And so it begins - the annual, weekly pilgrimage through tailights, tailgaters and trailers. All in the quest for 48 hours or serenity prior to 120 hours of insanity, each week. I know this. Not because I own a lovely two bedroom cottage on Lake Rosseau (not!), or perhaps up in Gravenhurst, but because I reside on Georgian Bay. I've grown up here, got into the usual teenage angst troubles here, married here, had my now thirteen entering teenage angst years daughter here, got divorced here. My yard backs onto one of Ontario's busiest, major highways - the corridor that leads to all things serene - the call of the loon at 5:30 a.m., mist over a mirror lake, or a cow moose with her calf. All things cottage. All things serene. Unless of course the poor old cow decides to wander across your path of travel - after which comes the next thing cottage - the tow truck.

The evergreen forests and crystal blue lakes of Northern Ontario are the perennial envy of my New Mexican buddies, who cannot fathom the sight of a freshwater lake. Or green grass lawns, for that matter. They ask, "Are there any rivers or lakes where you live?" I respond proudly, telling them of my fishing escapades. I tell them of chopping a hole into the ice in the wintertime to lower a line. About peeing into a cottage cheese container inside the ice hut, while the retired, former Maple Leaf Hockey teamers whizz away behind theirs, which just happens to be next to ours.

Picture this - my daughter and I are in incognito in a rental ice hut on Georgian Bay, surrounded by burly,bearded snowmobilers, all which, like ourselves are hoping to catch "the one that got away". Incognito, that is until my daughter raises her line to replace the worm she thought she lost - only to discover there's a huge Northern Pike at the other end, staring back at her. After the poor about-to-be-filleted fish spits the hook out of its mouth, it begins flopping about the ice hut floor wildly while we scream.

A knock at our ice hut door reveals to the retired NHL-ers that we are of the female gender occupying the ice hut next to theirs - so much for female incognito-ism in the name of safety! Politely offering their assistance, I graciously decline - informing them we have everything under control - if I can only manage to hit the Northern in the head with the only thing available that's heavy and made of steel - the gaff. My southwestern friends are staring at me by now in total disbelief, while I leave them in the dust, so to speak, and carry on with my tales of the evergreen forests that line the roadways up to cottage country. (By now my friends are longing to come to this place, the "cottage country"!)

For 23 years now I have been exploring this continent on two wheels - "I've been everywhere man - I've breathed the mountain air, man...", and still I believe that some of the most beautiful riding exists in cottage country - my very own back yard.

Each year, following the winter snows, yet long before the last of the forest snow has disappeared, I take my ritualistic, season-opening ride up to the Big Chute Marine Railway, located in Big Chute, near Severn Falls, Ontario.

Navigating my way through twisty turns and gently rolling hills I must be mindful of the thick, salty sand that has accumulated on the road over the winter. It has been an exceptionally heavy winter, and by the looks of things the salt trucks have done a good job. I'm always one of the first riders out on the roads following winter, and I am well aware of the potential for running into wildlife (the other kind of wildlife not arriving 'til the May 24 weekend). Deer make their presence known in springtime, when the melted snow on the roads reveals the underlying salt. They come out onto the roads to lick the salt off - making springtime driving in cottage country hazardous.

As I arrive, all is quiet and desolate at "the Chute", as the locals call it. The idling of my straight-piped engine breaks the silent air with its unmistakable, undulating Harley pulse. I turn off the ignition and the birds gradually resume their flitting here and there, catching the insects on the warm April wind. I walk around and study the silent, sleeping giant. Initially known as the Simcoe Railway and Power Company in 1911, the present hydro plant at this site utilized the white waters to generate power - contracting it to the HEPC (Hydro Electric Power Commission) to supply Penetanguishene and Midland with it's electricity. Purchasing the plant in 1914, the HEPC went on to become Ontario Hydro.

An integral part of marine history in this region, the Big Chute Marine Railway is still the vital connection between Gloucester Pool and the Upper Severn River, along the Trent-Severn Waterway. Built into a narrow chute of naturally occurring granite it was originally intended as a temporary alternative to a marine lock system. The original, smaller version of the existing railway still remains alongside the newer railway, constructed in 1977. The original marine railway operation had begun after 1917, when construction of a marine lock system came to a halt due to lack of government dollars, a result of money being redirected towards the Great World War. Left to be overgrown with weeds, the original lock project including damns and locks would soon be abandoned for the transportation of watercraft by submerged railway.

Guys love this kind of stuff - but so do I. In the summertime, it is quite a sight to see large yachts and smaller marine vessels being transported from one body of water to another, by way of a submerged rail car. The 100 tonne crib that holds these vessels is loaded while still submerged, with large straps facilitating the stabilization and transportation of the boats up a 17+ metre height of land and out into the upper river level, across the other side. Every summer this place is bustling with visitors from all around the world, all marveling at this amazing process. Bikers love this stretch of road, from the time they leave Coldwater and ride County Rd. 17, with her twisty scenic sections to beyond the Big Chute and out to Hwy 400 North (formerly Hwy. 69) - further taking them to the Bala/Port Carling cottage areas. It is a regular run for bikers, motor-homers and Sunday drivers alike - and let's not forget the watercraft operators - to them the Big Chute Marine Railway is an important part of their highway.

It always amazes me how many people in our area have never seen this historical wonder - heck, not even Vern knew what ''The Big Chute" was. (Vern owns this magazine...) It is still one of the best-kept secrets of vacationland - our vacationland.

 

HOW DO WE GET THERE?!!

From Barrie take Hwy. 400 North Extension to Coldwater. Exit off Hwy. 400 at exit #137, Lower Big Chute Rd. Go to the stop sign, then go Hwy. 12 West. Exit right onto Coldwater Rd. This will take you directly into downtown Coldwater. At the red flashing light (Gray Street) go straight. You are now on River Road, which eventually turns into Simcoe County Rd. 17, Upper Big Chute Rd. It will take you approximately 25 minutes to get to the Chute from Coldwater. Upper Big Chute Rd. meanders through gently rolling farmland, marshy ponds, lakes and rivers, surrounded by hardwood and evergreen forest. This is a particularly beautiful ride in October, when the leaves are ablaze with colour.
From Parry Sound take Hwy. 400 South to Muskoka Rd. 34, then to White Falls Rd. Take White Falls Road until it leads you to Upper Big Chute Rd., right at the Big Chute Marine Railway.
From Orillia take Hwy. 12 west to Coldwater, from there follow same directions as from Barrie.