Into The Deep

I went into the deep today. The deep freeze. I was on the Toronto Islands for a board meeting of my friend's environmental foundation. With the wind chill, it was -28C and I walked around like I was a polar bear.

We boarded the icebreaker raft at Toronto Harbour at 9:30 am. Half way to Ward's Island, the water became sheets of ice. I have never seen the waters of Lake Ontario like that before.



When we got to the other side, the raft had trouble docking. There was just too much ice for it to position for off-loading. The boat made three attempts to dock before letting us off.



It's hard to imagine in the summer, this is the same place people come in droves to cool down, take in dragon boat racing, and shriek with silliness going on rides.



By the end of the day, the dock at Ward's Island was no longer usable. A bus took us from the dock to Hanlon's Point to board the boat from there.

Despite the cold, there were still young people prancing about as if it was spring, with barely a shirt on, exposing their necks and with their thin coats flapping open. I have never been more glad that I own a parka. The elements rule every time.