No G8 in Muskoka, Ontario for this guy! I would not want to be caught dead in the region during the meeting of world egos. So much heavy breathing in one area leaves so little clean air for the rest of us to breathe.
Anywho.. I started pounding the pavement exploring in Bracebridge, Ontario. The nice thing about Muskoka is that almost every trail or park enjoys water. So many lakes, not enough life times to visit them all. I visited Anne Williams Park, Bowyers Beach, Bracebridge Bay Park, Kerr Park, Kirbys Beach and Wilson Falls.
Wilson Falls I enjoyed very much. (Main BLOG Photo). Mostly due to the wilderness trail, the cascading river rapids and the boulder jumping. Yup.. I am a boulder jumper. It is a habit I acquired on many of my backpacking trips in British Columbia where it is a good practice not to fall when hiking rocky cliffs and massive boulders on the BC coastlines.
Lookout on Peninsula Trail
Days later I was in Gravenhurst, Ontario. There I hunkered down and explored Gull Lake, Lorne Beach, Lookout Park and the Kahshe, Leo, Old Stone and Peninsula Trails. The Peninsula Trail is short hike leading to 3 viewing points. 2 viewing areas look out over Georgian Bay and 1 looks out over the waterfront and marina.
Next I headed to Huntsville. The peaceful community surrounded by lakes and trees has been given a fresh new look in preparation of the G8.
Now there is a steel fence keeping G8 egos in and tourist out. And a new family moved into town too – they all dress the same and they like to ride horses, have water fights and play loud screaming sounds. They usually are not up to friendly conversation either.
I was lucky. And so was the community from the looks of things. New roads and flowers everywhere. It was obvious there was some window dressing going on and that many big perks come with holding a summit of egos. The community looked great minus the fence.
In Huntsville I researched Avery Beach, Dwight Beach, Lions Lookout, Ragged Falls and the Dorset Fire Tower. The fire tower was huge. At the top of the tower , high above the tree tops, were views of the Lake of Bays area in Muskoka.
Tower over Lake of Bays
But the top of the tower was not the issue, the stairs were and my choice of foot wear. You see, the tower was constructed of a mesh steel. On a mesh steel fire tower the ground is always in view below you and beside you. Each step has sharp jagged teeth for foot grip. Now think height, sharp teeth and no shoes. That was what I was thinking at the time as I decided to climb the tower in sandals.
As I began to climb, I began to notice I had sandals on. To lose a sandal and watch it drop to the ground would suck. I would have to bare foot it down on the teeth like steps to retrieve it. To make sure that did not happen I walked awkwardly up each level of steps, making sure to ram my toes into the front of the sandal so they would not fall off. It worked. It took my mind off the height thing too. Sweet!