Long Bay (Cold Lake)

August 26, 2009 I was able to return to Long Bay on Cold Lake and canoe along the section of shore line that I wasn't able to get to on August 13 because of the high swells coming in of the lake. The lake was more placed this time but not entirely calm. As I came around the point into long bay the water got a bit choppy. But as I followed the east shore I found myself in a sheltered area that was completely tranquil. It was a very pleasant contrast.

I then made my way along 'the weeds' to the west shore and paddled that for awhile. Observing a couple of King Fishers as I paddled.

This paddle is a bit nostalgic for me because I went to a small island that I had not visited for years, actually its been decades. The island is where the photograph was taken from. I paddled there a few times with friends and family decades ago. I even organised one of these at night time on an evening with only a full moon for light.

I landed on the island on it's west side and although it had been frequently visited by beavers there was little evidence of human visits. I was a bit surprised that this island would not be visited. My thought was how has this place escaped human attention when every other bit of shore line has not. Well as I paddled around to the east side of the island I found that in deed some has camped on the island on a regular basis. Fire pit and grill, tarp, and I picked up the beer cans and other garbage.

Total distance 13.0 km.
Moving time 3 hours 24 minutes
Stopped time 36 minutes.
Maximum elevation 1780 feet.

Long Bay (Cold Lake)

Thursday August 13, 2009. If you go canoeing in the morning on Long Bay on a windy day you might just find yourself in a symphony of sensations where nature is the conductor and her elements are the orchestra. Or if I were a poet I could write the ultimate poem of how it was on the bay that day. But alas words fail me nor are there words enough to describe the complete sensations that I experienced on the bay on last Thursday morning. You just had to be there.

The consistency of immature Grebes, still unable to fly but skimming the water and then disappearing where the stopped. Each one traveling the same distance and each one diving at the end of their run.

I did see an American Bittern. I flushed it up and they are truly ungainly fliers. I haven't seen a Bittern in years or perhaps even decades.

Eagles and flowers and terns.

Places that I may have never been before. But hope to go to again.

Distance 15.3 km
Moving time 3 hours 53 min
Stopped time 20 min

African Lake (Cold Lake Area)

August 12, 2009. I was back in the City of Cold Lake to get my car worked on again so I had the opportunity to make another attempt at getting to African Lake.

I am compelled to give a bit of an explanation about my interest in African Lake. I basically grew up in the Cold Lake area and I have been to most places in the area. I have noticed African Lake on topographical maps. But before I had ever seen it on topographical maps African Lake was a rather mythical place for me. Back in the late 1950's there was a military exercise in the Cold Lake area. I recall on the way to school seeing a number of parachutes being dropped from aircraft. Exciting stuff for me. That evening my older brother told about driving around with his friends and coming across some solders who they stopped to talk to and may have even given a ride to. I recall that the solders were trying to get to African Lake. That is the first that I had any hint that there was a lake out the in that rather empty tract of land. It was probably a few years before I was able to, see a topographical map of the area and confirm that the lake really existed.

So when I saw the sign 'African Lake Bicycle Trail' I just had to go explore it. Wednesday August 12 was my second attempt. I could see that the old 'Radar Station' was close to it so I decided to attempt to access the lake from that side. I rode my bike north on 51st Street. The area has been developed so much that I do not recognize most of the places there so I missed the road to the 'Radar Station' which is now the Cold Lake Museum. I had to back track then. I then went east on the right road. There is a lot of signage around the museum prohibiting off road vehicles, including Bicycles from traveling off the road. But I ignored the signage and followed a well worn track on the the east. According to my GPS I was within 400m of African Lake. But it was all bush and there was no access to the lake, that I could find. The ATV track that I was on looped around to the south and back to the Museum. It was a trail that I mostly had to walk and even then there were some slopes that were so steep that I could barely even push my bicycle up. So I headed west back toward 51st street. I found a dirt trail north to Township Road 632 which saved me from going all of the way back. My next attempt was to bicycle south on 16th street to the Motor Cross track. There was clearly no access to African Lake from that place so I returned north on 16th street and back to urban Cold Lake. Next east on Forest Dr. then 16th Ave. until I saw an African Lake Bicycle Trail sign pointing south on 8th Street. As I rode south for a short way the street was pavement, then a maintained gravel road, then gravel but not maintained, then it became a dirt road and eventually it became an ATV trail that continues straight south to African Lake. The trail continues on around the east side of the lake. This part of the trail is sandy in places and portions of it make rather poor cycling and I found that walking them was the easiest way to go there. The ATV Quads form ruts just deep enough so the bicycle peddles would catch. There is access to the lake on the south end as well. The trail continues south. It is rutted with mud holes but it does improve and is rideable again through some more level and open meadows. And eventually I did end up on the trail that I had been on the week before when I ended up at Fountain Lake.

In my opinion the African Lake Bicycle trail is a poor trail for bicycling. And the reason is largely due to the heavy use by ATVs. I noted places on that some slopes where trail has been worn down to about waste deep.

Once I completed the trail I then bicycle to Cherry Grove,
total distances was 31.6 km
about 3 hours moving 47 minutes stopped.
Maximum elevation was 1908 and the total ascent was about 1000 feet.

Later in the day I then rode my bicycle back to pick up my car which was another 15.3 km and took me 1 hour and 10 minutes. So the total distance that I rode that day was about 46km.

Fontaine Lake (Cold Lake South)

August 6, 2009
If you drive east on 50th Avenue of Cold Lake South (formerly known as Grand Centre) you will see a sign that says African Lake Bicycle Trail. So today, while my car was in for repairs I decided to go for a bicycle ride to African Lake. So rode to 38 street and went north on it, as the sign indicated. The street ended and a trail continued on between two residentual lots. The trail was rather over grown with weeds and grass so it appears to have not been maintained anytime in the recent past. I wasn't very far beyond the houses before any possible bicycle trail was lost. In stead there was a trail which was clearly well traveled by ATVs. This trail was not easy to Bicycle down. A little further north and then east until I came to a sedge marsh around some open water and a beaver lodge. My Discover Canada Map showed this as Fontaine Lake. I took the photo here. I then continued on south on an old road or Quad track. I tried to ride but found the few dead fall and bog areas to be too many obstacles so I ended up pushing my bicycle and walking. The trail looped east next and back toward the lake but I only found sedge marsh and willows. It then went straight south to Township Road 630. I returned to the City of Cold Lake on that road. So I never did make it to African Lake. There are Quad tracks and old bush roads heading that way but I saw no clear signage or even evidence of a bicycle trail. I will however, explore this further. As it stands right now though, if you are in Cold Lake City and want to ride a bicycle trail I do not recommend the African Lake bicycle trail. If all you want to do is tramp around in the woods and some sedge marshes and pick a few Dewberries then there are lots of ATV trails and tracks to follow out there.

The total ride/walk about 10 km.
1 hour 11 minutes
about 1 hour 30 minutes total time.
Maximum evelvation 1855 feet

Waskehegan - Cooking Lake Recreational Area

July 26, 2009. This walk just reinforced to me that the Cooking Lake Recreational Area is a well kept secret. When my nephew and I arrived there was one other vehicle in the parking lot but we did not encounter anybody on the trail.

I cross country skied this area on March 20, 2009. Almost the exact same route that this hike was. My ski was on a Saturday afternoon and I noted that I encountered about six other skiers that day. I liked the undulating topography as it provided a more interesting trail to ski. I also noted the Neon Lake trail because it passes through some Mature Spruce trees.

We started the hike on the Lost Lake Trail, then Spruce Hollow, the Neon Lake, and then returned on Lost Lake again. We saw one Skunk, at a distance, heard coyotes and saw lots of frogs. We observed that most of the frogs were the Northern Wood Frog. We did also observe 2 Boreal Chorus Frogs. Of the entire walk the walk through the mature stand of spruce on the Neon Lake trail was the most aesthetic part.

This hike was just under 8 km. and took about 2 hours to complete. The maximum elevation was 2529 feet.