Pukaskwa: Surpassing my expectations

In my August 10th post, I noted how much I was looking forward to visiting Pukaskwa National Park. The problem with anticipation is that it sometimes leads to disappointment. This was not the case with Pukaskwa: the park surpassed my expectations.

My photos provide a small window to the park’s beauty, but fail to deliver a true picture of the park’s wild, rugged and

untouched splendor. Hugging the north-eastern shore of Lake Superior for 128 Km, Pukaskwa is one of Ontario’s last significant tracts of boreal forest untouched by human development or industry. The Guide to the National Parks of Canada explains that “the vast region of wilderness within its boundaries represents centuries of uninterrupted forest succession dating to the melting of the last glacier some 10,000 years ago.” And if that isn’t descriptive enough, try this one: imagine standing at the top of your city’s highest point (like the CN tower if you’re in Toronto) and find yourself, for as far as the eye can see, surrounded by trees, rocks and water. It is breathtaking.

Preservation of the environment is a priority and the park’s design certainly maintains the integrity of the natural wilderness. During our first day in the park, we hiked over 11 km on the six trails around Hattie Cove. Although each of the trails form one long loop they offer surprising contrast.

We started with the rugged Southern Headland Trail for awe-inspiring views of Lake Superior, and then slipped onto the Manito Miikna (the “Spirit Trail”) for more stunning views of the Lake and the Pic River Dunes. From there we meandered along Pukaskwa’s sandy, driftwood beaches where we hopped from log to log to reach the water.

We then spent the afternoon hiking the Bimose Kinoomagewnan trail where signposts explained the Seven Grandfather Ojibway Teachings: love, honesty, respect, wisdom, truth, humility and bravery.

And we finished off the day, with a small dip in Lake Superior (super cold!).