Posts with the wilderness tag

Barris Beat

Wildfires – as close as your backdoor

Written by Ted Barris on . 3 Comments
Road signs do more than help travellers find their way – they can be a fire lifeline.

I escaped to a remote Ontario lake for some R&R last week. And as a guest at a wilderness property, I tuned in to what Ontarians at their cottages on holiday have on their minds. I figured they’d probably be talking about how many days it’s rained or encounters with bears at garbage dumps or the cost of gas just to get there and back. One night my hosts invited over a couple of their friends and I learned just what is top-of-mind in cottage country.

“You know the Smith’s Bay Road sign on the main highway’s been gone quite a while,” their woman guest said. “That means fire crews won’t know where to find us.”

A few seconds of silence followed as her timely concern sank in.

“I think we ought to get the ministry (of natural resources) to replace that sign quickly,” she added. (more…)

Barris Beat

Pros and Cons of Stay-cationing

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
When the corn-on-the-cob disappears at the local grocer store, it can mean only one thing!

In recent weeks, I’ve taken to walking early in the morning. Every day. I follow a number of routes around town, each about five or six kilometres in length. The walks – sometimes I jog – remind me of the times back at high school when I would run 10 or 15 kilometres with the cross-country team, without even batting an eye. Anyway, one day last week, an acquaintance greeted me during my walk. “Why so early in the day?” he asked.

“Beat the heat, for one thing,” I said. “And because there’s nobody around.” (more…)