15 - Neys Campsite and Provincial Park

We left Wild Rose after saying goodbye to the friendly owners and drove for about 360 kms before we reached our next campsite across the road from Neys Provincial Park.
The journey involved continuing on the same highway on which we had driven since just before Espanola. The Highway 17 is part of the Trans-Canada Highway and in this part of Ontario loops around the east and north sides of Lake Superior before continuing west to Manitoba.
We passed through Lake Superior Provincial Park and the condition of the road was noticeably better there than the other parts. This must be due to the money raised from park permits. The road climbed steeply and fell just as steeply taking its toll on the beast and causing it to drink copious amounts of fuel. However, it was great to drive through such a vast forest. In fact, since leaving Batchawana we had been driving through an endless forest knowing that there is only one major highway north of the 17 and beyond that there is nothing but a few scattered flying communities.
As we emerged from the Provincial Park we turned off to Wawa, as small community with a population of just over 3000, where we had to get drinks from Tim Horton’s and withdraw some cash.
After another 90kms we passed through White River, home of Winnie the Pooh. A bear cub whose mother was killed by a hunter was brought to this town in 1914 and kept by a local who then sold her to a young British-born soldier who was passing through the town. The young officer named her Winnipeg, after his hometown, but this was then shortened to Winnie. He took her back to England but when he was deployed to France gave her to London Zoo. She was very friendly, interacting with all the visitors including A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin Milne. The rest is history!
You can read more about Winnie here: http://www.whiteriver.ca/
Marathon was only another 96km from White River, about 20km before our destination. We stopped there and did some shopping. We also searched in vain for somewhere that sold propane before heading to our campsite.
At Neys Lunch and Campground we were, yet again, the only visitors but it transpired that the same German couple had been there until the day before we arrived! The campsite was very small and was set just off the highway. We ate our tea, took Tala for a short walk and then went to bed.
The next day the owner of the campsite told us we could walk in the Provincial Park even though it was closed. This was good to know because hitherto we had avoided all the parks deterred by their Closed signs. Supposedly, they are closed only to cars and people who want to camp but it’s okay enter by foot. Neys Provincial Park gate was conveniently situated about 1km across from the campsite so in the low temperatures of about 3 or 4 degrees we set off on a small hike.

Just as we passed the gate to the park we spotted a Ruffed Grouse which seemed unusually unperturbed by our presence and allowed Fred to film a short clip of it. We followed the road as it penetrated the thick woodland and passed deserted maintenance sheds and information booths. After about 3km we reached a grass opening which hosted a couple of picnic tables and gave a view of the lake. There was a family sat at one of the tables and they immediately approached us for a chat. They were extremely friendly and we found out their names were Lorne, Kelly and their little girl, Grace. They were so nice that they even offered for us to park our RV outside there house in Rossport if we were passing.

They explained the location of their house and we said we’d perhaps meet again in the next few days. We said goodbye and walked down the immensely beautiful beach(the photos do not do it any justice) with Tala, who ran around in the sand with glee. We followed Lorne’s directions to leave the beach and walked through the uninhabited campsite. We found the Dune Trail which led to a beaver’s dam and looped back round to the main road. The trail was narrow and beautiful with lots of lichen and different tree species. The lichen included Old Man's Beard (Usnea) which hangs from trees and is good tinder for lighting fires. It was also used by the Native Americans for treating infections as it contains a strong antibiotic. The Voyaguers also used it to prevent trench foot. It is not often seen in Europe as it doesn't do well in polluted environments.

We were informed about flora on the way by the odd Plaque and after 1.5km the sandy trail ended. By the time we returned to the van, we’d walked around 9km. We were surprised but delighted to find that the family we’d met had left a note with their email address on the door of our van. This gave us the extra option of camping with them instead of staying at a campsite so we decided to think about it.

Back inside, we had the usual evening of a few beers, nice food, playing
cards and listening to music. Who needs a TV? The following day the campsite owner had a different suggestion, namely, a walk to a lookout point which gives stunning views of the lake and nearby islands. He told Fred the walk up the hill would take about 30 to 35 minutes. So off we went with relatively warmer temperatures (still under 10 degrees!) and blue skies.
We didn’t enter through the park gate this time, instead taking a left onto a dirt track where we found a closed gate almost immediately on the right. A sign said Private Road but Fred assured me that the campsite owner had said to disregard this and go right in! The track was obviously used by a vehicle, perhaps for maintenance work on the transmitter tower at the top of the hill, and was quite steep in parts. As usual, we had worn too many layers and began to glow a little since the trees sheltered us from wind. The track wove backwards and forwards up the hill, sometimes steeply, sometimes less so and sometimes even descending a little. After 50 minutes of walking we began to think we had taken the wrong track but kept on walking onwards and upwards in the heat. After one hour we contemplated turning around but our stubborn personalities and insatiable curiosity kept on pushing us up and up. After one hour and 10 minutes we were almost certain that the road only led to the tower and tried to steal a few shots through the trees at the view beyond. We decided we would walk until we got to the tower but after another five minutes, just as the tower came into full view, there was a small track to the right. It seemed to climb even higher so we followed it and were absolutely thrilled to find a small gazebo. From the gazebo was the most fantastic panoramic view of Lake Superior. Wow!

It was all worth it in the end. We stayed up there for a good hour or so, re-fuelling and taking in the beauty of it all.

Just stunning!
Then…we walked the 5.5km back down again which, thankfully, didn't take as long as the previous ascent.Back at the van, we ate even more and Fred promptly fell asleep.

I pottered around on the internet and sent an email to Lorne and Kelly accepting their kind offer. We ate tea, cleaned up and, since the temperature was due to reach a few below zero, we dumped our tanks and went to bed.

In the morning, we had a tasty full cooked breakfast at the shop/restaurant and the owner’s mum was kind enough to phone ahead to Terrace Bay to check that they had propane as we were running low due to the cold weather. They did, so we said our goodbyes and headed towards Rossport hoping to stop at Terrace Bay en route.