EGL Spring 2017 - Return of the Voyageurs - The Cedar Tough and the Marshmellows

I'm going to get this trip report going, but this report will be a little different because the real story will have to be told by "The Cedar Tough"; four amazingly hardy trippers who literally travelled through hell and high water to complete the Canoe > Cedar > Opeongo loop in the Spring of 2017. Paddling from dawn to dusk, running down and slogging up raging, swollen rivers, battling icy waters and four foot waves, the four; ConnieB, Iguana, KeeWayKeno and Quiet managed to cover some 160+ kilometers (100+ miles) in six days, if you don't count the last rest day with the Marshmallows. If you've ever paddled and portaged in the Boreal, as I have for the last 40+ years, know that these folks took tripping to the limit; if you haven't hopefully their report will give you a sense of it.

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...cedartough.jpg
Left to right: Quiet, Iguana, ConnieB, KeeWayKeno

Raise a shout of praise for The Cedar Tough!!!

We were in the Cedar Lk area this past weekend. Wind, rain, cold and buggy. Having almost 40 yrs experience with Algonquin Interior, I bow to your fortitude! This will have been an epic trip!

Bob

Myself being one of the marshmallows, I am amazed by the trip they took. It would have broken me in 2. I hope to recover enough to do something like this but with more time to stop and enjoy nature.
I look forward to seeing some of the pictures and videos from these brave warriors.
Hats off to Quiet, Iguana, ConnieB, KeeWayKeno!!!!
With great respect,
Marshmallow

glad everyone's back safe and healthy.

A few pics

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...662_580528.jpg
Sunset on the Hammock Forums

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Opeongo lake Trout

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...641_648762.jpgOpeongo Store

Note: Looking at them online, I'll need to go back and re-edit the RAW files

Nobody said they were doing up the Trip Report, so I'm plugging away at it now if that's cool with y'all. I'll fire a draft to my fellow CLT (Cedar Lake Tough .. ha!) for review before posting.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KeeWayKeno

Nobody said they were doing up the Trip Report, so I'm plugging away at it now if that's cool with y'all. I'll fire a draft to my fellow CLT (Cedar Lake Tough .. ha!) for review before posting.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

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Hiya,

I think Iguana might be working on one. For my own part, I don't feel entitled to write anything more than a minor appendices to the main triplog.

Two reports would be twice as good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chard

Two reports would be twice as good.

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It would be interesting to see two (or more) perspectives on the same trip ... from a 20 year age difference!!

I've gone through a few packages of menthol patches for muscle pain, had 2 acupuncture/massage treatments, and a physiotherapy next Monday for cubital tunnel syndrome (a pinched nerve somewhere between wrist to the neck), and I am almost caught up with my sleep. That's the side effects of how ill-prepared I was for the trip!!! I will be better prepared next time - I am adding whisky to my pack:lol:

:scared::scared::scared: NEXT TIME!?! :scared::scared::scared:

Perhaps a slightly less "ambitious" (aka batshyte crazy) Fall trip? I'll start training & dehydrating NOW!

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KeeWayKeno

Perhaps a slightly less "ambitious" (aka batshyte crazy) Fall trip? I'll start training & dehydrating NOW!

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

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I will suggest that The Four should set the trip route, having mercy on the Marshmallows. Islands and trout, that's all I ask.

Sounds fascinating- can't wait for more details and pictures.

Charlotte

Trip Report:

Day 1: Sunday, May 14, 2017
I drove to Algonquin Park from Toronto which took about 4.5 hours including a stop for gas and a visit to the MEC in Barrie on the way up. I had to buy a pair of water shoes as I couldn’t find my regular paddling/portage shoes. Having just moved into a smaller place at the beginning of May, most of my gear was mixed in with other stuff in unmarked boxes at a storage locker. At midnight May 13th, I was still searching and sorting gear for the trip. The day turned out to be overcast with periods of rain. Not an auspicious start.

I arrived at the Tea Lake campgrounds and met up with Hammock Forums’ own KeeWayKeno, ConnieB and Iguana. All that remained of the original list of participants. Jiblets showed up later to see us off; he had injured his back and was unable to go on the trip, but assured us he would be there when we got back to help with the car pooling to get back to our cars.

We went to the Park office in hopes of getting our permits to allow us to start the next day at first light. Unfortunately, they would not issue them to us until next day; something to do with how the reservation system was set up. I never did get it straight.

Day 2: Monday, May 15, 2017
We drove to the Canoe Lake put in and got the canoes ready to launch so that as soon as the Park office opened, we could register and be on our way. Jiblets saw us off; he’d stayed overnight at the campgrounds with us.

This first day of canoe travel was supposed to be 32 kilometres of combined paddling and portaging. I’m not sure what the distances were paddling so I’ll let others fill that in. In terms of portaging, Iguana was able to single carry his canoe and pack together. The rest of us had to double carry; one portage with the canoe or pack and go back for the other on a second portage. This triples each portage distance if you double carry.

From the Canoe Lake put in we paddled to the Joe Lake portage which was 260 metres (m.) for Iguana and 780 m. for the rest of us. The wind had been strong and in our face on Canoe Lake but was milder on Joe Lake. We paddled along the East Arm of Joe Lake and bypassed the 120 m. portage into Little Joe Lake as the water levels were quite high. Even at normal water levels, this portage can usually be skipped. The next portage was 435 m. into Baby Joe Lake, but I’ve been this way before and skipped the portage in favour of walking/paddling the canoe into Lost Joe Lake and upstream through a creek that connects to Baby Joe. Because of the high water levels, the creek was up to my waist in sections where last year it had been up to my knees. The current was strong and several times I regretted the decision to walk the canoes up the creek. However, everyone made it through all-right. An interesting note was while walking the canoe through the water from Baby Joe to Lost Joe, literally hundreds of trout were swimming past me. They were all a uniform size, I’m guessing 1.5 or 2 lbs. so I think they had been stocked at one time.

From Baby Joe, we paddled to the Burnt Island Lake portage which was 200 m. single carry (SC) or 600 m. double carry (DC). I had been to Burnt Island Lake last year and thought I knew where the next portage was to Little Otterslide Lake. However, I didn’t have my map out and confused the distance we had travelled, so wound up looking in a bay way too soon. After that, I wasn’t feeling confident in my navigation skills and the others took the lead. We found the right portage which was 790 m. SC or 2370 m. DC and made it into Little Otterslide Lake.

There’s a channel or narrows that goes into Big Otterslide Lake so no portaging was involved. Big Otterslide Lake was the farthest I’ve gone on this particular route so the the remaining trip was all new territory for me. Connecting Big Otterslide Lake to Big Trout Lake is Big Otterslide Creek. Along Big Otterslide Creek are 5 portages that were 190 m. (570 DC), 390 m. (1170 DC), 265 m. (795 DC), 730 m. (2190 DC) and 105 m. (315 DC) long. Between 2 of the portages, I was paddling along a stretch of the creek when I spied a beaver giving me the “stink eye” because I was coming close to where he had started either a lodge or a dam. I couldn’t tell which because it was in its early stage. He let me get really close before slapping his tail in disgust and disappearing under the water. After I passed the structure, I looked back and he had his head up again still giving me the “stink eye”. We paddled into Big Trout Lake as it was getting dark and set up camp at the most convenient campsite. I was so tired that I only had energy to eat a cold dinner (tuna tortillas) before rolling into my hammock.

Day 3: Tuesday, May 16, 2017 WARNING, Graphic content
We got a late start as we recovered from the first travel day. I had developed blood blisters on my toes and under my toenails from the new shoes. The ball of my left foot was also bruised and swollen but I couldn’t remember doing anything to cause that. The toenail blisters were from jamming my toes against the end of the shoe. My feet would hurt with every step for the rest of the trip. One blood blister broke and because my feet were wet for most of each day, the skin started to slough away from the blister and dirt would get under the skin. Each night I cut the dead skin away to clean underneath.

From our campsite on Big Trout Lake, we paddled to the Longer Lake portage which was 300 m. (900 DC). After paddling north through Longer Lake, we did a 40 m. (120 DC) portage and a short paddle through an un-named pond to a 70 m. (210 DC) portage. This led us to Burntroot Lake. You could see where the lake got its name as there was evidence of burnt trees scattered along the lake. The trees were random and the only connection might have been where a lightning strike hit one tree and traveled along the root system to another tree.

After a 155 m. (465 DC) portage we headed east through Perley Lake to a 380 m. (1140 DC) portage that would lead to the Petawawa River. We then traveled along the Petawawa doing 85 m. (255 DC), 425 m. (1275 DC) and 365 m. (1095 DC) portages along the way before making it into Sunfish Lake. There was a channel connecting Sunfish to Catfish Lake so thankfully no portage. Phew! On Catfish Lake we set up camp for the night. Surprisingly, this travel day was supposed to be longer but it took us less time and even with a late start, we were able to set up camp in the daylight.

Day 4: Wednesday, May 17, 2017
After a good night on Catfish Lake (I actually saw a small catfish that came up to where I was rinsing out my dish after dinner. I never realized before that there were catfish in Algonquin!), we paddled to a short little 80 m. (240 DC) portage that took us into Narrowbag Lake.

Narrowbag took us to the continuation of the Petawawa River after a 170 m. (510 DC) portage. On this segment of the Petawawa River, there were 3 portages of 2345 m. (7035 DC), 300 m. (900 DC) and 715 m. (2145 DC) before we came out onto Cedar Lake. The lake was rough with high winds and choppy waters. Iguana said he looked back to see where I was and I would disappear between waves as they were so high.

Cedar was one of the scarier moments of the trip. Several times the waves came over the side of the canoe as the current seemed to have almost a whirlpool effect and would twist my canoe sideways. We finally made it to the 960 m. (2880 DC) portage off Cedar Lake onto the next segment of the Petawawa River. We paddled the Petawawa with a 685 m. (2055 DC) and a 860 m. (2580 DC) portage thrown in before getting to Radiant Lake, our stop for the night. It took us a while to find a campsite on Radiant as we were looking in the dark, but found one after backtracking.

Day 5: Thursday, May 18, 2017
This would turn out to be the most gruelling and challenging day of the trip. we started out fine with a windless paddle across Radiant Lake to the 235 m. (705 DC) portage onto the next section of the Petawawa River. We paddled the Petawawa and portaged 3 times; 695 m. (2085 DC), 70 m. (210 DC) and 500 m. (1500 DC) before reaching Francis Lake.

While on the Petawawa, I was startled by some squawking in the air above my canoe. I looked up and there was an aerial dual between a Redwing Blackbird and another bird that I couldn’t identify. They took the fight into the water where a great deal of splashing went on until the Blackbird emerged victorious and the other bird sped off.

On the other side of Francis was a 210 m. (630 DC) portage into Kildeer Lake. After Kildeer we did a 155 m. (465 DC) portage and were on the Petawawa again. We paddled the Petawawa until we met the Crow River where it empties into the Petawawa. Because we were going onto the Crow River this now meant we would be going upstream against the current.

I should note at this point that the water levels were higher than the normal Spring high water marks. For me, this is where it got scary. We were battling the currents looking for the next portage and if you got swept away by the current, you would be going into rapids and over waterfalls that were more turbulent than normal and the likelihood of serious injury or even death was a factor to consider.

There were sections where I would be paddling furiously and be at an absolute standstill because of the force of the current. The danger in some sections were compounded by downed trees in the water where they act as strainers for debris and exhausted paddlers. I got caught in one and my PFD saved me from being gouged by the branches. I managed to keep the canoe upright but if I hadn’t, it would have meant my canoe, gear and possibly me would have gone over the rapids. We were supposed to finish the Crow River and camp on Lake Lavieille but the difficulties with the current and the number of portages slowed us down and we found ourselves still on the Crow River at dark and it was too dangerous to continue fighting the river in the dark.

We found a half submerged campsite, but it was the only option available. I was so tired that I rolled into my hammock without eating dinner. The portage distances along the Crow were: 155 m. (465 DC), 510 m. (1530 DC), 20 m. (60 DC), 2475 m. (7425 DC), 1210 m. (3630 DC), 610 m. (1830), 45 m. (135 DC), 110 m. (330 DC), 250 m. (750 DC), 65 m. (195 DC), 90 m. (270 DC), 165 m. (495 DC) and 185 m. (555 DC). We did some of these portages on this day and the remainder on the following day before reaching Lake Lavieille.

While doing the 2475 m. portage, a sudden thunderstorm blew in and the wind was dropping dead branches all around me as I had the canoe on my head. The storm didn’t last long and I headed back to to get my packs. Between me and the packs, the wind had knocked 2 large Spruce trees down across the portage trail and I had to clear a path through to retrieve the packs.

Day 6: Friday, May 19, 2017
We headed off our submerged campsite to finish the rest of the Crow River and finally emerged into Lake Lavieille. We weren’t supposed to camp in the southern section of Lake Lavieille because of the blue-green algae bloom that affected the water. Neither filtering or boiling the water would get rid of the algae and it was toxic to certain people and animals. We found a campsite on the southern end of an island; the north end campsite was occupied and they had been there for a week and seemed okay. To be safe, Iguana took our water bladders to the north end of the island and brought back drinking water. We made camp early and had a chance to recuperate before the dreaded Dickson-Bonfield portage the next day.

Day 7: Saturday, May 20, 2017
We headed south on Lavieille to the 90 m. (270 DC) portage into Dickson Lake. On Dickson we could not get drinking water either as the lake was closed because of the algae. My shoes had developed a greenish tinge from being in the water and I was concerned that I was bringing the algae with me. KWK assured me that it was only pollen on the water that was sticking to my shoes.

At the southwest end of Dickson was the 5470 m. (16410 DC) portage into Bonfield Lake. I still can’t believe we did it! My hat is off to Iguana who did it on a single carry; he is a true Voyageur. We had lunch at the end of the portage looking out onto Bonfield Lake. It is a beautiful lake and finishing the portage made it seem more beautiful. I pulled out a block of old cheddar cheese that I had forgotten I was carrying and we finished it off as a treat. The portaging was not yet over as we did a 260 m. (780 DC) and a 285 m. (855 DC) before emerging into Lake Opeongo. We started to paddle in a southwesterly direction in hopes of finding the group of hangers who were camped on the lake. As we made our way across the lake, we were met by 3 other canoes who were on their way to look for us. I didn’t see who was in the first canoe as he met KWK, ConnieB and Iguana who were ahead of me. The other two were Jiblets and Bubba who met me and steered me to the campsite. Jiblets had to help me get out of the canoe as I could barely stand.

The trip was more of an endurance test than a relaxing backcountry paddle. Would I do it again? Not in those timelines. There was no chance to take out my camera from inside the waterproof pack and take any photos. I was too concerned with keeping up with the rest of the group or too tired. I packed too much gear and too much food. The bugs were tolerable so I never used the bugnet I brought in case of swarms. I learned to subsist on a coffee in the morning and jerky, nuts and dried fruit throughout the day. I lost about10 lbs. Although I’m not sure if I could have sustained single carries, my pack sat too high and I wasn’t able to carry it and my canoe at the same time. I also had another small pack with my food. I had new shoes that were not what I was used to and suffered for it. There was no chance to relax around a campfire at night and relive the days events as a group. I brought a small axe and saw thinking we would have campfires at night, but we were just too tired to stay up later than necessary. I was my usual Mr. cranky pants and the rest of the group put up with me. KWK is now Pathfinder to me. He steered us on the right course through the trip. ConnieB is the Queen of the Whitewater. She ran some of the rapids while we grumbled along the portage trail beside her. Iguana is Superman with his ability to single carry with smile on his face and energy to come back and help carry my pack on a stretch of portage as it was getting dark. I put the distances for the double carry as a guide for those who might consider this trip and give them an idea of the distance involved if you cannot single carry.

Thanks for that report quiet, Looking forward to reading the others. Here are a few pictures from the marshmallow trip. It was my first time in really windy and wavey conditions so it was a good learning experience. I had Chard looking out for me though:thumbup1:. It is always great to see all my tripping friends. Hopefully I can make a fall trip.


My canoe waiting patiently to take me out.

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...sc_0007_30.jpg


Old school Warbonnet gear on yet another trip.

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Enjoying the lack of bugs due to the wind.

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...sc_0009_35.jpg


Looking north at the opening leading to the east arm of Lake Opeongo where the CLT crew would be coming from.

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Looking west at Lake Opeongo.

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My canoe resting after a windy paddle in

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Sunset

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...dsc_0019_2.jpg


My phone doesn't take good pictures in the dim light but it's still nice to see the colours

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...sc_0020_24.jpg


Sunrise

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Brought my trusty Bushbuddy on this one.

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...sc_0024_12.jpg

Wow. quiet's report sounds epic. I am interested to hear more.
As hard as they are in the moment, I do enjoying the 'survival' factor of 'endurance' trips. I've been known to accidentally 'plan' such trips.
Curious to hear more.

Sounds like it was a fun trip. Sorry that I had to cancel!

Fantastic trip report Quiet! I'm amazed I got all the way through it without one curse. Makes the Meanest Link sound kind of wimpy. Between long days and those fast rivers, I'm just blown away but what you guys accomplished.

What happened with the travel times on day 3? Why do you think it was easier? Tailwinds?

would love to be there, this is what I miss here ... canoe, plenty of lakes or even a pristine wild river long enough for a several days trip

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chard

I will suggest that The Four should set the trip route, having mercy on the Marshmallows. Islands and trout, that's all I ask.

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Might not be a good idea for you. I have a feeling they'll send you on a slightly harder trek than the rest of us marshmallows.

As for the easy version of the trip, I am quite proud that I had enough sense not to paddle across Hardy Bay in the big swells and instead stumbled upon the site that highboy and bonnet grabbed the day before.

And before chard or giblets start complaining about my somnolent bear deterrent device, I have to say I purposely set up away from the others. You guys chose to set up near me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by keg

...And before chard or giblets start complaining about my somnolent bear deterrent device, I have to say I purposely set up away from the others. You guys chose to set up near me.

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Complain? Na. Surprisingly the dulcet tones of your nasal baritone somehow managed to lull me to sleep each night. Light white noise, if you think of the white as the gentle brightness of a supernova.

TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part I

I've never written up a Trip Report before so wanted to throw my first attempt out there for fun. Be gentle on my first effort! We all pooled our photographs so I'm not sure who to credit for most of the pictures, but wanted to add a few for interest. This is too long for one post so I've broken it down to a few parts and see how that goes.
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Late last year, trip-organizing mastermind Chard issued a challenge to members of the Eastern Great Lakes (EGL) chapter of Hammock Forums; a 5 day, 160 km canoe trip through the middle of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario followed by a 2 night group hang on the Park's grandest lake. For anybody unfamiliar with this gem, the Park is over 7,625 sq. km (over 4,000 sq. miles) of interconnecting waterways that was established in 1893. Larger then 41 of the world's nations, a person could spend a lifetime traveling Algonquin's pure waters and never dip your paddle in the same lake or river twice.

Chard cautioned us that this would be a challenging route that would take a "miracle" to complete in the allotted time, particularly with unusually high spring floodwaters this year. His admonition to get in shape and pack light were taken seriously! As the winter months dragged on hopeful trippers stepped up and dropped out but by mid May the demands of life had whittled our group down to only four willing and able to take up the challenge. ConnieB, Iguana, Quiet and I were packed and ready to go! Another, wiser group of EGL Hangers were to meet us at the end of our odyssey on Lake Opeongo, the largest lake in the park and one with a long and tragic history of lives lost to predatory black bears & hypothermic storm-whipped waters.

We gathered on a drizzling, cool Mother's Day at the Tea Lake campground. It was a nice surprise when Giblets showed up to spend the night & see us off in the morning. Just before sunset the sun broke through low on the horizon, offering hope for a beautiful start to our Algonquin odyssey.

Giblets, ConnieB and I deployed our hammocks while Quiet and Iguana decided to save time in the morning and slept in their cars. ConnieB was the only one of us who thought to bring any kind of alarm clock (her watch) so we asked her to set her alarm for 6:00 a.m. and reluctantly went to bed.
Attachment 150860
ConnieB and KeeWayKeno's rigs

Monday, May 15 - Canoe Lake to Big Trout Lake - 32 km / 20 miles

In the predawn gloom ConnieB made the rounds to wake everybody up. The campground was treated to a car-alarm reveille when Iguana sleepily rolled over onto the 'panic' button on his key fob. Sorry folks!

Contrary to the previous evening's promise, we awoke to grey, overcast skies but were favoured by light winds from the north-west. A quick breakfast & pack up then we drove over to the Canoe Lake beach to unload, park our cars for the week & prep our boats while we waited for the permit office to open at 8 a.m. An independent bunch we were each going solo in own canoes & each boat had its own quirks.

My little green 15 foot Swift Prospector, a retirement gift from my wife & the reason for my Hammock Forums nom de plume change from 'RedKanu', is a sturdy little beast but even when paddled backwards from the bow seat needs a LOT of weight in the front to get her trim (level). If it is too high, she weathervanes crazily in any headwind.
Attachment 150861
Quiet's Souris River - sweet ride!

Funny how much 'essential' stuff I had packed that, faced with the reality of what lay ahead, was now unceremoniously dumped into the trunk of my ancient Taurus. Holding my fishing gear in my hands, I looked at Iguana who sadly shook his head and said, "I don't think we're going to have time, I'm not bringing mine." Reluctantly, it too joined the growing pile of discarded, hopefully unnecessary gear. Somehow, weight notwithstanding, my platypus of Bushmill's Irish Whiskey made the cut. For this I would later be very grateful. That and Advil.

Eagerly bursting through the Permit Office door as it was being unbolted, we laid out our float plan to the warden.
"What lake will you be on your first night?" she asked.
"Big Trout," we replied confidently.
"Oh boy, that's a long day!" she offered sympathetically. "Next night?"
"Catfish Lake!"
Her sympathy waned while her growing skepticism was obvious as we continued. Though clearly reluctant to issue the permits, our confident swagger must have convinced her we were hardened Voyageurs who knew what we were doing. Another one fooled!

Permits in hand, back down to the beach to launch where Giblets waved us off, "Have a great trip, see you next Saturday!" We were happy to hear that. Even if nobody else showed up at our rendezvous on Lake Opeongo we knew we could count on Giblets to shuttle us back to our cars. Otherwise, it would be a long final portage indeed.

Quiet has already done the lion's share of the work chronicling the details of our journey so I'll just add another perspective & personal highlights.

Quiet, Iguana and I had all done trips that included the first several lakes, but it was all new to ConnieB. Fair winds and calm waters sped our journey north and after a couple of portages the people really thinned out. In fact, the last several days we rarely saw a soul … just of wolf, moose and bear tracks and scat. Unfortunately, besides loons on almost every lake the largest living creature I actually saw during the trip was a broadtail hawk carrying a large snake across the river for its dinner, right over ConnieB's head. Only when I told her did she disclose she was terrified of snakes. Somehow the snakes seemed to know this as they intentionally (?) blocked her path on the portages several times. Telling her their were no poisonous snakes in Algonquin didn't seem to help.

Electing to skip the portage from Baby Joe Lake to Burnt Island, we waded and pushed our loaded canoes up the shallows and small rapids. Some newbie trippers standing miserably at the takeout of the portage loaded down with coolers, lawn chairs & innumerable garbage bags full of 'stuff' watched us slosh past them in amazement & envy. Who were these rugged bushmen? "We're the last of the Voyageurs!" I wanted to boast but restrained myself since we were, after all, only a few hours into our trip.

Schools of hundreds of Brook (Speckled) Trout swarmed around us, so thick they were bumping off my legs. I looked back at Iguana bleakly and he returned the unspoken regret that we'd both left our fishing gear behind. The second half of this wade was surprisingly deep and fast with several spots so treacherous we had no choice but to push and drag our canoes over fallen tree trunks and jagged rocks along the edge of the torrent. Twice I slipped and almost lost my grip on my canoe, which would have sent it like a missile back into everybody behind me. ConnieB also misstepped at one point and was dunked in freezing water up past her waist.

The sun had already set as we emerged onto Big Trout Lake after about 12 hours of paddling & portaging. Though our mileage may not sound impressive, when you factor in that we (even Iguana for the first several days until the weight of his food … and a platypus of wine … dwindled) had to double carry every single portage thus tripling their length, our actual distance was quite a bit more.

We decided to head to the first island site at the south end of the lake and lucked into a real gem. A beautiful, open site with plenty of great hanging trees and an aromatic carpet of soft pine needles on the ground. I immediately spotted two nice cedar trees that would be my home for the night and my companions found equally great spots.

All pretty tired but happy, we gathered around the firepit to boil water to rehydrate our various meals then wandered off to bed. I had skipped a fuel stove and brought only my Kelly Kettle for cooking. All I needed was some birch bark and a few handfuls of dry twigs to make a complete meal. This was a great choice and it performed perfectly. A great first day and, to my utter amazement, we were on schedule!

TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part II

Tuesday, May 16 - Big Trout Lake to Catfish Lake - 32 km (20 miles)

Another 6 a.m. wake up call to a beautiful, calm morning. We prepared quick breakfasts so we could keep our momentum going. Mine was simple: instant coffee and breakfast bars while others prepared more elaborate fare, if you consider oatmeal fancy. I'm not much of a breakfast person so this was plenty. Somehow, despite the early rise, we didn't get on the water until close to 9 … but the favourable tailwinds made the day's travels a delight. Even the portages seemed easier. Heck, this was going to be possible after all!

Our routine started to evolve as the day progressed and we got deeper into the park. The portage landings gradually shrank to the point that they could usually only accommodate a single canoe at a time. The first to land would quickly unload their packs and dump them nearby then return to lift our canoes (or drag depending on how tired we were and the demands of the terrain) out of the water to make room for the next in line to land. Some preferred to portage their packs first but once I got the canoe on my shoulders I figured it was easier just to keep going and come back for my packs later.

At one portage this morning I happened to land first. I upended my canoe and headed off, ignoring the minor annoyance of an improperly balanced load that resulted in my bow being too heavy, stubbornly tilting down to obscure my view of the trail ahead to only a few feet.

Trotting briskly along, suddenly the canoe was driven backwards off my shoulders and the floor of the boat bounced painfully off the top of my head. Stunned, I barely kept my balance. After hoisting the canoe back up into position and tilting the bow up I looked around to figure out what mysterious forces were at play. The trunk of a partially fallen birch arched over the trail barely a foot above my head & I'd blindly rammed the canoe right into it. Like the man on a city street who barely recovers from a slip with flailing arms and gyrations that would be envy of any limbo champion, I quickly looked around to see if anybody had seen the embarrassing mishap … but my companions were still back at the landing so I was spared at least that indignity. The remainder of that portage I made sure the bow of my canoe rode high to assure a clear view of the hazards ahead. I was much more careful after that to check the balance of my canoe at the beginning of each portage.

Another short portage bypassed a swift section of river squeezed between high banks, sweepers and strainers. I landed and was grunting along the portage when I heard a gleeful 'whoop' from the river. Looking down from the trail, I could see ConnieB expertly shooting the rapid and firing out the end into calm water. Though humbled I couldn't help but admire her confidence, it hadn't even occurred to me to run them. My regret was mitigated when I saw Iguana and Quiet also trudging along the portage behind me. Misery loves company, eh?

Since the rest of the day was quite pleasant, it really wasn't that memorable. Funny how mishaps, storms and voracious bugs create the most vivid memories and funny campfire stories but nice days quickly become a happy blur. I do remember that the scenery was great as we paddled through some of the nicest lakes, easiest portages and accommodating weather of our journey. After Big Trout Lake, none of us had been on this part of the route before so it was all new territory for us right until the end.

Despite our late start, the easy conditions of the day saw us arriving at our destination, Catfish Lake, a bit earlier … it was still light! We could afford to be picky, passing by a beautiful site on 'Shangri La' island which was reportedly infested with wood cockroaches a few years ago and 'Turtle Rock' an ancient sacred site to the Algonquin nation. Up in the northern part of the lake we settled on a nice island site. This gave us a jump on the next day's travels which our maps promised to be somewhat more demanding. They didn't lie.
Attachment 150862

Wednesday, May 17 - Catfish Lake to Radiant Lake - 32 km (20 miles)

Morning dawned clear and calm. A quick paddle took us to the northern terminus of the lake and our first introduction to the Petawawa River and her famous rapids. Or more properly, the infamous portages AROUND her rapids. The first of these was a short 80 metre hop, but we found a pair of fishermen completely blocking the landing with their canoes and gear. As we paddled up they finally took the hint, reluctantly pulled in their lines and dragged their boats & packs barely far enough to allow us to land and squeeze past them. They helpfully offered that the landing at the far end of the portage was, "Impossible, we had to bushwhack a ways."

Arriving at the far end, we had no difficulty at all, loaded up and pushed off downstream into a strong current. Only looking back did we realize they were right; there was absolutely no way a canoe could have fought upstream against that current to the portage takeout. They must have landed a good 50-60 metres prior to that and had a tough battle through the thick bush with their canoes and gear just to reach the portage! I was suddenly a bit more tolerant of their therapeutic fishing session. I was also very grateful we were going downstream, but knew an upstream section of the Crow River awaited us tomorrow.

Next up was a delightful 2,345 metre jaunt mostly UPHILL to the top of fancifully named Unicorn Hill. For our American friends, metres are approximately yards, just a bit longer - so this translates to about 1.5 miles. Double carrying tripled this to 4.5 miles. Good times! As we sweated our way to the summit I didn't see any unicorns but might have spotted a hallucinatory pink moose or two. A quick swig of water at the top (the whiskey being tragically packed too deep in my pack to dig out) then a steep descent back down to the river.

At the end of the portage we met a crew of park rangers who had just landed lugging chainsaws, weed whackers, etc. as they headed in to do some portage maintenance. We thanked them for their work and asked about water conditions ahead. They confirmed the water was still unusually high on the Petawawa River east out of Cedar Lake and that the wind was up on that lake. "But," they comforted, "at least it is from the West so it will be behind you. Otherwise you'd be in trouble!" These guys would be the last people we passed on any portage trails for the rest of our trip.

Cedar Lake was the northernmost point on our trip, almost at the top of the Park. A large lake oriented West-East, it frequently whips up heavy seas and canoeists trying to traverse it are often 'windbound' … meaning stuck wherever you happen to be because it is simply too dangerous to proceed. A century ago this area was scene of brutal death for many loggers and the undergrowth along the river's banks hide innumerable forgotten graves. The traveler who pauses to think about it realizes it is like paddling through an ancient cemetery, though most of the graves have melted into the landscape. We stopped to pay our respects at one grave still visible at the beginning of the final portage leading to Cedar Lake. Here a simple whitewashed wooden cross simply reads, "A. Corbiel, June 1, 1888."

Emerging from the forest onto an open grassy area and beautiful beach, we gazed across a turbulent lake of 2 foot breakers to a cluster of small buildings on the far northern shore that are the final remnants of the long abandoned village of Brent. This is still a famous access point, campground, outfitter and store, all considered an essential 'junk food oasis' in a desert of dried, lightweight tripping meals. We shook our heads sorrowfully because it was not to be. Far too rough to attempt a crossing with fierce winds and breaking waves coming full abeam from our left. Instead, we launched and headed east to round a point to the protection of its leeward coast. I was actually having fun playing in the waves as we got our 'sea legs' back & we adjusted to riding the following seas. Taking a break from the waves in a sheltered cove, we looked east across a large open expanse towards our destination. We couldn't see it in the distance but we knew there was a dam on the far shore marking the egress of the Petawawa River out of Cedar Lake & the start of our next portage. Feeling strong and confident, we shoved off.

Leaving the shelter of shore, the wind & waves increased steadily. I was paddling close to ConnieB. She is an accomplished whitewater canoeist but wasn't used to big, open, rough water and admitted she was nervous.
"What do we do if somebody breaches and falls in?" she called over the wind.
I looked around at the already high & growing breakers and considered the freezing water temperatures (ice-out was only a few weeks ago after all) and yelled back, "Just don't. A rescue in this would be impossible."
"But what would we do?" she insisted.
"Well I guess we'd watch somebody die. All the rescue techniques they teach are worse than useless, they're dangerous when it's this rough. We'd end up with two people in the water."
Frightening & harsh perhaps but reality.

Conditions quickly intensified the further we got from the lee shore but there was no turning back, to attempt it would almost guarantee a breach. Iguana and I got separated from Quiet and ConnieB and we paddled as hard as we could for the eastern shore, surfing on 3 foot breakers that kept trying to turn us broadside and swamp us. We weren't exactly certain where our landing was, but at some point Iguana spotted what looked like dam floats indicating our target. Fortunately, it was perfectly downwind.

At some points my bow was on one crest, my stern on another crest and my paddle was uselessly sweeping air in the deep trough between. I shouted to Iguana that I couldn't tell what direction the waves were coming from, they were just a confused mess of peaks and valleys that seemed to come from two directions at once. I should have been scared spitless but there was no time for that. I didn't even dare turn to look back to see where Quiet and ConnieB were.

After what felt like hours of hard paddling I surfed to shore at the portage landing with Iguana right behind me. Gazing back we could see ConnieB steadily making her way to our landing but no sign of Quiet!
"Where the heck is he?" I asked Iguana, seeing only rough waves across the seemingly vast distance (in reality only about a mile or so) to the far shore.
"There he is!" Iguana said, spotting Quiet as his tiny canoe rose from a deep trough to surf down another wave. He looked almost serene as he paddled steadily and surely towards us.

Only after ConnieB and Quiet landed did we learn that they'd been driven by the wind & waves smack into a mid-lake island. ConnieB had actually been helpless to stop from being washed onto the rocks before she managed to shove her way back out to deeper water. Both admitted it had been a frightening experience and ConnieB said,
"My hat's off to you flat-water paddlers, I had not idea it could be like this. Nobody can ever tell be flat-water paddling is boring again!"
Amen.

Most of the rest of the day we headed east on the Petawawa River. Multiple portages skirted alongside impressive Class F (Forget-about-it) rapids with legendary names like 'Surprise Rapids', 'Devil's Chute' and 'Five Man Grave'. That last one has a nice ring to it. Yikes! The sun had already set as we finally emerged into Radiant Lake and to our great surprise glided past a beautiful cottage on a high rocky point. We were headed to two campsites along the west shore, hoping they weren't occupied as the next ones were a good half hour paddle along the north shore. Nearing the first one, a beautiful open site, Iguana announced the unwelcome news, "Occupied!"
Passing close by, a pair of young couples waved cheerfully and asked, "Where are you headed?"
ConnieB replied sourly, "I guess the next campsite."
"There's one right over there," the helpful young fellow offered, waving vaguely to the south.

We paddled past the next point seeing nothing, then the next point … still nothing. Crap.
"Are you sure there's a campsite down here?"
"The map says there is, right on one of these points."
Well the whole darned shoreline was nothing but points and bays and in the gloom they all looked the same. Turning around and retracing our path, we could barely discern a dim orange campsite sign on a dark shoreline ahead. Hallelujah, home for the night!

We staggered ashore and set up by headlamp again after another long day. We knew we had some long portages ahead of us tomorrow so we got right down to preparing our simple dinners. Somebody asked ConnieB what she was making for dinner and she replied, "Whatever is the heaviest!"

Crawling into the welcome embrace of our hammocks, I don't think I ever fell asleep so fast in my life. Once again, to my utter amazement, we had achieved our objective and were still on schedule. This lucky streak was about to end.

TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part III

Thursday, May 18 - Radiant Lake to Lavaque Lake - 20 km (12.4 miles)

Today was to be our shortest day in terms of miles travelled but the most physically demanding of our trip. ConnieB set her watch for 5:30 a.m. to make sure we got across Radiant Lake before the wind came up.

ConnieB asked if it would be as bad as Cedar Lake the day before. I replied that we had survived Cedar Lake which was the new benchmark for difficulty, to be known henceforth as Cedar Lake Tough or CLT. When evaluating routes and difficulty in future, all possibilities should be compared to the new CLT standard, as in;
"Is it going to be tough?"
"Yes, but not CLT so we're OK."
This became our mantra for the rest of the trip whenever things got 'interesting.'

Sure enough, we'd just reached the river mouth on the far shore when we felt the wind rising. Within hours dark clouds, brief showers and distant thunder made us happy we were off the big lakes today. This happiness diminished somewhat as we struggled over portage after portage, some unexpectedly challenging.

Consulting my map, I recall telling my companions that the next portage was a, "short, easy little 155 m hop." Wish I hadn't opened my mouth as it proved to be the hardest one of the entire day! Starting with a swamp, steep ascents & descents over treacherous footing and several lifts over downed trees made for an unwelcome surprise. That short portage took us almost an hour to negotiate.

Arriving near the end of another 'short, easy' portage, the trail abruptly disappeared underwater still 20 metres from the river. The river was so high, it reached fingers of water into the surrounding forest, flooding the end of the portage. I waded in waist-deep water to the end and jammed my canoe high into the bushes to prevent it from washing away downriver. Returning for my pack I met my companions and suggested they drop their packs where the trail goes under water, go back for their canoes and then float their loaded canoes down the portage to the put-in. Saved them another icy soaking. Give me a nice, level 2 kilometre portage any day!

Midday found us turning off the Petawawa River onto the Crow River. After lunch overlooking the spectacular Blueberry Falls, it sunk home that our downstream luxury was over, big time! We were all surprised by the strength of the current and quickly realized it would have a real impact on how far we could reasonable expect to get today. We had planned to get to Lake Lavieille tonight and actually have a layover rest day on Friday there before proceeding to Opeongo on Saturday. No way we were going to get that far.

The coup de grâce that day were two back-to-back portages, the first almost 2.5 km (1.5 miles) then a wade across White Partridge Creek followed by another 1.2 km (3/4 mile) carry. By this point Iguana had lightened his food load & was able to single carry so left us in his dust.

The entire trail paralleled raging whitewater and I tried to imagine the lives of the loggers who rafted huge booms of white pine down these torrents every spring. Over the past centuries many feet had trod where I now did and some never returned to their families at the end of the season. Instead, their bones rested in invisible graves all along this route. When I finally stumbled into a clearing, Iguana got up from where he'd been heating some soup on his twig stove and laughed,
"Good news and bad news! The good news is this is the end of the portage. The bad news is, there's the next portage."
He pointed across a fast flowing river to the far bank where a sign proclaimed the beginning of the 1,200 m. carry. Oh, what fun!

After returning with my pack I took a better look at this 'creek' we were supposed to wade across. Wade? Not a chance, it was too wide, too deep & way too fast. As a fly fisherman who has learned to respect the power of fast water, I knew this was not wadeable. Anyone who tried would be immediately knocked off their feet and flushed into the Petawawa at the mid-point of a 3.5 km rapid. This was not a survivable scenario and we might be the cause of a name change downriver to 'Six Grave Rapid'! Similarly, ferrying across might be possible but would certainly be dangerous for the same reason.

Quiet and I scouted a possible crossing further upriver while ConnieB and Iguana considered their options. We returned just in time to see the fearless (of whitewater, not snakes) ConnieB launch herself into the creek facing upstream and ferry neatly across to an eddy on the far shore. Geez, she made it look so easy! Iguana was next, paddling with all his considerable strength but nonetheless struggling to overcome the speed of the water. He made it but just barely, ConnieB grabbed his gunnels and pulled him to safety.

Quiet and I looked at each other.
"I don't have any confidence I can make this," I said, "I'm going to launch from up there," pointing to the spot we'd scouted.
"Me too," Quiet replied.
I'm sure the concern I saw on his face was mirrored in mine. Back to our canoes, I jumped in, shoved off and paddled like hell. It was all I could manage to ferry over to the far side where Iguana grabbed my boat before the current sucked me past to certain death below. Another silent thanks to Gitchee Manitou. I lifted my boat quickly out of the way while ConnieB jumped back into the water beside Iguana & they readied to grab Quiet's canoe. Similarly, he struggled & very nearly got swept away but was snagged by Iguana and ConnieB and pulled into safety. Before leaving I took one last look at the monstrous rapids we'd escaped. Geez, they were HUGE!

Wrapping up the 1.2 km portage, we were again paddling in near darkness trying to find the campsite on what the map called Lavaque Lake but was really just a wide spot on the Crow River. Not far ahead we pulled up onto shore right beside a beaver lodge whose occupants made their tail-smacking displeasure at our presence known repeatedly. The site was probably flooded over in the weeks prior as the ground was still spongy and saturated. Trees were knocked down all around us, making access to the hillside Thunderbox (privy) almost impossible except for the highly motivated. Iguana was so motivated. I was less so.

As we set up & prepared supper in the dark the spring peepers started singing in full force. They pump out as many decibels as a Rolling Stones concert, no lie! Fortunately, a wind and light rain sprung up and that seemed to tone down their romantic ardour. Tonight I tried some dehydrated homemade Shepherd's Pie. This was a fail. An hour after everybody else had gone to bed, I was hunkered under my tarp in the rain trying to chew still-hard lima and green beans eating by the red light of my headlamp. After a couple of half-hearted spoonfuls, I had to admit defeat and resort to a Cliff Bar and a few pieces of beef jerky from tomorrow's lunch. Tonight I discovered the unequaled bliss of a dram of Irish whiskey added to an 'After 8' hot chocolate!

We didn't make our goal of Lake Lavieille but we were cool with that given we actually had planned two nights on Lavieille. Splitting the brutal upstream travel between two days was much more realistic.

Friday, May 19 - Lavaque Lake to Lake Lavieille - 12.3 km (7.6 miles)

Morning came to our soggy campsite and we were eager to get moving. A quartet of stoves fired up to boil water for coffee and we chowed down breakfast then packed up our gear, damp from the overnight showers.

Through the night the wind had roared in the treetops and rain pattered on our tarps for brief periods but we were in a nicely sheltered spot so barely noticed. What we didn't know was that several of the party we were to meet had already arrived on Lake Opeongo Thursday night and set up camp on Englehart Island.

The overnight storm that we barely noticed was actually very powerful, taking down trees and knocking out power all the way from the Park to Parry Sound (about an hour's drive south of us). Worse, LuvmyBonnet's tarp was completely shredded by the high winds in the middle of the night, leaving him to huddle in the storm with little protection. This almost ended his trip but with typical hammocker's ingenuity he repurposed the large white poly tarp that was intended to be our guiding sign and was able to stay.

Again our distance today was to be fairly short since yesterday's itinerary was split between two days, but the continual upstream travel in floodwater conditions and 8 portages suggested we'd earn our supper.

In the early afternoon we were greeted by a welcome sight - the open waters of Lake Lavieille! We were officially back on schedule. We traded fighting against the current to fighting the wind and waves but it was actually a relief. All we had to do was paddle 6 km. (4 miles) down to the southern end of the lake and find a campsite then luxuriate in a full evening to relax.

Two years ago a blue-green algae bloom erupted on Dickson Lake, immediately south of and connected to Lavieille. This algae produces toxins that can make you very ill and cannot be boiled or filtered out. As a result, Dickson Lake was closed to camping in 2015 but trippers were still permitted to travel through it so long as they minimized exposure to the water. Last year, the algae spread into Hardy Bay at the south end of Lake Lavieille so it was closed too. We had hoped that water tests this spring would show that the algae had died off and the lakes would be reopened to camping but it was not to be. As of this writing these waters are still off limits to camping.

To position us for the tomorrow's challenging route, we wanted to get as far south as we could without entering the 'forbidden zone' of Hardy Bay. Strong southern winds helped speed us along as we aimed for an island that had two prime sites. We rode 1 foot rollers that were far from Cedar Lake Tough. Unfortunately the first campsite, a real beauty with two high rocky points surrounding a small, protected lagoon, was taken. Continuing to the southern end of the island, we were ready to land at the next site when we noticed a white placard nailed to a tree in the place where the orange campsite sign should have been. The notice advised that this site was closed due to the algae bloom and suggested campers head back to the northern part of the lake … several miles back where we'd just come from but upwind against 1 foot rollers! No way. A brief discussion about our options ensued ending with a firm declaration, "The hell with it, we're staying here."

We unloaded and started to set up on what turned out to be a prime site. Iguana volunteered to take all of our water bags and paddle back to the north end of the island to fill them. We figured if that campsite was still open, the water must be safe. While there, Iguana met the campers who said they'd been there for a week, drinking the water with no ill effects. They also told us that the previous night's storm had knocked down many trees, completely blocking the trail that normally connected the two campsites. Since the storm was barely noticeable where we had camped we were all quite surprised it had been so violent. We still had no idea how damaging it had been throughout the area.

A leisurely supper and small fire rounded out our day. Tomorrow's travels loomed large in our minds as we would be tackling both the longest portage in the Park and its largest lake famous for it's high winds and dangerous waters. We retired early to recoup our stamina for these challenges.

TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part IV

Saturday, May 20 - Lake Lavieille to Englehart Island, Lake Opeongo - 26.8 km (16.6 miles)

Since the waters south of us were potentially poisoned by the algae bloom, we had to filter & carry enough water to last us until mid-afternoon … including the longest portage in the park. The dreaded Dickson-Bonfield Portage was 5,470 metres (3.4 miles). Iguana would be the only one single-carrying, so the rest of us would be portaging 16,410 metres (over 10 miles) followed by two shorter carries under 300 m.

We set off and found the narrow channel connecting Lake Lavieille with Dickson Lake. I was in the lead and after glancing at my GPS, turned right to find the portage. Everybody followed until I suddenly realized the GPS on my lap was upside down and I'd gone the wrong way. I turned back and announced the mistake, bringing some well deserved smirks from my companions. Even with the benefit of satellite navigation I'd managed to make a wrong turn!

What can I say about the Dickson-Bonfield portage except that it is indeed a long one? Fairly level and unchallenging otherwise, it just goes on … and on … and on! All the more heartbreaking when you have to cover the same ground three times. My breathless prayer to Gitchee Manitou, "Next time, I WILL PACK LIGHTER … if you just let me survive this time, OK?"

I've never been so happy to drop my canoe at the end of a portage, scratches be damned. There was Iguana happily munching jerky and drinking freshly filtered water, refreshed from a very brief dunking in ice-cold Dickson Lake. I defiantly announced, "What, that's it? That's all they got?" then collapsed utterly spent. I don't think Iguana understood my heroic but exhaustion-slurred words. Too bad, I was too tired to repeat them.

Knowing our meager rations would be exhausted, Iguana had filtered extra water and was about bring some back to meet us. Just then Quiet arrived with his boat, dropped it gratefully and headed back for his pack. Iguana jumped up to meet ConnieB to offer her a hand with her canoe (she'd been suffering for the lack of a proper yoke pad the entire trip) so I joined him and relieved her of her pack. She didn't object too strenuously.

This portage is a rite of passage for most serious Algonquin enthusiasts and a personal 'bucket list' achievement for me. Completing it took everything we had left at the end of a demanding trip & we all needed to replace burned calories. This is when Quiet brought out a sealed 1 pound package of Canadian cheddar cheese & offered it around.
"Holy Cow, you carried that the entire trip? That is now officially the most valuable cheese in the world!"
Needless to say we all gratefully accepted and the entire block disappeared in seconds.

A couple of small lakes and short portages were all that stood between us and the mighty Lake Opeongo now, where we hoped to meet fellow members of our Hammock Forums EGL party to guide us to our next & final campsite. Without a guide we might never find them. Once we hit the beach at the end of OUR LAST PORTAGE we looked around. Crickets. No marching band? No champagne? Did anybody even come? A week is a long time and anything could have happened since we departed a week ago and broke off all communication with the world.

Opeongo was uncharacteristically calm. I'd been on this lake several times in the past but the wind and waves never let me get further then the mouth of the southern bay, so I knew how bad it can get. People have been windbound here for days, unable to even launch their canoes against a crashing surf ready to grind their boats to powder. Quiet, an experienced tripper, told us the only time he'd ever been truly frightened while canoeing was on Opeongo. We all must have been very, very good in our previous lives because today the sun shone on nothing more then gentle ripples. We're off!

About halfway down the Eastern Arm we spied a familiar canoe in the distance with a lone paddler aiming directly at as. Giblets!! He'd made good on his promise to come back for us, even if nobody else came. He told us there was actually about 5 more of our Hammock Forums EGL group camping on Englehart Island. Fantastic! Passing through the Eastern Narrows we emerged into the huge central bay of the Lake and followed the shoreline south. Another canoe with a solo paddler approached, paddled by an afficionado of the Bill Mason technique … Bubba!! A very nice surprise since he'd told us that he was unlikely to attend this hang.

Arriving at Englehart Island around 4:30 p.m., we were met the rest of the gang; LuvmyBonnet, 76Highboy, Keg and of course the mad genius who dreamed up this entire venture, Chard! What a welcome. They helped us land and bring up our canoes and gear, peppered us with questions about the trip and then handed us each an ice cold beer. As we set up our hammocks, Chard got the fire going and started grilling hamburgers for us. A hero's welcome indeed … unexpected and undeserved but greatly appreciated. What a great group of folks and the BEST beer & hamburgers I've ever had!

A highlight of this evening was LuvmyBonnet catching his first Algonquin fish. He'd been trying to land one the past two years without success and I'm sure he doubted the actual existence of the fabled trout in these lakes. A shout of surprise and rush to shore by eager helpers brought his catch to hand … a beautiful 2 lb. Lake Trout! 76Highboy and Chard showed him how to clean it then over the fire it went. Minutes later we were all enjoying chunks of the sweetest pink flesh ever cooked over a fire. LuvmyBonnet was the rightly ecstatic and we were all happy for him (and our full bellies).

I sat by the fire enjoying good company, great food and some very fine whiskey (thanks 76 Highboy and Keg!) basking in the glow of a personal achievement I actually doubted I was capable of. What business does a guy approaching 60 have taking on a trip like this? Turned out to be the best trip of my life.

Sunday, May 21 - Englehart Island, Lake Opeongo - 0 km/miles!

76Highboy, LuvmyBonnet and Bubba all had to leave this morning to be back to work on Monday. Sorry to see them go, we didn't have nearly enough time hanging with them. On the other hand, it started to rain and didn't stop all day so they didn't miss much.

Not much to tell today. We sat around under some well-strung tarps, tended the fire and ate … all day. The highlight for me was Giblet's experimental baking of cheese biscuits in a Bundt pan over the fire - absolutely delicious! Giblets, King of the Dollar Stores, has a genius for sourcing inexpensive gear & cobbling together highly functional equipment from bits and pieces of random 'stuff'. His fireside woodworking skills are also pretty impressive.

The four Voyageurs, now re-christened the Cedar Lake Tough (ha!) rubbed our sore muscles, tended our blisters and relished the inactivity.

Monday, May 22 - Englehart Island, Lake Opeongo to Final Takeout 5 km (3 miles)

They say every good thing has to end and this amazing trip was no exception. We got up at 5 a.m. because Chard's weather radio predicted rapidly deteriorating weather as the morning progressed. Having no desire to face high winds on the big lake we ate & packed up in record time & shoved off by 7 a.m. Despite the push to stay ahead of the promised weather, Chard still managed to drop a line and troll hoping to bring home a trout for supper. Sadly, no joy there.

A shiver ran up my spine as I passed Bates Island. Here a young couple were attacked, killed & partially consumed by a predatory black bear as they were setting up camp in October 1991. They were discovered 5 days later by a Park Rangers who had to destroy the strangely aggressive beast as it guarded the bodies. A strong, healthy young male, its behaviour was never explained. This rare incident was immortalized by the Tragically Hip in their disturbing song, 'The Bear'. I can't pass this island without feeling a bit creeped out.

We officially ended our trip at the Opeongo store / permit office just after 8 a.m. Here we coordinated rides for the trippers back to Canoe Lake to pick up our cars. We then said our farewells before reluctantly joining the hordes of southbound long-weekend traffic out of cottage country. Until next time!

Postscript:
Thanks to Iguana, ConnieB and Quiet for being such great travel companions & also putting up with my persistent headcold the entire trip. The never-ending honking and snorting would have tried the patience of a Saint Theresa but they have mentioned it. (It probably also made me snore but nobody ever mentioned it. Sorry!)

Finally a huge thanks to Chard. This trip was his brainchild and would have been the fulfillment of a long held desire to travel this route but real life had other plans & he was unable to come. We were all as deeply disappointed at his absence as he was. Regardless, he unselfishly ignored his personal regret and was all genuine smiles and sincere congratulations at our achievement of his dream trip. A true gentleman.
Attachment 150868
The Voyageaurs showing their affection for Chard!

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TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part I

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TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part II

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TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part III

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TRIP REPORT - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE - Part IV

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Well KeeWayKeno, that trip report was almost as epic as the trip itself. I swear I felt the cold spray of water on my neck when I read about Cedar Lake. I chuckled I imagined ConnieB scooting across Crow R. ferry, but got a serious case of the willies as the rest you guys gave it a try, all above thundering rapids. It's crazy how all of the Algonquin river portages seem to be located as close as possible to the edge of a set of rapids, like some canoe version of a black diamond ski-hill. Why don't they make bunny portages for the marshmallows out there? Twice as long but not death defying. Oh well.

Awesome trip report, both your's and Quiet's, and I'm even more disappointed that I wasn't able to suffer the long miles, the sleep deprivation, the famine, the rough sea tossed shores and the raging rivers with you. It really did sound like the trip of a lifetime!

Wonderful report KWK! I wish I could have gone but I knew when the trip was first suggested that I couldn't go.

I'm happy I proposed the now dubbed "marshmallow" trip. It was nice to see you and the other CLT even if it was only one night. My Algonquin dreams continue....

Great trip report KWK!!!! It was as great as your adventure.
Now that you guys have all that portaging out of your systems lets plan a nice calm lake trip with loads of trout and no portages. :D
I lost all my pics from my camera getting wet in the storm.:( Bubba was good enough to send me this one.
Attachment 151046
Happy!

Quiet, that is... holy heck... 16km double carry?!?! Glad you made it out safely!

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Cedar Lake was the northernmost point on our trip, almost at the top of the Park. A large lake oriented West-East, it frequently whips up heavy seas and canoeists trying to traverse it are often 'windbound' … meaning stuck wherever you happen to be because it is simply too dangerous to proceed. A century ago this area was scene of brutal death for many loggers and the undergrowth along the river's banks hide innumerable forgotten graves. The traveler who pauses to think about it realizes it is like paddling through an ancient cemetery, though most of the graves have melted into the landscape. We stopped to pay our respects at one grave still visible at the beginning of the final portage leading to Cedar Lake. Here a simple whitewashed wooden cross simply reads, "A. Corbiel, June 1, 1888."

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Nope nope nope nope

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Originally Posted by entropy

Nope nope nope nope

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What, did I forget to mention it was awesome fun?

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I read the trip reports and thought, wow that must have been tough.
Then I read them again with Jeffs algonquin map in front of me.More like holy *@$!+!! . Brutal !
Truly in voyageur style. Sleep deprevation,paddling from dawn till dusk,near drownings,loss of skin,too tired too eat dinner!
150 years ago the 4 of you could have been gainfully employed by the HBC.

PRO PELLE CUTEM
(we risk our skins for furs)

Hope you have all recovered and are ready to do it again. Well maybe not quite an arduous journey.

signed: Marshmellow
btw I did get a sliver in my foot lol

Forgot to thank Greaves for his donation of a banner/tarp for the voyageurs to locate us on opeongo.
As such it never got used for that purpose because mother nature decided to treat us with 15 minutes of biblical weather and she destroyed LMB's tarp.
We rigged up the banner as a tarp over LMB hammock and he got to hang out for the weekend after all.
Thanx

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Originally Posted by 76 highboy

Forgot to thank Greaves for his donation of a banner/tarp for the voyageurs to locate us on opeongo.
As such it never got used for that purpose because mother nature decided to treat us with 15 minutes of biblical weather and she destroyed LMB's tarp.
We rigged up the banner as a tarp over LMB hammock and he got to hang out for the weekend after all.
Thanx

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I paddled in with a few of the marshmallows the morning after the tempest and there were definitely signs that a major windstorm had blown through. A good number of branches were on the ground and this 8"-10" diameter tree in the camping area had a very fresh crack. 76Highboy and LuveMyBonnet are very fortunate that it didn't come down on them.
http://www.nanton.ca/images/CivicAlerts/1/imgres.jpg
As KeeWayKeno mentioned, that storm had knocked out the power in a broad swath from the Georgian Bay to the Ottawa River. Even the Opeongo Park Office was blacked out.

https://www.hammockforums.net/galler...tormdamage.jpg

Wow just wow wow. So impressed and somewhat in awe.

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Yep! Loco Tormenta! After it was all over I realized that we could have easily took one off the knoggin. I almost hung off that cracked tree. I was only 5 ft over.
UGQ has such outstanding customer service that they are replacing the tarp! :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by LuvmyBonnet

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UGQ has such outstanding customer service that they are replacing the tarp! :thumbup:

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That's great. It did rip in an oddly uniform way. Did you send it to them?

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Originally Posted by Bubba

That's great. It did rip in an oddly uniform way. Did you send it to them?

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I didn't have to send it back. I sent a picture to Paul as he thought he could fix it. When he saw the pic he said UGGG. He knew it was beyond repair and was kind enough to just replace the entire tarp. Very cool of UGQ! I would have been pretty bummed if I would have lost a tarp like that on only its 3rd day in the piney woods.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to thank Paul and Missy in person. I hoping to make HangCon 18' in January.