Triplogs / Triplog#36 / Days 3&4
Lake Opeongo(IN) - Merchant L - Big Trout L - Hogan L - Big Crow L- Lake Lavieille - Dickson L - Lake Opeongo(OUT)
Day 3 - Sun. September 10th
Temperature Readings:
6:15am: 5.1°C
6:10pm: 12.3°C
I was up before 7am, photographing the islands that populate the middle of the lake, they were shrouded in morning mist. By 7:20am, the sun broke through, warming our campsite and our bones. Breakfast was a short affair, oatmeal with blueberries, breakfast pitas, and coffee. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. We took our time packing up, and by 8:30am we were on the water. We headed up the middle, tracking Northwest, we wanted to brush by the islands in the middle of the lake on our way to the portage. The winds were very light as we came upon the first island. We realized that none of them were very large. What was interesting to note, is that there is a very extensive shallow zone around the vicinity of the islands, we noticed as we traversed the western side of the islands...and it extended more than half the distance to the western shoreline. One could almost wade/swim to the opposing shore. I say 'almost', it would still be quite a swim. I just don't think the fishing would be too good along the west side of the chain of islands, and indeed we saw a canoe out fishing north and east of the islands as we headed over to the portage.
Merchant Lake morning: The view just down a trail from our tent
We arrived at the portage landing at 9:18am. We unloaded and began our first pass. Soon I out-distanced Joan and carried on at a quick pace. The trail was well worn and easy to navigate. The beginnings of the trail are pretty much flat. However the majority of the 1840m portage is downhill, dropping 34 meters in elevation over a distance of just under 2 kilometres.
Our tent among the pines on Merchant Lake
I watched the morning mist lift from the islands
It is the last 5-10 minutes of the trail that require some fancy footwork, as the trail descends rapidly in various places. It is there, that there is lots of stepping stone type of terrain that must be navigated as the trail descends into the valley, where the creek that runs into Big Trout Lake runs through and the portage trail ends. I arrived around 10:15am, and Joan at 10:30am. Joan had complained at once upon arrival of pain in her legs, specifically her knees. So early in the trip, first on day one, and now today. I was concerned, but not alarmed. I had specifically selected our route to have few portages(per moving day), however the majority of them were of longer than average length. I prefer length of trails over frequency of them. There is no right or wrong in this preference, it is just a personal thing. Four or five portages is okay. Eight or ten, and I start to go crazy!
We headed back together, now going uphill, to retrieve the rest of our gear. At the other end of the trail we came across a senior couple, who seemed quite taken with our gear, commenting that it looked big(the barrel) and new. Maybe they thought we were rookies or something. I realized that they had two canvas packs, and were probably wondering why we had two barrels and a pack. I don't think we mentioned to them the extent of our stay, however I did ask them where they were headed, and they informed me that they too were headed to Big Trout.
Launching from the portage: A typical Algonquin Park creek
Minutes later, we emerged onto a beautiful marsh
I had this feeling that they were heading for the exact same campsite we were, and after we loaded up and proceeded down the trail after them, and we never saw them again(except on our campsite of choice!). I arrived first at the end and met up with a couple who had just come from Big Trout. I waited for my turn, then put our canoe in the water and loaded up, Joan had not yet arrived and I took the opportunity to walk around the creek bottom taking pictures. At one point I came near to falling over and losing my camera in the creek! Joan arrived looking pained, I relieved her of her gear and loaded it into the canoe. Joan rested herself and refuelled and then shortly after 12pm, we launched onto the creek...free of the forest at last, or in Joan's case, the knee killing trail. The bugs weren't bad..almost nonexistent, it was just that Joan was sore from the trail, and me, I was just excited to be going to Big Trout Lake, and I just wanted us to get there as fast as we could. I had never been this way to Big Trout before, and I had been to the lake only once, coming in from White Trout Lake and exiting via Otterslide creek.
Some of the views along Big Trout Lake
At first, the creek seemed like it might be another one of those waterways that zigzags it's way though The Park. It was only after a few switch-backs, that the creek opened up into a very wide marsh, easy to navigate and beautiful to paddle. Within about 30 minutes we arrived at the fringes of Big Trout Lake. It looked bigger than the last time I was there. As we paddled onward, both Joan & I drank in the view. Big Trout Lake is one of those lakes that is very beautiful; it has many islands, bays, points, vistas, and campsites, so much so, that you'd probably never get sick of it. We were headed for a campsite that had been closed for a number of years, but had recently been re-opened for habitation, as told to us, by a friend of ours. It supposedly had a commanding view, was rumoured to be the best site on the entire lake. As we paddled up to the site, we could see a person near the shore, as we came closer, we could make out the red canoe and the figures of the senior couple who had passed us by. Kudos to the senior couple who put us to shame, and scored our campsite! We paddled further up the lake to an area, I had not been to before. We passed by one campsite and landed at another. Not entirely happy with the arrangement of the site, we moved on...Joan was sore and tired, I too, wanted to make camp and relax. It was a longer paddle, but I decided to turnaround and head for the island campsite I had stayed on years earlier. It was 2:45pm, when we landed at the island. It was vacant and now ours for the next three nights!
The landing and view from our island campsite on Big Trout Lake
Spoiled: The staircase up to our campsite
Woohoo! The campsite itself has a very large and flat open area. With a large fire pit and bench system. Joan's knees were inflamed again, and this was disappointing to her, as she had never had problems with her knees before this trip. It was impossible for her to stand and set-up the tent, she could only keep her legs bent, walking became painful and advil was soon called upon to offer some relief. I set-up the tent instead, while Joan prepared dinner. By 6:30pm, we were ready to eat. Camp had been assembled, and Joan had cooked a wonderful dinner; Steak with onions and mushrooms, carrots and peas, and mashed potatoes, served with red wine. A grand meal, fit for a grand lake! Indeed it was a beautiful day and as day turned into evening, the light breeze that was with us most of the day died down. We had no sunset, as the campsite is situated in a way where it is not viewable. The night became clear and cool, perfect for sleeping.
Joan prepares dinner...
...Steak, mashed potatoes, veggies, and red wine
Evening was like many in Algonquin; quiet & peaceful
Day 4 - Mon. September 11th
Temperature Readings:
7:30am: 6.6°C
Joan enjoying the moment: Living outdoors, tending the fire
This was a day for laziness and relaxation. So much so, that I only took nine pictures that day. Some days you just want to put the camera away, and not worry about capturing something, no matter how interesting it is. Something about Big Trout Lake says "Relax" to one's soul. Breakfast was bacon and eggs, with bagels and cheese, and coffee. Not much was accomplished that day, beyond, collecting firewood, which was scarce on the island, but there was enough. I relaxed in my hammock for a time. Joan talked to me about her knees. It seemed that during the crossing of the portage from Merchant Lake, it was the descents that were hardest on her knee ligaments. Climbing was no problem, stepping down(while carrying loads), was what was hardest to deal with. I thought about this for a time. As far as I could tell, the only foreseeable problematic portage for Joan, would be the one going from Hogan to Big Crow Lake. Much of our entire route should be flat. I had no idea what the portage from Big Trout to La Muir was like(supposedly it was flat), but I knew of the trail going into Hogan, pretty much flat, except for a steep, short drop right at the end. The ones along the Big Crow River, I did not know either, but following the course of the river, logic seemed to point to a relatively level terrain...there were no falls to circumnavigate. I mentioned to Joan that the only problem that I could foresee would be the portage into Big Crow Lake. Joan was still concerned, as nothing like this had ever happened to her before, and she had done many portages over the years, and this was the first time that painful inflammation had ever occurred. It was troubling and only time would tell.
We had neighbours on night two:
They're campsite was both scenic and large
Chicken fajitas & Red wine: Very delicious!
With some of the food gone, we could re-distribute the loads and make it an easier hike for Joan. For now, there was nothing to do but heal and relax. It was another beautiful day, if not a tad too breezy..it was September after all...so with the breeze, a sweater was required.
Late in the day, we had neighbours, as a group of canoes arrived on the large island a few hundred meters across from us. The group was both quiet and efficient as they went about their business of setting up camp and cooking their dinners. Thank you for being such great neighbours, your silent behaviour was much appreciated! For dinner we had chicken fajitas! Complete with onions and cheese and salsa sauce. The red wine went down very well with the fajitas. Joan, you are fantastic! It was another restful sleep that night, with a light rain in the middle of the night.