Triplogs / Triplog#13 / Day 2
Access#12(IN) - Pinetree L - Pinetree L - Pinetree L - Access#12(OUT)
Day 2
Around 1:30 am in the morning I was awoken to the sound and feeling of wet raindrops falling on me. It was a lite sprinkle, but I was up in a hurry. As soon as I got outside, the rain stopped. It rained for a grand total of perhaps 10 seconds. Well, I was up and had the fly in my arms, I went about the business of putting the fly on, once my task was completed, I turned off my flashlight, and had a look around. There were no stars, and the air had a damp feel to it, and it was pitch black. I crawled back into my tent, snug as a bug in my sleeping bag and went back to sleep. I woke up again around 7:30am. It certainly was overcast, it was very gloomy looking as I got up and had my breakfast(which most likely was oatmeal and coffee). I looked at my fly, not one raindrop on it. I sat around for several hours reading a novel I had brought along, waiting, hoping the weather would change. By noon, I grew impatient, the day was passing me by, and I was missing it. I grabbed some food, water and camera, and headed out to explore Pinetree Lake.
The view from "Barry's" campsite yet
A close-up view of the rock island from "Barry's" campsite
I paddled around the east end first, exploring bay after bay. While in the east end, I heard voices in the forest. It was a couple guys, however the voices carried an echo with them. It was impossible to locate the voices, and neither could I spot anyone in the forest. It was very rocky in the easternmost bay of the part of the lake that I was on. I suspected that the people I were hearing were occupants of the first campsite, on the first part of the lake, and were merely walking through the forest or following a trail that lead to my part of the lake. I paddled on, eventually arriving at the 3rd campsite on the lake. This campsite was on the north shore, across from my site. Both campsites(mine and this one)were within sight of each other as well. Barry Bridgeford(Author and owner of www.algonquinadventures.com), had camped at this particular campsite, and you can read about his experiences on Pinetree Lake by clicking here. UPDATED: Barry has contacted me, to correct an error I had made. Barry did in fact stay on the same campsite I did, but only visited the second site, just like I did in my re-counting of my trip. It has been many years since I had read Barry's trip-log of his visit to Pinetree lake.The site itself, is high up above the water perched atop a hill, and is treed with lots of red pine. There really wasn't much of a landing, and I had to scramble up a slope to get to the campsite, it's in all fun though, and once up on the campsite, the view is well worth it. My campsite to the South is clearly visible, but the real view is one of the islands in front of the campsite. The smaller and closer of the two, is all Canadian Shield, dotted with a few pines, what a marvellous sight. I still preferred my campsite...although the view wasn't a grand as Barry's sight, I liked all the rock around my campsite. I got back in my canoe and paddled westward. I was really in my element on this lake, it was so quiet, no traffic at all, a lake studded with lots of Canadian Shield, and many bays and points, the lake had lots to offer, and I wasn't even fishing!
Canadian Shield rock was everywhere on Pinetree Lake
More Canadian Shield, look for blueberry growth on such rock outcroppings
I came upon a shoal, near to shore, coated with lime from birds, fortunately I had my rubber boots on, and got out and walk around, taking a few pictures. I continued westward and north, where I came upon another narrows. This last of the narrows on the lake, led me to more bays, but with exits off the lake. To the north was a portage to Rose Lake(915m), and to the south a portage to Fraser Lake(1825m). Both portages are of the low maintenance variety, and it was only about 3:00 pm, so I decided to check out on foot, the longer of the two. The take-out at the 1825m portage has the remnants of a beaver hut strew about, that I paddled through. I brought my canoe ashore, and placed it clear of the trail and landing, assuring clear passage should any fellow canoeists come by. With camera in hand, I headed up the trail. Although it did not rain on my campsite the night before, it looked to me like it had been raining quite a bit on the trail. Everything was wet. The trail is rough and narrow in spots with some climbs, though not difficult, the ruggedness in some sections combined with the length of the trail, can make the hike a long one. It had alot of undulations. I wasn't carrying any canoe, so I can imagine, those subtle climbs, weren't so subtle with a canoe on one's shoulders. One really great aspect about the trail though, was the variety and abundance of fungi along its length. I was quite the happy photographer that day, as I love to photograph fungi. It is one of the most important and misunderstood organisms in nature. I took about 50 images of mushrooms this trip, and 30 of them were on the portage to Fraser Lake. September is also a great time to look for mushrooms in The Park.
One of many excellent growths of fungi
along the portage to Fraser Lake
Pictured: Russula sanguinea(notice the pink coloured stalk)
Another mushroom(Russula emetica) is very similiar in size, shape & colour,
with one exception: it's stalks are white,
which helps to indentify the poisonous mushroomn from it's benign brother.
A classic example of fungi(Xerophalina Campanella)
fruiting on a decaying conifer
By 4:30pm, I had reached Fraser Lake, the put-in was a mucky affair, with one cut log, acting as a place to put your foot. As I was close to arriving on Fraser Lake, the sun started to peep thru the forest canopy, and by the time I arrived at the lake, the overcast had completely broken up and I was warmed by the sunshine. As I looked upon Fraser Lake, I could make out the signage for the portage to Sylvia Lake, but not the lone campsite present on farther down Fraser Lake, as it was beyond my view.
Looking south down Fraser Lake
A view along the trail to Fraser Lake
I headed back, breaking away from the trail at one point to check out a creek, where it ended in a swamp(or started from..I couldn't discern which was true). There were spots along the creek that were very boggy, and one must take care walking along the fertile looking green moss covered land! I arrived back at my canoe sometime after 5:00 pm, to a sun filled Pinetree Lake. I paddled towards the north bay, where there a few islands. As I approached the islands, the wind started to pick and then I realized I was hungry too. I decided to head back to camp, and it was 6:00 pm when I finally arrived back at camp. I went for a quick swim(I am hesitant to swim alone, although I am a capable swimmer), then made dinner, and by 7:15 pm was sitting down in my camp chair soaking in another cloudless sunset. The wind had died off, and it was so quiet, I got the impression the earth was holding its breath(for what? I wondered). A loon cried out, and another answered, the daily evening ritual was beginning. I sat back, got a fire going, and enjoyed every minute of this fantastic weather on this fantastic lake. By 8:00 pm, I could see clouds building in from the West, but it never did rain, I did manage to see a few shooting stars, one a spectacular one...with a bit of a shimmering dusty tail. My campsite was excellent for watching stars, with the exposed rock for lying down on, near the shore. I went to bed that night sometime before 10pm, under a cloud studded starry sky.
My campsite on Pinetree lake
Mark enjoying the view, as the sun goes down
Sat. nite was a solitude filled affair, with loons serenading me