Algonquin Park Brook Trout, April 2006

Opening weekend - April 29

We decided that with the ultra-nice weather we would take Friday off... I meet canoe partner Pete at his house around 9 and we load his gear and canoe and then we take off. We drive to our usual groceries place in Arnprior (a tradition), this usually kills 30-45 minutes. We always say that we should shop the night before except we never do. Maybe this next weekend :).

Loaded with a groceries (we overbought of course) breakfast plan was bacon (instant - a huge gratification food) and eggs plus instant oatmeal... we expected cold weather so oatmeal was key for warmth. The eggs were those eggs in cartons (these come in really handy for trips). For lunchs we had cold cuts and cheese, dinner first night was sausages and rice, with three cheese tortellini second night with cookies (two bags), granola (sweet and salty and regular) plus chocolate and so much other random crap I can't list it all... plus bread, pita and a french stick we expected to eat for lunch on the way with turkey and cheese.

So, drive is uneventful. We stop for gas and worms in Deep River and then go for our permit. We were going in on an unmaintained route (dumb idea folks). We asked the guy selling the permit if you can actually get into the lake and he said "not sure, there are probably beaver dams, and trees on the roads - depends if anyone has gone in yet. So we decide to try anyhow (again dumb idea!)...

We did some trail busting

So, we drive to a road (following GPS) ... kind of a rough road, full of snow, trees and log and we manage to avoid them and get in pretty far... then we follow a lesser path (not a road) to the lake and it gets interesting. narrower and narrower and we're cutting trees and scraping the truck (sadly my new truck!) ... I was hot and sweaty doing all this heavy lifting.... good thing I worked out somewhat over the past months or I'd be dead ... we work our way in and finally hit a section that is so blocked by trees and brush it would take days to clear manually (I wished for a chain saw)... so we backed out of there (narrow) until a small opening where we could turn around and left, dejected... It was getting late and we wanted a sure thing (where have i heard that before :)) so we decided to go to a better access and we upgraded our permits to a new lake... I was worried they would make us pay again there and return the unused permit to the other access but the guy was cool, he just wrote "new Lake" over "old lake" and handed them back to us, no government red-tape etc... two seconds and we were on our way... This portage is easy to find and we unloaded and off we went.

The portage is about a km and we decide to single trip as far as we can and I carry canoe and packs and stuff about half way. drop canoe and then pick up a second pack and go to end...

Energized (me ?) I ran partway back up the trail... (although not even close to fit enough). We get to the first lake and then to the second portage of about 500m. We powered that quickly and we take this really nice campsite right near the portage (we were only ones on lake at the time)... It had everything, a table, firepit, kitchen area, benches at the fireplace too...

Setting up was fast we're settled in by around 7 pm. We go for a paddle around the lake (no fishing, the season opens in morning) and then come back, light fire and cook sausages and rice. All that exercise, I was starving and we hoovered it down.

Then we proceeded to drink a little and chat, late night fireside conversation, and then bed...

Saturday

Even though we went to bed night before maybe 10ish ? or 11 ? ... but drunk and it was cold we still slept in till 8 "something"... it was very cold in the morning... I was ok in my sleeping bag except when the top opened up... and cold air came in... its a mummy bag but i don't like to be too constrained so i don't close the top, preferring to wrap it around myself cause its easier to roll around ... which I do when I sleep....

Morning was cold cold cold.. frost on tent and water bottle frozen ice.

Water calm, fishermen having fun ... day warmed up really well, the site was nice too, pretty beach ...

Some scenery at the outflow... waterfalls and fast water and a cliche but nice evening lights shot.

Back for lunch and then out again to a second lake... Talked to some boys we met from Petawawa and North Bay... They caught a couple of brookies on this other lake so we headed there.... On the way pete hooks a bass.. Crap ! on a trout lake this is bad as it means the end of good brookie fishing... some zipper introduced bass and now the lakes will be ruined... We catch three trout in a row in the afternoon plus another bass (not supposed to be any!) and then we go exploring... down to a waterfall but then it was getting late so we hightail it back to the campsite... We were in canoes for maybe 7 hours at this point mostly paddling around trolling with occasional casting.

oh yes, forgot some fish pics :-)

Evening festivities include late dinner (pasta) and some mellow drinking... I sipped scotch (so civilized). We got happy and had the conversations these trips have.... I lay on back and took pick looking up cause it was cool and then one looking down cause it was also cool.

We talked to the valley boys next door (next campsite)... They go out 8-9 times per year, fishing and stuff. Nice kids, good fishermen too... they were catching stuff...

Sunday

This morning was cooking adventures... I experimented in making egg mcmuffins in alum egg cups... they turned out perfectly... need to butter the foil ... I used my water bottle to shape the roundness... perfect...

We fished in morning after packing up ... we pre-portage out packs to the end of the first portage out (~500m) and then went fishing and exploring.

Fished the lake but no takes... high sun and the fish were not where we were fishing... Did some trail searching for a mystery lake up a creek but it was too wet and flooded to get very far.

We inspected the maps again - and then agonized over the first non-road adventure and decided to go back (dumb idea again) to check out a fork in the road, we could have gone the other way... so we leave around 4 pm to get out of there, takes a couple hours. I was fully loaded like a pack mule and I single tripped it... hot and sweaty work this canoeing is.

Me as a pack mule ... over 1000 meters and still standing ... pack, barrel and second pack, paddles and rods...

So, we go back to the other trail and follow the larger road (away from the lake but possibly the long way)... we get to a beaver dam with a suspicious bridge which I didn' t want to try at 8 pm on sunday night so we walk in to see how much futher we could have gotten. The next beaver dam was breached and the whole road was a creek - probably doable but not in the risk mode we were in (we wanted to get home that night)... So we walk to find the creek we think can be followed into the lake and find its not navigable even in high water... sad... but there are more roads to different lakes which we may be able to follow but this will take exploring some other time (smart idea #1)

some pics of the road, umm river...

Did I mention this was the road ? ... mostly water right now... we'll get it next time ... its below an overflowing beaver dam... On the right is a cliff so if you collapse the road you go down down down...

We saw some beavers... on shore and once under the canoe ! Hard to see but the blob in the water is a beaver...

Fun fun fun... and we're doing it again next weekend... different place but more adventures...