cliffs of Killarney, Silver Peak.

In the third episode, it starts off on beautiful morning on Day 7 with mirrored lakes, classic of the Ontario interior. With blue berries collected from yesterday’s hike up to Silver Peak, they were able to make wild blue berry pancakes. They cooked over the GSI bugaboo camp set, which Rob has also reviewed.

However, needing to cut the trip short, the group decided to bail on day 8 instead of staying the full 9 days. It was forecasted for torrential rain for the whole day 9. Camping, portaging, breaking camp, all sucks in torrential downpour. They also still a week long car camping at Grundy Provincial Park and setting up in the rain would also suck. So, they decided to enjoy paddle out instead of being miserable. You, too, can create your happiness!

This last day would consist of 6 to 7 kilometers of paddling, with some decent portage, which would have to be done 3 times. A bit of a slog, but would have been worse in the rain.

On day 8, high cirrus clouds came rolling in, indicative of pro-longed rain to come in the next few days. Luckily the decision to leave was a good one. On their way out, they would pass by old logging camp, largely an empty field now, where nature grew over to see any evidence. Sets of nice little rapids, dammed by beavers. To which, carry overs on the canoe were essential. The ABS canoes are worth the extra weight!

In the end, the trip was a success with lots of beautiful views, blue berries, learning of the quartzite rocks and how to avoid being soaked. This concludes the 8 day Killarney adventure!

Enjoy the trip diary, below!

If you enjoyed this video, you might also enjoy:

Backcountry Camping at McCrae Lake

https://explorationsevo.com/2022/05/backcountry-camping-mccrae-lake/

Moon River Paddling

Moon River Paddling

Killarney Silver Peak

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Join Rob and friends as they embark on an eight day trip in Killarney backcountry paddling! This Episode 2 showcases Killarney Silver Peak in Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park.

In the first episode, the trip started at the Bell lake put in. Typical of an Ontario summer, and especially more so during COVID, lots of people are looking to get out and about. The put in for the lake is super busy, with cars lined down the parking lot. We left it off the episode at the increasingly dire situation of rain pooling under the tent and draining through, where it was possible to make ripples on the tent floor.

We begin this second episode on Day 4, which is looking to be a nice day, clouds passed, and good day to dry out gear. Hanging everything up, it resembles the enchanted forest of wet items, clothes, foot print of tent, all billowing in the wind.

Exploring the lake and the park, and quintessentially Canadian shorelines, you’ll encounter loon calls, muskegs old dock, beaver dams or even some old foundation of what used to be the lumber industry.

Portaging 600m with food barrels 3 times because of gear. Keep number of back and forth in planning trips. The goal is always one trip, but that is hardly the case. Especially with kids. Rob here gives a brief gear run down, but check out our video here for more in depth gear packing!

Finally, on day 6 we reach Killarney Silver Peak. This is the highest point in Killarney Provincial Park, which is a 5 km hike up and down. At the peak, you can see all the way to Sudbury in the East, and in the West the body of water of Georgian Bay.

Silver peak is part of the La Cloche range, mountain/hill range. La Cloche is made of quartzite, which gives it the iconic white look. If you ever wondered why the rocks have been so bright, it’s because of the high quantities of quartzite. According to Wikipedia, Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. And over Canada, and specifically in Ontario and the Killarney region, there was 2km thick of ice, creating this pressure, during the ice age.

Along the way, you’ll find wild black, blue and rasp-berries! Be sure you’re confident with your plant identification, before picking!

All this and more, with the episode, below!

If you enjoyed Killarney Backcountry Paddling, check out these videos!

Backcountry Camping at McCrae Lake

https://explorationsevo.com/2022/05/backcountry-camping-mccrae-lake/

Moon River Paddling

Moon River Paddling

Killarney Backcountry Paddling

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Join Rob and friends as they embark on an eight day trip in Killarney backcountry paddling! This is in Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park. This is Episode 1 of a video diary day paddle trip!

The trip started at the Bell lake put in. Typical of an Ontario summer, and especially more so during COVID, lots of people are looking to get out and about. The put in for the lake is super busy, with cars lined down the parking lot.

Luckily, the first campsite is 150m out and so despite the crowds it’s an easy enough paddle into the site. The is a very rocky tent set ups with guying out and staking to be creative. This tends to be reflective of the shorelines of Ontario for the most part. You have rocky shores of the boreal shield that years of growth of flora has decomposed over the ground to create an uneven ground of dirty over rock.

The one about this particular site is that there is a terribly placed thunder box; everyone can see it from campsite. Hope you’re close with your friends! Regardless, it’s a super beautiful site on the lake.

Over the next couple of days, Rob makes the portages through Balsam lake and David lake, with more in the coming episodes! Encountering also very typical weather patterns of Ontario and micro-climates. Loving the weather, with threats of rain and then no rain. That has been largely the feeling of weather these days in Ontario, when it has been forecasted to be raining all week and then it doesn’t. However, have no fear, you can still make fire when it’s wet!

With the threat of rain, it’s usually accompanied by some wind. While out paddling, it’s so helpful to have the wind at your back and running the wind in a canoe. Makes for easy paddling!

Finally when the rain comes, Rob realizes there’s a leaking fly. At least the floor is fine with the help of a foot print, and the hydrostatic pressure of the tent floor has held up over the years. Admittedly the tent is 8 years old, so it’s holding up considering the usage!

All this and more in the video diary, below! Enjoy!

If you enjoyed Killarney Backcountry Paddling, check out these videos!

Backcountry Camping at McCrae Lake

https://explorationsevo.com/2022/05/backcountry-camping-mccrae-lake/

Moon River Paddling

Moon River Paddling

Exploring Pelee Island

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It’s been a while since we had some trip diaries. Here we have Rob exploring Pelee Island in Ontario, the southernmost inhabited point of Ontario. You can only get to the island via a ferry. It’s boasted as Canada’s best kept secret! As a point of reference it’s roughly 70km (43 miles for you Americans), as the crow flies, South South East of Detroit on Lake Eerie.

Getting to Pelee Island, you may check out:

Pelee Island Ferries

If you’re looking for some ideas of places to stay attraction points, you may want to check out:

And a huge shout out to Pelee Motors for helping out with the battery issue!

If you enjoyed exploring Pelee Island, you may want to check out:

Rockwood Conservation

Rockwood Conservation

Nashville Conservation

Nashville Conservation

Greenwood Conservation

Greenwood Conservation

Revamped Explorations

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This is a quick update that I will begin again, writing a bit more onto the blog. I had been struggling to write something profound and thought provoking about my hiatus, in addition to a launch of the new Explorations website. However, in the exercise of writing, that will eventually come. In the mean time, please enjoy the the writing that is up. I had taken some time off the blog as there were several things going on in my life and navigating life in general.

Still adventuring and more to come!

There are old posts up, which I have curated. They are not, by any means, any posts I feel strongly about. Au contraire, they are the posts where I reflect the most about who I was back then and who I am now. More posts will be coming to discuss what I’ve learned in the journey of life, my relationship with the world, and myself.

There have several lessons learned since my last post. There have been other adventures as well and more to come. Admittedly, professional life is a challenge in balancing a private life, but I strive to continue to seek out adventures where I can. I will continue to write upon my experiences and my relationship with the world. Some reconciling needed to be done to find the angle in which I would like to narrate my stories. But now, I’m mostly ready (are we ever fully really ready?) to share more.

Explorations continue!

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A Quebec Maritime Tour

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Old Spaghetti house in Rimouski
I hobbled around the Gaspesie cap and did a Quebec maritime tour,  after breaking my ankle. I had anticipated my trip of spending 4 nights in the back country of Jacques Cartier National Park just north of Quebec city fell through. However, instead I explored an area I haven’t visited since I was in my single digit years. However, a lifetime ago, I was also a tour guide to Quebec City for middle school students, before I moved to Korea. The city and I have history together. This could be a suggested itinerary for those looking for a short trip to Quebec.
Light house with flying buttress
The morning we landed, we picked up the rental car and charged our way out to Rimouski with previous plans of camping also at Parc National du Bic. However, we ended up staying at Motel au Soleil Couchant. In the morning, we went to do a quick peek at the historical site of Pointe au Pere, where one of six light house with flying buttresses still stand today. The St. Lawrence River defined what Canada become through out history as it is the gateway into as far as the prairies. Control over this waterway during the colonial years meant the control over the rest of the continent. It allowed large amounts of support, troops, settlers and otherwise to enter into the interior of North America. These light houses light the way through the treacherous shallows of the river.
Traditional houses in Maritime Quebec
Our next night landed us right into Gaspe, just outside of Forillon National Park. We stayed at Auberge La Petite Ecole de Forillon. Given my ankle, not much hiking could be done through the snow that sat on the ground through the early spring. It was a great change of pace and view than the normal grind of the city life. The Maritimes of Quebec provided a quick little vacation with seafood and Appalachian mountain views. Even in the midst of the rain, the cloud covered mountains exuded their presence as we drove through their valleys. Out into Gaspe, the sleepy little town, the gulf of the St. Lawrence the cold ocean air served to remind me of how I miss my travels. The poisonneries, or fish markets, carried a large variety of sea food, fresh right from the ocean that is indicative of maritime towns.
Coastal towns of Maritime Quebec on the St. Lawrence
The next driving day took us through the interior of the Appalachian mountain range through the middle of Gaspe. We took a day at St. Anne des Monts and stayed at Auberge International La Vielle Ecole. The drive took us up to 600m Above Sea Level (ASL). The day after we followed the road back into Quebec City. We stayed at Maison du Roy
Quebec city itself, being one of the first cities in North America, over 400 years old, carries a rich distinct European flavour in her architectural layout. Especially in Le Vieux, the city’s cobble stone originate from France herself. They were shipped across on the voyages through the Atlantic as ballast and unloaded the stones into the city, while carrying the riches of the New World back to France. With these bricks, Quebec City was laid down brick by brick.
Chez Marie where you can buy fresh oven baked bread
Heading further down la fleuve de st. laurent, and away from Quebec Maritime tour, we visited Beaupre, or beautiful meadows, as declared by Samuel de Champlain and visited the Bascilica of St. Anne (Jesus’s grandmother). With Neo-Gothic and Romanesque styles of architecture, this church was rebuilt three times due to fire and other catastrophes. The church is located on Avenue Royale, one of the first roads in North America. On this road lays Chez Marie, where you can purchase fresh baked bread that are cooked in her wood oven as traditional as can be, in their red roofed traditional Quebec houses. Red depicted their influence and power as in the 1600’s, building roofs with blood from cattle implied you were rich to own so many cows you can use their blood to paint the roof red. Green roofs meant wealth as the roofs were built with copper (same as the Parliament buildings in Ottawa) but would oxidize and become green, which would increase the strength of the roof. Stairs would be built on the outside of the house as winter time would bury entirely, the first story door and so they can still enter and exit through the second story.
Montmorency Falls
Quebec means the narrowing of the river in a First Nations language and is the source of it’s name. The Citadel located right at the Cap Diamat, provided protection to those entering the river and into the lakes. As mentioned before, those who control the river, control the flow of supplies into the new lands. Placing a fort right at the bottle neck of this river is a smart militarily strategic placement. In 1759, however, the British camped across the river in Levis and spent the summer months bombarding Quebec city, sieging it. The battle of the Plains of Abraham occurred after the siege between General Montcalme and General Wolf. The British won and General Wolf declared victory. In the winter, there was resistance in St. Foy, now suburb of Quebec City, to try and defeat the British, but ultimately, the clearing of the ice in the St. Lawrence river in spring would seal the victors of the battle. As the ice cleared up, the first ship down the St. Lawrence were the British ships, sealing the transition of power from the French to the British in the New World in 1760.
As the history lesson ends in Quebec, we return the car to Jean Lesage airport and boarded the short flight back to Toronto to wrap up a little historical vacation. That concludes the quick Quebec Maritime Tour!

Water Security in Trinidad

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The class at Navet Dam WASA treatment facility
As part of my masters program at the University of Waterloo in Masters of Development Practice, on the course of Water Security, I aimed to do research in water security in Trinidad and Tobago to understand more of the subject area. To track my understanding and what I’ve learned through the research, a journal for each day was produced. These are my thoughts as I go through my days in Trinidad and Tobago. The University of West Indies (UWI) helped host our trip. Naturally, we were discussing issues with the professors and various students.
 
The different sites we had explored included Waste and Sewage Authority (WASA) treatment plant, aquaponics facility, University of West Indies, tourism association, and the Department of Natural Resource in the forestry sector. We spent 3 days in Trinidad and 2 days in Tobago.
Feb 15 – Predeparture Trinidad and Tobago

The pre departure, and the first, log. The expectations for this trip is simply just trying to beat the heat the first day and then dive right into seeing, learning and experiencing the country. While gazing over the academic part of the program, it came to my attention that I knew very little about water security in Trinidad and Tobago other than the little research I have done. I’m hoping to gain insightful knowledge of water issues and measures the country is taking to implement to improve their water supply. Though, what issues remain a mystery to me, however, I can speculate non-potable water, lack of access and infrastructure to supply the population. These issues could be caused by several factors including lack of government funding resulting in poor infrastructure; poor management of consumption of water, especially ground water, reducing its reservoirs and not allowing time for it to replenish, resulting in invading rising sea water levels and salinating the ground water rendering the water non-potable; industries not being checked for compliance of environmental pollution causing chemicals to leak into the soil and subsequently into the drinking water. Read More >>

 Feb 17 – Day 1 – Carnival

First day in Trinidad. As suspected, trying to beat the heat during carnival. On the bus ride into downtown, I notice that the city works on water storage tanks, something that is familiar with me through my travels. This can imply that water can easily cut out and therefore require a back up storage of water for the household, as from experience. Other observations were the WASA facilities on the ride down and there seems to be sewage treatment plant in the heart of the city. Not too far down is a Dasani plant for filtering bottling water. It is possible there is a deal struck between WASA and Dasani for bottling water. Read more >>

 Feb 18 – Day 2 – WASA treatment facility visit

First real visit out to the Waste and Sewage Authority (WASA) to study water security in Trinidad and Tobago. This gave us the first real impression of the water security issues on the island. While talking to the WHO Compliance Officer at WASA, it was noted that a bit more than 50% of the population has access to water 24/7. This was quite staggering to me considering how much water was used during carnival. I suppose Port of Spain would be better suited for receiving water as it is the capital of Trinidad. Further surprises was that the tap water is 100% potable as it follows the WHO guidelines of water. I might attempt my stomach’s fate at the tap water seeing as I wouldn’t want to purchase anymore water. Read More >>
Feb 19 – Day 3 – Aquaponics
Finally my most anticipated visit of the trip, the aquaponics facility. Seeing a smaller scale aquaponic system provides a better realistic goal to building one as the previous one I have seen before was in Cape Town and was a large system meant to sustain a restaurant. The most I learned from this visit is seeing another type of set up and filtering process. This can help solve both food and water security because of the lack of water loss in the whole aquaponic system. This system uses less than 10% of water compared to traditional agriculture. Though, it cannot grow crops like roots and tubulars as they require soil to be grown in and not water or clay media. Regardless, this can help answer some questions of increased agricultural production but with a goal of sustaining water security as the issue was raised from the previous day. Read more >>
 
Feb 20 – Day 4 – Tobago – Department of Natural Resources
At the Botanical Gardens with the Department of Natural Resources, Forestry management sector, it seems the presentation should’ve been done on the first day of breaking down the issues of water security and how it affects different sectors and key players. The presentation addressed many key issues surrounding water security including climate change, which is a focus of my groups research project. However, there was not much information about lowering water in aquifers and more salination in the groundwater or the effects of the removal of mangroves. They said it wasn’t much of a pressing issue at the moment so it seems there was not much focus regarding it. Read more >>

 Feb 21 – Day 5 – Tobago – Tourism Association

Talking with Christopher at the Tourism association, we learnt that there is “no” water issue because hotels get the priority from WASA and so they don’t “feel” the lack of water supply running through  the country. This is one point of view compared to the other visits we have had where the others have been saying there is a security issue. However, Christopher is still an advocate of water conservation. Some measures implemented are more efficient shower heads, adopting farmers who grow food for the restaurant and WASA has been metering the water on the hotels. Read more >>

Feb 23 – Post trip reflection

The post trip reflection journal. Overall, this trip has been a fantastic understanding of what water security in Trinidad and Tobago is like, looking at other countries other than Canada. It helped put in perspective the economic, governance and management of water security. The biggest takeaway has been the agricultural use of water. First at UWI’s research field and the seemingly absolute neglect put toward protecting it’s local groundwater supply from chemical seepage is inconceivable, especially coming from a university. Secondly from driving from the southern part of Tobago to the northern part, seeing all the slashing and burning. Though out of the control of the forestry management, those farmers can be better educated on the effects of burning of fields that destroy the infiltration process into the ground. Third, the aquaponic system provides solutions to the agricultural challenges posed by water insecurity. Not only does it use less than 10% of water compared to traditional agriculture, it can be easily constructed anywhere at any scale. This could help reduce the water stress while increasing local agricultural production for the increase tourism that will demand more food, decreasing the reliance on imported food. Read more >>

Pre-departure Trinidad Tobago

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Feb 15 – Predeparture Trinidad and Tobago
 
The pre departure, and the first, log. The expectations for this trip is simply just trying to beat the heat the first day and then dive right into seeing, learning and experiencing the country. While gazing over the academic part of the program, it came to my attention that I knew very little about Trinidad and water security other than the little research I have done. I’m hoping to gain insightful knowledge of water issues and measures the country is taking to implement to improve their water supply. Though, what issues remain a mystery to me, however, I can speculate non-potable water, lack of access and infrastructure to supply the population. These issues could be caused by several factors including lack of government funding resulting in poor infrastructure; poor management of consumption of water, especially ground water, reducing its reservoirs and not allowing time for it to replenish, resulting in invading rising sea water levels and salinating the ground water rendering the water non-potable; industries not being checked for compliance of environmental pollution causing chemicals to leak into the soil and subsequently into the drinking water.
Giving the itinerary a glance, I hope meeting with the organizations and individuals will give me more knowledge. One in particular I’m looking forward to is the Village Plaza with the aquaponic system. I’ve been wanting to build my own for some time now and would love to see how different systems are set up compared to the designs I had in mind. Hopefully I can learn also what species of fish are most resilient to cold climate (even though Trinidad is a hot weather area), what kind of design (sump tank, interval submersion, etc) would be best, what kind of media can sustain growing best (clay, float boards, etc) and how to control and balance the Ph levels every time the crops and or fish are harvested. Learning aquaponics could help with implementing an alternative source of agricultural practice as I understand it can help reduce water with irrigation while producing a high yield. This would be ideal for countries that are suffering from severe water stress and still be able to produce food, perhaps a country like Trinidad.
 
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Day 1 – Trinidad – Carnival!

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Feb 17 – Carnival!
 
First day in Trinidad. As suspected, trying to beat the heat during carnival. On the bus ride into downtown, I notice that the city works on water storage tanks, something that is familiar with me through my travels. This can imply that water can easily cut out and therefore require a back up storage of water for the household, as from experience. Other observations were the WASA facilities on the ride down and there seems to be sewage treatment plant in the heart of the city. Not too far down is a Dasani plant for filtering bottling water. It is possible there is a deal struck between WASA and Dasani for bottling water.
I bought huge bottles of water, local Blue Waters (not Dasani), for drinking purposes while wandering Carnival. Even though with a water security issue, access to it seems to be fine during Carnival. Looking around, the sidewalks are constructed higher than I’d expect them to implying high water flooding in those poorly drained areas. Water is easily purchased meaning those who have access to water seem to get it regularly and do not have water insecurity.
I immediately spot the flooding in the streets around the carnival area  implying poor water drainage, as it hasn’t rained and there is high algae bloom in the water. My speculation is that this water has been sitting for quite some time. There are also gutters on the side of the road that are deliberately built in for wet season. This was learned in lecture with our guest lecture Nuna. I suspect she went during wet season as the gutters are mainly empty and dried. Though, there was garbage piling up as she had mentioned.
Water seems to be running fine in the dorms and showers. Shower time!