Paddle Adventure: 6 Nights in Algonquin

[Redoleary]

My wife, my friend and I had a nice 6 night stay in Algonquin. We did approximately 50 mile figure 8 shaped route with over 6.5 miles of portaging (nearly 20 miles of walking because we double portage). Weather was better than could be expected, got rained on once or twice by passing clouds but no sustained rain all week.

This may not sound like a lot of paddling but we spent a lot of time on the water and on the portages. My buddy had just been diagnosed 2 days before the trip with Lyme disease so he was struggling with both the symptoms and the antibiotics.

We probably seen at least 6 or 7 moose as well as some otter, beaver and of course lots of loons.

We had some windy days but the canoes handled it admirably. Bugs would get a little crazy about 9pm but would pack it in by around 10. Had a couple of nice starry nights etc. Overall it was just a great week. On the second to last day on a 2400 m portage my wife fell and pulled some muscles in her foot, fortunately we'd already made one trip and we were on the second carry when she fell. The remainder of the portages for the trip were all less than 400 m so I could fairly easily carry a pack and a canoe then go back to get the food and the other pack. Fortunately she could get around ok using a walking stick.

We did have some loud neighbors on our last night, teenage boys who's parents never once suggested that they be quiet at any time for any reason.
I get that teenage boys can be loud but it wouldn't hurt to remind them that they're not the only ones in the park. (rant over)

Tried a few new food items during the week that worked out well, most notably was the Ovaeasy into which we put dehydrated onion,green pepper and potatoes and shelf stable bacon...what a treat. I bought some sort of starter kit of Harmony House dehydrated veggies etc and added them to various meals, just off the shelf grocery store items. In every case the harmony house stuff was somewhere between good (potatoes) to great (onions and green beans).

EDIT: I forgot to mention but I feel I should point out that we received exemplary service from Algonquin Outfitters, they were very accommodating with our last minute changes in canoe rental as well as even suggesting that although we picked up a canoe at one store we could drop it at another because it would be more convenient for us. We we very happy with their service.

Anyway, heres a bunch of photos:

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[Caminante]

Brilliant shots! Somebody knows their way around a DSLR, especially those Milky Way shots. I think the last time I saw stars like that was actually in Algonquin. Thanks for sharing.

[Bubba]

Awesome pics! What access point did you use? I bought a Novacraft Prospector last month (IIRC you mentioned wanting one somewhere ) but haven't been able to get out on a trip yet. Been itching to go on a trip and your pics are like a little fix. Thanks Red!

[Redoleary]

Brilliant shots! Somebody knows their way around a DSLR, especially those Milky Way shots. I think the last time I saw stars like that was actually in Algonquin. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Caminante, the DSLR is definitely a bit of an albatross to lug around but its worth it.

Awesome pics! What access point did you use? I bought a Novacraft Prospector last month (IIRC you mentioned wanting one somewhere ) but haven't been able to get out on a trip yet. Been itching to go on a trip and your pics are like a little fix. Thanks Red!

Thank you Bubba. Went in at access point 3 Magnetawan Lk. I'm so jealous, of your new canoe, congratulations, after paddling that Prospector all week I'm sure I NEED one now. Where did you purchase your NC?

[Bike-N-Hike]

Thanks for posting like the others said fantastic photo's of a great place.

[jolunder]

Wow, stunning photos!

[keg]

Wow. Nice pics. I'm heading up tomorrow but any pics I take will pale in comparison.

[g2outdoors]

This is great. Thanks for posting!

[LuvmyBonnet]

Great pictures! I would have wanted to set up camp on the little island.

[Bubba]

I live in London, Ontario where they are made so I just went to their factory store. I'm still a novice paddler but so far the few times I've had it out it has been enjoyable to paddle. I could only afford to buy one canoe so I chose the prospector for it's all around design. Naturally it'll go on flat water trips but I hope to one day try my hand at some faster water plus when my kids get older it'll probably get banged around so having a poly boat will be good. I think you NEED a prospector as well.

Hope your wife is recovering well.