There’s little in comparison to a long hot shower in the comfort of your own home after a few days in the wilderness. It’s downright luxurious feeling in fact. About the only downside, if there even is one, is that I’ve washed all the crap off my legs and they now look like they’re victim of some sadistic experiment gone horribly bad. I did not know one could get that many bits and bites on their legs. I know what you’re thinking. Tell me more about the carnage Mark. Ok fine. Let’s start at the start.
“Maybe you should bring a pair of pants,” Lori’s words echoed in my head as I stood there filling up the car at our local Pioneer. It was 7:30 on Sat morning, we had overslept by a couple of hours after inadvertently setting the wake up time on our alarms but forgetting to change the fact they only go off on weekdays. Who wants to wake up to an alarm on the weekend anyway? Apparently we did today.
We had checked the weather for the next several days and it was supposed to remain hot. As in high twenties - feels like 30’s hot. Yes this is mid-September! I decided to heed Lori's warning and doubled back home for a pair of pants, just in case. By the time I reached my dresser I had changed my mind again and pulled out my long johns instead of my pants. I can always wear them under my shorts and really the only time I envision being chilly is at night. Long johns it is!
The drive up was about as pleasant as the 401 and the 400 can possibly be. Only after breaking free of Orillia on highway 11 did the scenery really start to change. A stop in Huntsville Timmies for a quick bite and bathroom break and by the time we reached Algonquin it was difficult to keep our eyes on the road. Screaming reds, brilliant yellows mixed in with a dozen shades of green welcomed us to Algonquin Park. Throw in a lake vista here and there, we couldn’t stop saying WOW. Good thing Canoe lake isn’t too far along highway 60. Autumn really is the prettiest season to be outside in Ontario I think. Natures very own symphony of colours.
Reservations were made however we still had to go pick up our park passes at the access point office then head back to the the Portage Store (a whopping 100 yards away) to sort our canoe rental. By 12:30 we were finally on the water and paddling north on Canoe Lake. Woohoo! Our itinerary showed Burnt Island as our destination for today. I had a difficult time planning this trip not knowing how far we would get each day. Could we keep up to the times listed on Jeff’s maps? Initially Lori wasn’t sure if she was going to come before saying yes at the last moment. Do I plan longer days if I’m going solo or the same for the two of us? Which route do I plan for solo, what about if Lori comes? I checked in with our HF resident canoe/Algonquin expert Chard to get some ideas. I’m very glad Lori decided to come for many reasons. Had she decided to stay home, I fear I may have planned a much more ambitious trip distance wise. Instead, Burnt Island Lake was just over 3 hrs away, a fairly easy start to our first ever Algonquin canoe experience.
The scenery on Canoe Lake picked up right where the road left off. We took our time as we tried to get the hang of paddling (2 up?) in a canoe vs the solo kayaking we had done to date. Our vehicle of choice was the lightest we could rent. At 33 LBS the 16’ H2O Heritage Series Prospector really was quite light in comparison to the 50-75 lbs beasts they had on offer. The price difference between these canoes was negligible and in my opinion totally worth the extra $5-$10 in rental cost if you’re planning on doing any sort of portaging. Or maybe they actually pay YOU $45 take the 75lbs version?
Even before we arrived at our first portage Lori was super glad she came along. She very much loves being on the water and we were in Algonquin during her most favourite time of the year.
A loon let us come to within a few feet as if to welcome us to the park. I wondered if maybe he was on the provincial payroll.
Joe Lake seemed a bit quieter as we left all the day trippers and power boats behind. Lori and I started getting into a nice grove working together as we quickly realized that we didn’t have to exert so much energy in keeping the boat moving forward. We even passed a campsite proudly displaying a full size cooler hanging from a tree right by the water. I guess if you only have a 260m portage, you can bring all the gear and food that you want. Did I mention there was a warning at the access point office about a nuisance bear on Joe Lake?
From Joe Lake we paddled into Little Joe passing Arowhon Pines Lodge on our right before hitting a couple more portages; a 120m and a 435m. As we approached the first one we met up with a few people paddling past the portage from the opposite direction letting us know that we could paddle up the creek without getting out as long as we were ok with a small beaver dam. Chia!
We stopped for a short break to rest and munch on some snacks as we got out for the 435m portage - no paddling around this one. Being Noobs we decided it would be better for both of us to carry the canoe for some reason, Lori at the front and me at the back with our backpacks on our backs. This didn’t seem like a terrible idea at first and for the really short portages it was pretty doable. We couldn’t get through the entire 435m however and had a take several short breaks and switch hands. We carried the canoe past Lost Joe Lake and got back into the water at Baby Joe. This Joe fella sure is popular around these parts here. Another relatively easy 200m and BOOM! We were into Burnt Island Lake. We had plenty of daylight left and could now take our time looking for a site. There was really very little wind to speak of, if anything it was with us all day making paddling a breeze. We had paddled past 6 sites - every single one occupied. Hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Finally #7. Lucky #7 was ours for the taking. But does is have a spot for a tent and a hammock?
Sure does!
We both set up, Lori her REI Half Dome 2 tent and me the Warbonnet Blackbird 1.7 single with whoopies. Since we were both hungry I was about to get busy with getting a fire going for dinner, only there was something wrong. Something very wrong!
It was the Sawyer water filter. It was leaking all over the place from the threads to the squeeze bag. Seems the little gasket that sits in the bottom of the filter was nowhere to be found. “You have got to be kidding me,” I thought. Did it fall out? I walked all around the site, twice, just to make sure it hadn’t fallen out while I was pulling out the gear. Nope! I was seriously angry with myself because I had the conscious thought to run some water through the filter a few nights ago when I started pulling out gear to pack. Apparently I never did the water test. How could I possibly forget something to vital? Good thing Lori insisted on us bringing water purification tablets. We filled our Nalgene’s with lake water and set them aside to let the tablets do their thing while we put on some more unfiltered water to boil in the pot. I got back to work getting the fire going. After all we had steak to cook up. Good thing there was plenty of wood laying around courtesy of the previous guest - thank you! By the time the steaks were done, so were we. It was well after dark, I was still steaming about the filter and Lori wasn’t all that hungry anymore. Glad we didn’t cook a side. In fact we barely finished one of the steaks between the two of us. Day one in the books, we both went to sleep.
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Originally Posted by johnspenn
. We've talked about having her try a bridge since her WBBB has just been collecting dust (well not really since it's safely packed away). Right now she is truly enjoying herself in the tent. I don't mind the tent either to be honest but definitely find the hammock more comfy. Besides I just love hanging out in my hammock in the morning sipping on a hot beverage, taking in the view, or taking a nap in the afternoon or just contemplating life - all things done better in a hammock imho. 
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