We’ll miss you Chard!
I can bring the stuffing and mashed potatoes.
We’ll miss you Chard!
I can bring the stuffing and mashed potatoes.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
I can bring some carrots, oil and salt for a roasted veggie side. Can someone else bring another veggie to roast with the carrots. Eg roasted Brussels sprouts go well with roasted carrots, but it’s your choice.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Putting the reflector oven to the test
Pizza today
Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
Okay, we’ve got the location for the campsite that KeeWayKeno has chosen in North Tea Lake (East Arm). Let me know if anyone needs more info than this image and the lat/long coordinates.
Lat 45.96228 Lon -79.007792
If anyone is lurking and planning on joining us, don’t be shy, let us know!
Cheers,
SG
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Last edited by SvenGolly; 09-25-2023 at 14:41.
Hello, Is it too late for me to get in on this trip?
Never too late. Just paddle in and introduce yourself. Shared food or Scotch is a good way to ingratiate yourself with the group!Originally Posted by sknox
Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
Nope. Come on out. I’ll be at the round lake access point around 11am if you want to meet me there. Or just come whenever you can. We’ll be at the site in the picture above.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Just a teaser ... more to come.
My first harvest. This is the second bass I caught yesterday after 4.7km of portaging to Lorne and Sisco Lake, only to return to North Tea Lake empty handedThe first one was only 3 lbs so I put it back
. The second one was closer to 4 lbs so Bob helped me kill and filet it. I fried it in some ghee with salt and pepper thanks to Dan, and it was enjoyed by all. Sorry, I don’t know their handles.
Great trip everyone; especially the turkey dinner!
I know it’s not a great picture; I was pretty excited.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by theyland; 10-04-2023 at 05:46.
Trip Report – North Tea Lake 2023
“I don’t know if guides go to heaven, possibly they do. If they do there can be no doubt but what they will be disappointed, for no spot could be as nice as Algonquin Park.”
Ralph Bice
A four hour drive north up from suburbia finally brought me to Algonquin’s Access Point # 1, Kawawaymog Lake just as dawn was breaking over the far shore. The mirrored water perfectly matched the utter silence, only broken by the crunch of my boots on gravel as I untied the canoe while sipping the last cold dregs of a ‘Timmy’s’.
I’d just lugged the last of my gear down to shore when Luvmybonnet pulled in, followed a while later by 76Highboy. Turns out 76 had been living as a ‘trout bum’ the past five days and had camped at a small nearby lake the night before.
Shoving off, we paddled a bee-line to the eastern shore and the Amable Du Fond river where two short portages offered a nice break. Even though I knew they were there, we narrowly avoided contributing to the multi-hued paint donations on three sharp boulders strategically placed mid-channel.
Progressing eastward down river, the gusting wind in our faces got progressively stronger, not a great portent for what we would face on the enormous North Tea Lake. Sure enough, emerging from the forest at the end of the last portage we gazed out over an angry-looking sea of rollers and whitecaps. Ugh. The memorial to a park ranger who’d died nearby when trapped by a blizzard seemed even more ominous.
Realizing a mid-lake water rescue would be impossible, our safest option was to stay close together and within a few hundred yards of the north shore. A few bays and islands offered brief respites from battling the wind and waves, and a chance to bail out the water that broke over our bows from the larger waves. Luvmybonnet, an avid whitewater kayaker, was having fun, “yee-hawing” as he crested large waves and slapped down into the face of the next.
A few hours later we reached the mid-lake narrows and knew only another hour would see us at our (hopefully unoccupied) campsite. Digging in, we skirted the lee shore of several islands then cut directly into the wind to the east shore where we happily ended the journey five hours after launching. A small sandy beach abutted a steep bank up to the campsite proper, a beautiful open, rolling landscape beneath stand of large hemlocks and white pine.
We didn’t waste any time setting up our hammocks and settling in for a relaxing evening. Lacking the energy to locate and process firewood, we settled for small fires in our twig stoves before heading to the hammocks. No rain in the forecast and a full harvest moon getting bigger each night encouraged us to go tarpless or high porch-mode ... what a view!
None of us could remember the order in which our friends would join us, so we lollygagged the next day away resting sore muscles, fishing and gathering a decent stash of firewood. I managed to snag a nice smallmouth bass and brought him back alive in case anybody wanted a fish dinner. (He was later released ... turns out we had waaaay too much food already.) Later afternoon 76Highboy called out from the point overlooking the lake “Solo paddler coming in!”
Silhouetted against the glare of the lowering sun, none of us could make out the paddler’s identify, but the traditional “Whooo Buddy” greeting received the appropriate response so we knew it was one of us. Finally getting closer, he was revealed to be Bubba! Now we were four for another great evening by the fire.
Wednesday dawned another perfect, bright, warm day. The strong winds we had faced coming in had diminished a bit each day and today looked to be a perfect day for our incoming friends. While waiting for the crew, Bubba and I paddled to North Tea’s outlet to Manitou Lake, a pretty series of rock ledges and waterfalls dropping down the roughly 60 feet difference in lake elevation. Great place to sit under the pummeling water for a shoulder massage!
Shortly after getting back to camp, Giblets and SvenGolly arrived and over the next two days the rest dribbled in until we numbered 17 (including Charlie, Iguana’s Aussie Shepherd). The larger group made for less quietude, but much more fun and hilarity. The highlight of the trip was planned for Friday, when Lofty organized a full-out early Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Lofty and Giblets erected a tripod beside the fire to slow roast a 13 lb bird, while the reflector oven baked a couple of Giblet’s homemade pumpkin pies ... crafted with Fireball (cinnamon whisky) and ginger cookie crust! Easily the best I’ve ever had.
The rest of the gang pulled out their skillets and pots to construct a pot-luck feast, topped by the dessert table ... yeah, a dessert table!! ... crammed with pies, cookies, cakes, etc. In short, simply amazing for a back-country meal many miles from ‘civilization’.
Sadly, Saturday morning came far too early for 76Highboy, Luvmybonnet and I. We bade our goodbyes then shoved off onto the perfectly calm water. So different from the trip in, the distant scarlet, orange and golden hills in every direction reflected off the surface so perfectly it was hard to tell where water ended and land began. A wonderful trip and gathering with great people, hammock-camping seems to bring out the very best in folks.
P.S. ... that night they made fresh Churros! I knew I should have stayed.
Last edited by KeeWayKeno; 10-03-2023 at 17:20.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks