Ruby lake — a story from exploring the wilderness of Northern Ontario
Thunder Bay region, Canada, Autumn ‘16.
Together we hiked through the wet forest. The trail was muddy and rain was pouring down from the grey and fast moving skies. Cold raindrops found their way through the foliage above us. At the beginning of the trail, we had encountered a strange surprise. In the high grass, somebody had left some body parts of a hunted deer. The flesh was cold but complete and not eaten by any animal. It looked like it hadn’t been there for long so hunters could be in the area. The thought of a hunter looking at us, down the barrel of his rifle, went through our minds and made us listen sharply for any sound of life. At this place we had to be aware of moose and bears too.
The old logging road we were hiking on was not visible on the maps and this area was not an official park. After some research we agreed on the fact that this trail had to have an amazing view waiting for us. For now, the trail was boring and a pouring and cold October rain did not make it any better. Fall was nearing its end for this year, coloring the pines in different kinds of yellow. Evergreen trees acted like their name and some trees had already lost their foliage. Our hiking shoes went through a mixture of dead leaves and dirt. The trail went slowly up and was the now an then marked by some garbage hikers before us had left to keep others motivated. The trail felt like hiking an endless tunnel caused by the trees next to and above us. ‘You sure want to continue?’ we asked each other? ‘Lets try it for a bit and then make a decision.’ Decisions like this were made like we had been traveling together for years. ‘I think the trail is nearing its end.’ I said. We noticed how the vegetation became less dense. Soon we walked towards an open space in the forest in front of us.
The next moment we found ourselves standing at the edge of a three hundred meter high cliff overlooking a giant lake. Ruby lake. The rain stopped for a moment and grey clouds rolled over the canyon and lake down far down below. The lake was like a crater surrounded by high walls of stone and forest. In the far distance, Nipigon Bay was visible and the rocky landscape was covered with green, yellow and half-naked trees. From this height, we could see how the wind formed waves with whitecaps. Strong winds caused beautifully patterns in the lake and the water was blown towards the North side of the lake. It looked like a migrating herd of water. At the edge of the cliff we were standing on, the ground showed some big cracks caused by the never-ending circle of natures process of freezing, expansion, and melting. One day, probably not noticed by anyone, these cracks would become too big, causing a magnificent show by pushing a part of the canyon into the lake down below. It would look like a glacier that breaks and falls into the ocean.
Most trees at the edge of the cliff had not survived standing so close to the edge. Other trees were still bravely battling the strong winds what caused beautiful patterns in how they reached towards the sky. Nature always found its way. While looking over the edge I witnessed two bald eagles sitting on a branch in a tree below us. The now and then they spread their beautiful wings and flew above the lake. Stable they hung in the wind after which they dived fast down towards the water and grabbed a fish with their big and yellow claws. They repeated this several times without noticing us at all. Canada’s wilderness at its best. Another world. With us as silent visitors blessed with the ability to find comfort in seeing its beauty. Canada is for the explorers.
A story by Martijn Droger
Thank you for being my audience.
