Algonquin August 2008

September 1, 2008

Back from a great Canoe Trip in Algonquin. I went with Wilderness Adventures, a company I would recommend highly- with one small caveat. The trip, as advertised, is a recreational experience, off the water by 3, time to swim, explore, etc. But ORCA training & certification is also advertized as an option for these trips. 4 of the 7 trippers had signed up looking to do this training, myself included. What this meant was that a lot of time was devoted to instruction, and we were never off the water by 3! That was fine for me, and the other 3, a father and his two sons, ended up joining us in the cert. course and also getting their certification. If I were booking with them and looking for only a recreational experience, I’d ask to be put on a trip with other people with similar intentions.

Fortunately, I wanted the training. And I learned so much from it. Because my physical strength puts some limits on what I can do, I was particularly interested to learn the different techniques that can give you a “mechanical advantage.” This was my favourite phrase of the trip. For carrying & lifting canoes, or hanging food, or making a rope more taught, and especially paddling techniques- I gained all kinds of mechanical advantages! So much so that now, not only do I feel confident to be a lead tripper on a trip, I’m ready to go solo.

And I got more experience with camp cooking gear. We had an outback oven which we used to make brownies, muffins, even bread! We ate like kings.

And this incongruous group of mixed ages and interests, and me the only chic among them, managed to gel in the ways that you do on a trip, when you’re constantly problem solving and learning to work together. John, our trip leader, was a scruffy bear of a man, complete with growls, and a kind heart beating beneath the bombast. You could see it in his eyes, which had a softness behind them, even as he was howling with laughter as he watched you struggle to perform some near impossible task that he had rigged so that it would yield more “entertainment value.” Perhaps we united more quickly because of our common oppressor?

The loop itself was beautiful- it was Algonquin, what more needs to be said- but a higher proportion of portage to paddle than I would like. I never got tired on the water. I do like to get to the point where a portage feels like a break.

The itinerary:

Day 1:

put in at access #4, Rain Lake.

310 m portage at the east end of the lake into Sawyer’s lake, where we camped.

Day 2:

portage 550 m out of Sawyers, into Jubilee.

portage 450 m out of Jubilee into Moccasin,

portage 440m out of Moccasin into Bandit.

We camped on the site on the Island in Bandit lake, but decided in the morning that the campsite nearer the portage is ncier, even if the thunderbox is very close to the tents. Still, the Bandit lake Campsite was my favourite.

Day 3 & 4

portage 540 into We no Na.

portage 370 into Muslim Lake. (we broke for lunch here to get ourselves good and ready for the big portage.)

portage 1030 into Misty Lake. Not a difficult portage. Just long.

We camped on Misty lake for 2 nights- at the first campsite west of the portage. Good rocks for swimming. Lots of space.

Day 5

portage 935 m out of Misty Lake. A trick of the eyes to find this portage, hidden back in the marsh. But it’s there. Raspberries towards the end of this portage fairly burst on the tongue with their sweet tang. It called to mind In the Skin of a Lion, Patrick’s memory of the summer days of his childhood:

“You put the smallest pellet of raspberry onto your tongue and opened it delicately with your teeth. You stood in a field on a hot day obsessed with this precise taste.”

All along the Petawawa for this one. Even with the amount of rain we’ve had this year, this was a narrow, shallow river. Two Beaver Dams, and we encountered one when I was soloing. This was the day BEFORE we had our soloing instructions. After about 10 attempts, I needed a pooosh to get over. I would love to try it again now that I know to get my paddle as close to the center of the boat as possible, so I get more forward moment and have to correct less. John’s most helpful comment to me for this was to try to “scratch my butt” with my paddle. When you do this, you really reach down under the boat and what a difference that makes. Also on this day we met a young woman who had been out on an 8 day solo trip. It was her first and I was anxious to pepper her with questions. She also had an instructive amount of gear with her- looked like next to nothing in her one pack.

We lunched at the campsite on the north side of the river. Wild open campsite with more raspberry bushes- slimmer pickings.

450 portage and then the 135 which was tricky to find- a few forks in the river leading nowhere. Well, they lead somewhere obviously. but not the where we had in mind. Waterslide at the east end of the 135 portage.

We camped on the Petawawa on the north side just before it opens up into Daisy Lake. Nice site- open fire area, wooded tent sites. Blueberry bushes yielded enough for pancakes. Not so nice for swimming. Not that we did.

And Day 6

we head for home- paddle into Daisy Lake, swing north and portage 450 out of there into a creek which was full enough for us to be able to skip the 55 m portage into Hambone. Then West across Hambone where we negotiated the 135 portage with 32 folk beginning their Labour Day Weekend trip, all their bright new Mec dry sacks looking like so much “dangly shit” as John would mutter.

And a quick jaunt to the parking lot at access point 3 and home again, home again.