Wolfmaan makes the papers!

The Welland Tribune


Lots to see on the bottom of the recreational canal


Posted By ALLAN BENNER




The recreational waterway is one of the best spots for diving Wolf knows of locally.
"This is a really great spot around this area for diving," the Niagara-on-the-Lake resident said while packing up his equipment, Sunday. "It's really shallow and it's good if you're a fairly new diver."
And there's usually a lot to see, said his wife Tori.
The couple and a few fellow divers slipped beneath the water to explore the canal more than 25 times over the past year.
In fact, Wolf said a few times last summer they dove down to recover sunken fire pots from the LuminAqua event for the city.
"They had some stuff that went down and we recovered and marked it for them," Wolf said. "We found at least three of them."
Sunday, however, conditions weren't the best.
The water was pretty murky with poor visibility, and it was bitterly cold - even while wearing a dry suit.
Wolf said the water was only 1 C at the bottom of the canal.
"It was cold - dry suit or not," said Wolf, who's been an avid diver since 1988.
But the conditions didn't stop him from one last jump in the water to end 2007.
Sunday, he was at the canal bank with his Tori, and their friends Chuck from St. Catharines and Paolo from Toronto.

"They just wanted to go for the last dive of the year," Tori Said.

Wolf and Paolo dove into the frigid waters while Tori and Chuck remained on the bank to offer support if needed.

Tuesday, New Years Day, they plan to return to the canal with more of their fellow divers for the first dip of 2008, Tori added.

They'll dive near the boat docks off Lincoln street about noon.

"We'll be there. There will probably be quite a few other people, too! Tori said. "It's a big deal – the New Year's Day Dive"

Last Dive of 2007!

Sunday, December 30 - 2007
13:00 – 14:00
Dive Number 128
Start: 13:00
Roads: Wet from Snow
Visibility: 18km
Temp: +1C
Water Temp: +1C
Area: East Main Street Bridge – Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: 1994 Blue Grand Am
Weather: Overcast
Visibility: 1m
Divers: Wolf, Paolo
Shore Crew / Tenders: Tori, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 10m
Plan: Last Dive Of 2007

Sadly, this will be the last dive I get to do in 2007. Marking almost 30 dives this year. It was a cold, rather miserable day thankfully there was no wind.

I met a new dive partner called Paolo on OntarioDiving.com who has a drysuit and can dive throughout the winter as my normal dive buddy Chuck is out of the water for the winter season.

I arrived with our dive supervisor DiveMaster Chuck and set-up the road pylons around the car and kitted up. Paolo met us and got kitted up and we headed down to the waters edge and entered by the steel dock under the Division Street Bridge.

We entered the water and it was very cold, only 1C. Thankfully my Aga mask would keep my face warmer than just having a mask and regulator.

We descended to 3M and I felt something tugging on my ankle and realised the dive float was tied around my ankle. I went up a little and Paolo untied me.

We descended down to 10m and realised the visibility here was absolutely horrid. I have never been at this location and had the visibility so bad here. We could hardly see eachother.

Continuing on with the dive, I did not see my partner and turned around to find him to see him laying on his back. The first thing that went through my mind was "This is not good", until I realised that the line had now gotten caught around his ankle and he was trying to free himself.

I untied my partner and we headed on and trudged through the poor visibility to see only two or three bicycles as we usually can see dozens as well as only one shopping trolley as there are also many of them on the bottom.

I did find a good sized mud puppy to play with, he was very slow and docile although did try to swim away.

After around 1/2hr The poor visibility got to be too much to handle and I decided to signal to my partner it might be a good idea to abort the dive.

We surfaced and made our way back to shore and exited only to be confronted by a reporter who took a few photos and asked me to send him some via e-mail.

It wasn't the best dive of the year, but sadly it will be the last.

Niagara Glen Canyon Hike - December 24th, 2007

Monday, December 24 - 2007
13:00 – 16:45
Start: 13:15
Roads: Wet and snow covered
Visibility: 20km
Temp: -6C
Area: Niagara Glen
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Overcast, windy
Trail Conditions: Snow Covered
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Chuck
Plan: Descend the long wooden stairs and make our way to the old helicopter pad in the Niagara Glen Canyon

We arrived at the golf course around 13:00hrs and parked atop the Niagara Glen Canyon and got all kitted up with my military skivvies, camouflage pants, and blue insulated coveralls with my black goggles, ski-mask, black hydration backpack, big military parka, gaiters and Faded Glory hiking boots. Tori was dressed in a similar outfit with her rubber boots. We found the snow to be rather powdery and easy to walk through. As we approached the top of the stairs, it appeared we were the only people to descend as there were no footprints in the snow. There were also signs that stated the stairs may not be in the best of shape. As we descended the stairs it became apparent that a good portion of the upper stairs had been washed away earlier in the year. There was a layer of ice under the snow which cause Chuck to fall first, then I decided I could just as easily slide down the hill. As I did my boot hit something under the snow and I started to tumble end over end, bowling over chuck and plunging down the stairs. We all started laughing and dusted ourselves off and started to properly head down the area where the stairs were not all washed away. We walked past the stream which was still flowing where there is an old rusted safe, but could not see the safe as the snow must have been covering it. We descended into the canyon and I realised I had lost my Humvee Knife Brian had gotten me for Yule yesterday. We stopped for a quick rest at the new helipad at the trailhead and tool in the view of the beautiful, empty, snowfilled canyon. We found the high side trail as the low side trail was under water with the high water levels from the ice and snow. We found the trail and headed out. At one point I stopped and felt someone groping my buttocks. Even though Tori was at the back of the line, I just hoped it was Tori and kept on moving. We took turns blazing the unused trail. Some areas were very treacherous as there was very little space between the edge of the snow filled canyon walls on the one side, and steep drop-offs down to the rivers edge on the other leading to the raging current of the whirlpool rapids below.

We came to the waterfall which was our 50% waypoint between the start of our hike and our destination. Due to the large amounts of food we had eaten yesterday at our Yule celebrations, Chuck and I had such bad gas on the trail it was reaching Terrance and Phillip proportions! We navigated over the waterfall and Tori tromped through it as she had her rubber boots on. We ascended up the canyon a little more to discover the trail ahead was very steep with little to hold on to. Thankfully the old steel cable we used to laugh at while we hiked barefoot in summer was now an absolute necessity as we slipped and slid down the steep hills. We took frequent rest stops as the terrain was harsh this time of year. We encountered a fallen tree which we all had to climb under. Chuck had a difficult time navigating through it and it became known as the "tree of stuck". We saw a large hawk make off with some prey and could hear it's haunting screams echo in the empty canyon. Every now and again we could hear and see the helicopters hover over us from the local tour operation business as they may have been checking-up on us to ensure we were okay hiking in this bad area which claims the life of at least a dozen people each year according to the local papers. Chuck ended up slipping and made a bit of a mess of the trail stating "hey look, the fat guy just made a mess of the tail for our return!" We made our way through yet another steep downgrade – there was a steel cable off to the right side which was set-up many moons ago to help guide people down the steep, sharp, rocky cliffs. On one side we had the high canyon walls with fallen trees and sharp rocks, on the other a steep snow-covered cliff leading right into the raging rapids of the Niagara River. I ended up getting voluntold to go first. As I started to descend I somehow lost control of my descent and ended up running down the hill uncontrolled until I slipped and fell at the edge of the cliff, holding onto the steel cable. I started laughing which made me s tart to loose my grip. I wrapped my leg around the steel cable and heard chuck yell out "I can't rescue you until you stop laughing!" which of course made all of us laugh even harder. I decided to make sure I didn't get a tree in the eyes so I put my goggles on while I was lying there trying to figure out how to right myself and Chuck yelled "Make sure you put your goggles on so you'll look cool when you die!" which made all of us laugh even harder. I ended up making some unusual dry-humping motions to move myself along the trail to safety and stood up and dusted myself off. Tori decided she was really tired and we should head back towards the car. We were all starting tog et damp from slipping and sliding on the trail and made our way back to the large waterfall and took a long break. Tori slipped and went down about 10cm and started screaming how she was going to die, which did amuse Chuck and I. We continued and took frequent breaks until we came to a great spot which was flat with nice big rocks to sit on. We could see the new helicopter pad just around the bend of the bay a few hundred metres away – or just a few more rest stops the way we were feeling at the moment.

As we passed the new helipad Chuck found a metal skewer which oddly, we did not see the first time we made our way back and Chuck insisted it might help save his life on this trip. We laughed and I said my knife may have saved our lives, but I lost it! Chuck responded by saying that 20 years from now, anthropologists will find that knife and say "wow! A Hummer knife! These were made by that car company which made big trucks!" but after closer inspection they would say "Wait! It says HumVEE, it's just a cheap asian reproduction, then throw it back into the dirt". We laughed so hard we had to grab onto some rocks to keep from falling over.

We started to ascend the long, winding wooden stairs on the side of the steep cliffs and were feeling so exhausted. Each small bridge we crossed we collapsed to rest for a few moments. As we headed up the cliffs Chuck took his skewer and tried to use it to hang onto and ended up bending it, then tried using it again and bent it even more. He ended up discarding it. As we ascended up the old wooden stairs to the spot where I had tumbled end-over end a few hours ago, I was surprised to see my knife! Sadly it was all bent up and a bit rickety than it was since the last time I had seen it. I picked it up and took it home as perhaps it could have been repaired. At one point during our hike back up the stairs I fell over and Tori jumped on me and started to dry-hump me. Thankfully Chuck did not join in the humiliation! Chuck stopped at the top of the staircase landing and we all collapsed and rested before the final ascent. Chuck somehow got stuck in a hole and Tori had to help extricate him. As he rose, we all marveled at chucks large ass hole in the snow. We finally ascended out of the Niagara Glen Canyon and headed back to Chucks black Sunfire and went home to take off our cold, wet gear and enjoy some hot chocolate.

This trip we decided to leave the dogs at home due to the bad cold and difficulty of the trails. We had such a great time laughing and messing about on the trails. We hadn't had so much fun and laughed so hard in the face of death in many moons!

DISCLAIMER: Chuck, Tori, and I are very experienced hikers and have hiked all around the world from the mountains of Nova Scotia to the Butes of Utah, Plains of Texas, and even in Death Valley California. The craziness and seemingly unsafe activities we partake in may read as humorous, and are written that way. We are all well trained, equipped and educated in wilderness survival and emergency procedures. We are well qualified to take on all of the hikes we partake in and I blog about.

Cold Water Buoyancy Dive Number 127

Wednesday, November 28 - 2007
16:30 – 17:05
Dive Number 127
Start: 16:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +0C
Water Temp: +5C
Area: Welland Canal boat ramp – Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Lada Niva
Weather: Overcast
Visibility: 9m
Divers: Wolf
Shore Crew / Tenders: Tori
Maximum Depth: 10m
Plan: Buoyancy Dive

On my last dive with a set of tech divers, I had a bit of a buoyancy issue. I ended up finding out that not only was I over-weighted, I had lost one of my 2kg weights which made me badly lopsided and would have undoubtedly added to my confusion and frustration during the dive. The thick drysuit underwear coveralls would have also changed my peak buoyancy ratio.

Apparently the divers I went with must have been quite disturbed by my buoyancy issues as the next day I got a letter from the manager of a local dive shop telling me how they felt I had "missed something in my training" and should throw my training experience out the window and go join them at their dive shop for proper experience – for a fee of course.

I decided to go for a dive specifically to check my buoyancy with this new drysuit configuration. I arrived at the boat dock at the Old Welland Canal around 16:00hrs and began to kit up. It was overcast out and fairly dark. I was hoping that I could complete this dive without loosing all my light.

I kitted up and entered the water with 13kg on me and headed out to around 10m.

I found a nice tree branch covered with kelp and trimmed myself out and started slowly swimming in an oval shape around the small kelp bed. I saw in the distance a shiny aluminum baseball bat standing upright in the silt, and created a kind of circuit for myself to swim around at different speeds. This would allow me to see when I'm trimmed if I kicked up any silt.

After a few dozen rounds in the spot without kicking up any silt or debris, I noticed I was starting to loose my light. I decided to stay down until I exhausted my 12L tank.

While using my small torch which I always carry on dives "just in case" I saw a hole in the mud. I shined the torch into the hole and saw a little nose retract.

This was a good time to test out my stationary buoyancy control. I trimmed up and hovered over the hole and moved the torch away to watch a little head of a mud-puppy (looks like a large salamander) stick his head out looking at the light moving away. As I brought the torch back to the hole, he retreated again.

My Suunto dive computer beeped indicating less than 50 bar, so I surfaced and heard the loud air horn of my shore crew, I gave the OK symbol and then headed for shore.

I really chilled and got cold as I removed all of my kit, then we headed to a local Tim Hortons coffee s hop to relax and fill out my logbook. I had very few issues this dive with my buoyancy. Hopefully a couple more dives and I will be as proficient with the drysuit as I was in my wetsuit.

I certainly didn't expect my buoyancy dive to become a night dive, but I always dive prepared. It was a great and relaxing dive.

Welland Canal Trainbridge Dive Number 126

Sunday, November 25 - 2007
10:15 – 11:25
Dive Number 126
Start: 12:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +4C
Water Temp: +6C
Area: Welland Canal Train Bridge – Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Lada Niva
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility: 9m
Divers: Wolf, Jenn B.
Shore Crew / Tenders: Tori, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 11m
Plan: Train Bridge Dive

I arrived at the train bridge to find a set ot tech divers kitting up and getting ready to dive. I kitted up and used my steel 17L tank I had filled at Eric's house last night after work. Chuck R. was one of the tenders today and arrived shortly before I. Chuck and Tori were the dive tenders today. I was the 2nd diver in the water and waited in about 3m of water for the other divers to kit up and join us. Unfortunately I had some difficulty with my weights on the dive. This is one of the first few dives I've conducted with the cp200 DUI drysuit with full thermal underwear. This caused some buoyancy difficulties for me throughout the dive. I believe I was overweighted.

The divers I followed around missed a lot of the interesting things at this site including the various shopping carts, rototiller and other fun objects which have made their way to the bottom. One of the divers took a lot of photographs as he went along. We did see quite a few sunken bicycles as well as a few other objects which had been down there for a while such as road signs and old buckets.

Part of the weight issue was that I had my ankle weights on, this caused me to drag my fins on the bottom and kick up a bit of silt.

We ended up leaving the train bridge area and heading off towards the boat ramp which was quite a bit away from our entry point. Around 50 bar I decided it was time for me to surface, and headed back towards the entry dock.

En-route back I noticed several rocks flying into the water ahead of me. I popped my head out of the water and saw Chuck throwing them at me – I gave him the middle finger.

When the other divers surfaced we removed our equipment and went to the Rex Hotel in Welland to relax and talk for a while.

This was the first time I have experienced any real buoyancy issues. Normally I dive with a certified PADI Professional Divemaster who was also very surprised to hear of my problem as we dive together all time without incident.

I am starting to enjoy the cold water dives with the drysuit as I do keep relatively comfortable during the length of the dive in the frigid +6C water.

Cold Water Dive - Dain City, Ontario Number 125

Sunday, November 18 - 2007
12:04 – 13:06
Dive Number 125
Start: 12:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +2C
Water Temp: +4C
Area: East Main Street Bridge, Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Gold Chevy Cobolt AYTK-941
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility: 9m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Shore Crew / Tenders: Tori
Maximum Depth: 11m
Plan: Cold Water Dive Exploration

As this large country descends from a few short moments of summer into it's normal state of being a bleak, baron place almost completely devoid of life – the people who reside here continue to suffer. Today was certainly no different.

As autumn starts departs and the long months of unrelenting cold and hardship befall upon us, those who must endure this often attempt to continue their normal lives and day to day activities. Adventuring is one of those activities.

The outside temperature today was a frigid 2 Celsius outside. The water temperature was 4 degrees Celsius. After replacing the right hand seal in my drysuit, We left our house at around 10:30hrs and made the trek to Dain City Ontario just outside of Welland, Ontairo where we had surveyed a spot to dive under a steel bridge which ran over the old Welland Canal at Forks Road. We parked the car just off Forks Road and deployed the road cones we recently purchased to give us some working space and add an element of safety to kitting up around traffic. We also put together the large propane tank with the heater attached to it so that we may keep warm after the dive.

I had some difficulty doning my DUI CP200 drysuit with the military-issue long underwear and insulated work coveralls on. After fighting for a while I managed to get myself into the suit. I waited for Chuck to finish kitting up and we proceeded to the waters edge.

I was surprised that with the drysuit I could not feel the cold. As a barefoot adventurer I rarely wear shoes. I don't' even wear shoes or socks with the drysuit. As I got my Interspiro Aga mask placed properly on my head, and checked the hood seal to ensure a proper fit, I realised that I was unable to put on my fins. I waited for Chuck to complete his final pre-dive inspections and then flipped over face down in the water with one foot up in the air so he could attach each fin properly. After the attaching of each fin I received a pat on the bottom so I knew he had completed the fin attachment.

We headed into the depths to find this section of the canal had an unusual layout. It had a very shallow shelf which extended out a few meters then dropped down like a set of steps. At one point we noticed the "step" was held up by what appeared to be a large pile of wood strapped together with more wood. We have seen these kind of items before, but not in this exact mannor.

As we went along we saw very little debris in this area compared to the other areas of the canal we have explored. We did find a test-tube spinner unit with a couple of test-tubes still inside it, and a bicycle, but no shopping trolleys or anything unusual. I saw a large crayfish who was reddish brown in body and had blue claws. He was very docile – I assumed it was due to the cold temperature of the water. As we continued the dive we saw several sets of large wooden piles grouped together all over the bottom. Evidence of a previous bridge in this location perhaps. We also came across several more of the large wooden sprockets several meters in diameter.

The dive progressed very quickly and I was very surprised that I was not at all uncomfortable or cold in this frigid water with the drysuit.

We found a line reaching to the surface which was attached to a large international orange marker buoy. I tugged hard on the buoy to hope to catch our shore crew's attention with it. Right after we found a nice road cone which I grabbed and we carried with us for the rest of the dive.

Crossing the channel again we found almost no debris fields, bicycles, shopping trolleys or other objects we normally found. The bottom had some unusual prints on it which looked like mouse tracks! We saw several large bass and even a good sized pike! The fish seemed very much more slower and more docile in the cold water than their usual skiddish demeanors.

We exited the water separately and made our way back to the car and doffed our equipment and tried to warm up as best we could, then packed up our gear and left the site just after 13:30hrs. Oddly when I was removing my drysuit, I ripped both wrist seals right out of their sockets, ring and all. It did not damage the rings, however I do question whether it was the cold acting on the suit, or I somehow installed the wrist seals incorrectly.

After the dive we went to a local coffee shop called Tim Hortons and found another team of divers there, some of which Tori and I knew from one of the scuba shops in Hamilton. We talked with them for a while and ended up assisting them in planning their next dive which would be at the East Main Street Bridge.

After leaving the Tim Hortons coffee shop we briefly met up with the other dive team at the East Main Street bridge to show them around and give them a little information about the site.

En-route home we discovered the slimy, encrusted road cone had a very peculiar odor to it which caused quite a bit of discomfort to us. I thought of taking the road cone to the local car pressure wash and blowing it clean.

Arriving at the pressure wash operation we spent quite a bit on trying to get the road cone clean, but it still was encrusted in aquatic algae and zebra mussels. We brought the cone home and left it outisde for the time being.

It was a great and exciting dive, however Chuck feels the water is too cold for him to explore in a wet suit and this may be his last dive of the season.

Trip to Mount Hope Cemetery

Wednesday, October 31 - 2007
08:50 – 21:00
Start: 08:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +17C
Area: Rochester, NY
Vehicle: 2007 Chevy Cobalt AYTK-941
Travelers: Wolf, Tori, Chris
Weather: Some Clouds
Plan: Annual Visit to Mount Hope

Our day started out waking up at 08:30hrs and getting ready to go. We left the house around 08:50 and headed to the United States border at Queenston-Lewiston. We took the rental gold Chevy Cobalt I have since my Niva got wrecked a few weeks ago and is still in repair. We arrived to be asked our place of birth, and when me mum said England, we got pulled over and questioned for a while as me mum didnt have all her citizenship papers. They eventually let us go and we were on our way. We took the I-190 to the I-90 East and headed towards Albany.

About an hour into the trip we saw a sign for the Kutters Cheese Factory and Flying J and decided to stop. We pulled in at the Flying J and bought a large coffee mug for Chris. We went on to the Cheese Factory which wasn't really anything spectacular as we have seen in Montreal or other places. We bought some cheese curd which wasn't very good as the one we had at the Granby Cheese Shop in Quebec. En-route back to the highway we saw a sign for a Halloween party but as we drove up to the place, sadly it was closed.

We got back on the I-90 and headed out towards Rochester and made our way to Mount Hope Cemetery. For no particular reason we have made this fateful trek each year now for over five years. This trip has kind of become our mini tradition. Mount hope has over 400,000 permanent residents. The cemetery was created in 1837 and is over four square kilometers in size and has some of the most unusual, diverse, and fascinating monuments which can be seen in North America.

We stopped at a flower shop across from the cemetery to buy two roses for a grave which we planned to visit. The woman in the shop had a huge bulldog and pug cross which we played with. We entered the cemetery off Mount Hope Avenue at the main entrance. and went to the welcome room, then started on to our journey through the amasing amount of graves here. It is difficult to document all the unusual things we see here. From the massive gothic churches which dot the landscape (sadly, none are in service anymore) to the small, half earth covered stones marked "baby".

We started our journey today by paying a visit to the slavegirl Anna who is buried on this spot. Anna lays in section R, Lot 11. The founder of the city Rochester – Colonel Nathaniel Rochester brought his slaves with him when he moved from Maryland. Although he freed them, some stayed as his domestic employees. The headstone of one of these freed slaves carries a simple, poignant message: "we called her Anna" - a woman whose complete identity consisted only of a first name. We lay two roses on her grave. One from Tori and I, and the other from a friend of mine in British Colombia called Reptoid. We took some photographs so I could send him some via e-mail when we got home.

We spent the afternoon walking amongst the graves, examining some of the unusual things. We took tons of photographs of various baby graves, unusual adult graves – mostly in sephia tone to give them a very unusual look and feel.

At one point we found a gravestone with a nice, neat hole dug beside it. Chris grabbed her coffin purse and we put it in the hole, and took some photographs of it. We laughed and they turned out very unusual. We then found a bench which said Blythe Coffins. Aparantly placed there as an advertisement for a coffin company at some point. Tori and I took turns laying down on it with hands folded, and got some more photographs.

Around 13:00hrs or so we left the cemetery to stop at a local Subway to get some food, then returned to the cemetery.

We drove to the old section and walked amongst some of the greatest people in American History including Buffalo Bills son, World War I and World War II heros, Civil War Heros, Susan B. Anthony, Freemasons, and some of the wealthiest men and women in Rochester, NY.

As the day progressed and we explored some of the most forgotten graves, including some which had been smashed by falling trees, slipped down the sides of hills, and been consumed by the Earth herself, we decided to head home around 20:00hrs.

We stopped at the Cracker Barell just outside of Buffalo and then crossed the border with relative ease and arrived home around 21:30hrs.

It was a great way to spend Samhain.

East Main Street Bridge (Dive 123)

Sunday, October 14 - 2007
08:50 – 11:00
Dive Number 123
Start: 08:39
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +18C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: East Main Street Bridge, Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Lada Niva
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility: 10m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Rob
Maximum Depth: 10m
Plan: Exploration

We arrived early around 08:30hrs to find Rob waiting in his black sunfire for us. I kitted up and entered the water to relax a little bit as I brought my large 17L tank and wait for Chuck to arrive and kit up. The first thing I noticed about this particular area was that the visibility was significantly better than it has been in many moons. I could see so much further than ever before. Chuck arrived and kitted up as I was looking at the large amount of rubbish. Shopping trolleys, discarded bicycles, machine parts, photocopier parts, oil drums. There is so much rubbish here.

Chuck arrived on the bottom around 09:00hrs and we began our dive in this great visibility. We could see a lot of fish where before there weren't that many.

We swam around the bridge in awe of the rubbish and debris deposited here. Chuck managed to find himself another bowling ball!

It was an interesting dive with a lot to see. This is a great spot.

Trillian Railroad Bridge - Dain City (Dive 122)

Monday, October 08 - 2007
13:10 – 14:30
Dive Number 122
Start: 13:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +20C
Water Temp: +10C
Area: Trillian Railroad Bridge - Dain City, Ontario
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Sunny and Clear
Visibility: 6m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Rob
Maximum Depth: 10m
Plan: Exploration

Bridges are normally famous for people throwing things off of. Secluded bridges like the Trillian Railroad Bridge in Dain City, Ontario usually have even more rubbish and surprises under them.

We arrived around 12:30hrs and kitted up while waiting for our shore crew member Rob to arrive. We kitted up near a large transformer across from M.J. Jones Trucking. We entered at the base of the bridge and started to descend. Te bottom was full of silt and quite a bit of kelp near the edges. We saw all kinds of wooden pilings, a fire extinguisher, milk crate with a construction helmet in it, metal grates, ladders, slides, and even a rowing buoy attached to a bicycle. The visibility was around 6m near the bridge pylons but for some reason near the middle of the water way it was 1m or less. Near the large west bridge pylon there was quite a current. We returned to our exit point and relaxed for a bit to fill out our logbooks. The water was warm and there was a lot to see. There was a lot to see and another dive at this location would be warranted. Especially in cooler water when the visibility would be greater.

Welland Canal Night Dive (121)

Saturday, October 06 - 2007
20:30 – 21:15
Dive Number 121
Start: 20:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +22C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Old Welland Canal Train Swing Bridge
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Starry Night
Visibility: 6m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Rob
Maximum Depth: 12m
Plan: Night Dive

We arrived around 20:00hes and kitted up under a street lamp. There were a few prostitots and kinderho's nearby who expressed an interest in our activity. One exclaimed that people poop in the river. It has been several years since I have done a night dive. We walked across the street and down the hill to an old wooden dock. We entered the water and turned on our strobes and torches. I used my large black UK black torch and Chuck had a small back-up light as his main torch. We swam across under the bridge to see the rototiller, bed, and other items we had seen on the last dive here. There were quite a lot of fish here. The great part about diving at night is the environment is completely different. The fish all have their fins up, and were very docile. There are also a lot more fish to view. It always feels like we are hundreds of metres deep due to the darkness, not the shallow 12m we were at. For some reason we got an extra 2m depth at this spot than the last time we were here, which was an unexpected surprise. We found a small metal bucket which I filled with exhaust air and attached a weight to it and sent it up to the surface. It did, however, come back and knocked me in the noggin. Chuck found a small cement trowel. We saw a large piece of guard rail and a large metal slab and the top of an old oil drum. Sadly we came across the road cone with the model helicopter in it, but someone had removed the helicopter and it was nowhere to be seen. Around 50bar we ascended to the surface and swam back to the dock which Tori and Rob had lit up with candles so we could see them from the water. This was a great dive, and visibility was okay at 6m.

Fort Mississauga Dive Number 120

Sunday, September 30 – 2007
13:15 – 15:20
Dive Number 120
Start: 13:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +23C
Water Temp: +19C
Area: Niagara Region
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 3m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): None!
Maximum Depth: 2m
Plan: Explore the Fort Mississauga Area

Chuck and I kitted up at the parking lot near Ft. Mississauga and made our way down to the beach and into the water which was crystal clear and smooth as glass. We swam out eastbound towards the fort at the mouth of the Niagara River and past the golf course. The bottom was mostly sand with large patches of algae all over it. Some of the algae conformed to the lines of the sand bars. It was a long dive and I found a large metal disc attached to a pipe. Chuck observed what may have been an old cannon ball about the size of a baseball, which he left in the pile of rocks where he observed it.

We swarm around the fort and there wasn't much to see really.

I used the hot-pink 12L aluminum Tank of Tori's as well as my Sherwood 1st stage and Suunto Lux dive computer and aga mask, seaQuest diamond BCD and Tusa Liberator fins. The visibility was not bad at 3m with a maximum depth of only 2m. After the dive we had to use chucks car to help out two blokes in kilts from Ohio as their green Ford car had a dead battery. After we visited Tori who was at work in the government offices, we went to the Cheese Shop in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Welland Canal Dive Number 117

Sunday, September 23 – 2007
13:00 – 13:30
Dive Number 117
Start: 13:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Welland Canal – Port Robinson
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: ½ m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Maximum Depth: 6m
Plan: Try exploring this location again

We parked Chucks car by E.S. Fox in Port Robinson and the large boat ramp. This is the second attempt at diving this location. We kitted up and entered the canal. Bisibility near the shore was very good. As we descended to 6m, the visibility dropped to less than ½ metre. There was a bad algae plume here and we decided to abort the dive again. Perhaps when the water is very cold later in the year we can try again. My aga mask still has the small leak in the forehead.

Old Welland Canal Dive Number 118

Sunday, September 23 – 2007
13:45 – 14:20
Dive Number 118
Start: 13:45
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +28C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Old Welland Canal (Hwy 58 and Canal Bank Road)
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Maximum Depth: 10m
Plan: Explore the Boat Ramp area

We arrived at the boat ramp and kitted up and did I did a giant stride entry and waited in 2m of water for for a few mins until Chuck entered the water and we started our dive and descended to 10m. There wasn't much to see at first, and then the float got caught up in some kind of steel line drawn across the canal which may have been put there for the regattas which go on here from time to time. Chuck freed the float and we continued. We found a few bottles to smash and even Chuck got into the action for a change! We saw lots of discarded rope and flooded marker buoys.

At one point we found a very nice condition dirt-bike tyre lying on it's side on the bottom. I tipped it up, filled it with air and watched it rush up to the surface. We swam away fast so it didn't come back and knock us on the noggin. It was very funny and we both laughed watching the tyre rush to the surface.

Eventually I ran out of air and we surfaced and swam back to the dock. I came out with only 12L in my blue steel tank and my aga mask. This high air useage could be from the seal problem in my aga mask.

Tiller Shipwreck Dive 116

Saturday, September 22 – 2007
09:30 – 10:00
Dive Number 116
Start: 08:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Water Temp: +8C
Area: Tiller Wreck, Lake Ontario
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 7m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck, Dave, Bruce
Dive Wench(es): None
Maximum Depth: 24m
Plan: See the Tiller Wreck Again

Chuck and I arrived at the Beacon Harbourside marine and took a small dive charter boat called "Bottom Time" out to the Tiller Wreck and kitted up. I decided to leave my shoes at the dock so it was one less thing to loose. This left me barefoot for the entire trip. We did a backwards rear-entry into the water then down the buoy line down to 24m where we saw the wreck loom into view. We started on the port side where we could see the large tiller sticking up out of the silt. The wreck was encrusted in zebra muscles. Visibility was amasing but we froze as it was very, very cold at this depth.

It was a great dive, although only 30 mins long due to the great depth.

I met someone on the boat who will send me some photos of the dive.

Bridge Of DEATH (Dive 114)

Monday, September 16 – 2007
16:00 – 18:00
Dive Number 114
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +08C
Water Temp: +10C
Area: Bridge Of Death, Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 1m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Lise
Maximum Depth: 4m
Plan: Not die

Locals say that the bridge on Niagara Street and River Bank road is rarely fished and never swam in. There are rumors of bad undertows as well.

We arrived at an old unused restaurant and kitted up and found a nice enter point down a bit of a slope and into the water along what may have been an old dock or wharf. There was a lot of debris and garbage. We swam around and got a maximum depth of 4m with very low visibility. There appeared to be a slight current here but the silt stirred up very, very easy. We swam towards the bridge and then along side it then up the other side. Nothing of real value or interest was found at this site however that could be due to the low visibility. Chuck did find a trailer license plate C10-49J (Ontario) still with the mounting hardware on it. We removed our gear and headed home. Lise and Tori were our dive wenches.

Found Musket Balls! (Dive 113)

Monday, September 03 – 2007
16:00 – 18:00
Dive Number 113
Start: 16:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +22C
Water Temp: +17C
Area: Fort Mississauga, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva, Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 6m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Brian
Maximum Depth: 4m
Plan: Exploration

We kitted up at the monument by For Mississauga and descended onto the beach then into the water to conduct our final preparations and headed North East in the lake towards the mouth of the river. There were a lot of rocks, aquatic moss and tons of goby fish.

We saw a large bass that was very territorial and followed us at a distance.

As we explored we saw quite a few musket balls and even a rifled musket slug from the war between Canada and the United states in 1812. Unfortunately this site is protected under the Marine Heritage act Section 27, Subsections 48(2) and we could not legally take possession of the musket balls and had to leave them on the bottom – It is a summary conviction offense.

We were out about 1km from shore and reached a depth of a whipping 4 metres. We used up just over ½ a tank of air and then headed back to shore. To head home.

When we arrived home Brian said he had to leave early because his cat had gone over 2hrs without food and would start acting crazy. Shortly after he headed out he called us because he had lost his house keys. We returned to the dive site and grid-searched the area to reveal negative results. We returned to our house to grab some tools to break into Brian's house, and discovered his house keys were laying on the driveway. This quickly diffused the stressful situation.

Found Sunken Pick-up Truck! (Dive 112)

Sunday, September 02 – 2007
11:00 – 13:50
Dive Number 112
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +28C
Water Temp: +16C
Area: Chippawa, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva, Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 6m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Maximum Depth: 12m
Plan: Bottle Dive

We kitted up at the boat ramp and there were only a few boats in the area. As soon as we descended off the end of the boat ramp we discovered a red single cap Dodge Dakota pickup truck with Ontario Plates 608-8AG with a valtag expiry of January 2008!

We surfaced to tell Tori to call the police. The rear plate was very loose and Chuck removed it to bring it up for Tori to call the Police.

After Tori had called the Police we decided to head back out for the dive. We packed the license plate into the dive float to turn it into the police later. Chuck had a problem with Brian's aga mask leaking again and had to go out and change to his normal regulator set.

While he did that I went back to the truck and wrote my name on the bonnet with a dive flag underneath. I started to hear someones regulator breathing and thought "that was fast" and looked over to see two other divers! They were just finishing up their drift dive and getting ready to exit. I wrote Chuck's name on the passenger door with a dive flag as well. The other divers wrote "Wash Me" on the other side of the bonnet of the truck. I surfaced again to find a supervisor in a 'ute had arrived and was talking to Chuck and Tori about the truck, then we descended and started our dive.

As soon as we got to the bottom we saw lots of mailboxes, tons of bottles as this site was once a bottle factory, even pieces of wood, etc. At one point I got separated from Chuck who was experiencing some difficulties when his dive float somehow got filled with water and joined him on the bottom of the river. His float line got caught on a rock and he had to go and free the rock, at the same time seriously binding himself up in the float rope.

I surfaced, being unable to find Chuck and felt somewhat distressed at the fact that I could not see Chuck *or* the dive float for a while!

Eventually I saw Chuck surface and he blew his whistle to let me know he was all right. We joined up to exchange stories and laugh very hard at what happened. We drifted out to our exit point with about 100 bar in my tank. Chuck exited the water and I stayed to burn off the last little bit of air in my tank. I followed the bridge pylons out into the 9m deep water and saw all kinds of debris. Old road marker cones, boat bumpers, computers, televisions and other discarded equipment.

We went to a local Tim Hortons coffee shop afterward and laughed hard about all the adventure. Chuck then turned in the license plate from the pickup truck to the local Niagara Regional Police station on his way home.

Searching For Shipwreck (Dive 111)

Saturday, September 01 – 2007
12:30 – 13:30
Dive Number 111
Start: 12:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +20C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: Port Colborne, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva, Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): Christine, Tori
Maximum Depth: 2m
Plan: Find Shipwreck

A few years back a diver I know by the name of Joe ADAMS told me about a shipwreck. He said go into Port Colborne and follow Lakeshore road Westbound all the way to the end, then turn left on Golf Course Road - follow that road to the end and you will come to a beach In there is a shipwreck still with its cargo of pig iron sitting on the bottom. We followed the directions and arrived at the beach. We kitted up and went out onto the smelly old beach and found nothing but rocks. The depth was very, very shallow. No shipwreck was found. I ripped out the wrist seal on my dry suit taking it off. Catastophic post-dive drysuit failure.

Today is a GOOD day to die! (Dive 110)

Sunday, August 26 – 2007
11:00 – 12:15
Dive Number 110
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +22C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility: 6m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 9m
Plan: Equipment Check

The Klingons Say "Today is a g00d day to die!"

This will be a series of firsts for both Chuck and myself. He is using a new BCD vest which I had in my spare collection as his own BCD is damaged. He is using Brian's Aga mask as it is has a Yoke Valve and we want to keep Brians mask in service so it does not get damaged through sitting. This will be the first time in my entire 17yrs of diving using a dry suit which I bought from a friend of mine a couple of years ago.

We kitted up near the bridge and entered by the steel dock. It was unusual as there were no children or adults around. This is a public park and we are usually always approached by people asking if we are going scuba diving. However one lady walked by with her friend and asked "do you do this for recreation?" We later thought we should have said "No ma'am – we rape and pillage for recreation. This is what we do for a living" We'll have to remember that for next time!

We went down, I had some extra weight as I heard it was recommended for a dry suit – as well as ankle weights. I squatted down under the water with my left arm raised and released all the air out of the suit. I was surprised how well the suit seals worked to keep the water out!

As we descended we were amased at the visibility. The water was smooth as glass and we could see the fishes just suspended in the water, it was incredible. We did find a chair on the bottom stuck in the silt and took turns sitting on it. Chuck and I got separated – but we are both very familiar with this spot and it was no bother as we eventually found each other. Chuck had a few problems with his ear and decided to cut the dive short. I mentioned to him I would just go into some shallow water and burn off the rest of my tank observing the fish. The big fish swam all around me it was quite the experience.

I did find a large metal bin which resembled a plant holder. I decided to try and raise it to take it home. I grabbed it and tried to get it to move. Somehow it was lodged beside a shopping trolley. The water was only about 3m deep so I decided to grab the metal plant holder very hard and inflate my BCD until I started to surface. No avail. I decided that I could inflate my dry suit and get some extra buoyancy – maybe that would get it to work. Still nothing.

There I was sitting on the bottom in 3m of water with a completely inflated BCD and inflated dry suit. Unfortunately I couldn't let go of this metal plant pot to release all the air in my BCD and my dry suit before I let go. I looked up and realised directly above me was a large concrete bridge abutment. I let go of the steel plant pot and swam as hard as I could away from the abutment as I was carried towards the surface. To be sure I didn't get any air trapped in my lungs I screamed all the way up. Defiantly not the safest or smartest thing to do, but the water was shallow – I've ascended faster from deeper depths before today.

I broke the surface so hard I flew up out of the water up to about my waist, then splashed down again. Chuck was sitting on the dock laughing and said "Dude, what the fuck?" I tried to explain to him I was in shallow water, and what had happened. We had a big laugh and then put our gear in the car. We returned to the dock where we met three young girls who were laughing and giggling and having fun. As we filled out our dive logs we talked to them about tattoos and piercings and such.

We had to rush home afterward as it was Tori's birthday party at 14:00hrs. We made it home just in time.

Chippawa Creek Drift Dive 109

Saturday, August 25 - 2007
11:00 – 12:150
Dive Number 109
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 20km
Temp: +26C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Niagara Falls, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast / Light Rain
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck, Phil M.
Maximum Depth: 9m
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Christine
Plan: Exploration

We arrived by the Boathouse Restaurant & parked by the Niagara River only to see a green minivan with a dive float on the roof! Apparently a diver was waiting an hour for his mates and no one else showed up. We kitted up and went to go under but chuck had some issues with the aga mask of Brians and then with his BCD so he decided to aboard. Phil M. and I went on without Chuck. We submerged down to 6m and went with the flow of the river until we felt something grab the dive float and hauled us up to the surface. The float had gotten wrapped around the bridge abutment. I had to battle the extreme current and drag myself by the rope against the current. It was so strong it pinned me upside down against the abutment! I scurried upside down around the abutment and righted myself, then stopped for a moment to figure out what to do. Eventually Phil M. made his way around the abutment and we were off and running again. Phil had no gloves and the rope really hurt his hands. As we progressed I found a health card belonging to an Arab boy (Name listed was Akmed) born in the year 2000. We saw quite a few large timbers and bicycles as well as the old upside down Buick which I first saw on September 07, 2002 (Dive number 68) We surfaced to find we were a little ways from the exit point and submerged again for a while then exited at the boat ramp where Chuck and Tori were waiting for us. We went back to the entrance picked up the cars, then went to the Tim Hortons to Relax. Phil M. could not join us. It was a great dive, sadly chuck had to abort.

Queenston Dock Dive (108)

Sunday, August 19 - 2007
10:30 – 15:00
Dive Number 108
Start: 10:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +18C
Water Temp: +15C
Area: Queenston, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 12m
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Plan: Exploration

This was always a great spot to dive. We kitted up and went in at the public boat dock and started to find b00ty right away. I found a large metal wheel and there were some gigantic fish, muskie, pike, bass and all kinds of other ones. Some almost 1.5m in length!

We made our way over to the jet boat dock and descended into the depths by the steel dock. Chick found a small sign and kitchen knife. I found a spirit level and a small right-angle spirit level. At one point I popped my head up to get my bearings and heard a passenger on the jetboat proclaim "Oh my gawd! Look, there's a..." and submerged quickly. While we were out I saw a fishing line and lure land right infront of me. I grabbed the line and started tugging at it, to my surprise there was someone on the other end tugging back! I took the small right angled level and attached it to the baited fish hook and released it. The last thing we saw was the metal and fishhook disappear towards the surface.

We also saw a large wooden timber and carved our names into it. En-route back to our exit point a fishermen got a line stuck and I went out to retrieve it for him. The current is always very vicious. We saw some of our old favorites on the dive including the upside down smashed pickup truck, blown open safe, and other rubbish. We even found the large steel winch I had pulled to shore over 10yrs ago during a salvage operation at this very site. Under the fishing dock we found a giant seawater crab, still with it's pincers taped shut. I brought it up and set it on the dock – boy did that thing ever smell. A fisherman got angry at us and started to yell because we left it – he kicked it back into the water. As always this was a great dive!
While we were getting our kit off, Chuck chased Tori around with some kelp which made her scream like a girl - it provided some amusement to all.

Jaques Cousteau said in the 1970's that the Great lakes and Niagara River are totally devoid of all life and unworthy of exploration. If he could come back and see the difference the zebra muscles have made. The enviroment is now teaming with life.

Scuba Dive 107

Sunday, August 12 - 2007
13:00 – 15:00
Dive Number 107
Start: 12:45
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +26C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: East Main Street Bridge, Welland
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 9m
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Plan: Find Bodies
We kitted up at the usual spot. Tori and I arrived a little late as we had to stop for petrol for the niva.

We swam across the channel and started our dive. I had some issues with my new solid rubber fins and they took some time to get used to. As expected we saw hundreds of bicycles and scrap metal pipes. Chuck found a small metal chest that was pryed open as well as a bowling ball by brunswick with the name "Steve" etched on it. Chuck also found two pieces of parking meters.

At one point we surfaced and Chuck loudly proclaimed "I found myself a hoe!" and raised up a large garden hoe he found.

We also found some construction vests.

My biggest fear was that the bowling ball would come loose in the dive float and hit me on the head. Chuck also found a large glass beer much, although quite disgusting we were sure it would serve great grog for the wenches when it was cleaned up!

We surfaced with around 80 bar and swam around towards the bridge where we met several young boys who of course asked what we found. I tried to retrieve a bike for them, as I did – one boy jumped from the bridge overhead narrowly missing me as he hit the water. I decided to get out of that area and head back to the car. It was a great dive with lots to see. Tori was our dive wench for the day.

Divers and Pirates Get All The Booty!! 200708-06

Monday, August 06 - 2007
10:15 – 13:45
Start: 10:45
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +26C
Area: Decew Falls
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Trail Conditions: Dry dirt
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Chuck
Plan: Explore the Decew Falls Basin to see if it's worthy of a Scuba Dive

10:15 We arrived fairly early after meeting up with Chuck. Grabbed mask, fins, snorkel, and wet-suit to make our way to Decew Falls.

10:45 We arrived at the Decew Morningside Mill and showed one of several new rope-entry points, then went back to the car to get all of our gear.

10:54 We headed back on the trails to a very steep rocky incline where we slowly descended using a thin yellow rope to the canyon where we followed a trail along to the first small waterfall and got some photos, then on to the large waterfall where we surveyed the site then kitted-up for our exploration. We went into the warm clear, waters to find the bottom covered in rocks. There wre schools of bright blue minnows and a few goby. I also observed hundreds of crayfish. We scoured the bottom back and forth in the 1.5m deep water. Chuck found a dive mask, a pair of pink girls shoes, broken sunglasses and a 2004 Twenty Dollar Canadian note! We swam around and snorkeled under the falls and had a great time. Wolf found some car keys for a dodge Ram and a Canadian dime. We spent about an hour at the base of the falls and the basin. We concluded our exploration and headed back to shore. As we got out, we were joined by two young college girls.

With our gear still on, we went up to the small waterfall and got some great photos. On the way down, we saw a small crayfish who was climbing the waterfall & photographed him. Tori attempted to rescue him and put him into deeper water but dropped him into the water.

Chuck found a few large bones at the base of the waterfall. We wondered where they came from or whose they were.

We took the time to go into the mine, but with no torches we could not go in very far. We came down from the hill with the mine on it and doffed our equipment, packed up and filled out the journal near the base of the water-fall.

13:19 We started heading back

13:30 We ascended the canyon and started to head back to the vehicle.

13:41 We returned to the vehicle and relaxed for a few mins, looked at the photos then chuck took us out to lunch with the $20.00 booty he found.

Divers and Pirates get all the booty!

Niagara River Dive 105

Sunday, July 29 - 2007
10:18 – 10:40
Dive Number 105
Start: 10:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: Upper Niagara River
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Visibility: 2m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 2m
Shore Crew: Tori
Plan: Drift Dive

We met at the Gillmore road truck stop and Chuck took us to the exit point and then to the entry point by the Train Bridge.

We kitted up and went in near a small bay. Chuck noticed my male parts weren't properly connecting to my female parts and I was leaking air at my high pressure hose and 1st stage.

We decided to abort the dive and just dive in the bay for a bit. I spent some time admiring the abundance of fish: Goby, Bass, Striped bass, etc. I found a crayfish to play with who was hiding in some rocks.

I ended the dive and headed back to the car to go home and swap reg sets.

Downtown Welland Dive 106

Sunday, July 29 - 2007
15:00 – 16:30
Dive Number 106
Start: 14:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: East Main Street Bridge, Welland
Vehicle: Chuck's Black Sunfire
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 2m
Shore Crew: Tori, Christine
Plan: Exploration

As we were kitting up, we were approached by a local crack-whore who told us her entire life story, then the cops came and chased her away.

At the dive site there were lots of children who asked us if we were going to go scuba diving. We advised them we come here every few weeks to look for the bodies.

As we descended we saw so many bikes and even steel cables with large lead weights on the bottom. As we went toward the bridge Chuck found that ladder he saw at the end of the last dive but after uncovering it, he discovered it was only 3 rungs. We found dozens of bikes and shopping carts. Nearer to the big bridge I found a small two wheeled scooter. We found some gigantic gears from the bridge on the bottom. On one gear sprocket I found an old hammer. The hammer provided lots of amusement for smashing rocks and bottles and even attempts to hit some local fish. The thought was to hit the fish in the head with a hammer so Chuck could skewer the fish with his knife. As we suspected the fish were faster than our hammer swinging and stabbing hands. Chuck found a good sized bucket and breathed exhaust bubbles into it, turning it into a lift bucket, until it got too full and shot to the surface with Chuck attached.

The dive progressed with us seeing even more bikes. On our way back to the starting point we even found the dead salamander I squeezed a few dives back. There was so much to see on this dive. Bikes, giant sprockets, giant carp about 1m long! When we arrived back to the dock, Chuck finally got tied up instead of me all the time. To Chucks humor, I got tied up when trying to untie him. We stripped off our gear and headed over to our local Tim Horton's to relax and laugh. So much happened on this dive it was difficult to remember it all and write it down. While we were exiting the water we came across a young teenage girl standing in the water with pink painted toenails wearing only her bra and panties. She was falling out of her bra and her panties were quite revealing. Apparently she was nicely shaved.

It was a great dive with a very safe and experienced dive partner! Can't wait to visit this location again. Chuck found himself a chrome cigarette case, a fishing rod reel, and some carbiners which he found attached to some downed steel cable. This location is worthy of more diving.

Scuba Dive Number 104

Sunday, July 22 - 2007
11:00 – 12:15
Dive Number 104
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Ryerson Park, Lake Ontario Dive
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Visibility: 3m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 3m
Shore Crew: Tori
Plan: Attempt to find the Ryerson Park Shipwreck

Chuck arrived right on time! We left my house in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and headed for Ryerson Park. We parked on the street and got kitted up and entered in by the metal stairs. Chruch was a little underweight and needed some rocks in his BCD.

Shortly before Chuck started diving, a small middle-eastern man asked Chuck "So, are you going scuba diving?" after he was standing in the water all kitted up.

We headed out into the lake in seach of the wreck. The bottom controu has changed quite a lot since the last time I was here. The bottom was completely covered in algae and large rocks. We saw several large Bass and had some fun trying to lure them close enough to grab (which never actually works) Chuck grabed some large rocks and smashed off a zebra muscles. I joined in with the zebra mussel destruction festivities.

We reached a maximum depth of 3m. We tried hard to find the wreck but with visibility very low we could not see it. As with the last dive I got all bound up in the rope from the dive float again – this time it was because my Mares Volo fins are damaged and the rope got inside some of the jagged edges. This time I got free without chuck untying me!

At around 90bar I signaled to chick to head back to the shore. We collected our gear and returned to shore. We collected our gear and returned to the Niva to take everything off and sit on the benches for a bit to shoot the breeze.

Dive 103 - Lake Ontario

Sunday, July 15 - 2007
11:45 – 13:00
Dive Number 103
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Water Temp: +10C
Area: Chuck's Secret Lake Ontario Dive
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Visibility: 3m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 4m
Shore Crew: Lise, Tori
Plan: Explore the Secret Location in search of shipwrecks.

Chuck arrived a little early at my place in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and we started off by going up the QEW to casablanca blvd to a very bumpy and pot-hole filled role. Chuck showed us evidence of pottery and china which were scattered all over the beach. We got kitted up and headed to the water to find it was very, very cold. We swam out and did a large semi-circle. E saw lots of rocks, goby and found two steel pipes with pointed ends. Chuck's rod was bigger than my rod. We found some large dead fish to which I poked in the eye to be sure it was dead, and we found a toilet seat cover which provided some amusement. At one point I was kind of tied up in the dive flag rope, and tried to free myself. I ended up turning over, flipping around and other unusual things to find myself even more bound up. Chuck had to untie me. We headed back to shore to take of our kit. Sadly we did not find a shipwreck or debris field even in the 4m water. Today Lise and Tori were our shore crew. It was a fun dive at a cool location. The large bumpy road was irresistible for me with the Lada 4wd. I decided to drive down the road very fast and hard, Lise took some photographs. The niva flew up in the air on the bumps and really took a beating. It was great fun! Afterwards we went to a local coffee shop to relax and share stories.

Queenston Mines Expedition

Saturday, July 14 - 2007
10:00 – 13:50
Start: 10:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 18km
Temp: +14C
Area: Queenston Mines
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Trail Conditions: Dry dirt
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Lise
Plan: Explore the Queenston Caves

10:00 On-site, embark to the caves

10:20 Pass the crane and rock pile to take a rest and fill-out log sheets. It looks like it might rain.

10:40 We arrived at the mouth of the caves and suited-up with hard-hats, wet suits, and gloves. Heavy boots and torches. Sadly our main UK lamp was out of batteries so we were unable to use it.

11:00 We entered into the caverns. As always were confronted by knee-deep muck and lots of rocks. Th water did not seem as cold now as the last visit back in April. Lise had some difficulties navigating the water and thick silt. We went around counter-clockwise from the entrance.

11:25 Around 1/2hr after entering the caverns, Lise was having some troubles breathing and we decided to end the expedition. We headed back to the entrance and Lise left the caverns. Wolf stayed behind and waited for Tori, who was barefoot to enter the caves and make thier way to the grotto for some more photographs then headed out, and stripped to change.

12:00 We all left the caverns to relax and review the photos and enjoy the day as it is very peaceful and quiet here. There aren't any people here mostly because it looks like it may rain anytime. As we relaxed we took the time to take some nude photos of Wolf in the caverns.

12:57 We all packed up and headed back to the Niva and then home for lunch.

13:18 Tori sustained an injury to her right foot on a rock.

13:22 We reached the old crane and sat down to dress and clean her right injured foot. Brian called to notify me of a Niva for sale in Niagara Falls in great condition for around $1,000

13:30 Return to the trail and head for home.

13:44 We arrived back at the car, a little tired. Always saddened at the end of a hike. Wolf wore a brown mandarin collar shirt, camouflage pants, Tori wore black pants, and a camouflage t-shirt. List wore a pale green t-shirt and blue shorts with red shoes and a Canadian forces baseball hat. It was a great time for a hike an an excellent exploration.

13:50 Head for home.

Underwater Exploration #102

Sunday, July 08 - 2007
10:00 – 11:30
Dive Number 102
Start: 09:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Area: East Main Street bridge
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Visibility: 3m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Shore Crew: Lise, Tori
Plan: Explore the East Main Street Canal Area

Chuck arrived a little late, we had Lise and Tori as shore crew. We suited up and entered at the normal entry point under the Division Street bridge. We swam northbound along the river bed towards the steel lift bridge. We come across lots of shopping carts, bicycles, beer cans and debris. We saw the inside parts of a parking meter and towards the lift bridge large wooden piles under the bridge as well. Chuck started to run low on air and we headed back Chuck found an almost new purple bike and wanted to bring it back, but it was too much work for him as he was out of air. En-route back I found a gigantic dead salamander about 50cm long and brought it up to show chuck who seemed to be less than enthusiastic about my find as he later stated it was dripping white goo from tis mouth. It was a great dive, afterward we went to Tim Hortons to relax and exchange stories.

Seaway Hike - June 12, 2007

Tuesday, June 12 - 2007
11:30 – 13:30
Start: 11:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +28C
Area: St. Lawrence Seaway, Thorold, Ontario Canada
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Trail Conditions: Dry dirt
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Lupis, Merlin, Morgana
Plan: Find the East side trail from the rail bridge to the Siren Sounds dam.

We were supposed to do this hike with my old friend Sarah G. but sadly her mobile phone was off after repeated calls. We have been hiking the seaway property for years but have never discovered an Eastern route from the train bridge to the Siren Sounds dam (The dam got it's name from the giant letters spray painted on it which state "Danger when SIREN SOUNDS beware of large waves")

11:30 We arrived off Glendale ave. to Old Seaway Haulage Road to discover the remnants of an old Jimmy 4x4 truck, badly vandalised. While we were examining it, a Seaway truck pulled up and questioned us about the vehicle.

11:54 Arrive at the starting point for our hike.

12:18 We arrived on the East side of the old locks after crossing the train bridge and got some photos, then headed on.

12:40 We headed up part of the escarpment only to find ourselves right beside Walker Industries Quarry. Aparantly we are on a Bruce Trail side trail according to the blue trail markers.

12:51 We saw in the distance the Siren Sounds dam as we descended the steep hills. En-route down the dam, Tori slipped on some rocks and scraped up her right underneath. I administered some first aid in the form of cleaning the area with Purell steraliser.

12:55 We stopped at the dam to rest and give the dogs some water

13:24 After a nice rest, we took the dirt-road trail back to the truck, on our way we found someones g-string underwear hanging from a tree. Defiantly worth the photos! We arrived back at the truck safely. Wolfs right arm is still troubling him from the motorcycle accident a few days earlier and Tori's right arm in pain from the scrape. Tori wore her black pants, grey & blue striped shirt, adventure hat and camelbak viper backpack. Wolf wore his Keen shoes, camouflage pants, brown ex-officio Jeep shirt, Adventure hat, camelbak viper backpack and black radical riding gloves.

Niagara Gorge - May 29 - 2007

Tuesday, May 29 - 2007
12:15 - 15:45
Start: 12:30
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +19C
Area: Niagara Gorge, Niagara Falls Canada
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Trail Conditions: Dry rock
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Lupis, Merlin, Morgana
Plan: Use the metal stairs and hike barefoot in the gorge

12:15 We arrived at the top of the gorge but now there is some Indian totem thing in the field. I wondered to the ticket wicket to ask and was told by the asian man in the wicket that you can still get to the steel metal stairs.

12:30 We headed out onto the trails and down the steel steps. The scenery here is always beautiful. Giant rocks, huge towering trees, and ferns. We made our way down to the waters edge of the magnificent Niagara river.

12:45 We arrived at the edge of the river and spent some time on a large rock and got some great photographs

13:41 We headed back to the trails and cool canopy of the forest floor to begin our hike. It is very relaxing here. We followed along the river trail which I saw up top was listed as partially closed.

14:18 We found a small natural spring which has been here for many moons. There was a lot of fallen rock that had come from the cliffs above. We met a couple – man in sandals, beige shorts and grey shirt, woman in white running shoes, white shorts and top with medium length blond hair. They were enamored by the dogs and took photos of Merlin and Morgana. They also found it amasing we hike barefoot.

14:40 We came out of the closed trail onto the regular blue trail pathway and stopped to fill out the logbook. We have already used small tripod Brian bought me for my birthday quite a few times. It's a very useful tool.

15:02 We headed up to where the blue trail joins the green trail and started to head back towards the truck. We stopped to give the dogs water and passed a couple from Texas or the deep south by their accent. They said they lost their black lab a few months ago. He had trouble with his back-end and they had to have him killed. I wore my camouflage pants, an ex-officio brown shirt with Jeep patch, black hat and our new Camelbak Viper hydration packs. Tori wore her black cargo pants, light blue and purple wavey-patterned shirt and beige adventure hat with camelbak viper hydration pack. We had a great hike which was quite relaxing even with the dogs. By the end of the hike, Tori's ankle was troubling her and she had to take one of her pain pills.

15:38 We got back to the truck and headed home after filling out the hike journal.

Birthday Dive! Celebrating 100 Logged dives!!

Monday, May 21 – 2007
13:00 – 14:30
Start: 13:00
Roads: Dry / Clear
Surface Visibility: 24km
Visibility at depth: 30m
Temp (air): +23C
Temp (at depth): +10C
Location: East Main Street Bridge, Welland
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Bright and Sunny
Water Conditions: Calm
Divers: Tori & Wolf
Plan: Birthday Dive for Wolf – Dive #100!

We packed up and headed out to the East Main Street Bridge in Welland, Ontario to do my 100th logged dive which also happens to fall on my 31st birthday. 100 Logged dives is a milestone in your diving career as it is supposed to be when everything comes together and makes you a more firm diver. I passed 100 dives many moons ago but now it is official. Unfortunately during my teen years I dived with people who used to laugh when I kept records and as a result dove for many years without a logbook.

More importantly we arrived around 12:0hrs and parked on King street and struggled into our dive gear and headed to the edge of the water which has a nice steel wharf to finish getting our gear on. As I always to do protect her damaged ankle I assembled all of her gear then took it to the waters edge. I then helped Tori kit up then she swam out to the bridge pylon to wait for me. We descended to 8m and swam northbound along the bank at a depth of 12m. We saw quite a few shopping carts, bicycles, parts of equipment and other rubbish. Tori had no real problems on this dive which is her 58th logged dive. There were lots of gobies all over the bottom. As I only had ½ tank of air we couldn't dive very long. I used the large steel 180cu and my Ag mask. It was a great dive on a great and beautiful day. Albeit a little strange diving in the middle of a city.

After the dive we spent some time on the east riverbank and relaxed and filled out our dive logs. Christine came with us and brought Lupis so he could spend the day out and get some fresh air.

First Dive of the year!

Saturday, May 19 – 2007
12:30 – 14:00
Start: 12:30
Roads: Dry / Clear
Surface Visibility: 24km
Visibility at depth: 10m
Temp (air): +22C
Temp (at depth): +5C
Location: Ryerson park, Niagara-on-the-Lake
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Bright and Sunny
Water Conditions: Light Chop
Divers: Tori & Wolf
Plan: Do a test dive for sorting out any equipment issues.

This is logged dive number 99 (actual dive 400+), First dive of 2007. Last dive was August of 2006.We arrived at Ryerson Park around 12:00 and got all kitted up with our wet suits, hoods, gloves, boots, BCD's Tank, Mask, Fins, etc. With Tori having a damaged ankle, I carried all her equipment down to the waters edge on some rocks, then when she arrived I got her all ready for the dive, then got myself ready. To help prevent any issues with Tori's mask improperly sealing – we put some vasoline on the rim so it would seal to her face a little better.

We went in to about chest-deep water and we went under and sat down for a while to get used to the conditions. Our masks sealed perfectly. The lack of weight on Tori's body made it good for her ankle. After about 10 mins of sitting in the frigid water, no real faults were found with our gear and we decided we should head Westbound along the sandbar and at least get a dive in. We found lots of rocks – visibility was good at 10m We broke a few beer bottles and found a couple of small dead minnows.

Eventually after about 70 mins we found that the water was just too cold to continue and we headed back towards shore from our maximum depth of 3 metres. We got back to land to find the park had filled up with people. We struggled to get us and our gear back to the truck then sat and relaxed for a bit. It was a boring dive, but important that we found the vasoline helped Tori's mask. We will have to get the proper silicone sealer for her mask so it doesn't damage it. Boring – but any dive is a great dive.

Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia Hike - May 08 - 2007

Tuesday, May 08 - 2007
14:00 - 16:00
Start: 14:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +18C
Area: Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia Canada
Vehicle: 2005 Freightliner Straight Truck
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Trail Conditions: Some mud spots
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Lupis
Plan: Hike up the North Mountain Range, Annapolis Valley

We embarked en-route to Nova Scotia around noon on May 10th, 2007 for an amasing journey. Tori and i have never really been out east together. The scenery is so amasing. We managed to get ahead of schedule and take a couple of hours off.

We arrived in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia and took some great photographs. We headed through town on Highway 1 then came across old Chute Road. We stopped the truck and got our gear and headed down Chute Road which was a dirt road which seemed to go on forever. Shortly after embarking up the road we ran into a very friendly lady with two dogs who said that the truck would safely make it down the road right to the end so we could get to the base of the mountain and make our ascent. We promptly hopped back into the truck and slowly drove up the road to not throw any stones and damage the vehicle.

As we were told, we ended up at the end of the dirt-road section of Chute road and before us lay a very long, beat-up goat-path looking road which hopefully will lead to the top of the mountain and Tellier lake. Tori and I own 20 acres of land encompassing almost all of Tellier lake.

Parking the truck we started the ascent up Old Chute Road towards the summit. The scenery was amasing. This place is so breathtakingly beautiful. Our ascent must have taken us over 500m up the mountain, through beautifully rugged and battered terrain. We came upon a sign that said "You're half way to mountain-top-time!" which was encouraging.

We spent over an hour ascending the pathway and stopped for some phenomenal photographs and a couple of rocks for Christine and myself to remember this great hike. I even ran into a beautiful small waterfall which ran near the pathway.

Sadly we ran out of time at 2hrs and had to return to the truck and get back to work. This place left a mark in my mind of how beautiful Canada really is outside of Southern Ontario where I currently reside. It is so peaceful here, the people so friendly. I am very saddened by not having the time to fully find Tellier Lake, but determined to revisit this great place in the near future.

The Darkness Beckons...

Sunday, April 29 – 2007
12:15 – 16:11
Start: 12:15
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +18C
Area: Queenston Quarry
Vehicle: Blue Pontiac Grand Prix
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Trail Conditions: Some mud spots
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Christine
Plan: The Darkness Beckons... Explore the Queenston Caves
Equipment: Wet suits, steel-toed boots, bump cap and Petzel headlight, 2 Diving Torches (Underwater Kinetics) 2, 100ft lengths of rope, 6 glow sticks, tie-wraps, 3 strobe lights, equipment vest and hydration pack. We are missing one equipment harness, a bump cap and headlamp.

11:50 We stopped at shoppers Drug Mart in Niagara-On-the-Lake for batteries for the torches then onto the small parking lot by the 405 highway in queenston.

12:15 Put on all our packs and head out to the caves

12:30 We pass the old crane area and a girl in denim with very muddy bare feet and muddy sandals asking if we had seen her partner with a fishing rod.

12:43 We pass the small pretty valley with the Niagara Falls Native club marker

12:50 We descend the staircase marked 1000

12:55 A little tired from carrying all the gear, we arrived at the cave mouth and relaxed a little before putting on all our gear.

13:45 After struggling to get ready we descend into the darkness. The water was just above freezing, about 1m deep with very thick and deep sediment. Heading in a counter-clockwise direction we headed through the deep sediment and we came across a few sand-bar like areas which led-off to caves in the distance. We stayed in sections we could stand or almost stand-up in. As we circled around we saw a few small bats flying around as we disturbed them. My feet were very uncomfortable in the Cat Walking Machines I was wearing. Tori's feet also uncomfortable as the wet-suit socks pinched our feet as they made our shoes too small. There were a dozen or so small entrances allowing light into the caves. Tori's UK light failed and so did her backup light. I used my back-up Petzel head lamp and she used my large UK torch. Tori said she got very cold with only her thin summer gloves on. We came across a large amount of debris like wood, pop bottles, pipes, and other rubbish. The caves were spectacular to behold. They were very large and seemed to go on forever in all directions. We will be able to make multiple trips here and still not see everything.

14:30 Tori's feet were sore and she was cold so we decided to head back out of the caves. Before we exited we saw an area which would have been easily accessible and had paintings of someones hand and several white dots on the rocks. Excited but a little tired we headed out of the caves and stripped off our wetsuits and gear to relax in the sun. It was so quiet here. Off in the distance we could hear all kinds of birds. Tori made the hike here barefoot for comfort of her damaged ankle.

15:10 We started to pack up the gear and were joined by three cyclists who asked what was in there and see if we saw any remnants of an old washing machine – which we did no see.

15:14 We met a few people who came to scope-out the caves for something called geocaching. Apparently one of them was from the Toronto caving club.

15:30 We bid farewell to our caverns and headed up along the trail towards the car.

15:40 Passed the little Niagara Falls Nature Club marker and scenic valley

15:52 Passed the old crane structure en-route back to the car.

16:00 Tori hiked completely barefoot to help her sore ankle. It seems to be the only way she can hike without any pain. She kicked a branch with her right toe and cut it open, not very seriously.

16:11 We arrived back at the car and opened the boot to deposit our packs. We sat out for a bit to relax. Tori wore her black pants, red shirt and adventure hat. Wolf wore his camouflage pants, cross-toe Tevas, denim shirt and adventure hat. The walk was very tiring back to the car, but we are both excited to have the opportunity to go into the cave system.

16:35 We arrived home safely and unpacked our wet and muddy gear. Tori rested her sore ankle as she will be out of commission for a few days now.

Found Some Caves in Queenston, Ontario

Thursday, April 26. 2007
11:30 – 15:00
Start: 11:50
Roads: Damp from rain
Visibility: 18km
Temp: +8C
Area: Niagara
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Overcast with some showers
Trail Conditions: Light mud
Hikers: Wolf, Tori, Lupis, Dogs
Plan: Find the caves by the Queenston Quarry

According to a small map we found on http://www.infoniagara.com, The bruce trail has a small section near the beginning which goes on the North Side of the quarry and leads off to the caves. Although we don't expect the caves to be very much, they may be worth a short hike to find out.

11:30 We set out to head towards the queenston quarry and will most likely park at one of the small parking lots listed on the east side of portage road up by the St. David's horseshoe club. We found a small parking lot and put the truck there. M erlin refused to listen and injured himself jumping out of the truck. We got the dogs ready and set-out on the trails around 11:50. We headed down towards the quarry and descended to the quarry floor and walked along it to the North East side past lots of rocks and along a steep cliff. We stopped to take some photographs only to find we left the CF card for the camera at home. Angered – a quick flick into the hard rocks and boulders brought a quick end to the old HP 315 camera. We followed alongthe North wall of the quarry but did not come across any caves or even crevasses.

12:45 We stopped on the bleak but beautiful landscape to fill out our journal.

13:20 In a patchwork attempt to link back-up with the Bruce Trail and head back to the truck, we headed North West from the Quarry. Tori's ankle has been starting to trouble her. Some time ago she severely sprained it in an accident at work and was laid off as a result. When we hike now, she always has trouble with it. There is no way she could stand for 8hrs per day at her old job. A short 3 to 4 hr hike will lay her up for two days afterward. The scenery where we stopped is totally different here. Several large rock piles and outcroppins have given way to a beautiful rugged grass covered field dotted with lots of small ponds. Merlin and Morgana headed off to explore while I sat and Tori rested her ankle for a while.

13:38 Shortly after a break we started following a large stone-packed trail. The trail led off to one side where we saw several dozen large boulders all lined up. Just behind the boulders led us to a startling discovery – the mouth of the cave system we had been seeking! I slipped off my pack and got-out my new silver LED torch I'd just bought yesterday and descended into the caves. They were dark and somewhat filled with water. Sadly no camera. We went in with the dogs as far as we could with our galoshes, then stopped to enjoy this amasing discovery. We used the LED torch to see off as far as we could, then headed out of the caves. I sat on a rock by an old campfire while Tori headed up to look for our position. She found this trail area links up directly to the Bruce Trail. We sat and relaxed for a while as we are both very amased and pleased at ourselves. The cave entrance has some trees around it – perfect for our lines. This place is defiantly what we were seeking.

13:58 We decide to head back towards the truck.

14:03 The cave-trail links up with the Bruce Trail at a section that splits off three ways like a chickens foot. To the far right trail is a small hill / slope. Wolf wrote the word "caves" with an arrow pointing in the direction for further reference when we come back in the future. We headed E.N.E. On the bruce trail back towards the truck. Songbirds could be heard on the trees in the distance.

14:06 We went up a staircase with a metal label "1000" on a tree beside them.

14:13 We passed a beautiful little valley covered with large boulders covered in moss A beautiful scene. A marker post marked "Niagara Falls Nature Club" stands at the nicest viewing area. This post will be our "almost there" marker when we come back with the proper equipment to explore the cave.

14:27 We passed by the ruins of what could be an old crane or water tower. The aroma of a recent campfire still lingers in the area.

14:42 We were very close to the truck when we passed a couple – the girl holding fishing poles and wearing blue nylon pants and bright green flip-flips with perfectly painted blood red toes.

14:45 Shortly after we arrived back at the truck and completed our hike journal. Wolf wore galoshes, camouflage pants, denim shirt, hiking jacket and adventure hat. Tori wore galoshes, black pants and red shirt with her hiking jacket and adventure hat. Tori used her Schratt 1803 hiking poles which she said helped prevent a few further injuries to her ankle but required more effort to use. Tori and the dogs are very tired. Wolf is a little tired, but still happy about the discovery of the caves. We will start making an equipment list and have to come back soon.

14:50 We packed the dogs and daypack into the truck and headed for home. Wolf brought along the Brunton Nomad electric compass for the first time since we bought it several years ago. Although we did not really use it, it was good to have although a G.P.S. Unit would have been more useful. We arrived home safely just as a very bad rainstorm dumped on us. Good thing we got off the trails when we did.

Rattlesnake Park - April 22 - 2007

Sunday, April 22, 2007
10:50 – 15:00
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / Clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +20C
Area: Halton Hills
Vehicle: Suburban
Weather: Clear with some wind
Trail Conditions: Dry / stone packed
Hikers: Christopher, Sly, Fabian, Tori, Wolf, Christine
Plan: Hike Escarpment Trail

This is the first time we have hiked with Christopher, Sly and Fabian. We arrived around 11:00 at Rattlesnake park and paid the fees to get in. We hiked around the look out trail and took lots of photographs. On the way to the long trail, Wolf found a cave opening and Christopher took some photos of Wolf in the cave. As we went further along we came to a cave where we saw some young guys going end to end in the cave. Tori, Wolf and Fabian decided to go as well. Unfortunatly Wolf did not fit. We headed up the trail and around 12:30hrs stopped for lunch at this very fabulous look out full of giant rocks. We sat on an outcropping and watched the giant hawks and turkey-vultures glide through he air on the wind-whipped hills. We brought some canned ham and tuna and had lunch with Christopher, Sly and Fabian. The view here is spectacular as I write the log for this hike. My pith hat is actually keeping me shaded and very cool by it's design. After lunch we headed along the trail to find even more crevasses. As we went to go into a crevasse, Christine sat on a rock and somehow slipped off, and tumbled backwards, cracking her head on a rock. She felt very lightheaded. The photo opportunities in the crevasse were spectacular. We continued on a little ways more then Christine started to feel lightheaded and dizzy so we headed back towards the truck. We arrived back at the truck using a nice smooth trail. By 15:16 we packed the dogs in the truck and relaxed a little bit. Fabian spilled pop in Sly's shoes and she had to return home barefoot. Wolf wore his Keen sandals, gaiters and 9 pocket EMS pants, grey ex-officio shirt, pith hat and open-finger gloves. Tori wore her Teva's, black pants and Harry Potter red T-shirt. We all had a good time, even though most of us are quite tired and pooped. We took Christopher, Sly, and Fabian home and returned to our home. We did take our hiking pioles but the terrain was so easy we did not need them. We all dressed for rugged, harsh conditions, but were surprised to see how easy the trails were. All the rock climbers and others were much more nicely dressed than us. Christine still feels bad from the knock on the head and put some ice on it at home. We all had a great time, but certainly it was not as challenging as expected.