Another paddling season had ended and talk of the next winter
gathering began in the fall of 2004. Once the dates had been settled a new
area was chosen for the gathering - the Nitro Creek watershed. This is an
area north of Sudbury accessible by the Budd Car rail service. This area lay
between Highway 144 and Halfway Provincial Park and the railway/Spanish river
to the west. The area consists of typical pine/spruce/poplar and birch forest
and several small lakes are connected by small creeks and drainages.
As in the past, folks opted for a trip of varying lengths
- 3,5 or 8 nights in duration. There was the regulars who have been attending
for the past 4 years, some folks who missed a trip and as usual some hardy
new attendees, out for a new experieince. This year a total of 26 people attended
with some late last minute cancellations.
A new twist for this adventure was
a sub zero "Hawaiian Night" under a tarp complete with a guitar
and much singing and laughter - I wonder what anyone who had stumbled across
this bunch of apparent lunatics in loud shirts and grass skirts would have
thought!!
As usual the time was spent doing camp chores (firewood),
exploring the surrounding areas and the drowning of minnows in the vain attempts
to catch some speckled trout. The weather was clear and cold for the most
part (several nights at the -30C range) with a couple of very light snowfalls
over the 8 nights.
All in all another enjoyable trip with a bunch of enjoyable
folks in a beautiful setting. The upcoming winter gathering for 2006 was also
discussed and hopefully we'll find a place to catch some fish for a change!
We seem to get to a spot on even numbered years where folks actually catch
fish and '06 hopefully will be similiar - maybe even Georgi can catch a fish
bigger than his minnow!!!
Slideshow
Unattributed photos taken by Sid Bredin, those initialled BP were
taken by Bill Poort. Thanks Bill.
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