Triplogs / Triplog#12 / Day 2 / Day 3
Shall Lake(IN) - Shirley L - Shirley L - Shall Lake(OUT)
Day 3
It had rained during the night, and as I emerged from the tent, it looked like it was going to rain again. It was overcast with a cool and damp feeling to the air. JL & I made breakfast and packed up, our short stay had come to an end and now it was time to head out. Our paddle down the length of Shirley Lake was un-eventful. Soon we came upon the portage and began the process of carrying over our gear. I should mention here, that we were double carrying. The trail is wide, very well worn, and is virtually flat compared to other portages in The Park; this was a dream trail. As we headed back for our second run, the 6 guys we had met on the very same portage on our way in, passed us by. We finished our second run, as we arrived back at the launching point on the creek. Lo and behold the 6 guys cluttered the landing(Again!), I manoeuvred my canoe around them and plunked it down into deeper water. Standing there up to almost my thighs, I instructed JL to toss the packs to me. Soon we were loaded(rather tricky to get into a canoe in thigh high water), and headed out passing by the six portage bandits. Not 10 minutes later it began to rain, and as we passed the island I had commented on earlier, on day one, the heavens opened up. It poured buckets and we were soaked through and through. We couldn't get any wetter, so we just kept paddling in the downpour, the 6 guys had the same idea too, and then passed us by. It continued to pour as we watched the 6 guys put some distance between us. There was not a drop of wind, just buckets and buckets of rain pounding down upon us. There was no thunder or lightning, so our nerves were intact.
An image from Day 2: The firepit and kitchen on our campsite
Day 2 image: Thanks to birch bark: JL & I got a got fire going
As we came upon the lower half of Farm Lake, I noticed the 6 guys paddling the expanse of Farm Lake, heading towards the ugly High Voltage Transmission lines. I ignored them and followed the right shoreline as we made our way back to the Permit office. As we came upon the bridge before our landing, we noticed a couple fishing from the bridge, they had had luck apparently, Bass they mentioned to me. As we pulled up at the Access point landing and began un-loading, the group of 6 guys appeared. Seems they were headed in the wrong direction and followed us out. I remember when I first started coming to The Park, how uncouth my bush manners must've seemed, thus I kept silent.
I had mentioned earlier that 'Jim' The permit guy, was a helpful fellow. Not only that, he saved our bacon!
Kudos to Algonquin Park Staff all around. I've never met such a dedicated group of people who never are at a loss for information or finding ways to enhance one's trip. Whether it be from route suggestions to fishing hole recommendations. In this case, my car battery had died. A paddle had clipped 'on' a back seat light, while removing them from the vehicle on Day 1. Thus with the battery drained, I started asking the immediate population around me, if anyone had jumper cables. No one was able to help me out, lastly I went to the permit office and sought Jim's help. As it was, he did have cables, and once he left a note at the office, he came and gave me a boost. Once that was taken care of, I thanked Jim, and we headed on our way. I really liked Shirley Lake, it's campsites are spread out and the lay of the lake and it's spacious campsites offers lots of seclusion. Without Jim's help our excellent trip could've ended up in disaster.