Big Otter Creek in April

  Second time on Big Otter Creek. Waiting for my friends I got a chance to take some pictures around the put in.

  Very nice creek with clear water. Level was very low though.

  This time we started at the bridge on Richmond Rd., just south of Richmond. My friend and me on my canoe,his son on a kayak.
  About a 1/2 hour on the river we encountered a log jam that needed to be portaged. I thought the left side was the way to go. Big mistake.
  When my friend and his son carried the kayak, the trail gave in and his son dropped towards the river on an almost vertical wall. He stopped about 1.5m below the trail on a ledge, holding also on the kayak. Very bad trail.

         Now the other side really looks like a walk in the park.
   After getting on the other side of the log jam, the adventurous kid tried to get into his kayak but flipped and dunked in the river. Water was cold, early spring temperatures and after a while also started to rain. It became clear that the plan has to change.
  When we got to the next bridge on Richmond Rd.(about 5 km on river), we stopped for lunch and seeing him shivering I asked them to run and get the car back to this location (2.8km on road). My car was in Port Burwell where we were supposed to finish.

                   Lift over just before the second bridge.
  While I was waiting for them I thought about what should I do next. It was too early to get back but not enough time to get to Port Burwell. They decided to go home but not before helping me to get my car closer, at the bridge on Calton Line.
  It took me 2 hours to complete this second portion solo.It went pretty smooth,with only one more lift over and few navigable obstacles. I think this route, Richmond to Port Burwell, can take 6-7 hours to complete.
  The highlight of the trip: a big bird flying away seemed to be a crane. On a second occasion I saw it's a bald eagle. Third time it was perched on a tree next to the river. As I approached, it flew away. Majestic bird.
  It could have been better, but also worse. We made it safely home, ready (at least myself) to tackle the next trip, now that the season is open.

Happy trails!
  

Algonquin - Highland Backpacking Trail

  First camping trip for 2012 and also the last chance for winter camping. Saturday temperatures were hovering around -5C. Windy but not too bad.
  I started walking on Highland Trail which took me to the bridge over the Madawaska River. I was heading for a site on the North side of Provoking Lake via Old Railway Bike Trail,followed by the portage. When I got there it was too windy and I didn't feel like staying. Instead I opted for the depression just bellow the Lookout (for Starling Lake).

                        Many stars accommodation for the night.

  I packed the snow with my snowshoes and I started setting up the tent. The snowshoes were bothering me. I took one off and the moment I put my boot down my leg went all the way through the snow. This place was quite protected from winds but also accumulated a lot of snow blown from higher grounds.
  For dinner I boiled some pasta with sauce and cheese. My new cooking system includes a Hobo stove. It weights a mere 180g, you don't need to carry the fuel and once you get it started it gives you a hot fire.

                      Quite effective and burning just small sticks.



  During the night I heard the wolves howling quite far. I never heard them very close.

                        Sunny morning on top of the Lookout.

                        Starling Lake

                         Waterfalls on Madawaska River.
  Snow won't last long with these temperatures and the trails will be muddy soon.

Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park

  I have recently recovered pictures taken in September while on a solo week-end backpacking trip.
  The plan was to reach Victoria Lake, camp for a night and come out the next day.
  I entered the Ganaraska trail close to the boat launch north of Deep Bay. The trail is remote, pretty well marked but seemed to me more energy demanding when compared with the backpacking trails in Algonquin and Killarney.

           Typical scenery along the trail.


  Around 4:00 pm I reached a trapper's cabin on the shore of Victoria Lake. There was a campfire pit right beside the lake, and a small flat area to fit my tent. I decided to stay.
  During the night I heard noise that seemed to come from the place I left my backpack. I came out of the tent to realize that a beaver was chewing a tree far from my site.
  Next day was a perfect fall day. It was well worth the effort.

            Sunday morning on Victoria Lake

  This Park can also be accessed by canoe, but that will follow...

Poker Lakes in winter

 I have been waiting for a chance to get back in this area.Finally I got one.
 The plan was to travel on ice,bushwhack if ice was thin, explore a little bit.
 The ice on Bentshoe Lake didn't look to good so I opted for ice travel but close to the shore.

  On the way I found these tracks,probably wolf.

 
 At some point I bushwhacked my way to East Bentshoe Lake. Just to extend the trip I took the portage to Lower Crane Lake. There isn't a lot of snow on the ground, very odd winter.

 This must be a nice campsite in summer time,East Bentshoe Lake.

 I think I am done with ice travel this winter,looking forward to the March backpacking trip in Algonquin.

 Happy trails!

Magnetawan River loop (2011)

  Having done a portion of this loop 2 years ago I was ready to go for the full loop. Once again I had to go alone but I wasn't too concerned about that. Three years ago this seemed way too risky for me. I started at Wahwashkesh Lake dock. The wind was pretty much in my face till I reached Trout Lake. I found a nice site and I called it a day.

  Second day I was on the water by 7:30 am and it started to rain, not too hard. There was no wind and paddling conditions were perfect. So I kept going till 6:30pm when I reached the unnamed lake between Wilson Lake and Miskokway Lake. I couldn't have predicted that I can get this far and this is the advantage of camping without reservations. I knew the lake is a bit different than the rest of the Magnetawan system( the water is blue but not very clear). Nice lake but the campsite not special.

  On the third day I was planning to go all the way up to Maple Lake. Instead I had to stop at the first site on Bolger Lake, the wind making travel very difficult for me on Miskokway Lake. The wind was coming from North-East when usually blows from West. Good challenge though.

  Last day I was up at 5:00 am and on the water by 6:10am. I was trying to avoid the wind and it worked fine for a while. On Maple Lake I stopped at a camping site to take a break. A nice butterfly came and was sunning himself on the canoe. After a while I was getting ready to leave when I saw a frog stalking the same butterfly. He was sunning this time at the water edge and the frog was inching his way up to the prey. I stood still waiting. But the butterflies have almost 360 degree vision and he got away before the frog got too close. On Wahwashkesh Lake I had to battle the winds once again, ending the trip tired but happy.

Muskoka River - South Branch

  I was looking for an overnight canoe trip and this time I picked Muskoka River. Starting in Baysville I paddled all the way down to Fraserburg and then came back upriver looking for a campsite around Cooks Falls.

  I could have taken the campsite below the falls but the people camping at the falls invited me to join them and I couldn't refuse. They were actually boat/canoe camping having a lot of stuff that I would never carry on a wilderness trip. I enjoyed their company and hospitality.

Next morning I headed back to Baysville dam finishing a nice semi-wilderness trip.