Stunning Waterfalls in Bancroft

[Charline]

Egan Chutes Provincial Park is said to have three waterfalls. Guess we only got to see one.
https://youtube.com/shorts/OWteLyFPuYQ


More to come.

[Charline]

Eagles have long gone, but the hawks and turkey vultures are still soaring in the sky.


This short video shows the panoramic view from the Hawkwatch Platform in Eagle Nest Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNQvsKFQayc

[Charline]

This is a different clip of High Falls along York River:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_nppL5AYJU

[Shortsighted]

How much of the York River course is park?  I didn't know that any of it was officially park land.  The skarn along the York River was previously a popular mineral hunting site and if it is off-limits for this sort of activity it represents yet another erosion of what was once mid-twentieth century freedom.  Small licence-holding commercial interests can still hunt for minerals (and sell them) but hobbyists are left out of the equation yet again.  I recall that in the decade from 1970 to 1980 there was a sharp decline in accessibility for rock hounds.  By the mid-80's almost everything was private property (keep out) or industrial/commercial (keep out) or Crown Land (follow the rules ... don't do anything ... but enjoy yourself).  So, now it's a park ... don't touch anything but spend your money to boost the local economy.  I suppose if one were to spend many weeks, or months in the Bancroft area then accessible rock-hunting site might still be located, although I strongly suspect that it would require permission from some agency and all the bureaucratic calisthenics that goes along with it.  I'm quite certain that insurance claims are behind a lot of it.  Insurance issues kill everything enjoyable.  Bancroft ... beautiful plumage, but it's still dead!  I've so enjoyed this rant.  I feel better now.  I guess that it's a good thing that I'm too old to be a rock hound.  All I can do now is growl and bark and thank Charline for being a guide to Ontario: 'That's the way it is' so thatI can deliver the sequel ' That's the way it was'.  I'm getting pretty adept at this curmudgeon thing, except there's no future in it.  I wonder, have I paid my insurance yet?

[Charline]

Only a portion of York River is a part of the provincial park preserve. It is not an operating park.

Mineral clubs often organize rock hounding tours in Canada and USA. According to the instructions that I received, if I carry my club membership card, I will have the right to collect minerals in any places as long as it is not prohibited by the law.

My club also organizes tours to specific sites with the permission and even guides from the mine owners.

My friend is an avid collector while I am not. She said a local geologist would provide guided tours (for a fee) to different local mines.

Here is a new clip showing the sodalite collection site (sorry I did not pronounce the word correctly): https://youtube.com/shorts/_TIX9t0A2QY?feature=shared

[Shortsighted]

OK, thanks Charline, that clarifies some of it.  However, according to your statement, it is acceptable to collect mineral samples along the York River skarn, but only providing you have a club membership card. This is like having to have a fishing licence to legally go angling.  What has membership to a club have to do with ... anything?  What is the connection between membership to a rock-hound club and permission by a municipality, or county (Hastings) to search for mineral samples at the hobby level?  How and why do the two entities even intersect?  How do the rights of a club trump the rights of an individual?  This sounds fishy.  I suppose there is money involved somewhere in this syndication.  It rubs me the wrong way and I don't even have a streak plate.

[Charline]

I am not sure how to answer your questions precisely because it doesn't concern me too much if I collect or not.


In Bancroft, there is a site call CN Rock Dump. Anyone can go there to pick whatever they want. There are sodalite (blue and pink), agate, fluorite, nepheline, mica, and others beyond my limited knowledge.


I don't think we are allowed to collect in the conservation areas. Are there any other places along the York River where you can collect, you'll have to check with the town government.


When you go to a site with a club, the club's insurance covers any damages caused by the collectors to the mine and equipment. The participants have to sign a waiver. If we get injured, it's not covered by the club insurance.


My understanding is that the club membership does offer some extra privilege in terms of rockhounding. I have never looked into it.


I believe what and where one can collect, the provincial government has a webpage.

[Charline]

I don't think I said this: "it is acceptable to collect mineral samples along the York River skarn, but only providing you have a club membership card."

I made a general statement, "According to the instructions that I received, if I carry my club membership card, I will have the right to collect minerals in any places as long as it is not prohibited by the law."

[Shortsighted]

Thanks for your reply.  As I suspected, it all comes down to insurance claims for possible injury, or summary liability in general.  I often see side trails within a park that are barricaded because the utilization of those side trails is prohibited.  Why are they extant if they are off limits?  They were used by people for decades, but now they are considered a liability that cannot be tolerated and therefore up go the barriers.  The signs are a requirement for obtaining a park insurance policy.  Failure to heed these warning means that the intruder is not covered by the park insurance.  In other words, you become responsible for your own actions.  That was the default state for most of human history.  In a few parks they go even further.  They disallow use of side trails and post a fine, as well as a reward for information leading the prosecution of an intruder.  Just imagine that.  Makes me think of a police state.  Insurance ruins everything.  In a few decades I imagine that the weight of liability will be so great that no one could afford insurance anymore.  Climate change may make the concept untenable.  Tracy Chapman should write a song about it ... in a blues rhythm.