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

[KeeWayKeno]

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

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

[Chard]

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

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

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

[xMagnolia]

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

Charlotte

[quiet]

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.

[Bubba]

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. 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.




Old school Warbonnet gear on yet another trip.




Enjoying the lack of bugs due to the wind.




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




Looking west at Lake Opeongo.




My canoe resting after a windy paddle in




Sunset




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




Sunrise




Brought my trusty Bushbuddy on this one.

[tsunamihazardzone]

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.

[Jayson]

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

[Chard]

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?

[infrastellar]

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

[keg]

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

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.