Another beautiful morning and this time it is much warmer.
We decided to go to Neys Provincial Park for a hike. Our plan was to check online the different trails and decide which one to take, but strangely, there was no reception at all as we drove out of the park. There was no reception on the highway that leads towards Neys Park either. We stopped in Marathon, but no cell reception in town either. That was a bit unusual. When we stopped at the liquor store for some wine replenishment, we saw a sign on the door: “cash only”. Looks like there is no internet anywhere.
No big deal.
We just drove straight to Neys park and to our disappointment the park closed for the season on September 18th. Bummer, we missed it by two days.
Internet gods versus us: 1-0.
At least it was a beautiful drive
with some hints of fall colours to come
Luckily, there are other things we can do.
We drove back to Marathon. The descent from the upper ancient beach level to town remains impressive even though we’ve seen it many times by now. It’s hard to believe that his massive lake was even bigger.
We then hiked to “The Lagoon” again. This time we knew where the trail starts and where to turn off to the lagoon, so it was a much smoother, less eventful hike. This time, there was no need to crawl through culverts or traverse railway tracks.
We hunted for rocks for a while and walked back with a much heavier day pack.
Back at the park, there was still no cell reception anywhere. The WiFi at the visitor’s centre wasn’t working either. We finally tracked down one of the rangers who told us that there was an accident near Schreiber that took out a main fibre line and the entire region is on radio silence.
The park has satellite phones for instances where the walkie-talkie doesn’t work, but it wasn’t necessary this time. So far, we didn’t need to use the walkie-talkie and we are hoping that we won’t need to in the future.
No one knows when the fiber will be fixed, so we may be a bit behind with our posts.
Hopefully the kids are not too worried about us. At least we are not relying on technology for our evening fire.
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You still had a great hike even without reception. Isn’t it amazing how we have come to rely on our internet? LOL
It is amazing, isn’t it!
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It’s too bad that Neys had just closed for the season. It’s one of my all-time favourite provincial parks. At least it was a scenic drive and that you found another hike to stretch your legs and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Hopefully the internet situation will be resolved soon. Have a happy Thanksgiving. Linda
I remember your posts from Neys, which is one of the reasons i was so Bummed. Maybe next year! Happy Thanksgiving to you both!
There’s always next time. I’m sure you’ll be back someday. I know I’d love to return to Pukaskwa. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be hungry. I’m still stuffed from eating so much food over the past few days.
We are walking vigorously in the park to try and shed some of this turkey/gravy/potatoes 🙂
Sounds like camping the old fashioned way. It was always kind of nice to be out of touch back then.
It’s always nice to disconnect, but it’s better when it’s our own choice.
That really is such a beautiful drive and I can only imagine what it looks like as fall colors come to life. That’s too bad about Neys! Maybe next year. The Internet fiber could be a blessing in disguise to disconnect!
Yes, a blessing in disguise until you really need it as you will find out in a few posts. Still, that day it wasn’t bad to siconnect and really enjoy the moment!
It’s crazy to think that we are so dependent on something we hadn’t even heard of 25 years ago! It sounds like your day hike ended up beautifully and the pictures are fantastic.
Thank you! You make such a good point and I don’t know how we survived back then lol.
We got back in touch with the great outdoors due to the pandemic…we are a days drive from such spectacular locations as Zion national park, Yosemite and more…
One of the good things about the pandemic is that a lot of people rediscovered nature. You are so lucky to have these unforgettable sites so close to you!
How did the pioneers ever survive without Internet? I get a little stir crazy when I don’t have our everyday luxuries.
Right? It will prove to be more than a mere convenience as we progress with this trip!
Interesting that I enjoy your posts so much. I never wanted to camp and know I wouldn’t want to now, but it is fun to see where YOU’VE been. Cheers, Muriel
Nice Post
Thanks