Day 3 – Sunday August 2nd 2015

Remember when I said I never sleep in while in Algonquin Park? Well, I stayed in bed until 9:30am and loved every minute of it. I'd slept so well and had the pleasure of not having to wake up and use the bathroom half way through the night! I crawled out of my sleeping bag and out of the tent. I looked up and was happy to see a mix of sun and cloud, none of which looked like rain clouds. I retrieved the food and setup the stove with some water for coffee. Angela was awake and packing up the inside of the tent. I’m really happy with how she is adjusting to moving each day. It’s not so bad once you get a good routine going.

This would be a short day of only 12.6 km in distence, but half of that would be portaging. We had a total of 7 portages ahead. One of them was nicknamed ‘Heart Attack Hill’ and the last one would be the longest of trip, at 1830 meters. Our breakfast was BLT’s and coffee. I really love a good BLT and find two of them hits me just hard enough that I don’t need a big lunch. Angela finished with the inside of the tent so she came to the seating area to enjoy some coffee, while I took the tent down. We were really getting into that nice routine. During breakfast, we were reminiscing of our little adventure the day before. We were both still very pleased with the outcome for the loon family. We took our time during breakfast and opted to have an extra cup of coffee. It was only 11am and following our intense previous day, we were in no rush!

Getting packed up and ready to move on to our next destination.

With coffee finished, I loaded up the canoe and Angela did a once over of the campsite to make sure we weren’t leaving anything behind. Satisfied, we got in the boat and shoved off shortly after 11:30am. It was only a few minutes before we entered the southern most bay of Erables Lake and Angela asked, "Where is the portage?"

"Right there." I said as I pointed forward. "Down that creek?!" she asked. "You bet!" I replied.

Angela was not too happy about this. She hates alders and the spiders that hang out in them. I can’t blame her. It is gross. But sometimes that’s the canoe route. We paddled the creek and within minutes, landed at the first portage of the day. It was a medium one at 660m, but I remembered this one being a little hilly. Not wasting any time, we loaded up and made the carry across in a little over ten minutes. We were getting pretty quick at this portaging business.

We launched back into Maple Creek and mere minutes later arrived at the next portage .. a very quick and easy 90m trail around an obstruction in the creek. Once again we crossed the forest trail with ease and then relaunched into a very narrow Maple Creek. Angela became increasingly worried as she has seen my photos of the headwaters of the Nipissing River and wanted nothing to do with it! I assured her this creek remains wide enough that she wouldn't be in the bushes. We continued further up the creek and it began to narrow. I didn’t remember it being this narrow when I came from North Raven Lake a few years back!

Luckily, as we rounded the last corner, a yellow portage sign appeared! Phew! Saved by that lovely yellow sign! We landed at out third portage of the day, not too shabby as we had only been on the water for about an hour. This 695m trail led to Skuce Lake. From there to the Nipissing River was the only part of the trip where I would be covering new territory. The rest of the route I'd covered on previous trips, in previous years. I was really excited for the rest of the day, because it was all new to me. I had no idea what was around any corner!

Looking back and north at Erables Lake from Maple Creek.

Ready to launch on Maple Creek from the 660m portage.

The obstruction in Maple Creek at the 90m portage.

Paddling down an ever-narrowing Maple Creek with an un-impressed fiancée in the front.

Finally at the intersection of Maple Creek and the portage south to Skuce Lake.

We loaded up and made the carry across the trail to Skuce Lake. I’ve always been curious about this lake and have wanted to stay there. Well, I don’t know if it was juts an ‘off’ day, but the lake had a funky smell to it, and sort of resembled a swamp. Coupled with the fact that some clouds had rolled in and it was dark, the entire lake just was not appealing in the slightest. We made our way across the lake and landed at the portage to Little Nadine Lake. On the surface, this little 450m portage seems like nothing, but it is very steep. In the first 100m the elevation increases by nearly 25m. It took us a little longer than usual to complete this short trail, and it took quite a bit of energy out of us too. We landed at Little Nadine Lake, which is more of a pond really and decided it was time for lunch.

The bugs hadn’t been too bad on this trip, but they were kind of heavy on the last portage. So we opted to paddle to the middle of the lake for lunch and to filter some water. I filtered two Nalgene’s of water while Angela made, you guessed it, salami sandwiches with mustard on bagels. I’m telling you, this is the good stuff! I was already pretty hungry so it didn’t take long for me to scarf down the sandwiches. While Angela finished her's, I paddled us over to the next portage – with its infamous 'Heart Attack Hill'. The story goes that long ago a camper and his friend were trying to conquer the portage when one of the two suffered a heart-attack. I don’t know if it's true. But if you’ve ever taken this portage, it seems quite possible.

We loaded up for the trail, expecting the worst. Well, we were given the worst. As an introduction to the trail, a giant pine with massive branches blocked the trail. It was clearly a recently downed tree, as there wasn’t any evidence of anyone making their way through it. I climbed over and through it as best I could. I had to set the canoe down for a moment to clear some movable branches for Angela. With that out of the way, the real struggle began. For about 600m of its 955m length, the trail was uphill. And there was a 100m section near the peak that was severely uphill. We had to take several breaks, because it was just too much. It was unbelievable. I never would’ve guessed it.

In the final 100m of the uphill part, it waS so steep that I could only take about 4 or 5 steps, stop for a few seconds, take 4 or 5 more steps, stop for a second and repeat. When I finally got to the top, I put the canoe down and collapsed onto the ground. It was absolutely insane! Angela arrived at the top and made use of a big boulder perfect for sitting on. We just relaxed there for a solid ten minutes with no intention of moving. Eventually we got up and finished the trail. The latter half was almost equally challenging as it was a steep decent down to Little Osler Lake. Finally, after nearly 50 minutes of struggling, we made it to Little Osler Lake. However, we did not receive a warm welcome, as it looked like it was going to pour rain any minute. Once again there was no sign of thunder or lightning so we make the choice to cross the lake. I took note of some potential campsites to stay at, but kept my camera away in case the rain started.

It didn’t take long to cross the lake and the rain managed to hold off. We landed at the 700m portage to Osler Lake. I assured Angela this trail was entirely downhill, so it shouldn’t be too rough. Luckily my assumption was correct and we managed to get across the trail in about 15 minutes. This was our 6th portage of the day and after doing 6 yesterday we were really starting to feel it. Angela inquired about staying on Osler Lake tonight instead of Nadine. I said we could. But I’d heard such nice things about Nadine, I said that we should try and push on for it. I suggested we could break for a while at a campsite on Osler or the portage to Nadine. But Angela agreed we should just push forward as the threat of rain was holding off, for now at least.

The beginnings of Heart Attack Hill. This was nothing. You’ll wish this was the worst later on.

It was 4pm and we were halfway down Osler Lake when I heard some thunder. I looked around and still saw no lightning, so decided to continue to the portage to Nadine. I prefer to be in the forest during a storm anyway. We paddled for about 10 minutes or so and eventually made it to the last portage of the day. it also happened to be the longest portage of the trip. We were both pretty tired and not looking forward to this near 2 kilometer crossing. Sluggishly and as if in slow motion, we loaded up and began the walk through the forest.

Just as it happened the day before on our last portage of the day, the rain started up. It wasn’t a heavy storm, but it was raining nonetheless. So far, it has rained each day of our trip. But it hadn’t put a damper (ha!) on it because the storms had been short and intense .. so kind of enjoyable. It was a little hot out anyway, so I wasn’t too worried about getting wet. We crossed about 500m of the trail and took a break at the first canoe rest. The rain continued and so did we.

About another 500m into the trail, I shouted back to Angela to keep her eyes peeled for a freshwater spring on the side of the trail. Not five seconds after saying that, we came to a boardwalk and just to the right I could see a black pipe. I'd found the spring! I put the canoe down and waited for Angela to catch up. We took advantage of stopping and dropped our loads to take a full break. I filled my water bottle with the sweet spring water, chugged it mostly down and filled it again. The water was freezing cold to the point where it left condensation on the outer side of the Nalgene bottle. We both enjoyed the fresh water and it was almost as if it gave us a second wind. I grabbed my pack and the canoe, and Angela geared up too. We hit the trail and continued for about ten minutes without stopping until we reached Nadine Lake. The rain had let off during the final leg of our portage. But my feet and pants were still wet, so I just walked right into the lake to place the canoe down.

Very tired of nearly 6km of portaging for the day, but finally on Nadine Lake.

A slightly gloomy Nadine Lake

Looking back, happy that the longest portage of the trip & the last of the day was behind us.

"What the heck? There’s a fish in my pants!" I yelled out, after exiting the lake. I lifted my left pant leg to shake it out and a huge frog popped out! I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when I stepped into the lake. Both Angela and I got a pretty good laugh at it though. It was a comedic finish to a hard day of portaging. I loaded the packs into the canoe, then we headed off onto a cloudy but dead calm Nadine Lake. This is a very beautiful lake and I was happy we came here instead of holding back on Osler Lake. A friend has recommended the northernmost campsite, so that was our target. Once we paddled out onto the lake, we could see the first three campsites, and they were all vacant. The fourth site was hidden behind an island and it wasn’t for another few minutes until we could see it was also vacant! Perfect, so far we were 3 for 3 on desired campsites. The next day we were guaranteed our desired campsites, because it was the only one in the area and we had booked it.

We passed up this creepy looking campsite on Nadine Lake.

Approaching our home for the night on Nadine Lake.

As we approached the campsite, I immediately knew I'd love it. It was tucked into the pines with a low profile rock slanted into the lake. Nadine Lake has beautiful clean green water, similar to Greenleaf lake. After another long day we finally arrived at our destination for the night. It was almost 5:30pm and the rain has stopped. Although it was still cloudy, it looked like the rain would hold off for the rest of the evening.

After two intense days of travelling, including 13 portages totalling over 11km, I really needed a shower. I quickly setup the tent and grabbed dry clothes. I took a collapsible bucket, some camp suds and a wash cloth behind the campsite and went to town. I really needed a good scrubbing. I rinsed off then ran over to the lake and jumped in for a final rinse. Oh it felt so good to be clear and cool! I stayed in the lake for a bit and Angela said she was in need of the same. Luckily we had the lake to ourselves, so privacy wasn’t an issue. I exited the lake, towelled-off and put on the fresh dry clothes. Man that fealt so good. Sometimes, especially when your muscles are a little sore from a day of labour, being clean just feels that much better!

While Angela was cleaning up, I set up the tarp in case the rain decided to make another appearance. I set up my chair, poured some refreshment and did some serious relaxing. It was such a calm evening and I didn’t feel like doing anything other than relaxing in a chair with a nice drink. Not long after, Angela joined me and we spent the next two hours just lazing around camp. By 8:30pm, it was time to get dinner going. We had chili and fresh bannock. I love making bannock while camping and Angela does too. The chili is easy, I just buy the microwaveable containers of Stagg as they are burnable after and heat it up in a pot on my stove. The bannock takes about 25 minutes and I can only cook them one at a time. With the first bannock cooking, I went to the woods and collected firewood while Angela mixed us some more drinks. It didn’t take long before I had a good pile to get us through the night. With the first bannock done I tossed on the second and lit the campfire. We hung around the warmth of the fire waiting until the second bannock was done. Another five minutes to heat up the chili and we were in business. I really love chili and bannock, another classic camp food for me. We once again sat around the fire while eating dinner and reminiscing about the day. Sure it may not have been as exciting as the previous one, but still one heck of an awesome day .. heart attack hill or not!

Even though we were both tired after dinner, we didn’t want to hit the hay too early. So after cleaning the dishes and hanging the food, we enjoyed some more refreshments and tossed a few more log on the fire. We hung around camp for another hour or so, before deciding to call it a night. Another hard but awesome day complete.

Day 4 – Monday August 3rd, 2015

Once again I'd had an awesome sleep and decided not to sleep in too late. I was out of the rent by 7:30am and happy to see a sunny blue sky with patches of white clouds. It looked like it could be the first day we wouldn't see any rain. I grabbed the food, fired up the stove for some coffee and spent the morning taking photos of beautiful Nadine Lake and the surrounding forest. I had two coffees before Angela woke up and left the tent.

A sunny start to the day on Nadine Lake.

Looking out at an inviting Nadine Lake.

Today we had the privilege of taking it a little slow, as our travel was minimal. We would be doing one portage and then paddling downstream on the Nipissing River. I love the Nipissing. It's such a beautiful and unique river. From end to end, it changes so many times. After some morning coffee, Angela began making breakfast which was BLT’s on bagels again, while I started packing up the inside of the tent. But what I didn’t know was, she'd been spending some time while I was off gathering firewood packing up the inside of the tent, making a carving in the wooden bench. When I finished in the tent and came out to grab my cup of coffee, I noticed Angela was acting a little strange. I said, "What’s wrong with you?" She sheepishly replied "Nothinggg". I was a little puzzled. Then I saw the carving and something she had placed next to it.

A few months back, I'd asked Angela to marry me. Incredibly she'd said yes. Since then she’s wanted to get me a ring too, but knows I’m not a jewellery type of guy. So she'd wanted to get something I would actually wear. I looked down at the bench and she had nestled both rings together in a carving of a heart with our initials. It was her awesome way of presenting the ring to me. She’s so cute and sneaky too. I hadn't clued-in to what she was doing, even though I had noticed she was carving something on the bench.

Our engagement rings nestled in a carving on the bench at Nadine Lake.

I was so happy I grabbed the ring and put it on. I loved it. It reminds me of the forest, and looks nice too. What a great place to be presented with such a gift. This trip just kept getting better and better. We celebrated for a bit and as it was getting close to noon, we decided to take the tarp down and head out. We'd left the tarp up until the end because we expected the theme of rain to continue. And it did. Within about ten minutes of the tarp coming down and just as we sat in the canoe, it began to rain once again. We put on our rain jackets and sat in the canoe, right next to the campsite for the next 20 minutes. Just as it had done in the last three days, it stopped after a very short while and the sun-mixed-with-clouds returned. I commented to Angela we were now four for four on the rainy days for this trip. So typical of Algonquin!

Not so sunny anymore, eh? I wonder if that engagement .. Nevermind.

Waiting out the rain in the canoe.

Now that the rain had subsided, we began paddling across Nadine Lake towards the south, heading to the portage to the Nipissing River. As we paddled, I looked off to my left and couldn’t help but become curious about paddling down to the narrowing east end to check out the creek for brookies. Perhaps another time, since our goal was to get to the next campsite as early as possible to give us a little extra lounging time. After a quick crossing of the lake, we landed at our only portage for the day, the 1410m leading down into the valley and Nipissing River. I’ve heard this can be one heck of a climb if you’re coming from the other direction, so I was happy to be going downhill on this one. We took our time loading up as the sun was coming out and really changed the view on Nadine Lake. I snapped a few more photos and decided to load up.

We started down the trail and the downhill began soon after. It was a really long and steady hill .. not overly steep, but there was no end or flat ground in sight. We walked about 500m or so and took a quick break at the first canoe rest. Neither of us even bothered to take our packs off, we just wanted a quick break and to finish the trail. After a minute, we continued on for another 500m or so and did the same thing at the next canoe rest. But this time we dropped the packs and took a five-minute breather. I wanted to keep my eye out for a spring near the end of this trail. But I made it to the river without noticing any spring. I'd been hoping to fill the Nalgene’s before entering the Nipissing. It's a beautiful river, but the water is rough on ceramic filters.

About to begin the trail down to the Nipissing River. And it was the only portage of the day!

We launched at 12:45pm and I was looking forward to a nice, lazy-river type of paddle to our campsite located about 11km down river. The sun mixed with clouds continued and there was a light breeze in the air. The minor current of the river was working in our favor and we were having a great time. Half an hour later, we rounded a corner and we halted to a dead stop. Our progress was blocked. Not by a moose or bear, but by a massive white pine that had recently fallen. This tree was huge and had probably fallen within the last couple of weeks. There was absolutely no way under it, due to huge branches pointing down into the water and the logs from a few other trees jammed up against those branches. It would be a slippery and spidery affair to navigate through.

We looked to both shorelines to see which was the better to use as a work-around. The side with the stump from the fallen tree looked very rough, but the other side had the crown of the tree. There was evidence in the mud that people were using the crown side and just climbing over the branches. This was a bit of a challenge, as the river bank is very steep and high, with the only place to stand being a mud bank that would swallow your foot if you stepped in the wrong place. So much for my lazy river paddle to the next campsite, eh? The obstruction in the river took about 20 minutes to pass, but neither of us got wet feet or fell into the river. So, it was a success! Hopefully we wouldn't see any more blowdowns like this.

Seriously massive blow-down just downstream of the Nadine portage!

A beautiful river, once you get past the blown-down that is!

We continued down the Nipissing, through an area called ‘long marsh’. The name fits very well, as this part of the river just snakes its way through a lush green marsh in the middle of a massive valley boarded by hardwoods and pines on high hills. As we approached the section of river where Nadine Creek empties, there was a spot on the north shore where I wanted to get out and poke around a bit. It had a ruins symbol on the map and it was an area where the edge of the forest and hard ground came right out to the river bank. As we passed it, I opted to save it for the next trip as we had 5 days on the Nipissing planned for the following month. I took note of the shoreline and a little gravel beach I could park at to get out and explore, next time for sure.

We paddled for another hour through the quiet marsh. I was surprised we hadn’t seen any moose by this point, since this was prime moose territory. With a little over 5km to go, we decided to take a break on the river and have lunch. Once again, Angela threw together some salami and mustard on bagels and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As we sat in the canoe stalled on tall grasses, we could hear the calls of many birds in the forest. There was no wind, so they could be heard very loud and clear. The sky was a little overcast, but the sun managed to shine through. It was a beautiful day, despite the earlier rain. After lunch, we continued downstream at a slow pace and kept quiet, hoping to see a moose. We had no such luck. An hour later, we came around the final bend in the river and I could see the orange campsite sign in the forest. We landed at the muddy bank and our travelling for the day was complete .. in good time too, as it was just past 3:30pm.

The view from the campsite in the long marsh on the Nipissing River.

View of the campsite. we'd sort of tossed everything around after having to move the location of the tent. The better of the two tent pads would’ve had sparks blowing into the tent.

View of the river from high up on the bank.

I unloaded the canoe up on to the high bank and tied-off the canoe. We surveyed the campsite and I was happy to find it in good shape. I'd stayed at this campsite a couple of times on previous trips, so I'd known what to expect when I got here. Angela really liked the site, she felt like it was very wild and out there – which is sort of true as there are no other sites for a few kilometers. I started to unpack and set up the tent while Angela tended to refreshments. It was getting a little hot out and I debated jumping in the river for a swim. I opted not too as the water is just too dark and I’m worried I’d swim into a sunken tree and freak out.

With the tent set up and the inside taken care of, we lounged around camp with a couple of drinks for an hour or so. We set-up the chairs high on the river bank and waited for moose to appear. None did. this was odd, as the last two times I'd stayed there a giant bull moose had hung out for hours, eating lily’s across the river. But not this time. It was after 5pm and time to start thinking about dinner. The plan was to catch a couple of brookies and enjoy them with fresh bannock and pasta primavera. I grabbed the rod and set a double loon No. 3 with a worm. Usually I wouldn’t use a treble hook, but when I am fishing for keeps, I’ll take all the help I can get. When I fish for fun, I use a jig with a grasshopper or something.

Adjusting the lure while fishing on the Nipissing River.

I tossed a few casts from the campsite in both directions, slowly reeling it back in each time. At one point I had a strike, but then nothing after. Eventually, after a few more casts, I snagged the lure in an underwater tree. I placed the rod on the mud bank and jumped in the canoe. I grabbed the rod and paddled to the other side of the snag, managing to free the line and salvage the lure. Since I was already in the canoe, I figured I’d paddle downstream for about 50m to a connecting stream and toss a few casts that way. I paddled down and gave it a few shots .. nothing. I was surprised because I’ve had very good success with brook trout in the Nipissing before.

I'd been in the boat about 40 minutes, just casting and reeling, casting and reeling. I decided to get a little closer to the connecting stream and beach the canoe on the opposite shore. I sat there in silence and without movement for a few minutes. Then I tossed the line across the river towards the stream. BANG! Something hit the line hard and was giving up a good fight. I tugged to set the hook and reeled him in. It was a good size fish for one meal, but we needed two. I tossed the line to try my luck at another. Nothing on the first cast but on the second I had a bite (even harder than the first). Another good size fish in little under an hour.

Beautiful brook trout pulled from the Nipissing River.

Diced up, battered and fried – can ask for much more than that. Oh wait, you can – lemons too!

I made the short paddle back to camp, to grab my fillet knife and cutting board. Angela collected wood and kindling, while I took care of cleaning the fish> She doesn’t like to be around for that part. With the job done, I managed to get a ton of meat off these guys, with very little waste. I diced up the meat into little chunks to be fried in oil. I tossed the chunks into a zip lock bag with flour and shook it up. Meanwhile, Angela had pre-mixed the bannock into a bowl and I watered it down to make the dough. Since the bannock takes a good while to cook, we boiled some water for the dehydrated pasta primavera and let that sit while the bannock was cooking. Later, with the bannock and pasta ready to go, I fired up the stove one more time and put about a half inch of oil in the pan. I tossed in the brookie chunks and let them fry. We had a huge feast of a meal ready to go to celebrate our last night in the park. We filled our plates and took the chairs out to the river bank to enjoy dinner with a low-setting sun. By 8pm or so, we had dinner finished and the dishes done. There was still plenty of light left so I decided to gather a bit more firewood, so we would have some for the morning too. It didn’t take long, as there were plenty of fresh blow downs in the area. I made a good pile and by then the darkness was setting in.

A beautiful and calm evening on the Nipissing River.

The roaring fire and some tasty refreshments made for a good time. We listened to the crackling of the fire and the call of a barred owl behind us in the woods. He kept it up for a solid hour or so. As the fire burned down, we kept tossing more logs on top – neither of us were interested in going to bed even though it was nearly 11pm. We sat around the fire, enjoying talking about the trip. I was surprised we hadn’t seen a moose yet but the rest of the trip down river would likely change that. Well after midnight, we decided to hit the sack. With the food hung and the fire out, we retreated to the tent for some much needed sleep. Just as I was falling asleep the barred owl kicked up with his calls again – a beautiful sound to go to sleep to.

Day 5 – Tuesday August 4th, 2015

In the early morning light, I opened my eyes. It was just bright enough to see around the tent. I was still kind of tired. But this was the last morning of the trip and I wanted to make it special. I quietly exited the tent and retrieved the food so I could make some coffee. I took the stove down to the river bank as to not wake Angela with its use. Minutes later I had a nice mug of hot coffee in my hand and the sun was just beginning to rise over the valley. I sat my chair at the edge of the river and kept quiet while enjoying my coffee, still hoping to see a moose. Time passed and no moose showed up. A second coffee and another hour with the same result. I wondered where the all the moose had gone? They certainly weren’t here, but hopefully somewhere down river. Around 8am Angela, emerged from the tent and put on some water for coffee. We were both feeling a little sluggish and weren’t overly interested in moving quickly. How can one be eager to leave the park? The silver lining in leaving today was the fact that there was 20 kilometers between us and the car .. a full day’s adventure.

Finally! A beautiful sunny morning that looked like it could last the whole day!!

Sun rising over the Nipissing River.

Breakfast wasn’t anything special .. just oatmeal and coffee. It was a beautiful sunny morning and maybe, just maybe, this would be a day without any rain. With breakfast done and the dishes washed, we still weren’t eager to go anywhere. Angela really loved this campsite and was excited to return to this spot for five days the following month. We took our time packing up the inside of the tent and eventually the tent itself. It was such a nice day, we decided to hang out just a little while longer and make the trek back to the car at noon. I could tell Angela really loved this campsite, because normally on the last day she is eager to pack up and go to get a head start on the long drive home. She said she felt totally at peace here and loved the surroundings.

A warming morning fire to get the chill of the night out.

All packed up and ready to move on.

Like all good things in life, our time at the campsite had come to an end. As noon approached, I loaded the packs and other gear into the canoe. Angela completed the last ‘once over’ of a campsite for this trip. With nothing left behind, we began the downstream paddle and arrived at the first of five portages of the day. This was a simple 365m trail around an old logging dam. At this point we were travelling very light so the load up, carry over and unload process was a breeze.

We crossed the trail in about ten minutes and relaunched onto the river. The weather was still sun mixed with clouds but no rain, so I was happy. It wasn’t long before we arrived at the next portage .. a quick 175m around an old bridge crossing and a small rapid. We crossed the trail without issue and were making good time. It had only been 45 minutes since we'd left the campsite and we already had nearly 4km and two portages down!

But I was wrong about the rain. Within minutes of finishing the portage, the sky opened up. We rushed to get out our rain gear on. So there we had it. It had rained once a day for all five days of this trip. With a slightly slower pace due to the rain, we continued down the winding river while keeping quiet with hopes of a moose sighting. Half an hour later we arrived at the third portage, another short trail at 245m. The rain finally ended and I was happy to not have to wear my rain jacket on the portage. I hate that!

There was a campsite on the other end of the portage that I wanted to show to Angela, because I had stayed there on a previous trip. After we made the quick carry over, we backtracked for about 20m to visit the upper campsite. It’s pretty cool, but without much privacy from anyone on the portage and with a good walk to get fresh water. It did the job for me back in 2012, but I doubt I’d stay here again. Its interesting how your taste for a campsite can change or evolve over the years, like the one I mentioned at the north end of Cauchon Lake on day 2. Once back at the canoe, we pushed out into the little pool at the end of the rapids that the portage circumnavigates. I wanted to do a little fishing for fun, as I knew bass had made it up the Nipissing to this point. I'd caught one here in 2012.

The downstream end of P175 on the Nipissing River.

Doing a little fishing at the end of the rapids at P230 on the Nipissing River.

While I tossed the line into the rapids, Angela spent her time relaxing and taking photos. We did this for about 20 minutes before deciding to move on. The next stretch of river had us paddling for a while before reaching the next portage. At this point, the river straightened out a bit and headed through another huge marshland and a widening of the river named Moose Lake. Surely there would be a moose browsing the lily’s in Moose Lake!

We paddled at a leisurely pace, keeping quite around each corner but never spotted a moose. A solid hour later, we hit Moose Lake and slowed the pace even more. Oddly it was windy here but the wind was blowing towards the west. Of course it was, because we were heading east. We crossed Moose Lake and there wasn't a moose to been seen for miles and miles. I was beginning to loose faith that we would even see a moose on this trip. As we re-entered the narrow river, we continued downstream with ease. This part of the river was pretty much straight lines with the occasional curve.

We passed a campsite that clearly hadn't got much use. I decided not to get out to check it out, because it was getting a little late in the afternoon and there were two more ruin locations I wanted to see. We continued paddling and reached the second campsite past Moose Lake on the river, which was really high up on a steep sandy bank. It would be a real pain in the butt to get water from way up there. I wouldn’t stay there unless I absolutely had to.

It was just after 3pm when we arrived at the landing for the fourth portage of the day .. a quick 230m around some shallows in the river. I had skipped this one in the past and planned to do it again. There are only a couple shallow spots you need to get out and wade, in order not to scratch your canoe and the rest is deep pools. Angela heard rapids, so she opted to grab her camera gear and take the trail. There aren’t any rapids here but some rocky areas that may sound intimidating to someone who knows nothing about white water. I paddled around the portage without having to get out, with minimal scraping.

The inconvenient campsite on the Nipissing River.

I picked up Angela at the other end of the portage and we continued downstream. A few minutes after the potage, we arrived at a little swift that required river walking. The water levels were still fine, so I offered to allow Angela to remain in the canoe while I walked it down the deeper parts of the swift. She agreed and that’s what we did. It was nice to dip my feet in the water, as it was still a warm day despite the earlier rain. Once we passed the swift, I was back in the boat and we continued to paddle downstream. Shortly after 4pm we arrived at the fifth and final portage of the day and trip .. a 915m portage leading to the Nipissing Delta on Cedar Lake. This was also the location of two ruins I wanted to check out .. one at each end of the portage. The ruin at the beginning of the portage was a cave. The other end supposedly had the remains of a logging camp.

We landed at the portage and unloaded, keeping everything off to the side and out of the way in case someone else arrives while we are searching for the cave. I grabbed the camera and GPS, and we got to work. I knew the cave was located between the portage and the river, and within about 150m or so of the west end of the trail. Luckily the gap between the river and the trail isn’t very wide, so we had a reasonable area to search.

We first spotted a huge rock that looked like there may be access to somewhere underneath. But upon further investigation, it turned out to be nothing. We continued the search but had to be very careful as this entire area was littered with huge boulders with deep gaps between them. After about 15 minutes, Angela spotted another huge rock pile and it looked fairly promising. We walked up to it and it looked like it could possibly contain a cave. However, the entrance was so small I doubted anyone other than a small child could get in. We walked back up to the trail and gave it another look. This rock pile seemed to be it, so we approached it from the other side. Headed down the steep rocky trail we approached the pile from the east and BAM! I instantly knew we had found Ald Charron’s secret cave. I recognized the entrance from a photo sent to me by a fellow tripper who had spent a lot of time looking for it. Inside the cave was space enough for a person to hide away in foul weather and remain fairly protected. The inner walls were perfectly flat and situated in such a manner that it almost appeared to be a little room. On the back wall of the cave were a few carvings .. one of his name, one of a native man’s head with full headdress and one of a lady friend to make those cold nights just a little warmer. I was so happy we had located this cave, as I'd tried once before back in 2013 and had failed. This trip had been a complete success from a historical perspective and it wasn’t even over!

Finally found it! Ald Charron’s secret cave.

When you see this rock, head down the slope and take a peek under it.

The entrance to the cave.

Back at the portage, about to complete the last one of the trip!

Once back at the canoe, we loaded up our packs for one last time and headed down the portage. The portage was fairly straightforward, with only one big hill near the beginning. As we passed the location of the cave, I immediately knew how anyone who wasn’t looking for it could walk right by it and never know. I wondered how many thousands of people have crossed this portage without a clue of its existence. I wonder what else we walk passed in the bush with a canoe on our heads. In about 15 minutes we arrived at the other end of the portage and unloaded. Once again I pulled out the camera and returned to the campsite about 30m down the trail. Behind this campsite there were supposedly some logging camp ruins, so I poked around for a bit. I spent a good 15 minutes there and couldn’t find anything other than a bunch of old cans. I found this odd, as my source for this particular ruin was very reliable and I had confirmed the information before leaving for the trip. Satisfied with all the other ruins we'd located on this trip, I decided to save this one for another time. There was another ruins symbol on the map, at a campsite on Cedar Lake just north of the Nipissing Delta. But it was getting late in the day and I figured it was time to get going. We loaded all the gear in the canoe and continued down the river. Once past the double campsite, the river makes a left turn and you are in a huge marsh land.

We followed the current of the marsh instead of cutting through the reeds, which could have been hit and miss. A beautiful paddle through the marsh was our last hope at seeing a moose. Once again we were skunked. Within a half hour, we were about to enter Cedar Lake proper. By now the wind had really kicked up and it was blowing towards the east, funnelling down the west arm of Cedar Lake. Angela was not happy about this, but I knew this was typical Cedar Lake behaviour. We'd been really, really lucky on day one, when we'd paddled up the west arm. I told her to tighten her life jacket and just stay focused, as the next 20 minutes were going to suck. The wind and waves were rough. But constant attention and manoeuvring kept us upright. I couldn’t head directly towards Brent, as that would have had the wind coming at us directly on the left side. I aimed the boat about 600-700m west of Brent, which allowed the wind and waves to come in at a 45-degree angle instead. This plan worked.

After a fairly intense 20 minutes, we made it to calmer waters near the point of land just west of Brent. It was nearly 5:30pm. As we rounded the point of land, we could see the beach and parking lot. It was only a matter of a few hundred meters and it would be all over. The point of land provided 100% shelter from the wind and the last few minutes of the trip we spent paddling a completely calm and windless bay of Cedar Lake. We landed at the beach and were greeted by a huge family of Canadian Geese which were enjoying the sand and water. Angela retrieved the car and began to load up the gear, while I spent a few minutes scrubbing out the canoe. No matter what the weather is when the trip is over, I’ll always wash the canoe out before loading it on the car. With the canoe shiny and clean, I loaded it on the car and changed into some fresh clothes.

We left the tiny town of Brent and decided to make a quick stop at the Brent Crater viewing deck for a few photos. You get a great view of the crater along with Tecumseh and Gilmour Lakes from here, if you’re passing by and you have time on the way out, it’s definitely worth a stopover. After snapping a few photos, we walked back down to the car and continued up the gravel road to the highway, and eventually back to Toronto.

Brent Crater as seen from the observation deck on Brent Road.

All in all, this was definitely the most exciting trip I’d taken so far, It was definitely one of my top three favorite canoe trips of all time. From locating over five different ruins sites, to saving a baby loon and reuniting him with his family, to a ring presentation/proposal from my fiancée. This trip was so full of awesome events, I wish I could do it all over again exactly the same.