Trip Report - EGL fall canoe trip 2019 - Killarney Provincial Park

Just back from a couple night in Killarney Provincial Park. I had to leave earlier than the rest but here are some pictures and a brief report. It was a great trip to a park I have not yet visited. The unique geology was the most interesting for me. It was cool to see so much quartzite around. The paddle in on the first day started off nice with a mix of sun and cloud but it progressed to rain and strong winds. Thankfully the wind was at my back but large following swells can be unnerving. After meeting up with some of the group that went on ahead I set up and chilled for the rest of the day. The next day was rain, rain and more rain. The large group tarp I brought was where we spent a lot of our time. Despite this, being in the backcountry with my friends is always enjoyable. I paddled out the next day under blue skies and sun. As always it was too short but a great time nonetheless. Looking forward to the next one...

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this is perfect ... the hammock and a canoe fit perfectly ... I could roam the area for several days and would not get enough !

Very nice. Thanks for sharing with the unfortunates left behind!

Nice pictures Bubba. Thanks for sharing. The one thing I was surprised at in the photos was that the ADK's seemed to be further along with Fall colors. I would have thought Killarney would been colder at night. The ADK's was just starting to pop.Some pretty colors. Maybe just a lot more pines up there?

Thanks Man!

I do not know how you manage to take pictures of all the great stops along the journey. Pleasure seeing you again, even if it was for only a brief passing and a miracle SMS message.

Killarney is a crown jewel of the Ontario parks system. Its quartzite and granite hills provide countless scenic vistas enjoyed by artists, car campers, backpackers and backcountry canoe trippers alike. Its crystal clear waters (unfortunately a result of acid rain caused in part by the nearby nickel smelting operation in Sudbury) have been attracting Canadians and also travellers from further afield for years. This year the EGL decided to do our annual fall outing in Killarney. The popularity of the more scenic lakes in the park means that reservations have to be made at midnight 5 months prior to your intended departure date. I booked 1 permit and for this reason, we could only accommodate 9 paddlers total on this trip.

I left Kingston at 11:30pm on Wednesday evening. By 3am, I was picking up my bow paddler, Mark in Brampton. We would meet the rest of the folks paddling in at the park office at 8am. We arrived on time to find 76 Highboy and Bubba waiting until the office opened (which turned out to be 8:30). The way the permit system works in Killarney is that you book a lake and not a specific campsite. This means that it's often a race from the put-in to the best campsites on your reserved lake. Chard and Cruiser51 were running late so to secure our desired site, me, Mark and 76 Highboy unloaded our gear on the beach and hightailed it out there. There was a large group from New York State who were also heading for the same lake we were so we didn't waste a lot of time and paddled away - only stopping occasionally to take pictures and admire the beautiful scenery...

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The goal of picking the date for a fall EGL hang is to be there when the colours are peaking. We ended up being about 1-2 weeks early but I didn't hear any griping considering the views. The way from George Lake to Killarney Lake (our destination) included 2 easy portages - the first 50 metres around a little waterfall (captured in Bubba's pics above), then a gradual uphill 380m from a mucky take-out in to Killarney Lake. Recent rain had made the granite on the path slippery and I went down when my legs went out from under me. Luckily i landed on my pack and wasn't injured. Mark helped me get vertical again with the heavy pack on and we were off to the put-in on beautiful Killarney Lake.

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It took about an hour to traverse the entire length of the lake to a large island (tucked behind a smaller island - more on this later) which would be our home for the next few nights. The campsite didn't look like much from the shore, but once we got up there and turned around, this was the view...

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The 3 of us set up our camps (mark and i were going to be ground dwellers this trip) and waited for the rest of the Thursday contingent to arrive. Within an hour, Chard and Bubba could be seen rounding the island en route to our campsite. The universal "Whoo Buddy!!" call confirmed they'd found us. Bubba brought a huge 16'x16' tarp that we could use over the firepit area to keep us dry during the expected showers overnight and the next day. Once rigged, it barely had to be adjusted all weekend and we had no water pooling issues at all. After a few more hours, the rest of our Thursday crew arrived. Cruiser51, Brantwing and Rand came in on their solo boats, 2 of which cruiser built himself. They're truly works of art and if they paddle half as good as they look, they'd be a treasure for any backcountry tripper. We were expecting 2 more people to come on Friday - Iguana and ConnieB. We spent the rest of the evening.... cooking, eating, telling tales and enjoying the mutual company. The island had a good mix of conifers and hardwoods and we were able to find some dead oak to build our firewood supply for the rest of the trip. Having been up for almost 24 hours straight, I headed to my tent for a fitful night's sleep.

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I didn't take any pictures on Friday as it pretty much rained on and off all day. Iguana and ConnieB never did arrive and we assumed that the lousy weather forecasted made them change their minds. We were wrong. Bubba was the only one of us that had cell service in the park and he received an SMS from Iguana late on Friday night saying that they'd paddled all over the lake looking for us on Friday and wondered where we were. They ended up staying the night further down the lake. Chard hopped into "Lipstick" - his beautiful red Prospector and headed out to find them. All 3 were soon back and we had a full contingent. It turns out that they had paddled to the far side of the smaller island and didn't realize there was the bigger island behind. Iguana, another DIY enthusiast, showed off the canoe he'd built using the "skin-on-frame" technique of epoxied ballistic nylon stretched over an ash and oak structure. ConnieB is an accomplished whitewater paddler and she was able to (after a few tries) demonstrate a successful roll and rescue of her boat and was able to paddle it back to shore safely. I didn't take pics but it was an impressive feat for us old, overweight flatwater paddlers to witness. Bubba had to get home so he bid us farewell and enjoyed the sunny weather for his paddle out. The rest of us took to the hard work of cooking, chewing, swallowing - the regular EGL outings activities.

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The evening provided a beautiful Killarney sunset as we traded stories over dinner and around the fire. Chard used the new moon sky as an opportunity to take some starry night pics of the milky way. I'm looking forward to seeing those.

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On Sunday we were up fairly early and treated to a misty morning as the cool overnight temps highlighted the warmer water of the lake as the seasons are changing. After breakfast and breaking camp, we said our goodbyes and were on the water by about 10am. It was another very long day for me as I drove Mark back to Brampton then back home to Kingston. With stops for meals and resting, I didn't get home until 11:30 pm. Until next time...

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Thanks ggreaves! Another great trip added to the EGL annals.

Nice reports and pics guys.

Here's a couple I took.

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Final Edit: Starry Night

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chard

I'm not happy yet with this shot's post-processing.[/SIZE]

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Very cool. It's amazing what a long exposure does for a bright light source like a planet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ggreaves

Very cool. It's amazing what a long exposure does for a bright light source like a planet.

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see the satellite?