Well, I did not really find it. It has been there for some time and is well known. It is at Baxter Conservation Area. I have finally seen it as I have never been able to get to it over my various visits there. It is not hard to get to by any means, but something ridiculous always seems to happen when I am there. Even today, but not enough to prevent me from getting to it.
Several other Scouters and myself went to check out the area for a camp we are planning at the end of November there. There has been some flooding from more massive rainfalls like as happened in the summer. Fortunately, we did not flood this time, but more rain is on the way. So, who knows. My galoshes are standing by.
There is a great variety of nut trees though to admire. I collected two small deadfall branches from a Honey Locust. They have quite large thorns on them. I am going to attempt to make needles or small awls out of them, maybe even fishhooks. Some research is required, but one of the parents of a Scout is quite knowledgeable in these types of non-standard matters. Hopefully, he can point me in the right direction.
Sadly, there are no nuts to be found this time of year, the various critters about have stripped everything. However, now knowing how easy it is to get to, I will note it as a place to visit and hike in more often. I will need to find out if any kind of harvesting is allowed. Probably not, but there should be someone who works there that can possibly point me in the right direction to plant a couple of nut trees in my back forty.
It blows that there is a fee to park there though. I am not so much against it as the fees apparently go to maintaining the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority's (RVCA) properties and programs, but I am a cheapskate. Anyway, I know how to hike through without having to use their parking lot. Something I will investigate further on my own.
The area has a great rustic charm to it. Yet, the trails, when not flooded, are hardpack gravel or boardwalks over various permanent water obstacles. If you have a chance to check it out, parking is only $6.00 or $45.00 for the year. You can even pay through your phone! The beauty of the annual pass is that it covers five Conservation Areas the RVCA manages that have paid parking, six do not.
The other CAs I have been to are all quite nice in, again, a rustic way. Who knows, maybe I will pony up the forty-five bones. It can make things easier on me. At least I will not have a guy berating our party for over forty-five minutes as once happened when we took the Beaver Scouts from my old Group there for a hike. It was the main reason I never got to the nut grove on that visit. A reliable source told me that that goon is no longer at Baxter. Thank goodness, he drove me nuts! blbbl
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