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Exploring Onaping’s ice caves

Equipped with snowshoes, giant walking sticks and some peanut butter and jam sandwiches, my co-explorers and I spent Family Day wandering through the forest behind High Falls. Ali, the crazy border collie, led the way, followed by my dad, John.
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Northern Life reporter Jenny Jelen ventured to the ice caves behind High Falls on Family Day. The natural wonder is a testament to the amazing things in our own backyards. Photo by Jenny Jelen.

Equipped with snowshoes, giant walking sticks and some peanut butter and jam sandwiches, my co-explorers and I spent Family Day wandering through the forest behind High Falls.

Ali, the crazy border collie, led the way, followed by my dad, John. I was in the middle of the pack, followed by my little brother, Jake.

The snow was deep — at least three feet in some spots — and more fluffy flakes were falling from the sky.

I giggled out loud when I put on my snowshoes and marched through the trails like a penguin. Jake used his walking stick to knock snow off the branches above me, causing mini-avalanches to fall on my head.

Yes, Family Day was a great day for trekking to the ice caves with family.

This massive wall of ice, at least 20 feet high, is nestled along a cliff just off the High Pond Lookout trail (the cave is visible from the trail). It took a solid hour-and-a-half to venture there, but was entirely worth it.

A solid sheet of ice covered the rock face, and left a spacious cave between the rock and the curtain of ice. There was room for the three of us to slide inside.

At one point, it was tall enough to stand in. If we weren’t a family of tall folks, we probably could have even walked around.

The ground was solid ice, smooth as glass.

My dad stumbled across the natural wonder while exploring with my other brother, Jesse, a while back. He wanted to bring me and my camera for quite some time, to see the amazing feat of nature firsthand.

It’s fair to say I was awed — the sheer size, density and mass of the structure was mind-blowing. It was so neat to see the different “layers” of ice, some golden-yellow and some, like the piece my brother ate, crystal clear.

Jim Little, the outdoor adventure leadership program co-ordinator at Laurentian University, said the formation we came across looked like a lot of fun to wander and explore.

“The formation of them is not rocket science,” he said. “You need water dripping or water flowing and a cold medium to make it form.

“This is all facilitated by a gravity environment or a sloping roof or a sloping rock. The water migrates downhill and across the rock or roof. It then reaches the point where it hangs on and ... freezes.”

Little said the process will continue as drips of water freeze and continue to migrate down the columns of ice.

He said the yellow icicles likely contain impurities and particles of dust and dirt, where the clear icicles have a higher water content.

No matter how they came to be, the “caves” were certainly a cool discovery.

It’s amazing what we can find when we dare to travel into our own backyards.


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