Kanu Links
Algonquin Revisited -
Summer 2007
| One of my first ever canoe trips was
to Algonquin Park, in 1973 or something like it. I needed to prove to myself that I could
paddle and camp like the "pros" . I would tackle long distances, squeezed into a
short number of days, and the more pain one experienced the better. We travelled from
Canoe Lake to Big Trout, up to Brent on the other side of the park and then back via the
Crow River and the 5km portage to Opeongo Lake, all in six days. It was a success by that
idiotic criteria, but as a trip it lacked the "inner" aspect and thus I
now consider it no better than a joke. This year I had a chance to do the trip again but do it right: I would focus on the experience of the land and all in it. Evan, a friend and experienced paddler, wanted someone to join him on a trip across the Park and so I did: to cross the park from the west side, head up to Brent, do a side trip to the Brent Crater, and then come down the Petawawa River to Lake Traverse. Evan would start paddling a few days earlier from Canoe Lake and pick me up at the Magnetawan Access. I would arrive by car and had arranged to have the car shuttled to the take-out while we were crossing the park. It would be a trip similar to my earlier adventure some thirty years ago, but we had ten days, enough time to slow down and take in the character of the land. Here are a few pictures: nothing special from a photographic aspect, but I hope they give you a chance to follow us onto that trip....
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| Here's' Evan and - unlike me - he's serious about photography.... |  |
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| ....especially when there's something worthwhile like this bull moose. |
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Well, this big fellow posed for a little while, and then wandered off into the bushes... | ||
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...but not before taking a last bashful peek at us from the bushes. |  |
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| Life's good in the park when the sun is shining. Here's the landing at our first camp site. |  |
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| On the second day, we came across a fire on an island, fanned by a strong wind from the west. | Fires are not that unusual, and this one was caused by lightning the day before. | We had first noticed a plane circling,...... | ||
| .....which was then followed by a helicopter setting down. Someone had spotted smoke from the air.... |  |
The copter brought in the fire fighters. A team of three worked with a gasoline-powered pump and "miles" of hoses.... | ....as we sat in the boat and watched. There was no drama - it was like watching a janitor sweeping the dirt into the hallway's corner, efficient and all part of a day's work. |
| On Burntroot Lake, at the bottom of a large bay is a large clearing and there are still the remnants of a structure that may have been an ice house or possibly a root cellar. |  |
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| Not far in that same bay, the rotting hulk of an "alligator", an old steam powered boat, lies at the edge of the water,.... | .....its long cable attesting to the amphibious ability of this once common contraption of the logging days. |  |
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| Its inner workings are easy to discern in the rubble: boiler and cog wheels are clearly visible... |  |
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...and the solid steel with its massive rivets is impressive. |  |
Also easily recognizable are the paddle wheels at the side of the hull, its wooden paddles slowly decaying. |
| Flowers abounded in those early July days: along the portage trails where
the sun may penetrate, Orange Hawkweed is quite common.
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In the shadier spots of the forest, some late blooming Pink Lady Slippers surprised us,... |  |
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...Bunch Berry still bloomed, but trilliums were past flower... |  |
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| ...and Wood Sorrel delighted the eye with its cheerful clover-like leaves and the delicate blossom. |  |
But the nicest surprise for me were a few stands of Wood Lilies near the Petawawa River! |  |
| We did stop at Cedar Lake and got a lift to the Brent (meteorite) Crater... |  |
...as seen here on this aerial photo I found at this website. (Cedar Lake is at upper left corner.) |
The two lakes in the centre (Gilmour and Tecumseh) form part of the circular shape that hint at its creation by an extra-terrestrial event 400 million years ago. | The crater is located beside the road leading to Brent, about 14km from Cedar Lake. A lookout tower allows a tree-top view of much of the crater rim, but it is currently deemed unsafe and marked as "closed". |
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As we paddled down Cedar Lake towards the river, rain and mist took over... |  |
...but in the still water, Evan turned around on his seat for a snack in mid-lake. | |
| We didn't see many people, but there were two other groups following the Petawawa river with us, and once or twice we stopped for a chat. |
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Earlier on the Tim River, we had met this guy. |  |
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Farrell lives in North Bay and is a regular visitor to the park. His body is not what it used to be, but that does not stop him from dragging himself, a solo boat and a heavy pack into the bush. | His canoe is light and has both yoke and a tump, the poles help him keep his balance and all clothing is made by himself, including his kevlar re-enforced shoes. | At the end of our lengthy chat, he indicated was sore and asked for a leg-stretch. A fair request it seemed and I helped him. Thus came about this strange picture of me "wrestling the poor man to the ground".... |  |
| In summary, Algonquin is a wonderful place,... | ...with its towering pines,... |  |
...its wizard-shaped cedars... |  |
| ....the many cascades along the river,..... |  |
...and the still lakes. |  |
...And we'll be back, some day...
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