Moger Pond Peak
Posted by Derek on Aug 18, 2010
Height: 1644 feet / 501 meters
GPS recorded height: 1676 feet / 511 meters
Lat/Lon: N45.1613 W77.3062
Date Summited: July 13, 2010
Directions / Trip Summary:
Moger Pond Peak is the highest point in Lennox and Addington county, just outside of the community of Denbigh.
From Bancroft, travel 55.8 km along Highway 28. Before reaching Denbigh, turn left onto Addington Road which travels north for 500 meters until reaching a dead end / turn around. Park on the northeast side of the turn around and avoid blocking any driveways.
A gated dirt road continues north, just to the left of the Mountain View Farm sign. As the road is on private property — Mountain View Farm, it’s a good idea to ask the owner for permission to cross his land. (As we were departing, we ran into the owner who was curious to our intentions in the area. We explained we were hiking to the highest point in the county just beyond his farm and he said he no problem with us using the road as long as we closed the gates behind us to keep the cows from getting out.)
Past the gate, the dirt road descends towards a lake. The road near the lake may be flooded out and it would be good idea to bring some kind of river shoes or sandals for the water crossings during the trip.
Beyond the flooded trail, you will reach the start of the bushwhack at N45.15720 W77.30915 which is 1.1 km from Addington Road. The bushwhack heads right (east) from the ATV trail through thin underbrush and easily crosses the small creek. Skirting the northern end of a lake, bushwhack north up a notch up the bluff. The climb steepens and the top of is crowned by rocky cliffs, which could be difficult to scramble up. By climbing up through the notch, the scramble is avoided. Near the top of the bluff, you will pass by an interesting rock with ‘appears‘ to be held up by a tree. (From our vantage point the rock was positioned precariously and we decided not to investigate it further).
Once reaching the top of the cliffs, it is a short bushwhack to the summit. The upper elevations of the peak are littered with small rock/moss/low bush covered clearings. The actual high point is on top of a small erratic boulder in the highest of the small clearings. The entire trek one way from car to summit is 1.8 km: 1.1 km of trail hiking and 700 meters of bushwhacking.
Ryan’s Mountain
Posted by Derek on Aug 18, 2010
Height: 1716 feet / 523 meters
GPS recorded height: 1725 feet / 526 meters
Lat/Lon: N45 25.817 W77 18.296
Date Summited: July 11, 2010
Directions / Trip Summary:
Ryan’s Mountain, the highest point in Renfrew County was the site of a Pinetree Line radar base which closed in 1974. The community of Foymount is located along the slopes of the peak, a short distance from the summit. There is no hiking required to ascend this high point, as a road travels right to the top.
Ryan’s Mountain lies 60 km northeast of Bancroft. Make your way to Foymount, eventually ending up on County Road 512. Turn onto Sebastopol Drive which climbs the hill through the community of Foymount. 750 meters from County Road 512, turn left onto Lawrence Road and complete the 300 meter drive to the summit.
Remains of the Pinetree Line radar base buildings as well as towers and their support buildings dot the flattened hilltop. A small hill built around one of the tower cable supports appears to be the highest point.
Hastings County High Point
Posted by Derek on Aug 18, 2010
Height: 1778 feet / 542 meters
GPS recorded height: 1765 feet / 538 meters
Lat/Lon: N45 14.440 W78 07.695
Date Summited: July 11, 2010
Directions / Trip Summary:
Hastings County High Point lies just outside the southeastern edge of Algonquin Park. There are many ATV trails along the route, which starts from the end of the maintained section of Mink Lake Road.
From Bancroft, take Highway 127 north to Lake St. Peter for 34.9 km and turn left (west) onto Mink Lake Road. Follow Mink Lake Road for 11.3 km until reaching a snowplow turnaround area which is a good place to park.
The road beyond this point is rougher and the right turn off onto an ATV trail is only 550 meters ahead. 600 meters from Mink Lake Road, the trail skirts the northeast shore of a small lake, crossing a basic bridge near a beaver dam. The trail runs along the north shore of the lake and becomes more overgrown. 600 meters past the beaver dam, a barely noticeable trail branches to the left which crosses a creek. There are signs of a washed out log bridge here. (If you miss the trail over the creek, the trail swings north and becomes more and more overgrown. Bikers will be able to easily bike in from Mink Lake Road up to this point.)
The trail follows the left shore of the creek but quickly crosses back over to the right side. Barely 300 meters past the first creek crossing, the trail forks. Stay to the right and avoid the washed out bridge crossing to the left.
About 500 meters later, the trail reaches an open area, but the trail keeps right along the edge of the open area, avoiding a small pond directly to the west. Follow the trail for another 250 meters to the bushwhack point. (At this point the trail is not obvious and the forest is fairly easy to pass through, so even though the area is a maze of ATV trails, I found it easiest to bushwhack the last 1 km to the summit).
The bushwhack is through mixed / deciduous forest with open undergrowth, which shouldn’t be a problem for most hikers. There is an ATV trail within 100 meters of the summit, but it’s not obvious where it heads out to. It might provide an alternative route to the peak, avoiding the bushwhack. The summit area is broad, a raised hunting blind is near the highest point.
Muskoka High Point
Posted by Derek on Jul 20, 2010
Height: 1778 feet / 542 meters
GPS recorded height: 1811 feet / 552 meters
Lat/Lon: N45.5075 W78.9351
Date Summited: July 10, 2010
Directions / Trip Summary:
Take Highway 60 east from Huntsville for 12.5 km and turn left onto Limberlost Road. You can take Tally Ho Winter Park Road instead if you miss the intersection like I did to get to Limberlost. Follow Limberlost Road northeast for 18.6 km and turn left onto Tasso Lake Road. Follow Tasso Lake Road north for 2.8 km. The road curves to the east around the north end of Tasso Lake. Just past the dam, you will reach an ATV trail branching to the north. The shoulder of Tasso Lake Road just west of the ATV trail is a good place to park non-ATV vehicles. Note: Some maps indicate Tasso Lake Road branching to the left, 1.8 km past the intersection with Limberlost, however either I wasn’t paying attention or it’s not there, as I don’t recall seeing it.
The ATV trail is easy to follow, but would be too rough for cars to follow. As I was exploring the trails in the area, I decided to bike from Tasso Lake Road to the start of the bushwhack. 1.5 km from Tasso Lake Road, you will depart the main ATV trail and turn left onto a more overgrown ATV path. There are some rough patches as the trail descends towards a creek, crosses it and ascends the other side. About 1.1 km from the left turn (2.6 km from Tasso Lake road), the ATV trail passes by an open area, which I figured was the closest approach to the Muskoka High Point.
Crossing the open area, the bushwhack north begins in a mixed forest with sparse underbrush. After ascending moderately for a couple hundred meters, you will reach the bottom of a steep rise. I didn’t find a notch to ease the ascent, so I climbed straight up it. After scrambling up the rocky cliffs, over fallen trees and gaining the top of the bluff, the trail flattens out. I stopped at the cliff edge and enjoyed the limited views south through the trees. From here it, the bushwhack continues for 0.5 km, ascending moderately through thin underbrush north to the summit area.
As the summit area is fairly flat, there was no obvious high point. A rock I figured to be an erratic was a candidate the for high point, but I concluded that a small rise forming a lip against the north edge of the summit looked higher. A fallen tree marks the spot.
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Cup and Saucer
Posted by Derek on Jul 17, 2010
Cup and Saucer / Manitoulin High Point
GPS recorded height: 1171 feet / 357 meters
Lat/Lon: N45 51.000 W82 06.370
Date Summited: July 19, 2009
Last Updated: September 13, 2014
Directions:
The Cup and Saucer is the highest point on Manitoulin Island. There are 2 ways to get to Manitoulin Island. From Sudbury, take Highway 17 west and turn south onto Highway 6 through Espanola. Continue on Highway 6 for 52 km and cross the swing bridge into Little Current. Continue west on Meredith Street, past the intersection with Manitowaning Street (keep straight), where Highway 6 diverges left and then turn left on Worthington Street where Highway 540 begins. Continue on 540 for 23 km and turn left onto Bidwell Road. The parking lot for the Cup and Saucer trail is a short distance (600 meters) on the right.
The other way to get to Manitoulin Island is via the Ferry from Tobermory, which lies at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. Once arriving on Manitoulin Island at South Baymouth, take 6 north for 12.4 km until reaching the left turn onto 542. Proceed on 542 for 23.7 km to Mindemoya and turn right onto onto 551 for 11.6 km to West Bay. At West Bay, turn right onto 540 and continue north for 6.5 km at which time Bidwell Road and the parking for the Cup and Saucer Trail will appear on the right.
There are 2 main trails as well as a couple of side ‘adventure’ trails for the Cup and Saucer. The white and blue trails form a 9.9 km loop around the Cup and Saucer formation. The most direct route from the parking lot to the Manitoulin High Point is to take the more scenic white trail up the Cup and Saucer. Shortly past the steep climb up to the East Lookout, a side trail branches to the right and it is a short walk to a small concrete footing which is the highest point along the trail. The highest point on Manitoulin however, is 50 meters southwest off the trail at the coordinates: N45 51.000 W82 06.370. A large tree beside a pile of fallen trees / branches is the most likely location of the highest point. A moss covered boulder 20 feet northeast of the tree is another candidate for highest point.
Wolf Lake Mountain
Posted by Derek on Jun 13, 2010
Wolf Lake Mt. just visible on the right through the trees
Height: 1654 feet / 504 meters
GPS recorded height: 1650 feet / 503 meters
Lat/Lon: N46 51.759 W80 39.669
Date Summited: May 22, 2010
Overview:
Wolf Lake Mountain is located just outside the boundaries of the world’s largest old-growth red pine forest; the Wolf Lake forest reserve. Named after the lake it stands over, Wolf Lake Mountain is the highest point within the boundaries of the City of Greater Sudbury. The area, commonly referred to as Chiniguichi, is a relatively popular canoeing destination with it’s clear acidified lakes, old growth pine forests and aboriginal pictographs. Read the rest of this entry »
