Day 1 – Friday July 31st, 2015

In the middle of a deep sleep, my eyes suddenly snapped wide open as my mobile phone alarm went off wildly across the room. For a brief second, I had the "Where the heck am I?" feeling, as I was spending the night at a nice little motel in Mattawa. This happens to me every time I spend the night somewhere other than my own bed. I clambered out of bed and slowly began to realize that I was awake this early for a very good reason. I would be beginning a short, but sweet, five-day adventure through the north end of Algonquin Park.

My canoe mate for this trip was my fiancée Angela, who has joined me on several canoe trips in the past. This trip, however, would be a little bit different for Angela. This would be her first five-day canoe trip in which we are moving campsites each day – no layover days – no rest days – just a big loop with plenty to see and some very specific ruins/historic locations to visit. Angela also had a little extra planned for this trip – you’ll hear more about that on day four.

By 6:30am we had showered and were leaving the motel. I took a quick look out at Earl’s Lake and the sight of water had me excited. Soon I’d leave behind the pavement, cell phones and ceilings in exchange for forest trails, tarps and the lack of connectivity – basically, perfection! After a quick stop at Tim Hortons in Mattawa, we were on our way to the permit office. About 20 minutes later, we arrived at the permit office and it wasn’t even 7:10am. This wass perfect because the office only opens at 7am. As far as I’m concerned we got there as early as possible.

A quick and friendly exchange with the permit office staff and we were back in the car. The drive to Brent can feel like a long one – especially when you are so chock-full of excitement because you’re going to Algonquin Park. Eventually, we caught up to a pickup truck also headed down to Brent. While rounding a corner, I noticed the pickup truck suddenly break hard and swerve a little to the left. I noticed something run off into the bush. It looked small, like a dog or something. I figured it was possible a wolf, but I didn’t get a very good look at it. We continued down the road and arrived at Cedar Lake by 8am.

I pulled right up to the dock at the beach and began the process of unloading the car. Angela and I have it down to a science now. While I unload the canoe, she unloads the packs and other equipment. I did a quick once-over in the car, to make sure we didn’t forget anything. I then parked the car, where it would spend the next 5 days. While heading back to the canoe, I passed the guys in the pickup truck and asked them what ran across the road in front of them. "A bear!" one guy replied. Wow, didn’t see that coming. I would’ve guessed a wolf, but I didn’t hadn't got a good look at it.

Back at the canoe, we geared up and put on our PFD’s! It was a good day to be paddling Cedar Lake, as there was absolutely no wind. It was dead calm .. perfect paddling conditions. We didn’t have a very long day ahead of us. Our destination lake was Little Cauchon and I was aiming for a beautiful rocky campsite that I remembered seeing while passing through the area back in 2012. I remembered it being the best campsite on the lake, so I was really hoping it was vacant. As we paddled up Cedar Lake, Angela was taken back by the view .. giant rolling hills surrounding the lake.

Looking across Cedar Lake towards the Nipissing Delta.

Relatively calm waters on a usually rough and windy Cedar Lake.

AS we passed by Gilmour Island, I pointed out a little rock that a friend and I had stopped at last year for lunch, while waiting out some foul weather. In a little over an hour after leaving the beach on Cedar Lake, we arrived at our first historic destination of the trip .. the Kish Kaduk Lodge. I had tried to visit this location twice in the past, both times failing to do so as the campsite was occupied and I didn’t want to intrude. As we rounded the rocky outcrop, I was thrilled to see that the campsite was vacant and I would finally get to see the ruins!

Old rail wheels and rail remains leading into Cedar Lake.

Cooking stove from on of the Kish-Kaduk buildings.

We landed at the campsite and immediately saw interesting artifacts. There's an old rail system that leads into the lake as well as an old stove and other scattered metal. While impressive, I knew the really good stuff was behind the campsite, up the hill. Angela and I both photographed the ruins and artifacts in the immediate area. We then continued up a narrow trail to see the rest. What remains at the top of the hill is truly breathtaking! Just standing there makes one's mind race back to a time when this place was thriving and flourishing. Now however, only collapsed walls and stone chimney stacks remain.

We spent our time carefully photographing the area. The sun was out and it was still a little cool on account of it being morning, so the bugs didn’t seem to bother us here either. As you explore closer and closer, you begin to notice things you may not have seen the first time around .. little stone pathways, stone edging, possibly boarders for a garden. And there are the negative things .. discarded batteries and other items that are harmful to the environment. Different times, I guess.

Stone chimney stack surrounded by collapsed walls.

Storage building at the rear of the Kish-Kaduk property.

After 45 minutes at the ruins, we figured we photographed as much as we could and decided it was time to move on. Our day was mostly paddling with only two very short portages. Knowing this, we decided to bring in a little extra wine and food for the first night. Continuing up Cedar Lake and eventually through Little Cedar Lake, I mentioned to Angela how happy I was that the wind was cooperating. It was still a very calm day. As we arrived at the narrow channel leading to Aura Lee Lake, Angela became very nervous. She has difficulty seeing under water (I need to get her some polarized glasses) and she was worried we may hit a rock. Now if you’ve been through this area, you know hitting a rock here isn’t as simple as hitting a rock somewhere else – these are some extremely jagged and sharp rocks, hitting one would surely damage the canoe's gel coat. I told her not to worry and just keep a close eye – but before I could finish saying that I hear ‘cruuuuunch’ and we were stuck. Oh well, it’s happened, lets deal with it a move on. I stepped outside the boat to ease the weight off the rock and moved it into the deeper part of the channel, then climbed back in. No worries, it happens!

We made our way down the narrow channel and arrived at the railway underpass. Being terrified of spiders and other creepy-crawlies, Angela threw on her bug jacket and ducked down while I paddled through the dark and narrow tunnel. A huge sigh of relief was heard from the front of the canoe once we were on the other side. And rightfully so, as there were some pretty big spiders on the wall in that tunnel!

Paddling the narrows between Little Cedar Lake and Aura Lee Lake.

Approaching the now-named Spider’s Underpass railway bridge.

We arrived at Aura Lee Lake proper at 10:50am and we didn’t have much further to go. Once again, I pointed out a campsite that I had made previous use of, and after only a few minutes of paddling we arrived at our first portage of the day .. a 345m portage which would take us to Laurel Lake. With the extra comfort items we'd brought for day one, we'd anticipated having to double-carry the two portages. But after loading up, we realized that with just a little suffering, we could do it in a single carry! So on we went, loaded to the max, but single carrying. We crossed the portage in about five minutes and were both really happy that we didn’t have to go back and do it again. Honestly, I love single carrying and loathe double carrying – but sometimes its necessary.

We launched onto Laurel Lake and noticed the wind had picked up a little. It wasn’t intense or annoying, but it was definitely coming. Laurel Lake is a small, roundish lake surrounded by big hills – one of which in particular is tall and round. I remembered seeing this hill from the other side while paddling down Hurdman Creek last year. I’d like to stay on this lake some day, but the island campsite looks a little over used. Not long after launching onto the lake, we arrive at the take out of P135 leading to Little Cauchon Lake. This short portage has a nasty bite to it – the first 30 meters or so is very uphill and very rocky. It’s probably one of the more challenging short portages out there. Using the same system as last time, but taking a very quick break at the top of the hill, we managed to make the crossing and arrive at Little Cauchon Lake by 11:55am.

About to launch on Little Cauchon Lake from the portage to Laurel Lake..

The Little Cauchon end of this portage is very picturesque. It looks like a little pond with the railway trestles in the background. We stopped for a quick water and rest break before continuing on the final leg of the day. After all, it wasn’t even noon yet and we were on our destination lake. About ten minutes or so went by and Angela suggested we make a move so we could get the desired campsite and have lunch. I agreed as the wind was picking up a little.

We took our time paddling. Once under the railway trestle, we emerged onto Little Cauchon Lake proper. This is a long narrow lake and due to its orientation can become very windy. The wind had picked up since Laurel Lake, but it still wasn’t a problem. We paddled to the west shore and began to follow it. While passing the first two campsites I took note that the second one looked pretty decent, so if our targeted site was occupied we could backtrack a few hundred meters and claim the second campsite. At around 12:40 we were approaching the final outcropping that was blocking our view of the campsite. I was sincerely hoping it was vacant as I was hungry and hot – I wanted to take a swim off those rocks!

The tent pitched high up off the water on Little Cauchon Lake.

Looking down towards the water from the tent pad.

Around the corner, we came and YES! The campsite was available. I was so very happy, as it just looked so inviting. It’s a massive sloping rock. At the back, it’s probably fifty or sixty feet above the lake and continues on a gradual but consistent slope right into the water. It was a great campsite indeed! We arrived just in time too. The wind was really kicking up and it was bringing some dark clouds along with it. We gave the campsite a once over and decided to place the tent up high above the fire pit and seating area. While I setup the tent, Angela covered the seating area in a little old tarp we use for above the fire.

Good thing we hadn't messed around, because not 10 minutes after getting the rain fly on the tent a HUGE rainstorm arrived. We didn’t have time to put up the big tarp. So here we were, huddled down under this tiny tarp, with huge gusts of wind and rain coming at us sideways. Luckily, the way the rocks and seating area were situated, we were mostly protected from the side-winds and rain. But man-oh-man, it was raining so hard at one point that we both just looked at each other and laughed. What else can you do? The tent was up and our gear was protected, so might as well just sit back and enjoy the show. But I really can’t stress how intense the rain was. A LOT of water was falling from the sky.

The rain was approaching from the north-west.

It became very dark once this cloud made its way across the entire sky.

The rain lasted about a half hour. It tapered off and eventually blue sky returned. We had a quick lunch of salami sandwiches with mustard on bagels, after which I decided to go and forage for wood. Angela setup the interior of the tent and we pretty much spent the rest of the day lounging on the rocks. By 4pm or so we were really glad we had the advantage of an early start because the wind had strengthened. The few groups that passed us all had the same disappointed "darn – its occupied" look on their faces, as they struggled to push on.

Steak along with roasted potatoes, corn on the cob and jerk broccoli & onion.

As dinner time rolled around, the dark clouds did too. It looked like it would be opening up again, so we decided to get cooking. The menu was steak with roasted potatoes, sour cream & chives along with jerk broccoli & onion and corn on the cob. Paired with some red wine, it was thoroughly enjoyed. I love a fire-cooked steak. I love eating dinner in Algonquin under a tarp. Great food and great company on our first day. I couldn’t be happier.

With dinner finished, Angela cleaned up the dishes while I searched for a spot to hang the bear-rope. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find a decent location as the choices were very limited. It was becoming increasingly dark due to the clouds and by 9pm we both decided to head to bed. A good call too, because as we approached the tent it began to rain lightly – a perfect sound to fall asleep to.

Day 2 – Saturday August 1st, 2015

Morning mist, looking up Little Cauchon Lake.

Trees through the mist on the opposite shore.

6:05am and I was out of the tent. I try not sleep in while out in Algonquin. The early hours of the morning are my favorite. Everything is still so quite and the forest is just beginning to come alive with the song-birds. This morning was a little more special than others, it was very foggy out and it must have rained hard throughout the night. I grabbed my camera and began to take photos up and down the lake. It was such a beautiful morning.

I untied the food from the tree and set up my stove away from the tent, so as to not wake Angela. With water in the pot and the pot on the stove, I was eagerly awaiting my first cup of coffee. I may have had a little more wine than I should have the night before – but I had too – I didn’t want to carry it across 6 portages today. With the water boiled I made a coffee, grabbed my chair and sat down next to the shore. Just looking around and across the lake, enjoying the view and the silence.

It had that August feel to it, cool dewy mornings and it felt like it could be a hot day. I relaxed by the lake for about an hour, enjoying the coffee. About an hour and a half after I woke up, Angela emerged from the tent. She was trying out a new sleeping pad and slept very well. Good thing too, because we would be travelling nearly 27 km with 6 portages totalling over 5600m. A tough day indeed!

A quick look at the campsite before packing up.

Bacon, eggs & hash browns for breakfast!

With a cup of coffee on the go, Angela made breakfast while I took down the tent. We had a semi-luxurious camping breakfast. Real eggs, bacon and hash browns. It was amazing and filling. I didn't know that I would eat that much. I almost didn’t feel like going anywhere after that. With everything packed up, we hit the water at 9:45am. There are two planned stops along the way today, both of which are on Little Cauchon Lake. We had hoped to visit a third ruin location on the other side of the lake too, but yesterdays wind and rain prevented that from happening, so we would save it for another time.

The first ruin I wanted to check out was an old cabin along the portage to Gouinlock Lake. I had seen it in a trip report and wanted to add it to my ruins collection. We paddled over and in only a few minutes arrived at the trail to Gouinlock Lake. Within seconds, I looked to my right and saw the collapsed cabin. "That was easy," I thought to myself. However, while photographing it I wasn’t so sure this was the same cabin I saw in the trip report. The logs looked different from what I remembered. I doubted there were two cabins on the portage, so I must have been thinking of something else. Little did I know, there actually are two cabins on that trail and this wasn’t the one I was targeting.

The exterior front of the little cabin along the portage to Gouinlock Lake.

The interior of the same little cabin.

It was a cool little cabin. Some think it may have been an ice house, as it’s pretty small. But who knows really. Satisfied with finding our second ruin location of the trip, we continued up Little Cauchon Lake to our next target. This next spot was recently disclosed to me by a fellow tripper, who had visited the site some 20 years earlier. I was told I would find it along Windermere Creek. I figured the best starting point was the portage to Windermere Lake so we headed over there.

While paddling around the point of land that divides the two portages, I noticed a foundation and some ruins there. We pulled over and found a massive foundation, along with a few areas that had log walls. This was an impressive place, but a little less so because by the look of the materials, this probably wasn’t very old – maybe 50 or 60 years – or less. It was still very cool and we spent about 20 minutes photographing the area.

The unexpected foundation on the point of land between the two portages.

Part of this building had cabin-style log walls, perhaps additions to the original structure.

The wind was picking up and I wanted to get going, as we would be facing the wind for about 10km while paddling to the upper end of Cauchon Lake. We paddled over to the start of the portage to Windermere Creek and started to explore. While Angela followed the portage trail proper, I followed the creek. I could hear the sound of water falling and this fit the bill for what I was looking for. Apparently there used to be some type of power generating facility here that used the water falling over the rocks to turn a waterwheel connected to a turbine. How cool would that be to find out here?

I followed the sound of the water and a very faint trail to one of the most scenic water falls in Algonquin Park. It’s not huge. Nor does it have massive volumes of water flowing over it. But it was tucked away in a little hollow of land, which creates a bit of an echo. Arriving at the ruin site, I immediately knew I was looking at the right place, even though the entire structure had collapsed. There was evidence of power generating equipment here, along with tools, structures and even an intact glass window in one of the collapsed walls. I called out to Angela to see it. She came over and was equally impressed. We both photographed the area and the waterfalls then just sat back for a while and took it all in.

The bigger of the two waterfalls, this is the main power house structure.

A closer look at the ruins of the collapsed structure.

A tranquil little waterfall sits just next to the ruins.

While walking back to the canoe, we talked about how we’ve barely been there for 24 hours and had already found 4 of the many ruins sites we came to see. And there were still plenty more! Back in the canoe, we began the long paddle up Little Cauchon Lake. Unfortunately, the wind was not as kind as it was yesterday and the paddle was a bit of a struggle. It took us a long time to reach the bridges that divide Little Cauchon Lake from Cauchon Lake.

By the time we arrived at Cauchon Lake, I was pretty tired and not looking forward to the rest of the day. After a quick snack, some water and a few minutes’ rest we continued into the wind and up the lake. I had wanted to show Angela the damage to the forest behind the first campsite from a tornado a few years back. But with the wind blowing as hard as it was, I just wanted to get to the end of the lake, since by then our route direction would take us out of the prevailing winds.

Approaching the bridge that divides the two Cauchon Lakes.

Around 12:30pm, we arrived at a little island close to the end of Cauchon Lake and decided to take a break behind it, out of the wind. Our arms were tired and I was a little hungry. We relaxed and had another snack and water. I had a déjà-vu moment as I suddenly remembered breaking at this very same spot back in 2012 for the same reason. With a little more energy we made the push to the end of the lake . We first tried to pass the island on the west side. But this was a fail, as it’s not really an island as much as it is a jetty of land. We backtracked and went around the other way, eventually making our way to the landing of the portage to Mink Lake.

I made sure to pay attention to the last campsite on the Cauchon Lake, as I remembered making a mental note about it back in 2012 while on a previous trip. I couldn’t remember what made me think it would be an awesome site (it does have an interesting view), but I was glad I would get to see it again. Well, I have no idea what I was thinking in the past, because as we approached the campsite I immediately knew I would never stay there unless I had to. It’s not that it was horrible. It was just a small patch of land at the bottom of a steep hillside. It didn’t stand out in any way, shape or form. There are much better campsites on Cauchon Lake. Strange, perhaps I was thinking of somewhere else.

We arrived at the landing for the portage to Mink Lake and I told Angela that this one wasn't too bad, nor was it very long. We managed to cross it in about ten minutes. We stopped there for lunch .. once again Salami sandwiches with mustard on a bagel. This is my favorite lunch in Algonquin because it takes mere minutes to assemble. It's simple/clean to eat and provides a lot of energy. After eating, we made a quick launch onto Mink Lake. Angela’s heart sank. She looked up the lake towards Kiosk, with the wind blowing hard in our face. She then said, "Oh no, please no." I assured her we weren't headed that way, and would only be on this lake for a few minutes. We crossed the lower end of the lake and entered Mink Creek. It was a beautiful little creek; but too short, as the portage appeared within a minute.

This was a slightly longer trail at 1165m. But as I remembered, it was fairly flat and followed an old railway spur for most of its length. It also has the added bonus of a really cool ruin structure at the other end. There was a canoe and some other gear at the landing, so I figured someone was double carrying. Once again we loaded up and began down the trail. We walked for about ten minutes then stopped for a break. I figured we were about half way down this trail. It was getting a little hot out and I was beginning to miss the coolness provided by the wind – but my arms weren’t.

After a five minute break, we loaded back up and continued down the trail, passing two gentlemen on the way who were headed back for their second load of gear. Another ten minutes of walking and we reached the marshy end of Club Lake. I took the canoe right down to the landing and then came back up to check out the old lumber building with Angela. I had been here twice before, so I wasn’t as interested in it as she was. But still, this is a very cool structure. We took several photographs and decided to continue on. It was now 2:10pm and we still had 13km and 4 portages to go.

Looking out onto a beautiful and marshy Club Lake.

Ruins at the Club Lake end of the portage from Mink Lake.

While paddling the marshy area known as Club Lake, Angela mentioned that this was her favorite spot in Algonquin to date. She loves marshes and wetlands. For most of the journey across the lake, Angela took pictures while I slowly paddled. As we approached the lower end of the lake, a few dark clouds rolled in and I thought it would rain at any moment. Luckily, it didn’t! We crossed Club Lake and arrived at the marshy entrance to Mink Creek.

At the mouth of the creek we saw two couples looking all around, as if they had lost something. I paddled to the entrance of the creek and one of the guys was out on the muskeg, looking west. I asked "What’re you looking for?" and he replied, "The portage to Mouse Lake." Man, he was way off! Looking back at it, if I hadn't come through, who knows how long he would’ve been looking there. He was nowhere near it. "It’s way down there at the end of this creek," I shouted while pointing southeast. "Trust me, I’ve been through here before." That line must have convinced him because he hadn’t seemed too interested in my first response.

Meanwhile, the other couple was trying to find their way through the tall grasses and into the creek proper. The entrance to Mink Creek from Club Lake can be hidden and if you take the wrong channel, chances are you'd have to get your feet wet, or have to turn around and try again. When Angela and I first arrived at the tall grasses, we went down the wrong channel and saw this couple. There was a tiny channel in front of them leading to the main creek, but you’d have to get out to make it through. And that’s what this couple planned to do. Well, perhaps the guy planned to and the girl had no choice. But she did not look impressed at the idea of stepping out into this creek. I looked at the creek, looked at Angela and said "Let’s paddle around." We went the long way around and it only took a couple of minutes. Just as they were stumbling through the mud up to their waist and finally reaching the creek, we paddled by dry as a bone. The girl looked especially irate and we got a little evil eye. It's likely there were leaches in there!

Paddling the marshy narrows between the upper and lower sections of Club Lake.

We paddled down the creek, with the other two couples behind us, and eventually arrived at the portage to Mouse Lake. Once again it was a short portage at 610m, so we geared up and made the move. I was starting to feel like we were loosing too much time and it was causing me a little stress. We still had 3 portages after this one, two of which were around 1500m. Once again we made a quick crossing of the trail and wasted no time paddling across a very round Mouse Lake. The wind kicked up again but it didn’t really affect us, as we were sort of headed in the same direction. While crossing the lake, I pointed out a beautiful beach campsite I had stayed at previously. Before we knew it we were on the other side of the Lake. This portage was a decent one at 1705m. We knew this one would take some time. The plan was to tackle it in chunks, the first part being the smallest as there was quite a bit of uphill until you hit the logging road.

We loaded up and began the carry. Both of us were getting tired and the weight of our packs plus the uphill grade was beginning to take its toll. After only 7 or 8 minutes we stopped for a rest and some water. A few minutes later, we continued on and were able to go for a bit longer as the trail had finally levelled out. About 2/3 of the way through the trail we stopped for another break and more water, this time hanging out for five minutes or so to regain some energy. I looked at the GPS and we had about 500m to go, so I told Angela if we just walk for about 8 solid minutes we would be at the other end. Eventually, we made it to the creek and we were both happy that portage was over.

Angela was tired. But I wanted to get moving, so I told her she could chill out in the front of the canoe with a snack, while I paddled us down Mink Creek. This gave her a short 20-minute break. This part of Mink Creek is really beautiful, surrounded by young pine growth. It almost feels a little boreal. A little under 20 minutes later and we arrived at the take out for the P190 portage leading into Big Thunder Lake. Originally I'd wanted to stay the night there but unfortunately it was booked, so we'd decided to push on to Erables. We crossed the short trail in less than five minutes. I’ve always wanted to paddle Mink Creek right to the lake and see the waterfalls along the way. But today wasn’t the day to do it. While on the portage, some really dark clouds rolled in and it felt like 8pm! I had a feeling we are in for a drenching.

We took a chance and decided to paddle across Big Thunder Lake but remained very close to shore, in case lightning appeared. Well, let me tell you, Big Thunder Lake surely lived up to its name. About half way across the lake, some of the loudest crackling and thunder I’ve every heard began. You could actually feel the ‘booms’. We couldn’t see any lightning and it wasn’t raining yet. We decided to make a super fast push to our final portage. A few minutes of nerve-trembling paddling and we arrived at the landing to P1495 to Erables Lake.

Angela put her rain jacket on for this trail, I left mine off as I would be under the canoe anyway. We loaded up and within seconds of taking our first steps, the clouds opened up and it just poured on us. It was very thick, very hard rain. We continued down the trail and the forest cover helped a little, But there were a few points at which so much water was dripping off the boat I began to laugh to myself. I thought "How ironic. The bottom of the boat is wet either way today." Just one of many silly thoughts one has while crossing a long portage. We walked for a solid ten minutes through the rain and I shouted out to Angela, asking if she wanted to take a break. She was doing well and I was too, so we decided to keep walking. The trail was relatively flat and easy to work with. However, one section was a bit of a boulder garden and required extra time when its slippery due to the rain. Surprisingly, after another fifteen minutes we arrived at the other end of the portage. I couldn’t believe we'd walked the entire distance without taking a break. It took about a half hour to walk the trail, and the rain had lasted for the first 20 minutes or so.

Finally, the last portage of the day was complete. The rain had stopped and there were patches of a soon-setting-sun here and there. We were both very tired. It was a long day with a lot of portaging and we still weren’t at our campsite. But we were on the destination lake. It was 6pm but we only had a little over a kilometer or so of paddling to go, as I was targeting the western campsite on the southern most island of the lake.

Happy to see the rain gone, we took our time paddling across the lower end of Erables Lake. About half way across, I saw something moving in the water. It kind of looked like a moose, but it was moving pretty fast. "Get you zoom lens out. I think that’s a moose up there." I said softly while continuing to paddle. With her zoom lens setup, Angela held up the camera and took a few shots. "It’s a bear!" she exclaimed. "What?! Are you sure?" I asked. "It’s definitely a bear!" she replied. I was so happy – finally, ithad happened. I’ve been tripping in Algonquin for years and I have never seen a bear while out on a canoe trip. In fact, the first bear I’ve seen within the boarder of Algonquin Park was just the day before, the one that ran across the road in front of the pickup truck. So here at the end of our super-long and exhausting day, we had a bear swimming across the lake. Boy can they swim fast! We watched quietly as he made it to the south shore of the lake and clambered out onto a rock then disappeared into the forest. Both Angela and I were in awe at this sighting, and I loved every second of it.

Our first bear sighting while on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park .. an everlasting memory.

With the bear off into the woods, we continued paddling and approached the first campsite on the right. It looked like it would be a haven for mosquitoes and other biting insects. We continued through the narrows and entered Erables Lake proper. Looking at the southern most mainland campsite and not being impressed, we continued to the original target on the island. Once around the corner and with the island in view, I immediately knew I wanted to stay there. It just looked so beautiful with the sun and clouds off in the distance. Passing the first campsite, we opted for the western most site.

We finally made our landing at 6:30pm and though exhausted we were both really happy with our new home for the evening. This campsite is on a southern point so you get both sunrise and sunset from anywhere on the site. It had solid benches and great tent pads. It’s a little too close to the neighbouring campsite, so if it was occupied I would be less inclined to stay here – but it wasn’t, so we did!

Beautiful shadows on the lower end of Erables Lake.

Approaching our home for the evening .. a sweet little island on Erables Lake.

Then something strange happened. Within about two minutes of landing on the campsite, a couple of loons who were swimming just off shore began to freak out. And when I say freak out, I seriously mean freak out. I’ve never seen or heard any loon do what these two were doing. And they wouldn’t stop or go away. It was very, very odd. I started pondering why they would act in this way, then thought there may be a nest nearby. I looked all around the shoreline and campsite for a loon’s nest, but there was none. The whole time I was searching the loons were still making their insane calls while flapping and dancing on the water. I was truly puzzled, so was Angela. We could hear the stress in the voice of those birds, but I couldn’t understand why. Then suddenly I heard something. I told Angela to listen and she heard it too. ‘Peep peep peep peep!’ I could hear the tiny calls of a baby bird, but I didn’t know where it was coming from. Angela could hear it too but was also unable to find the location. We looked around and suddenly spotted a baby loon, floating in the water among the reeds. He was peeping a lot and when he saw us, he swam directly towards us and up to the rocky shoreline where he sat, peeping away. Meanwhile the parents were still losing their minds trying to call the baby bird back. He just wouldn’t listen. He stayed next to the rock for a while and then at one point he began to swim out to the lake towards his parents. Angela and I were so happy; he was finally figuring it out! Then for whatever reason, he turned around and headed back to the safety of the rock where he stayed and continued peeping away. I told Angela we need to disappear for a while and maybe the parents will come retrieve him. We walked through the forest to the other campsite and remained there for about 20 minutes.

This loon was calling out and sounding very stressed.

She began to dance and splash water in an effort to distract us from her young.

After allowing some time to pass, we returned to the campsite. To our dismay, the parents seemed to have given up and had swum out to the middle of the bay, while the youngster was still hanging out at the rock. "Raccoon food." I thought to myself, "I guess this is the way it goes sometimes." Well, Angela was not having any of that. She asked if we should deliver the youngster to his parents out in the bay. I declined the request, citing the fact that we should not be interfering with the natural order of things. I said, "what if this is the way its supposed to happen, and a raccoon is now fed tonight instead of starving?" But she rebutted. "What if we are the reason they became separated in the first place?" She had a point there. As we had approached the island, we had seen the two loons – but absolutely no sign of a chick. Maybe it was close to shore and we came between them? I can’t say for sure one way or another, so she had me thinking.

The cutest little baby loon you’ve ever seen. I'm so happy we managed to save this little guy!

"If they smell us on their baby, they’ll likely abandon it anyway." I claimed. "I’ll wear the rubber fish gloves – they probably like the smell of fish!" she replied. How can you argue with that? Reluctantly I put the canoe in the water, while Angela secured the baby loon. She got in the canoe and I headed out to the middle of the south-west bay. I looked around and couldn’t see the parents anymore. Neither could Angela. I paddled some more, as I figured they were fishing under water. A moment later I saw them appear just to our right. This actually worked out perfectly for two reasons. Firstly, the wind would carry the scent of the youngster to them. And secondly, if they disappeared underwater, the wind would blow the chick in their general direction while we make our getaway.

I paddled quickly but quietly and we were within about 30 feet of the parents. My goal was to paddle by quickly, releasing the bird as soon as we were parallel to the parents, then continuing on and out of there quickly. The plan was in motion. I was moving at a good pace when suddenly one of the parents went under. "Get ready." I whispered to Angela. "Now!" I said a few seconds later. With that, Angela gently released the chick over the edge of the canoe and into the water. And then the other parent went under. "Shoot!"’ I said, but continued to paddle quickly as to vacate the area. "Where are they? Where are they?" Angela asked. Then, just at that moment the parents popped up.

The chick was still peeping away and the plan worked. He was blown closer to them. Within seconds they were reunited. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in Algonquin. Minutes before I’m sure these birds had assumed their young was dead and gone. Heck even I was convinced of the same. But there it was, alive and well. For about 5 minutes I didn’t paddle or speak. Nor did Angela. We just watched. It almost sounds made up but the loon family literally swam off down the bay into the sunset-lit water. Like I said, it was the most beautiful experience I’ve had in Algonquin.

While paddling back to the campsite, we didn’t say anything to each other. We just made our way back to the island in silence. I couldn’t believe what we just did. Nor could I believe it actually worked. I told Angela I’m glad we went with her gut instinct instead of mine. I know you shouldn’t mess with nature, but seeing those birds reunited removed any doubt I had about helping. I was really happy. What a way to end an already super long day. By this point Angela and I were both mentally and physically exhausted.

It was almost 9pm and we hadn’t started dinner, collected wood or even set up the tent! Luckily the dinner was relatively easy to make – Butter Chicken on a bed of Indian-style rice. I set up the stove and began to boil some water. In the mean time, I set up the tent so Angela could fix up the interior. Nighttime had arrived, so I grabbed my headlamp and quickly scoured the island for some firewood. There wasn’t much around, but enough to have a quick fire while eating dinner. With the rice and chicken ready to go, I grabbed some dry pine needles and got the fire going. We ate as fast as humanly possible as we talked about the long and tough day. It had certainly been a long one, with several ruin locations in the morning and two very memorable wildlife encounters in the evening.

The moon rising above the trees on Erables Lake.

With dinner done and the dishes washed up, it wasn’t long before I hung the food and we both hit the sack. I just knew Id sleep well. We were in bed by 11:00pm and asleep by 11:01!

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.