Murad Aljafari 4/4/21 Murad Aljafari 4/4/21

Sunrise at Little Troubt Bay Lookout

Little Trout Bay is a beautiful conservation area that was acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada a few years ago. It is located about half an hour to the south of Thunder Bay. You take Highway 61 and head south and then turn left when you reach the Little Trout Bay road.

There are a few beautiful trails there; one starts from the main parking lot, and the other by driving to the very end of the road and starting from there. This latter trailhead offers quicker access to the lookout I was heading to, but the other one is more scenic. I chose the shorter trail to be sure I am not late.

I used PhotoPills to figure out when the sun would rise from a certain direction at Little Trout Bay Conservation Area, and my plan was to be up at the lookout at least half an hour before sunrise.

The weather forecast for Good Friday kept changing. I was hoping for mostly sunny conditions. The night before, the forecast promised opportune conditions, so I set up my alarm for 5am, made sure I packed everything I needed, including my headlight and extra batteries. Next morning, I was up 5 minutes before the alarm went off. I had a quick breakfast and made some coffee to take with me.

Heading out, it was quite dark, but the moon was up, and I could see stars in the sky, which was encouraging. As I drove toward my destination, I noticed there were some clouds in the sky in the direction I knew the sun would be rising from, which made me almost decide to turn around, but I decided to continue on since I had nothing to lose. If I do get the conditions I am hoping for and get the photo I desired, that’s great, but if not, it’d still be an enjoyable short hike.

Hiking in the dark, even with a head light, is quite different from hiking during the daylight. For example, it is easy to miss a turn or to trip and fall, so you have to be extra attentive and careful, but other than that, it is something I really enjoy very much.

I was at my destination about 40 minutes prior to sunrise, and I took the time to look for a composition. I know the place quite well, and my wife and I were there the week before, so I had an idea about what I was looking for.

I took some trial photos, tried different heights and angles and then set up my tripod and enjoyed the breathtaking view and colours in the sky while waiting for the first sliver of the sun to emerge over the horizon and enjoying my coffee.

It is always a magical moment to see the first light of the day and watch the colours of the landscape get transformed by the golden light.

I captured my photos, stayed a bit longer and then very reluctantly left. What a wonderful morning!

Murad Aljafari 12/12/20 Murad Aljafari 12/12/20

Quetico Provincial Park

I heard from some of my coworkers that the Lake was frozen at Black Bay and Amethyst Harbour. According to the weather forecast, we were going to have a partly cloudy day. I have been taking Fridays off in November and this month to consume vacation days.

My plan for today was to stop at Silver Harbour to see if the Lake is frozen there too, and if so, providing the weather delivers too, since I have a decent composition there already, I should be able to get an interesting photograph, with the frozen lake creating a perfect reflection of the colours in the sky.

I was up at 5:30 and headed out of the door at 6:30. The weather looked dark and gloomy, promising an overcast morning, but I still had hope. When I arrived at Silver Harbour, there was no ice on the Lake, so I drove to Amethyst Harbour – the next stop. Right enough, the Lake was frozen there, but the only spot to access the Lake without trespassing on someone’s property faced west!

I was going to head to Black Bay next, and failing even that, I would just resign myself and do a day hike at Red Rock. The Nipigon Riven Recreational Trail has wonderful lookouts that can produce excellent pictures even on a gloomy overcast day. I was getting low on gas, so I was going to get a refill at Pass Lake, but then when I checked for my wallet, I just remembered it was in my other jacket. UGH!

What a great start of a day!

I drove back home, got my wallet, made myself a cup of coffee and had a complete change of plans.

The new plan was to get gas at Kakabeka and then drive to Quetico Provincial Park.

By 10:30 I made it there. Before I left home, I looked online for information on hiking trails at Quetico, and I decided to try the Pines trail. I couldn’t drive to the trailhead because the road was being groomed for cross country skiing. I guess that meant a pre-hike to the trailhead. I found a little trail following the lakeshore of French Lake and followed it to the trailhead. The trail follows the river connecting French Lake with Pickerel Lake. There was a lot more snow on the ground than in town. The lakes were frozen, and the sky was still gloomy and overcast, and there was an occasional drizzle of freezing rain.

The hike was easy and uneventful. It was -6 degrees Celsius, but I was warm enough not to need gloves are hat. I was back in my car a couple of hours later and then headed back.

I ended up taking a couple of pictures, but I can’t say they were special, I just felt I couldn’t go back empty handed. You be the judge.