Transit of Venus 2012

The Transit of Venus is one of the rarest predictable astronomical events that comes around twice within eight years but not again for another 105 years.  The next one will take place in 2117.  On the evening of June 5th I took the telescope down to the water treatment plant in Point Edward and was fortunate to have clear skies even though it was predicted to be cloudy.


Watching the Transit of Venus near the mouth of the St. Clair river.

A solar filter was fitted over the front of the telescope which blocked out the majority of light enabling safe viewing.  The filter can be seen in the above picture.  The telescope is a Celestron Sky Seeker refractor fitted with a computer that controls a motor driving the mount enabling it to track the object you are viewing.  

A photo of the Sun taken during the Transit of Venus on the 5th of June 2012.

The above photo was taken with my DSLR held up to the eyepiece.  I had to play with the apeture settings in order to capture the sunspots and the planet Venus as it traveled across the face of the Sun.

For some time I have wanted to make a video that may help people who are struggling to be successful with the bow drill fire.  One of the biggest reasons for failure is the improper selection of materials for the hearth board and spindle and for the tinder bundle.  Before you venture out into the woods I suggest that you first practice at home using cedar from the hardware store and jute twine for your tinder bundle.  In the video I go over some of my favorite bearing blocks or sockets and why some are better than others.  I like using a teaspoon for a bearing block because it is multifunctional and you probably have one in your kit already.

"Bearing blocks" from left to right in order of preference: teflon, teaspoon, Kabar Hobo, rock, deer antler and finally hardwood.

Here is a close up of the process where you can see the dust filling the notch as the spindle is turned.

Rondeau Provincial Park Bicycle Ride

During a recent trip to Rondeau Provincial Park I had a chance to take the Brompton on a short ride on some of the trails.  The peninsula at one time was known as Pointe au Pins du to the large number of pines that could once be found there.  After extensive logging in the nineteenth century few pine trees remain today and the majority can be found on the lake side of the park.  I had a goal to find a Basswood tree which seems to be scarce up in Sarnia and low and behold there was one right at our campsite. 

Chaga

On a recent canoe trip I was able to harvest some chaga or tinder fungus which grows on birch trees.  The Wikpedia page has a pretty good description of the stuff.

Chaga right after it was harvested.

It makes an excellent tinder that once ignited using a ferro rod or magnifying glass is nearly impossible to extinguish, hence it's nickname "tinder fungus". This piece smoldered for at least fifteen minutes and released a pleasant aroma similar to incense burning.

Burning Chaga

 It also has a history in Russia of being used to make tea which I have yet to try.

Silver Peak Panorama

When we reached the summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park I took a series of pictures and then stitched them together to produce this panorama. Right click on the image and select open in new window.

Panorama at the Summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park

Kayaking on Lake Huron

Had an opportunity to take my Current Designs Vision 15 kayak out for a spin this past Wednesday on Lake Huron.  I recently purchased a spray-skirt, paddle float and bilge pump after learning how to use them on a course given by the Lambton Outdoors Club back in the spring.  I would love to go on a trip using the kayak in future.

Kayaking on Lake Huron

Beaching the Kayak

Breakfast on the Trail

This is my favorite breakfast while in the bush.  Pancake made with "just add water" pancake mix, with just enough water added to make a thick batter.  Fried in butter and served with homemade black currant jam with a Starbucks Via coffee on the side.

Breakfast in Killarney Provincial Park

Killarney Canoe Trip

I wanted to take my son up to Killarney Provincial Park this summer so I made my booking back in early May. My wife and I have been up to Killarney several times when we were first married but I haven't been back for fifteen years. When I made the booking I was told I could have up to nine people per site, so I thought It would be a good opportunity to invite my two brothers and some of my nieces and nephews to come along.

We arrived at the park via the Bell Lake Access Road and obtained our permits from the Killarney Kanoes outfitter located at the put in point. When you make your reservation at the park you book a spot on a lake, in our case we had one night on Bell Lake, two on David Lake and one on Balsam Lake. The sites on the lake are chosen on a first come first served basis. Our plan was to stay on site number 74 on the western end of Bell Lake and fortunately for us there was no one there. In fact the park wasn't busy at all and we found throughout our visit that we could chose any site we wanted.

The tents were pitched for the night and we proceeded to settle down to steaks and sausage on the grate that was left there for us.  Each site is equipped with a "treasure box" latrine tucked away several yards from the camping area.  We hung our food bags away from camp in an appropriate tree to deter the bears or any other unwelcome animals from tampering with them.

Supper our First Night

The next morning we awoke to a calm lake and a spectacular view of Silver Peak which we would be climbing the next day.

Site 74 on Bell Lake Looking West Towards Silver Peak

Site 74 on Bell Lake looking East

We were all sitting around the fire having our breakfast when my son shouts "there's a bear swimming across the lake, I'm not even kidding you!"  I looked up to see the bear's head just out of the water swimming to the shore to our right.  I was too slow with the camera but my niece caught the picture below as the bear exited the lake.

We packed our things and headed off towards David Lake.  We would need to make a 745 metre portage to a beaver dammed lake and then another 200 metre portage into David Lake.  The wind was strong and made paddling difficult but we made it to our first choice for our campsite, site number 106.  It had a great view of the LaCloche Mountain Range but there was a steep climb to the tenting site and the ground was uneven.  We settled on site number 100, one of two sites on a large island in the middle of the lake.

Canoeing on the Lake Between the Portages from Bell to David Lake

I brought along a hammock I had recently purchased to try out on this trip - a Grand Trunk Ultralight.  The night before I was cold so at my brother's suggestion I placed my Thermarest mattress inside the hammock which coupled with a touque made for a cozy nights sleep, the best I've had in some time in the bush.

Relaxing in the Hammock

My brother challenged me to make the night's fire using the bow and drill so I obliged using an excellent piece of cedar I found that was in just the right state of decay. There were also some silver birch trees that supplied excellent tinder along with some punkwood from the decayed cedar. I also found some chaga that was growing on one of the white birch trees.

The next morning we waited out the rain before we set out on our hike up to the summit of Silver Peak. The trail is accessed from the south end of David Lake between sites 104 and 105 which is actually a portage to Boundary Lake. On the way to the summit we came upon a black bear feeding on the blueberries which were in abundance on the slopes.

 

Black Bear Feeding on the Blueberries

The hike to the summit was fairly strenuous and rocky but we took several breaks before making it to the top.  At the top you can see Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Island as well as the stacks in Sudbury.  The four stone foundations are still there as a reminder of the fire watch tower that once stood there back in the fifties.

On the Summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park

We made it back to our site after a total of around five hours and enjoyed another meal around the campfire. Tonight's challenge was to boil water in a plastic water bottle, something my brother had seen on Survivorman.

There are some very large white pine trees around site 100 which I understand were logged extensively in the early days of the area.  Most nights the loons would call each other from lake to lake and would continue off and on early into the morning.  Here's an example.

The next morning were awoke to another calm lake and a beautiful sunrise.

Morning on Site 115 on Balsam Lake

We broke camp and proceeded to chase a Loon across the lake on our way to the next portage to Balsam Lake.  It is easy to lose your bearings while on the water but the GPS coupled with the park map led us to the portage entrance.

Loon on Balsam Lake

We chose to stay at site 115 which was close to the portage we would need to take the next day to Three Mile Lake on our way out.  The boys tried there luck at fishing and were able to catch rock bass with just about every cast and my brother caught a nice sized pike.

There are indeed many Balsam Fir trees on Balsam Lake so I decided to try another bowdrill fire using a partially decayed specimen.  I tried several times unsuccessfully with one section but was successful on the first try with another section.

The Treasure Chest on site 115

We set of on our final morning over what was once a lift over that once employed a trolley that you could steer your canoe onto and push it over into the next lake.  I remember using it back in the nineties on our last visit but it was apparently removed after some clowns decided to ride it while sitting in the canoe which injured themselves and the trolley.

We continued on against a moderate wind  to our put in point and drove into the town of Killarney which was once a favorite stopping point for the voyageurs years ago.  We made a stop at the Herbert Fisheries fish and chip bus for a plate of fish and chips before heading home.

Fish and Chip Bus in Killarney Ontario