A good lost and a bad lost.

Last week I met up with chums Ros (say "Roz") and her hubby Terry at the Noggins Corner Farm corn maze up in the valley.

This year's maze design was in honour of Canada 150.

Ros was wicked good at figuring out our route through the maze.

In fact she was so good that we didn't get lost.   So .... I felt obliged to take the map from her and just start making random turns in order to see if we could get lost and then still find our way out.

Along the way there were stations where one would read facts and perhaps do a rubbing to add to a sheet that you take through the maze.  These stations are to help educate children who come on school trips to visit the maze.  Being children at heart we joined in the learning experience.

Despite my best efforts to get us lost, Ros not only got us back on track but stopped to help a group of kids who were trying to find their way back out of the maze.

 What a fun way to pass a couple of hours with good friends.

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In contrast I had a very different "lost" experience Tuesday last.

The dogs and I went for a nice pre-lunch walk at 11 am at Sandy Lake Park.  It's a marvellous off leash park (from October - June) with some wide road trails and some woodsy clear trails.  I enjoy meandering through the woods.

It was a lovely day that steadily warmed as we walked.

We followed several trails that we'd walked before.  When the trail we were on crossed a wider trail, rather than turning right onto that wider trail as I had in the past I followed the trail onto the far side and kept following it.  It was well trod and clear.  

Would it be spoiling my tale if I told you that that was a pivotal mistake and lead to my subsequent state of "lostness" ?

There were even blue ribbons on trees marking the trail.  Sadly I had made an assumption that these trails would all loop back to my starting point ... 

as you have no doubt guessed that was a very wrong assumption.

Just because a tree has a ribbon on it doesn't mean jack shit in this case.

Blissfully unaware, I walked on ... and on.   When the trail finally met a power line with a clear ATV trail I thought it was the same power line that ran near the park entrance; sadly it wasn't, but I didn't realize that until I had walked another couple of kilometres.  

Upside down and lost.

It was now too late to turn back so I kept following the trail.  

Through the later part of what was no longer a fun hike, I texted my frustrated daughter to tell her I was a mite lost.  I say "frustrated" because I've done this before, and she's warned me about being more careful.  Luckily I had my phone external charger with me and my two loyal companions who apparently were just as lost as I.

When the trail curved and I saw this power station I knew where I was and it confirmed that I had been walking away from my starting point and was several kilometres and probably a couple of hours from my car.  

I recalled that there was a bit of a cross-country trail that might shorten my walk back.  So with blind determination enhanced by a dose of panic I illogically continued on.

 I knew that this trail should lead to a big open area that I'd visited before.  However at the top it petered out and I was faced with a wall of trees.  I actually blundered forward pushing my way through trees; committing the sin of getting even more lost.  At one point I just sat down but realized that no helicopter was coming to haul me outta there and set off again.  At last I saw some higher rocks and scrambled up them to see where the eff I was.  

I had been here a few years ago and knew there was a trail leading back down to the service road beside the 102.  The trouble was I had to follow three false leads and keep doubling back before I found the correct trail.

I was glad that finally I really knew where I was.

No this isn't my car.  I wasn't gone THAT long

I just wished that it wasn't still a couple of kilometres from my car.   

The dogs would find streams to refresh themselves in when they got hot.  I hadn't brought my water and for the first time all summer I forgot my hat.

I texted Kaitlyn to let her know I was finally on track and she reminded me yet again that I needed to STOP this random exploration.

The dogs and I reached the gravel service road and after a kilometre I scanned the slopes to my right for a path that would lead up into the woods and join up with the Jack Lake Trail which would hopefully lead me back to my car. 

Happily I found it easily but had mis-remembered how far that trail went.  Somehow I thought I was almost back to the car.  I still had a ways to go.

At some point I stopped taking photos or admiring the lovely scenery.

I have no clue how far I walked but I'm guessing 10-15 km.  What began as a one hour walk turned into four hours as I arrived back at my car at 3 pm.

Sooki immediately fell asleep.  

I think I've learned my lesson.

I should have known better.

Yesterday Trey and I paddled back over to Lawlor's Island.

Once there I dragged the kayak up the shore and threw the ball for Trey to help him get rid of his bad case of the "sillies", as he'd whined and wiggled the whole way across.  I had had to keep telling him to: "LIE DOWN !!!".

Then we headed into the island's interior to seek out the ruins again.

On Canada Day when I found located the fallen water tower for the first time, I was soooo disappointed when the batteries in my camera crapped out and I couldn't share photos of my find.

This time I found some ruins that I'd not seen before.  This is the "Winter Hospital".

All told, Trey and I slogged our way over and around that island for over four hours.

We walked the interior of the island from the Cemetery (left end) to the Winter Hospital near the "Sand Flat".  

We then walked back along the shore to the site of the original "Deep Water Wharf".

Site of the original Deep Water Wharf and the Disinfection Units.

Disinfection unit.

Massive door hinge on the Unit.

I lingered to admire a Cormorant drying its wings on the remnants of the wharf.

We just had to walk around the point and we should see the kayak.

And we did.

See it there ?

Floating gently in the harbour !   WHAT ?   FLOATING GENTLY IN THE FRIKKIN' HARBOUR !?!

And there is Trey's life jacket bobbing near the shore and floating nearby -- my paddle !

My life jack, with my car keys in the pocket is in the kayak.

I know, I know -- I'm an idiot !  

I wadded out and grabbed the kayak.  Unfortunately I had to put the sodden, cold life jacket on poor ol' Trey.

He was NOT amused !


You can bet I'll be dragging my kayak above the high water mark in future.

The apparently thin line between foolish and fun.

I took Wendy and Trey for a walk at Rainbow Haven today.  The large parking lot there, which is inaccessible to cars at this time of year, was partly covered in ice.

To amuse myself, I lazily slid the ball across the ice.  I didn't even throw it.  I just rolled it gently, maliciously thinking how amusing it would be to watch the dogs slip and slide after the ball.  The lack of friction meant the ball just rolled and rolled.  As I expected, Wendy and Trey skidded across the slick surface after it.

What I did not expect was for the ice to break, and them to be trapped, chest-deep, floundering to get out of the frigid water.

It's is a freakin' parking lot -- not a lake !

Both dogs have broken through at this point.  

Wendy, being taller than Trey, managed to get out pretty quickly, retrieve the ball, and make her way to the grass, where she happily trotted around in a "nyah, nyah" sorta way.   "I have the ball and Tre-ey doesn't".  Trey was too preoccupied with his current situation to even care about the ball.

The ice kept breaking under him as he tried to climb out.   

I quickly regretted my foolishness as I watched him struggle.

I watched as the ice kept breaking under him, as he valiantly tried to climb out.  Even though he wasn't getting out, he was inching forward through the broken ice.  But I could see him shivering, and the look of worry on his face is evident in these pictures. I moved to a spot on the grass that was closest to where he was and sized up the situation, and considered how I could get to him, without falling ass-over-tea-kettle myself.  Before I went for the big rescue, and I urged him to try one more time.  He was shivery and barked at me in frustration.   And then, he tried.  He tried one more time, and

he found that the ice was able to hold him.  Gingerly he hauled himself out, and oh-so-carefully, spread-eagled like Bambi on the ice, made his way to shore.

He was soaked and trembling, but very relieved and happy to be on dry ground.  Suddenly, all he wanted was the ball.  "Throw the ball !   Throw the ball", he barked.  I didn't even tell him off for barking.  I gave him a quick rub-down with my mitts and heaved the ball into the grass.  

I wanted to keep him and Wendy running until we made it back to the car.

And I did.  By the time we got back to the car they had warmed up. I gave them each a good rub down  with the blankets and towels that I keep in the car, started the engine, and got the heat blasting.

No harm done.

But gosh, I can be stupid sometimes.