Georgian Bay - Golden Sword Island

After a stop in Bing Inlet at the always accommodating Wrights Marina, where they loaned us their car for a long trip to Parry Sound for groceries and some sightseeing, Last Dance made a short trip to Golden Sword Island for a beautiful, secluded anchorage.  Few venture into the coves behind Golden Sword and neighboring Black Bay because the waters are not charted on the Canadian charts.  The outlines of the closest islands are on the charts, but no water depths are given.  With many shallow spots and often large rocks hiding under the surface, it is a must to have some local knowledge or to scout the waters with a dinghy and depth sounder before bringing in the cruising boat.

Three or four islands toward the mainland, a cove was lying between islands providing protection from the high winds forecast.

The island and the land in the Golden Sword area is referred to by the Canadians as "Crown Land", meaning that it is owned by the federal government.  The philosophy in Canada is that if the land is owned by the people, through the government, it is open to the people.  So the shorelines are available for landing and the islands open to hiking.  Georgian Bay and North Channel often have smooth, rounded rocks along the shore which make for easy and secure dinghy landings.

While some islands form coves suitable for anchoring, others create narrow passes of water between them, appropriate for exploration by dinghy and/or kayak.  The pink granite, tree-topped islands make for beautiful viewing and hiking.

And, even narrower passages.

The Inuit indigenous peoples built human-like statues of rocks as a symbol of welcoming or to point to a turn in a trail.  That history and tradition is often duplicated by visitors, leaving an Inukshuk constructed of rocks found along the water.

Nature's Garden.  One hike passed by a beautiful garden created by nature.  Along side, a still pond a garden had planted itself, with a variety of different plants, some flowering, in a mound of moss that had grown in a rock indentation.  There is no soil here, just the moss holding the moisture.

The soil on these rock islands is created over millions of years by mosses, then plants taking root and the remainders of the plant life, such as dead leaves, stacking up and deteriorating into a natural mulch.  Some plants require very little soil to grow.  This blueberry bush has begun life in a small crack in the rock island.  The leaves are red due to a long drought this spring.  Even with the lack of water, this plant has set some blueberries.  One of the adventures of hiking in these areas is finding wild blueberries.  2016 was one of the worst years for this tasty fruit due to a late frost killing blossoms and the drought starving the plants for water.




Wildlife encounters are always a highlight for the Last Dance crew, to the degree that some of them are highlighted here in the blog.  The wildlife encounter at Golden Sword was a first for the crew.  As Jill was picking blueberries on one of the islands, she stepped back onto a rock.  It made a noise, so she removed her foot and continued picking blueberries.  Later, she stepped back again on the rock and it made the same noise.  Looking among the rocks revealed the source of the noise.

This is a Massauga Rattlesnake.  It is the only snake species in Canada that is poisonous.  Fortunately, these snakes are shy and not aggressive.  Of course, if you step on one or stick your hand into a blueberry bush where one is hiding, they will bite, with unpleasant aftereffects.

In case you need to see the rattle on the tail, here is an image from a bit farther away.

Pickings were slim, but enough blueberries were harvested for a recipe that always delights the crew.

Blueberry muffins, one of the many joys experienced near Golden Sword Island.