Participants: Andrew, the IRI Gang
Dates: 2003-07-31 to 2003-08-04
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Total portages: 4670m
This trip was planned by myself and my colleague Michal Blazejczyk. We had originally hoped to go to Killarney this year, but left the permit reservations too late, and wound up going back to Algonquin, but a different area than the previous trips we took in 2002 and 2001. Despite being a holiday weekend (hence our problems getting permits for Killarney, a much smaller park), the area of Algonquin we are camping in is small enough to feel relatively isolated and quiet.
Michal took care of the financial aspects of the trip, reserving the permits and the hotel. I also reserved a permit as we had two groups that would be camping on different sites, and also took care of all of the food planning for a group of 14 to eat all meals together. In the end, we had a good amount of food without significant excess and both won accolades for an enjoyable and exceptionally well planned trip.
Thursday, July 31, 2003 - St. Catharines to Huntsville
Michal takes care of all of the arrangements for us to stay in Highland Court Motel in Huntsville for the first night as we will pick up the boats in Huntsville tomorrow. We all make our way to Huntsville from St. Catharines after work, and sit around enjoying some relaxation and casual conversation before turning in for the night. As I am travelling with someone less familiar with this part of Ontario, I act as the navigator and have us make a dinner stop at Weber's on Highway 11.
Friday, August 1, 2003 - Huntsville to Algonquin Access Point 3, Magnetawan Lake, Hambone Lake, Daisy Lake
Portages:
1. Magnetawan Lake to Hambone Lake - 135m
2. Hambone Lake to Unnamed Lake - 55m
3. Unnamed Lake to Daisy Lake - 420m
Total for today: 610m
We start the morning with picking up our canoes from Algonquin Outfitters in Huntsville. From there we make our way to Algonquin Access Point 3. Along the way, we need to pick up our permits in the village of Kearney. Unfortunately, this makes it a later start on the water than we have had in the past, but we have a relatively short distance to travel today, so we are still relatively certain to get a decent site. After we turn off the main road through Kearny, the trip follows the dirt logging roads to the parking lot at the access point. At some points, the road becomes quite rough and rocky, making for slower travel depending on how many boats are laoded on each car, but there are no mishaps as all boats make it to the access point.
We have a very short distance to travel on Magnetawan Lake before we reach the first portage. From there it is a short trip around the corner on Hambone Lake to the second, shorter portage. From this end of this portage, we find ourselves on a lake that is marked on the map, but is unnamed. It is a very short hop across this lake to the longest portage of the day. At the end of this portage there is a small dock to put in to the water. Unfortunately, one of the members of our party manages to fall deep into the mud at the end of this portage. A bit of hand washing is in order once we arrive at the campsite.
Once we arrive on Daisy Lake, we make our way for the island in the middle of the lake. There are two sites on this island, and fortunately they are both available. They are also near enough to each other that we can walk on the island between the sites.
All of the first three lakes are small enough that the water remains relatively flat and there is little danger of fighting a serious wind across the lakes. The first day was a relatively short day of paddling and the portages are relatively easy to allow the relatively inexperienced members of our party to gain paddling skill and proficiency.
While most of the people on this trip have been to Algonquin before, one of our members, Miroslava has never camped in Algonquin. This is her first introduction to "the box" as we refer to toilet facilities in the park. It doesn't seem to be quite what she was expecting, but she does manage to adjust to using "the box".
Saturday, August 2, 2003 - Daisy Lake, Petawawa River, Little Misty Lake, Queer Lake
Portages:
1. Daisy Lake to Petawawa River - 135m
2. Petawawa River to Petawawa River - 450m
3. Little Misty Lake to Queer Lake - 2435m
Total for today: 3020m
Today is the tough day in terms of the distance we need to portage, but not so much in terms of the distance we need to canoe on the water. The long portage from Little Misty Lake to Queer Lake is the main reason why I rate this trip of moderate difficulty instead of easy. The portage has a relatively sharp incline at the entry off Little Misty Lake, and a small drop down to Queer Lake. The rest of the portage is relatively flat, and has a bridge at roughly half distance.
The trip along the Petawawa River is relatively uneventful as we follow the flow of the river. We pass a number of other groups as we travel along our way until we arrive at Little Misty Lake. We arrive at the final portage before noon and stop for a quick snack. We opt to make the portage and choose campsites before making lunch. In advance, we decided that the best way to cross this long portage would be to make a single trip, so we load ourselves up with our gear and slowly make our way across the portage.
We wind up on Queer Lake and pick two sites near the exit of the portage. We try to find two sites that are near enough to walk between, but this proves difficult, and the sites we choose are across the lake from each other. We simply need to leave a lantern on the second site while we are all together on one site so that we can navigate back at night.
Unfortunately, we discover a less than desirable feature of this lake while swimming in it on the first day. Some of the rivers that drain into this river clearly pass through a peat bog. So, the water in Queer Lake is black. While it does not feel gritty or dirty, there is enough particulate in the water to make visibility very poor. Its not the best lake for swimming and washing in, but it is a relatively quiet and uncrowded lake for us to enjoy.
Sunday, August 3, 2003 - Rest day on Queer Lake
Portages:
none
Total for today: 0m
Today is a rest day on Queer Lake. Some of spend some time swimming in the lake between the two sites as they are near enough together. Half of our group elects to take a day trip to Tim River. They want to see if they can see a moose along the river, and also some are looking for some cleaner water for washing. I decide to accompany the group to the end of Queer Lake just prior to the portage to Tim River as it gives me an opportunity to practice some solo canoeing. On my way back to the sites, I check out the location of the portage to Little Trout Lake for tomorrow. I talk with a family entering Queer Lake at this point about good sites, and the long portage onto Little Misty Lake that they will take the next day.
Unfortunately for the group that goes away, they discover that there are a large number of portages to cross to get to the Tim River. However, they do find some good areas for bathing, but alas, no moose are sighted.
However, those of us who have stayed at the sites enjoy the appearance of a lone moose feeding in the marsh at the edge of the lake just prior to lunch. We paddle over to observe the moose for a while, and then enjoy a relaxed afternoon and evening on the sites. During the afternoon, a rather bold and curious chipmunk comes to visit us. It wanders around amongst us as we sun ourselves on a rock, and even hunts through a food wrapper sitting next to us to search for tidbits. The next visitor to our site is a garter snake that one of the members of our party manages to catch and we observe it closely for a while before releasing it back into the bush. There are also a large number of wild blueberry shrubs by the rock and I spend some time during the afternoon collecting blueberries.
Monday, August 3, 2003 - Queer Lake, Little Trout Lake, Butt Lake, Hambone Lake, Magnetawan Lake
Portages:
1. Queer Lake to Little Trout Lake - 175m
2. Little Trout Lake to Butt Lake - 435m
3. Butt Lake to Hambone Lake - 295m
4. Hambone Lake to Magnetawan Lake - 135m
Total for today: 1040m
We are able to enjoy the blueberries collected the previous day with our oatmeal in the morning (well some of us do at any rate). After breakfast, we break camp for the final time in this trip and make our way out of the trip.
Little Trout Lake is also relatively small, and we are able to make our way across the lake here relatively quickly to the longest portage of the day. This feels incredibly short after the 2.5km portage we crossed two days prior. Unfortunately, by the time we have arrived at Butt Lake, the wind has increased and the prevailing winds are into our faces making our trip across Butt Lake a bit of a struggle, but it is nothing we can't handle. Unfortunately the direction of the winds mean that my desire to try canoe sailing must wait until another time when the winds are more favourable.
After short hops across the last two lakes, we arrive at the dock, load up the cars and make our way back to the store to return the boats. On our way back to St. Catharines, the rain comes pouring down very heavily, but as we are done our trip, we can enjoy the rain from the dryness of the rail car at Weber's where we have stopped for lunch on the return trip.
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