Today, I went on a train trip with a few friends. They had family visit from Italy, and wanted to show them some Canadian wilderness. I got invited to come along, and happy that I did. It was 32 years since I have been to Agawa Canyon.
I won’t go into the history as you can read up on it from this Wiki link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agawa_CanyonWe had to all get up early, as the train departs at 8 am. They wanted us all to be there for a half hour before departure. Now the train station is right next to the Station mall in Sault Ste Marie, which is usually very busy. At 7:30 in the morning…not so much.
The train trip goes 114 miles north to Agawa Canyon, and then returns. The trip in total takes 10 hours, including the one hour stopover in the Canyon. Looking at the following map, you could assume that these are towns or villages…well no.
For example, here is the big place of Mashkode. All those other places listed on the map are about as big. Mashkode consisted of two buildings as seen here, squatting forlornly by the tracks, its sole means of getting there.
After 4.5 hours of travel, we finally get to our destination.
Here is a closer look at the Agawa Canyon Park.
The engine that got us there. This single engine was pulling about 7 cars, a really light load.
After walking past the cars, it was all track.
The Park itself is nestled inside a low canyon that is very scenic. My photos can’t do it justice. Alongside are picnic areas with well mowed lawns. There are several buildings including an old train car souvenir shop, washrooms, and a first aid/HQ building. The only way to get here is by train.
Paths and little bridges were everywhere. The Italian visitors did not want to climb all those steps to the lookout, so we decided to walk to one of the falls.
Here is a typical scene on these paths. Plenty of trees.
At the end of our short 25 minute walk, was one of the 3 falls found in the canyon. We decided to see Black Bear Falls.
Some teenagers decided to get a closer look. Perfect to show you the scale of Black Bear Falls.
Room for one last shot.
And a video I took using the Kodak PlaySport. The video shows the train going over one of several trellises found on the ACR line.
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