My original plan for the Ontario, Canada stretch of the “FJR Fall Full Circle” journey was to follow the edge of Lake Superior to Pancake Bay Provincial Park where I would camp 2-3 nights and explore the park on two feet during the day.  However, after spraining my ankle during last week's 14 mile “Black Canyon Lake” hike in Montana (report: HERE), I've been having to make adjustments to my plans since anything beyond short walks on level ground seems aggravate it and cause additional inflammation.  When I awoke this morning at the “Thunder Bay International Hostel” just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, I figured I'd just take a leisurely ride along Lake Superior to Pancake Bay and set up camp for the night.   I took a few photos before rolling out of the hostel's driveway today.  The place was a motel they converted to a hostel, but it definitely didn't feel like a motel given all the common rooms inside the main “house” (they have additional outbuildings not shown).  No two hostels are the same, but this one is unique in that most rooms are private ($20CDN/nt).  They also offer tent space ($13CDN/nt) as well: Same owners (Lloyd and Wilma) for 38 years so, not surprisingly, this place has a very homey feel:   Another shot of the creative signs at the entrance to the hostel reflecting the direction and distance (in kilometers) of hostellers' hometowns: Back on to the one and only road, “TC-17”, or “Trans-Canadian Highway 17”.  This photos is very representative of the ride around Lake Superior:   I stopped at a small truck stop (by the way, fuel stations are rather few and far between if you're wondering).  A trucker walking by asked me about 100 questions about my motorcycle, Mo the Moose, my adventure, etc.  When he was done I asked him a few things as well – one being about the gynormous grates most Canadian trucks have on the front (which I'd seen frequently during my Alaska journey):   He related the same information I had heard in AK, which was the grates run about $5,000-$8,000, but can save the cost of the entire rig.  “Hitting a moose is like hitting a brick wall that possibly could be running right at you.  Only fools don't have them mounted on their rigs.”  It seemed odd to me then and does now as well these massive trucks have these massive grates and here I am on two wheels with nothing but plastic fairings in front of me.  Well, I guess the biggest difference is I don't ride at night in moose country! Another shot of the TC-17 “auto route”:   I've ridden nearly every road (of any size) in the US.  Never once have I seen a “Pulp Load Check Area”.  There were quite a few of these pullouts along the highway today:   Long distance riders know where to congregate!:   The ride around Lake Superior is mostly treed with peeks of the lake every so often.  Not what I'd call riveting excitement, but you won't hear any complaints out of me... I know quite a few folks who seemingly sold their souls to the corporate world and only wish they could be on two wheels on a endless treed road!  I'm guessing the most photographed spot along the entire route thus far would be the town of “Wawa”, which lures riders and drivers off TC-17 to investigate: The biggest of the tri-flock....: ...and a near-by sign: My favorite sign in the area: Approaching Pancake Bay: I rode through the Pancake Bay campground and, well, wasn't impressed.  Aside from being too close to the highway, it showed the results of heavy use from the Labor Day weekend. Being that I still had plenty of sunlight, I decided to roll on.... yup, that's the Sault Saint Marie International Bridge...: ...and I'm going back across!  (I spent less than 24 hours in Canada  ):   I crossed here about 3 years ago going the other direction during my “USA Four Corner Tour”.  I forgot about the toll that awaited me once I got through the standard questioning at the border crossing: Since I was off-track in terms of timing, I had to determine where I'd be bedding down for the night.  I didn't really want to stay at a hotel, but I also didn't want to be wandering around in the state with the 2nd most deer-vehicle collisions (Michigan) as dusk approached.  I thought I recalled a National Forest with a lake in the vicinity, but I needed a topo map to jog my memory.  So, I pulled over, popped open my laptop, and thanks to DeLorme Topo, I got the coordinates to where I wanted to go!  Brevoort Lake, Hiawatha National Forest, which is off US-2 and not far from Lake Michigan...WOO-HOO!!     Map of today's route:   Day's end GPS: AGirl Copyright © 2006-2012, All Rights Reserved.