Triplogs / Triplog#21 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Days 5&6 / Days 7&8
Kawawaymog Lake(IN) - Amable du Fond river - N. Tea L - Lorne L - Kakasamic L - Mattowacka L - Fassett L - Shad L - Shada L - Fassett Cr - Manitou L - N. Tea L - Amable du Fond river - Kawawaymog Lake(OUT)
Day 7
Looking back: Leaving behind the finest campsite of the trip
Paddling down Manitou, I saw many of the hills that surrounded the lake
It was a partly cloudy morning, as I decided to leave my island of salvation. I wasn't scheduled to head to North Tea Lake till the next day, but I felt 3 nites was enough on Manitou. Time to move on and give someone else a chance at that wonderful island. I took my time, and broke camp at 11 a.m. A very light breeze accompanied me as I traversed down Manitou Lake. I let out my fishing line and trolled all the way to the portage to North Tea Lake. Not one bite! Not much has changed, ohhhh well.
Heading down Manitou was a memorable paddle. There was quite a few islands, both big and small, long and skinny. There were campsites everywhere! Some with rocks, some with too much trees and to be avoided at all costs in June, and more campsites with sandy beaches. Manitou was a real nice slice of heaven, the hill lines in all directions were typical of Algonquin, although I do remember one hill line to the south with a very irregular slope, behind an island, it almost looked as if a cliff was concealed underneath all that green. I did manage to spot some cliff or rockface on the western shoreline, as I closed in on the portage on the lower third of Manitou Lake, next to a campsite, complete with yet another sandy beach. What a beautiful lake.
Paddling down Manitou, I passed by an Insuchuk
One of many white sandy beaches I passed by on Manitou Lake
Just before 1 p.m. I arrived at the portage to North Tea Lake. I opted for the shorter one, the 410m trail, and well it wasn't a walk in The Park. Boy, it was steep! North Tea Lake sits 26m higher in elevation than Manitou Lake, and I swear in the first 100m, I covered that 26m climb...whew! I don't remember much about the landing, except that the land sloped right down to the water. There is no flat spots there, it's all up, up and up! The trail, makes a right, and continues a bit, before turning left and heading straight up and over and down to North Tea Lake. It is along this over and down stretch, that the trail is very rocky. Watch your ankles there! Just before 2 p.m. I launched onto a windy North Tea Lake, the wind and waves were against me, and although I was comfortable in the canoe, my arms were not. It was quite an exhausting paddle and I finally reached the wind shadow of an island around 2:40 p.m.
It maybe a short portage, but it does have a steep section
I've been on some crazy climbs, so in retrospect,
this one isn't that bad at all, still it is a bit of a climb, albeit a short one
I have to admit here, another reason(albeit a selfish one), for coming to North Tea Lake a day earlier than scheduled. The next day was Friday, July 1st. Canada Day Weekend. I had expected attendance on the lake to be heavy, and figured if I sneaked in a day early, I could capture a good campsite. As I paddled up to the first island, I studied it closely. The island had two campsites on it, and the one facing me was very high up off the water, and had no slope to the water. I wanted to be closer, further in along the east arm, and wanted to be able to see other folks...I had, had enough solitude for the trip. As I moved south-westward to the next island, I spied a canoe landing at a campsite on a east shore point, near where the lake narrows as you head towards Biggar Lake. I pulled up to the next island on a campsite on the east shore, got out and stretched my legs and had a look around. The island was the biggest in the east arm, and had three campsites on it. The east campsite, was spacious, had a nice level sandy landing, yet I moved on, as I'm a sucker for sunsets, and that east site had no possibility of letting me view one. I crossed paths with the canoe as it left the east shore site, and beat me to the next site. It was two guys. As I paddled on, I watched them on and off, it looked like they were gathering wood. I went around the bend of another island and went from site to site, along the chain of islands, studded with campsites galore. I was in shock, It seems everyone had the same idea as me and came in a day early as well. Every campsite was occupied! I did a full circle and headed back to the large island, where I intended to check out the last of three sites, hoping it was unoccupied. As I came to the island, The two guys in a canoe were leaving the island. "Huh?", I thought to myself. These guys were passing up campsite after campsite. As we neared each other, I noticed a substantial amount of wood in their canoe. "What are you doing?" I bravely inquired. "Why, gathering firewood.", was the reply. "Gathering firewood!?", I echoed back. More like pilfering campsites to me. I couldn't believe these two. These guys were actually spending the afternoon, going from campsite to campsite on the lake, helping themselves to firewood, that was left behind from previous campers for the next 'OCCUPANTS' to enjoy. I shook my head, and ignored their next statement, some story about real estate and being an agent...crap. I Paddled to the campsite they had just left. The west facing site on the big island with 3 campsites on it. I landed, on a small beach, got out and inspected the site. It was large, with many clearings, and studded with large rocks and a mix of red and white pine. Noticeably, there was very little cut firewood. There was several 'beams' of wood, lying around, ready to be cut, and a small amount of kindling, but no much in the way of real firewood ready to go. "How lazy and irresponsible, can you get?", I thought to myself. I had a good mind to head back to Manitou and build myself a cabin and stay there, I was so incensed. All was not lost, as I mentioned before, there was plenty of wood ready to be cut, and there was lots of deadfall too. The guys just grabbed the choice cuts of wood, and took off.
Almost there: Ahead lies North Tea Lake(410m portage)
While inspecting the campsite, I came upon a small scene of devastation. There was two tall white pines next to each other, with red pines next to them. Both white pines, had been struck by lightning. What looked like what happened was this;
A bolt of lightning struck one of the white pines, and the flow of the electricity travelled down the tree to the ground, and shattered some rock, and then travelled up or branched out to the white pine next to it. There was lots of fallen branches around the two white pines. Both fresh and dead ones. The red pines were unscathed. What looked really creepy was a shattered rock near the base of one of the pines, complete with scorch marks. I've never heard of stuff like that happening, except in a movie once. Must've been some storm, and glad I was not around to witness it, especially alone. The scene looked recent and had surely happened within a few weeks before my arrival. Possibly days. Maybe during the first night while I was on Lorne Lake, I surmised.
By 4:30 p.m. I was settled in, fed, and set off to explore the island. The fire-pit had a massive boulder for a windbreak, and deservedly so, as there was a breeze blowing in from the west. There was no shelter here, from a west wind, but I didn't care if I was going to freeze in this June heat! Shortly after 8 p.m. I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. I was a little apprehensive, but welcomed the storm, as I sought shelter from it. It was one of those storms where it's bark is worse than it's bite. Long booms of rolling thunder preceded the storm. I was comfortable in my tent camped as far away as possible from the white pine, next to some red pines and cedar trees. By 8:50 p.m. the storm struck and lasted barely 15 minutes.
After that I emerged from my tent and watched what little lightning there was and heard the rolling thunder continue for a good 30 minutes more. I had a really nice fire that night, as the humidity seem to drop off, and the wind died down. Sometime before midnight, I retired for the night.
Paddling onto North Tea Lake, I had a stiff breeze and small waves against me
Stormy weather drifting by: The light show didn't really happen.
However, I was treated to excellent booms of rolling thunder
Day 8
Canada Day. There's something about Canada Day, that makes me want to be in The Park. If I can't get to The Park, then wherever I am , I like to be outdoors all day long. For me Canada Day and camping in The Park is MY right! I roused myself from bed late that morning(late by Algonquin standards!), just after 9 a.m. It was a breezy, sunny morning, as I struggled to light my stove and make breakfast. Breakfast done, I set off to explore the forest. a good 60 or 80m from the campsite, I came upon "Ren's Den" Somebody or a group of some people built a makeshift shelter, out of pine boughs. It looked liked it had been there a while. Perhaps from the Month of May or earlier. Most of it had no roof, and I noticed the carving in the tree denoting the 'den', was engraved into a dead tree. I guess whoever had camped here at one time, had become sick of the constant west wind, as I was beginning to experience that day, for the wind progressively grew stronger and stronger, when by noon, it was a very strong steady breeze, and waves began to whip up. Stranded again, I stayed onshore. I managed to find a small rock slope near the water, not far behind my tent, facing south-east, here I achieved some solitude, as I was totally sheltered from the wind, but not from the bugs. I figured it was a fair trade-off, and endured the bugs for over an hour.
Canada Day: Up goes the Flag. Damn! I was one happy Canadian!
Here come the crowds: Canoes galore passed by my site,
luckily with a strong wind at their backs
Shortly after 12:30 p.m. the canoes started coming. In groups of 2 or 3 or more, some single canoes, but they all seem to come in great numbers for the next 2 to 3 hours. I could tell by the sheer numbers of people coming by my island, that the west arm of the lake must've been packed and now the chain of islands here in the east was still full as well. The latecomers in this respect were the losers, although they did have the wind and waves at their back, albeit wild waves and wind. There wasn't much left on the lake, unless all those souls going by were on their way to Manitou(right on!), or heading towards BiggarLake(no escape from the wind). I spent an hour or two gathering and cutting firewood. I was expecting a visitor this day, although with the conditions, I was not sure my friend was gonna show. He was supposed to come in solo. No matter I made sure I had lots of firewood, for a good night by the fire trading stories. As it was, my friend never did show. Later in the evening, the wind died down a little bit, but not enough for one particular poor soul. As I sat by the fire, after 7pm, I could hear the echo of a booming sound, irregular and random it seemed. I whipped out my binoculars, but could not see anything. I strained to listen through the noise of the wind. Ahhh....someone lost a canoe! I have to admit, I know that scenario, been there, done that, never want to do that again! Someone's canoe was being pushed down the lake along the north shoreline, and by the sound of it, it was going a long way. I was solo, and had no intention of going out in those windy and wavy conditions, and only hoped that a fellow paddler the next morning would come to someone's rescue or perhaps the lost canoe was from group of canoes. I never did know what came of it. The high for the day was 24.3°C, with a humidex of 28°C, very comfortable weather.
I found some 'beams' lying around, and made quick work of'em....
I was well on my way to having an ample supply,
gathered and cut for the evenings fire
This image shows the strip of bark torn from a white pine,
by a lightning strike. The pine to the right of it,
pictured behind the red pine(one with yellow rope around the trunk),
also exhibited scars from a lightning strike
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