It was a very different trip for us this year. We had the unique situation in that part of our group could only get the weekend off and the rest wanted a few more days in the park. We decided to go to Crotch Lake and find a site that was close to the access point, and then explore from there.

We chose the southernmost campsite on Crotch and it turned out to be a great site with a nice beach. It had area for three tents, a nice fire pit and a good spot for poker games!

Our campsite beach.

Interior area of the site.

There were some group campsites just to the east of us and there was some noise to be heard but nothing that was too disturbing. It certainly was a very busy area. There were lots of people fishing and day tripping.

Day Trips

Farm – Kitty – Booth – We took a whole day to paddle out to Booth Lake. In 1996 we had been camping on Booth and were struck by lightning. (See: http://www.algonquinadventures.com/submission/yates/ ) We wanted to go back to that site and see if there were still signs of the event.

The trip itself is a pleasant one. We stopped briefly at Kitty Lake cabin. There was a party staying there but they were not at the cabin when we arrived. We poked around for a few minutes but felt like intruders so we moved on.

When we arrived at the site on Booth Lake, the three of us who were there in 1996 had a strong feeling of déjà vu. The tree that had been hit had been cut down and was part of a fire pit bench. And the rest was lying down at the back of the site.

We did try some fishing on the way without much success. We were back at the Crotch Lake camp in time for dinner.

The Lightening Tree.

Shirley Lake – Another morning was taken up with a paddle north to Shirley Lake. It was a very windy day, so we just kind of poked around and looked at the campsites on the north end of Crotch Lake. We wanted to go farther to Ryan Lake but decided to head back early. Not much fishing success again.

Shall Lake to Depot portage – We took another day to paddle this route and stop for some fishing. The best fishing turned out to be in the “Gap” area between Shall and Crotch. This was close to home, but the trip was fun in any case. It was quite swampy as you get closer to Depot portage. We caught Bass and Pike in the “Gap” area on the way back to camp! We had a good dinner that night.

Nice Pike!

Oram’s Lake – I always like to get to lakes that feel like you are one of the few that have been there. Oram’s is just south of Crotch and accessible by a 495m portage.

We had a great day exploring the lake. We could only find one of the two marked campsites (The westernmost one) and it was very sparse. Room for one tent on a slant and high on a windy hill. We had lunch there and enjoyed a high view over a pretty lake.

The rest of our 5 days on Crotch were spent fishing in “The Gap” and playing Algonquin poker. All in all a very laid back (for us!) but enjoyable trip.

Mist In The Gap.

Tom Yates