Algonquin Backcountry ~ Report and Pic's

[solopaddler]

Anticipation

 

They say nothing triggers your memory better than smell.

As I stood on the shores of our access lake in the pre dawn light breathing in the clean sharp smells of cedar mixed with wet sand, a million memories came flooding into my brain.

So many trips over the years.....so many lakes and rivers.

With marriage, kids and commitments I've slowed down a bit over the years, but still it's in my blood.

It felt good to be back.

 

 

 

BillM was my companion on this trip and his enthusiasm was infectious. He's a good lad that Bill.

 

Quickly loading the canoe and donning life jackets we were anxious to be off.

In a move planned to save us some time we strapped my small 2hp motor to the side of the canoe with a bracket. Our access lake was one of the few which allows small powerboats so we figured we'd take advantage.

 

We couldn't have asked for better conditions as we pushed off and fired up the motor, quickly skimming across the glass smooth surface of the lake....

 

 

 

 

 

Thundering Waters

 

As we approached the end of the lake there was a small chute of whitewater with a short liftover on the right. This was where we cached the motor and the real work of paddling and portaging began.

 

 

 

In the calm morning stillness we could hear whitewater pounding the rocks up ahead and a plume of mist could be seen rising into the air.

The next few portages were nothing short of spectacular....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first portage of substance was a chance to suss out our abilities and see what we were able to carry..

I had the light pack and canoe, Billy had everything else.

He looks happy in this picture, that wouldn't last.

 

 

The portage traversed, we had a fairly long paddle upstream through a meadow on a gorgeous little river. Overhung with alders, deeply undercut and tea stained, it literally screamed TROUT!.

We were on a mission to reach our destination though, so the fishing would have to wait.

 

We had several liftovers over low beaver dams enroute and the small river gradually shrank 'till it was no wider than the canoe.

It was still incredibly deep and flowing swiftly though when we finally spied our portage and pulled the canoe up onto a grassy hummock.

 

 

 

The Death March Ensues

 

Now this, this was where the fun really started.

Our longest portage of the trip, well over 2km, and worse it was unmaintained. Unmaintained means just that: a trail so lightly used that it's overlooked by the park maintenance crews.

What that means in reality is tons of deadfalls, and virtually no trail to follow. It was so completely overgrown it wasn't really there.

You've got to have a good eye to follow that type of trail. "Bush eyes" is the term I use.

 

Needless to say both Bill and I decided we'd have to double up on this one. We were ahead of schedule and in no mood to punish ourselves.

Perhaps if we had packed a bit lighter we could have done it, but on this trip we were toting along a few extra luxuries.

(Damn Heineken and their delicious plastic mini kegs of beer. )

 

I don't have too many shots of the trail, I was too busy trying to breathe at the time.

I do have a couple though...

 

 

 

At one point I threw down the canoe and collapsed on my back with the pack pinning me to the ground.

 

In my delirious state I snapped this cool pic of the canopy:

 

 

(Pretty sure Bill has a similar shot on his camera. )

 

When we finally reached our destination we were greeted by this sight at the landing:

 

 

Tons and tons of minnows! Definitely a good sign.

 

On the way back to collect our second load I was able to notice a few more things.

 

The forest floor was covered with these:

 

 

Does anyone know if they're edible? I was tempted let me tell ya!

 

 

Hi Honey I'm Home!

 

We were both pretty ecstatic when we finally loaded the canoe and pushed off on our lake:

 

 

The first priority was of course to set up camp. There was only 1 designated campsite on this lake so we made a beeline for it.

It was, unfortunately, a truly terrible spot. It was on an exposed point with almost no trees and no flat spot for the tent.

Not a chance I was going to set up there. While wondering what we should do Bill spies this on a point across from us:

 

 

Sweeeet!

 

We paddled over to check it out and were pleasantly surprised. It was a very old abandoned park ranger cabin.

Back in the early days of the park these cabins were sprinkled all over Algonquin and manned May-Oct by full time rangers.

They'd use the cabins as a base to explore and patrol their region of the park.

 

It's safe to say this was an old cabin, likely built in the 20's perhaps even earlier.

It had a couple of broken windows and one big hole in the roof but was otherwise very solid.

 

We took stock of the situation and decided to clean it up and use it, we had found our home.

 

The first thing on the agenda was to sweep and clean it as best we could.

 

Then I scampered up onto to the roof with a chunk of tarp to patch it up:

 

 

Billy got a fire going:

 

 

While I cut up my tarp to patch the windows and fashion a tablecloth and groundsheet:

 

 

 

Shortly afterwards we cracked open a keg and threw these beauties down on the grill:

 

 

Can't tell you how good that felt.

 

 

Are there any fish in this lake?

 

That was the question we were asking ourselves the next morning after working the lake fruitlessly for an hour or so.

 

Cast after cast into the most perfect cover imaginable, and nothing.

 

Things were looking grim until we approached the only cliff on the entire lake:

 

 

Suddenly we had a mini frenzy catching a dozen or so one right after the other.

On the downside they were all tiny. On the upside I now had dinner on the stringer.

It's a good thing Bill is allergic to fish otherwise we'd have been fighting over them.

Not a lot of fish pictures were snapped, I guess we both figured there'd be bigger and better specimens down the road...

But alas it just wasn't meant to be.

 

Here's one of 2 I cooked up for dinner. Dusted in flour, lightly seasoned with lemon pepper and fresh dill and sauteed in butter they were delicious:

 

 

Bill had to make do with this :

 

 

 

Onward We Pushed

 

After working our lake hard with limited results for a couple of days we decided to portage into a nearby lake that looked interesting.

With only the canoe and fishing tackle to carry the 1km of portages would be easy...

 

I started off on the trail carrying the canoe:

 

 

Billy followed behind.

 

Enroute we passed a marsh and saw this deer off in the distance. (It's there if you look hard)

 

 

The lake was an emerald gem. Deep green water, huge boulders and fallen trees everywhere....it looked perfect.

 

Unfortunately we fished the entire lake with absolutely nothing to show for our efforts.

 

Kind of a bummer but not overly. At one point we stopped and got out at on a gorgeous rock point.

Bill drowned an air injected nightcrawler while I stretched my back and basked in the sun.

It was nice.

 

 

 

 

Return To Civilization

 

After one more day in our new found home it was time to pack up and head out.

A bittersweet feeling as even though the fishing was sub par the trip itself was excellent.

 

With so much less weight for the carry out we actually made it in one trip. I was pretty happy with that....it was nice to see I've still got it in me.

I actually did the entire 2km with canoe and pack not stopping once.

Billy did damn good as well, with both of us already stronger and tougher after only a few days in the bush.

 

For those that have never done it it's a great feeling of accomplishment.

 

 

 

As we retraced our steps we took the time to fish the meadow creek and waterfalls enroute.

All were teeming with tiny perfect brook trout.

Not big enough to keep, but absolutely beautiful and fun to catch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great way to cap the trip off. I mean how could you not love fishing in surroundings like that?

 

The trip back accross our access lake with the motor was a bit scary...

The lake had huge whitecaps on it and we had to go broadside to them to reach the landing.

Fortunately there's enough rocker on my canoe that we were able to ride them out.

A couple of times though waves washed entirely over the motor and my arm gripping the throttle was completely underwater.

Billy was totally oblivious to what was going on facing forward in the front of the boat.

When we arrived at the landing he actually said "that was fun dude!"

Then I collapsed in a heap on the sand and kissed the ground.

 

All in all a trip to remember. Next time though there will many more large brook trout. (We've paid our dues! )

 

I know Bill has some fantastic photos from his camera that he'll add to this post.

I'm looking forward to seeing them myself bud, especially the ones of me in the waterfall.

 

Cheers all, hope you enjoyed the tale!

Edited May 7, 2009 by solopaddler

[BillM]

I hate canoe's.

 

Was really looking forward to this Mike, I'll post up a few pics off my camera.

 

More pics!!! I took 93 or so, here are a few good ones... All taken with a Canon SD780IS, picked it up the day before we left.

 

 

......and a panoramic shot of the view we were greeted with every morning.. Made it quickly in Photostitch.

 

Edited May 7, 2009 by BillM

[danc]

Nice way to break in the canoe Mike. There's nothing better than the first open water outing in the spring. I hope to be experiencing those same smells on the long weekend. I just hope that my lake of choice is ice free by then.

[Jet]

Thanks for sharing that great adventure. It brought back nice memories of when I lived up in Nipigon - land of the world record - and would trek miles into thick forest to holes that had never seen fishing line. I'm sure your next trip will be full of brookies.

Edited May 6, 2009 by Jet

[blaque]

awesome christening of that "stolen" canoe lol

[ketchenany]

That was an amazing read, thanks for posting . . . who needs fish!

[dannyboy]

Great report, glad you saved some fish for us next week.

 

Dan

[Nemo]

Nice Report Solo. Glad to see the Langford worked well. Too bad about the numbers.

 

Thanks for the photos.

[BUSTER]

great report , thanks

[muskeybugged]

Great report, nice canoe, 5 star Algonquin accommodations!

Felt like I was along for the ride in that report - well written!

[troutologist]

Heck of a trip guys. Thats the way she goes sometimes with specks fish the same lake all week and have 1 morning of catching. This didnt help my cause at all, Ive been barely able to sit still waiting for my trip next week.

[Hooked]

Too bad about the size and #'s of fish, regardless of that, it looked like a real fun time. That is something I've always wanted to do and think I'll plan something like that with my son in the near future, i know he would love it, and no doubt I.

[wallyboss]

Great story, felt like I was there with you.

[JohnF]

*****'s on the report.

 

So how was the new (water)ride? If you mentioned it I missed it, other than the gunnel washer part.

 

JF

[solopaddler]

Thanks for the kind words all.

 

 

 

I hope to be experiencing those same smells on the long weekend. I just hope that my lake of choice is ice free by then.

 

Dan I'll bet you a dollar you'll be good to go. I know the ice west of you is starting to break....

 

 

awesome christening of that "stolen" canoe lol

 

Thanks, I felt extra good paddling it considering how it was aquired.

 

 

Heck of a trip guys. Thats the way she goes sometimes with specks fish the same lake all week and have 1 morning of catching. This didnt help my cause at all, Ive been barely able to sit still waiting for my trip next week.

 

You got that right Jay. Here's hoping your trip is a success bud!

[solopaddler]

*****'s on the report.

 

So how was the new (water)ride? If you mentioned it I missed it, other than the gunnel washer part.

 

JF

 

Thanks John. The new boat is great I love it.

As mentioned she's got more than her share of rocker so very responsive and turns on a dime.

It's not true flatwater boat though, not quite as stable.

It's like driving a Ferrari though, once you get a feel for it she's a joy.

[Leecher]

Great report and pics Mike

 

I know it's deceiving not being able to hook into more bigger specimens after all that effort but that's the way it goes sometimes with specks, one day, you catch one after the other... the next you wonder where they gone to.

 

Loved the scenery shots and you certainly got a lot of those.... such a gorgeous place

Thanks for taking the time to put this report together and sharing it with us

Jacques

[Basskicker]

Simply awesome Mike.... .....It's not always about the fish, half the fun is getting there and getting back. I guess I should start training for the portages..!!!

 

Jason

 

P.S. Who's carrying the tent?

[Joey]

Stellar report Mike. What a goregeous area that is and to have it to yourselves must have been a real treat (well, except for that deer, and yes, I saw it ) No other wildlife while you were out there?

 

Joey

[4thgen]

Looks like a fun trip! Always nice to be out camping regardless of fishing.

 

The forest floor was covered with these:

 

 

Does anyone know if they're edible? I was tempted let me tell ya!

 

Those are false morels.

If you had eaten them, you would probably be dead by now.

[JohnF]

Looks like a fun trip! Always nice to be out camping regardless of fishing.

 

 

 

Those are false morels.

If you had eaten them, you would probably be dead by now.

 

Now, if he doesn't respond to any posts we'll all be concerned.

 

JF

[solopaddler]

Simply awesome Mike.... .....It's not always about the fish, half the fun is getting there and getting back. I guess I should start training for the portages..!!!

 

Jason

 

P.S. Who's carrying the tent?

 

You know comments like "it's not always about the fish" and "at least the scenery was great" is true......

 

But it's akin to saying "well at least she's got a great personality!" LOL!

 

Very satisfying in it's own way but there's just something missing.

 

(And yeah you'd better start training asap. If you ever actually carry that pig on your back I'll give you a medal. )

[muskeybugged]

Looks like a fun trip! Always nice to be out camping regardless of fishing.

 

 

 

Those are false morels.

If you had eaten them, you would probably be dead by now.

 

Is there any enjoyment to be had out of just a bite?

[solopaddler]

Stellar report Mike. What a goregeous area that is and to have it to yourselves must have been a real treat (well, except for that deer, and yes, I saw it ) No other wildlife while you were out there?

 

Joey

 

Thanks Joey. We did see a couple moose along the highway. Beyond that the only other wildlife was early morning pre-coffee Bill. Very scary.

 

 

Those are false morels.

If you had eaten them, you would probably be dead by now.

 

False morels eh? Thank gawd I didn't eat them with my real butter and real steak.

It would've been another Flaming Homer incident.

[tbayboy]

Great report Mike, shame about the fish but they'll be there next time.

 

I hate canoe's.

 

Perfect one line report right there Bill