Ontario Overland Project

[R_Lefebvre]

West of Tweed, I came upon Drag Lake, which isn't on the Bing map, I don't know why? I should have taken more pictures of the area. This was the first candidate I found for a primitive lake with something resembling a beach that you could camp at. Only problem, in the prime areas, where there was a beach area, primitive launch ramp and a small dock, there were tons of signs saying "No Tresspassing" "Stay on the Trail" "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed". So much for that idea. There were a number of picnic tables set up in one area where it appears we are invited to stop for lunch but I'm not sure.

More miscellaneous wetland/lake/rivers:

Near Centre Hastings there is another big old train bridge, high up in the air with a nice view. This is where the TCT passes the E212 trail heading north to Madoc. 50 years ago, this is where two train tracks crossed.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Here was a field that piqued my interest. Seems like it used to be a farmers field, but there were no others around. Left fallow for many years. Maybe an airstrip mowed into it on the right side?

Road to nowhere:

Miscellaneous fallow field. But, we have a food shortage, that's why prices are so high in the supermarkets. Didn't you know?

Now, I came upon the real gem of this ride. I'd heard of the Crowe River Conservation Area... but had no idea. First, I see this spindly looking OFSC replacement bridge. Uh Oh, will this kill the route for trucks?

This sign:

Is posted directly above this trail:

Hmmm.... ?

There are ATV trails shooting off all over the place from the rail trail. All with signs like that near them. Are the signs new, or the ATV's just don't care???

Oh yeah, but trucks aren't welcome on the rail trail, because we tear up the land, right?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

And, so here's the goods at the Crowe River Conservation area. The river was beautiful! The bottom appears to be slick rock, no weeds. There's a current so you need to be careful swimming.

There are 2 spans of bridge, and the river splits and then comes back together. After crossing the first span, I noticed this tag attached to the bridge. Wow, modern bridge building marvels. 22,000lbs spec. load on this long spindly bridge. If you're still skeptical of taking your truck across, think of it this way: In the winter, the bridge would have about 1 foot of compacted snow across the entire span that is not there in summer. Add in a couple of 1000lb snowmobiles...

This is the river under the second span:

Off in the distance, you see a car. It's just a Chev Malibu or something. A couple had driven in on the rail trail and were fishing off the bridge. The car is parked on a large section of smooth flat rock, almost like a parking lot. There's a shallow entrance to the river here, suitable for launching a small fishing boat.

Looking upriver (northward), you can see another ATV trail:

I explored the rock parking lot. There were signs of a recent campfire ring. Nobody seems to care about the signs. It's a real shame that this area is closed to camping, because pulling in and setting up camp here would be a real joy. There are trails offshooting into the bush every which way.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Off we go further west towards Havelock. More miscellaneous scrubland:

Off in the distance, is that a mirrage, or am I about to get wet?

There were a couple wet areas on the trail. This was the second one of concern, and the deepest. Don't take a car through here, but a truck would have no problem.

Now, here was the most... exciting? dangerous? part of the trip. Just after setting off from the water hole, the trail went into the bush again. I got up to about 70-80km/h, and had not yet lowered the visor on my helmet. It's just a typical street helmet, and it's really hot out, so I left it up a lot of the time. In the bush, I see two grouse (or whatever) on the ground. I've encountered these things a number of times before, and even killed one a few years back. They're so stupid. They just sit on the trail for the longest time, and don't try to run away until it's too late. Years ago, one waited too long, flew up and hit my front fork, bounced up and off my shoulder. But normally they do move in time. I saw these ones late because it was getting dark, I start to slow, but it's too late. The damn bird jumps up, and flies right at me. I catch it right in the face. Comes right in the eye port of the helmet. I closed my eyes, there's a thud and pain, and I get on the brakes. I'm not sure how I stayed on the bike, but I did.

Here's the stupid bird. It was still twitching when I got back to it. I thought about taking it home for dinner, but don't know the first thing about cooking wild fowl. I was a little concerned about the condition of my nose, but it's fine now.

And then here is, the end of the line. Just west of Havelock. The trail clearly continues, but I turned around and went to the next crossroads then up to Hwy 7, and west to Havelock.

It's not just the end of the line for the trail, but also the end of the line for the train tracks.

Havelock is another regional center that has suffered after the trains stopped running. The old railway station is now a Tim Hortons IIRC. Lots of opportunities for gas there.

 

[Root Moose]

The wrecking yard you encountered, was that the one on the ridge above and south of the store/gas on Hwy 7 @ Hwy 41? If so that is Kinney's and there is a lot of "truck gold" in that yard. I haven't been there in years. Last thing I dragged out was a reverse spiral Dana 44 from a 1978 Ford F250.

I'd heard a rumour that a lot of the good stuff had been crushed and sold for scrap a few years ago. He used to have lots of Willys Jeeps and International Scouts. There used to be a complete Jeepster Command (~MY69) parked in front of the main "office". I think about that Commando every once in a while. Last time I talked to him about it he was asking ~$1k for it - which would have been a good deal at the time.

 

[AFSOC]

Rob, I am really enjoying this continuing adventure. Great explorations.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Chris, I believe that is the same yard. It seems like it was still an "active" scrapyard, as there was a Focus in there.

 

[Scott Brady]

Thanks for posting your trips and images Robb. Nice to see you out on the trail in the moto

 

[Wiley]

Nice report, I love Canada in the summer. I am in Upstate NY and hope to buy a truck on the east coast and drive it back to Cali going across Canada...it really is a beautiful place. Keep them coming.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Thanks for keeping this going Rob, I've really enjoyed reading your mini-reports.

I'm not sure why the negative posts are here, but I'm sure everyone would appreciate it if those folks could keep their needless comments to themselves.

 

[Corey]

Rob, I really appreciate these kind of trip reports.
I can not get out as often as I would like, and seeing trip reports here and on other sites reminds me of watching the travel log shows on TV thirty/forty years ago with my parents.

I can see I need a new camera someday too.
My pictures never turn out as good as I would like them to.

 

[chrisvonc]

One more trip report gone from the ExPo.

So trip reports get deleted from here because people on other sites talk about them?? And if this qualifies for dumping on a trip report, shouldn't you now be banned now since you posted it?

I'm not sure why the negative posts are here, but I'm sure everyone would appreciate it if those folks could keep their needless comments to themselves.

They did keep it to themselves.. the posts were pulled from another website, not from here.

 

[traveltoad]

So it is better to voice your opinion around a campfire where you cannot be held accountable for what you have said?

 

[Rev]

I love this thread. Keep it up!

 

[Scott Brady]

So trip reports get deleted from here because people on other sites talk about them??

We don't delete the thread, just the individual posts that violate our rules. The only threads we delete are those that violate the rules, typically religious or political threads.