A Tour Of An Abandoned RR Track on The West Side of the Vermilon River. A Post to Sky Watch.

The Vermilon River  to the NW, and no, we're not going that way. That's a 1000 mile hike .You up to it,I'm not.

The Vermilon never totally freezes, as it's ultimately a tributary of the Great Lakes.



This is the abandoned RR right of way. Hugin, the Raven will guide us.




He'll watch as we make our way, and protect us.



We'll be watched the whole way.

We have Red squirrels here, no gray or black.



They're residents, and very well adapted to a coniferous forest.




The Black-capped Chickadee is well adapted physically and socially to this forest.



His social hierarchy is vocal and he will tell other birds that chum around with him where the food is.



Northern RedPolls ,a female in this case, is an interloper from the tundra forest north of here.



She's a beauty isn't she?

This is our errant male. See the red bib.



A concerned person maintains about 10 feeding stations deep in the forest.



This is one of them. Standing in this area, about 50 feet wide, is like playing St. Francis standing in the middle of huge flocks of birds flying around your head.



This is the rapids and the end of the trip.




Looks cold.

The round trip was about 4 miles. I like this trip in the winter because the trail is good and usually a snowmobile has been through compacting the snow. Rails, ties and gravel have removed meaning the trail is smooth. I didn't show you the wetlands at the sides of the trail as the Vermilon is an old meandering river. Where the ice meets water there is that wonderful gurgling sound. You probably noticed the copper colour of the water. That is the result of the mineral deposits in the rock.Yes, we could have stopped to pan for gold, but it's cold, and we are unlikely to get rich anyway. The rapids are of course not the end of the river, but only the end of the trail as the cross bridge was removed years ago.

 This is just one of my hikes. They are virtually unlimited and when I asked you if you were good for a 1000 miles that's how far we could go in any direction.

Remember, this is not a state or provincial park area, it is a wilderness and the animals and birds are all wild. The upside is that you'll hardly see anybody for miles and miles. By the way those RedPoll flocks had about 100 birds in them, never mind the chickadees or other groups that were there. Of course Boom was with me on this trip and carried some equipment in his saddlebags, but I did not take any other lens or the tripod ,so the scenery shots were all taken with the 150-500mm lens, moving  me back to compensate. I like to take Boom with me at this time of year, because soon the bears will be moving around and Boom can smell a cranky bruin at quite a distance.

I hope you enjoyed the hike. I've another one lined up to Mystic Lake which is in another direction.

A Post to Sky Watch Friday @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/