Hike to High Rock

A few years ago my sister and I had a chance to take a trip on one of our houseboats. We have lots of special memories from those few days. We swam and fished and roasted marshmallows and laughed and explored. All in all it was a great weekend.

It was my first experience houseboating without my husband who has grown up on Lake Temagami and driving boats. It was fun to get to be a tourist for once and explore somewhere I had never been.

We decided to go to Cross Bay to a campsite that turned out to be perfect for one houseboat and two sisters to have a weekend getaway. We dubbed it 'Sisters' Sanctuary'. One of the reasons we had chosen that location was because I wanted to hike up High Rock. We towed a 14' boat behind the houseboat so we could easily get to the landing for the hike since I didn't know my way. While we were there someone came along with a pontoon boat so I'm sure we could have driven the houseboat right there. The dock was a bit worse for wear but maybe someone has fixed it up a bit since then.

The hike itself was not too hard. There were a couple of spots that were steep but it wasn't so hard that we couldn't visit as we walked. This is a well traveled trail so you don't need to worry that you might lose your way.

The big boulder was along the trail and left us wondering what had made it stop there instead of continuing down the slope. The other two pictures give you an idea of the view from the top. High Rock is located at the hub of Lake Temagami and in one picture you can see some of Temagami Island and just a few of the many island that dot the lake. I would highly recommend this hike because it doesn't require you to be a great athlete and because of the fantastic view. Bring some water to drink and even a picnic if you want and definitely bring your camera.

Night skies

Ever since I was a kid I've enjoyed watching the night sky. I grew up in Northern Ontario on a farm. With the lights of the nearest town miles away we had the perfect location for seeing the night sky in all its beauty. We used to take our sleeping bags out on our front lawn for the night just so we could watch the stars until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer.

Now I live in Temagami and we don't really have a lawn to sleep on but I still love to watch the stars in the night sky. Really I don't think anything compares with a clear sky on a moonless night on Lake Temagami. Far from the bright lights of the city the countless stars shine brightly. Something I never had a chance to see on the farm was the reflection of the stars on the water on a calm night. I think those calm nights are now my favourite to be watching the stars move across the sky.

Mid-August is a great time for stargazing with the Perseid meteor shower peaking Aug 12-13 this year. There can be up to 50 meteors an hour during this time. Unfortunately this year the full moon is on the 13th but the weeks leading up to it should have a good showing of meteors in the hours before dawn.

If you want to watch the planets bring along your telescope and check out which ones will be in the sky while you are in the area. www.nightskyinfo.com or www.stardate.org might be helpful to you if you don't already have a sight that you check to see what is interesting in the night sky.

Also keep your eyes open for the Northern Lights. If you are on the lake shortly after a solar flare you may get the treat of watching them dance across the sky.