Triplogs / Triplog#15-Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
Rain(IN) - Islet - Islet - Rain(OUT)
Day 3
I awoke early, before 7am..the sky was just lightening, and I could see the sky was clearing up.
It was going to be a beautiful morning, except for one thing, I had to leave this morning.
I made breakfast, oatmeal again, this time with some tea, and stuck my feet into the lake. Man! It was cold. Not cold like early May cold, when the water is freezing and feels like sharp needles pricking your flesh. Still too cold for me to go swimming though.
Dawn on islet Lake
I packed up and gave the site the twice over, to ensure my site was clean, and looked abandoned. Satisfied, I jumped in the canoe, and headed towards the portage.
scraaaaaaape.
Yup one of those low flat rocks rose up to carve the underbelly of my beast.
Kevlar is great..but still I felt uneasy till I was upon dry land to inspect the grooves on the hull.
As in most cases the rocks are more bark than bite..this time.
Rocks both visible and invisble cross my path
I went for a little side paddle onto the creek that runs from hot lake to Rain lake. I didn't get very far, the channel quickly narrowed and sunken timbers blocked my way. There was also a rank smell about the place, time to go, but not before I snap a picture.
Creek on Hot lake - adjacent to the portage to Rain lake
Skipping ahead a little bit, the portage from Hot lake back to Rain lake was awesome.
it was just past 8am, and it was very warm, the October sun, shone thru the forest, lighting and warming everything up. I stripped down to just a pair of shorts, and enjoyed the fact that there wasn't a single bug around, while sucking in the heady odor of leaves and decay.
This was one of the most pleasant autumn portages for me.
I went crazy with my camera..and took like 40 photos.
Something ahead ran off into the bush as i moved along the trail...I never did see it, and i looked for prints, but to no avail...I suspect it was a deer, It sounded big, and for the quickness and lack of snapping branches as it ran off.
Colours along the trail
The glow of coloured leaves!
I arrived at Rain around just after 9am.
The lake was relatively calm, as I pushed off. I decided again to cut across to the point with the campsite that juts out into the lake.
Arriving close to the middle of the lake, things started to change very fast.
A wind blew up and the waves started to roll in.
I was being pushed sideways, to the north past the island with 2 sites on it.
I fought the wind and waves, and kept getting pushed closer to the old Bice cottage.
At this point I felt helpless.
If I gave in, I'd be pushed into the large bay to north, and it would take me forever to get out.I looked back at the island, behind me.
I was surprised to see someone there on the shore of the site, watching me.
Oh boy, now I knew I was in trouble! What a fool I've been. Next time, I'll stick to the shoreline...that's if there is a next time.
Launching on Rain Lake - how calm the water WAS!
Turning around in these waves, with a lightly weighted canoe did not appeal to me.
So during a lull I managed to correct my course to the south west into the wind, that had me pointed south of the site on the point I was originally aiming for.
It seemed forever to get to that point, but I did it, and twice, I almost tipped as rogue waves banged into me. The waves were coming from a 45 degree angle to my course.
It was by far the scariest canoe ride of my life so far.
It wasn't over yet.
for like the next hour and half..I fought my way to the access point.
I was in the leeward side, hugging the shore, and came upon a man and his dog taking a break...I commented how pooped I was, he offered me a coffee, I turned him down, I just wanted to get off this lake.
rounding another point, I was promptly pushed to the other side of the lake.
Fortunately this part of the lake was narrow, but not narrow enough.
now I was on the wrong side of the lake, and paddling out was just soooo tiring.
The wind never let up, and it seemed with the shape of this part of Rain Lake, the wind was being funneled. About 30 min. from safety, a motorboat drew by, five minutes after that, another one...the cottagers were leaving.
Sheesh..even a little 5hp would be nice right now.
Exhausted...I arrived just after 11am.
Packed up, loaded the canoe onto my vehicle, and oh man...it felt soo good to lay back in the drivers seat.
What a rush the last 2hrs had been!
It's funny how the name of lakes sometimes live upto their names.
It didn't rain on me on Rain lake, but another force of nature let it be known to me that this lake should've been named funnel lake instead.
soaking in the Colours as I leave The Park
I noticed a few locals driving ATV's around, as I was heading back to Kearney. Quite the handy vehicle to get around in, especially in bad weather conditions. Another reason to check your speed along these roads. After this, it was the long drive back to Toronto. Another successful trip to The Park, and a lesson learned. Complacency kills. I should've known better to stick to the shore, especially, since I still consider myself a novice paddler. The next trip was less than a week away, and I was looking forward to the water again. Rain Lake had some scary moments for me, but this is why I keep coming back; there's always adventure to be had in Algonquin, for me it is never what I expect, every trip is different, good or bad...I look forward to my next trip always!