A Journey to Georgina Island

Last month, I embarked on my final hike of the 2008 spring/summer season. Although I hiked just 195 kilometers this year, less than half of what I accomplished in 2007, I still found the exercise a challenging and amusing way to spend time. On my final walk, Nathan and I traveled to Georgina Island, which was perhaps the most remote and barren location we’ve trekked through.

I drive to Virginia, a community located along the southern shore of Lake Simcoe. (Unfortunately I sleep in late, meaning that Highway 404 is fairly crowded and slow). The small village, located a few kilometers east of Sibbald Point Provincial Park, features a few hundred residential homes and a couple of small plazas. After parking, Nathan and I walk to the modest dock located at Black River Rd & Delta St. Looking out onto Lake Simcoe, we see Georgina Island in the distance. It looks small, level and full of lush vegetation – a great place for a hike. After a short wait, we take the ferry across the lake and arrive on the southern edge of the island.

Georgina Island is home to a small band of Chippewas, a group of First Nations People. Bear Road (“Mkwa Miikan”) encircles the island and runs along or near the Simcoe shoreline. The south side of the island features the majority of the Chippewas’ community resources, including a school, fire department and community centre. Still, the nearest grocery store (in Sutton) is a ferry ride plus a 6 km drive away. There are also a large number of non-Native cottages along the southern half of the island. Nathan and I planned on hiking along Bear Road (15 km), which would allow us to see the entire island.

After walking north along Bear Road, Nathan and I turn down a dirt path and find the Nanabush Trails. The Chippewas manage a series of hiking paths which extend for several kilometers into the island’s vast, ancient forest. The muddy terrain is uneven and hilly; the forest features large deciduous trees, marshy ravines, and many small animals. The trail features several small wooden bridges and a number of signs describing Chippewa beliefs and customs; although it’s reassuring to know that the Natives have walked through this land before, the forest is still remote and appears to be largely unexplored. The combination of thick vegetation, flowing streams and aggressive insects prevent us from venturing beyond the marked path. Nathan and I hike through the entire four-segment trail in under an hour.

As we march farther north along Bead Road, the population density decreases gradually. The northeast corner of the island is empty; no cottages were built on this remote edge of the island. Out here, the road is cracked and narrow, and the tall, thick trees encroach upon the pavement. After a few hundred meters, Bear Road ends. We face a decision: either we turn around and head back towards the dock, or continue along a dirt path heading into the forest. Wanting to explore as much of the remote island as possible, we chose the latter route.

Nathan and I spent the next hour hiking through Georgina Island’s vast, untamed forest. We march along a narrow dirt path that leads us away from the shoreline, making it difficult for us to track our progress. The dirt trail features numerous large mud puddles, each filled with dozens of small frogs who swim away as we approach. Dense vegetation, ranging from large deciduous trees to exotic plants, intrudes along the edge of the path. Occasionally the trees disappear and flat, arid plains emerge; although the tall, thick grass provides a change in scenery, it leaves us exposed to the hot sun. The island’s interior terrain is fairly homogeneous; the only distinct sections are a small a pond and a deep stone quarry. The core of Georgina Island is very remote: aside from an occasional beer can lying along the ground, there are no signs of civilization.

Eventually, the narrow dirt trail emerges from the forest and becomes a paved street (the northwestern end of Bear Road). The area is quite desolate; the lush forest surrounds both sides of the road and there are still many small animals crawling near the pavement. Nathan and I continue south, back towards civilization. Within a few minutes we pass by the island’s northernmost cottages; within an hour we’re back at the dock. Exhausted from the long hike through rugged terrain, we take the ferry back to Virginia as the sky turns black.