Triplogs / Triplog#36 / Days 3&4 / Days 5&6 / Days 7&8
Lake Opeongo(IN) - Merchant L - Big Trout L - Hogan L - Big Crow L- Lake Lavieille - Dickson L - Lake Opeongo(OUT)
Day 7 - Thurs. September 14th
Temperature Readings:
8:35am: 11.2°C
1:35pm: 13.2°C
6pm: 13.6°C
It was another grey day. The temperature during the night remained constant, and after breakfast, I explored the island. The tenting and fire-pit area, had red pines throughout, but walking further back towards the thunder-box, there was a large stand of hemlock trees. This made traversing the forest both easy and pleasing to the eye. I pressed further back, looking for firewood. Curiosity gripped me and I pressed onwards, after about 15 minutes of bushwhacking, I spotted another thunder-box, ahead of me, then human voices could be heard. I had reached the eastern campsite on the island. It sounded like the people there were loading their canoe, and getting ready to leave. I turned around and left as quietly as I had come, it might have been un-nerving for someone to show up and disturb their solitude, just as they are leaving! I never did go back to the campsite. Instead I went back to our site and gathered more firewood. There was plenty around, which had to be carried for a few minutes distance back to the fire-pit.
We both got a good look around our campsite. The fire-pit wasn't much to write home about, a small one, with logs that weren't much use as a bench. There is a long climb up a staircase to the campsite from shore, so it does sit high up from the water. Another staircase, that was not suitable for Joan's knees. We were just not having luck this trip, campsites with no kitchens and steep climbs to the campsites. Luckily there was no wind, as we would be facing the full brunt of it. I wanted to explore the vast marsh that was south-west of our island. The cart trail(from Big Crow Lake) that terminates at the entrance to the marsh, is where I was headed. Joan elected to stay behind, so I headed out, the wind was near calm as were the waters, just grey and "blah", however, the temperature seemed to be rising since lunchtime, and I left just after 2pm.
Approaching the cart trail on Hogan Lake
The cart trail terminus on Hogan Lake
Around 2:40pm, I arrived at the cart trail terminus. There are the remnants of a bridge that used to cross the entrance to the marsh. The bridge has since been removed, but a nice dock remains. I pulled up, and got out, exploring the vicinity. I walked perhaps 70m up the cart trail, it started to incline as it wrapped it's way around a ridge. I found turtle eggs shells along the side of the trail...possibly dug up by predators. I returned to the canoe and entered the marsh. I paddled for well over an hour, taking the right fork, as the waterway forks about 20 minutes in. I won't go into much detail here, I leave that for my fellow readers to explore. It is a vast marsh, and it was as if the marsh was frozen in time. That day I didn't see anything in the marsh, not one moose, not one bird, not one fish, no bugs either(woohoo!)...nothing but myself and the land and water. It was an unusual day...I hope to return in the summer sometime, I'm sure wildlife opportunities would be more numerous. It was a fun paddle though. As I paddled out of the marsh, a water-plane passed right over me. A Beaver turbo prop. Ahhh, I can't imagine what it would be like to fly over Algonquin Park. I think for me it would be the thrill of a lifetime. I'm sure the pilot felt the same way, lucky fellow!
Just some of the vast marsh next to Hogan Lake
I made my way back to camp, I had been gone nearly three hours, it was time to return. I spied Joan onshore, as I approached camp, she had her binoculars out, she had been bird-watching. Joan had been watching a bird of prey circling and roosting on trees on the opposite shore. That shoreline was far enough away, that Joan couldn't identify it. Neither Joan, nor I remember what we ate that night, since we stuck to our menu very closely, I suspect that we had what was on the menu, and that was turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes, with fresh baby carrots. Since I don't have any bad memories of this meal, It must've been okay to eat!
Just one of many beautiful islands on Hogan Lake
Keeping us in shape: The staircase up to our campsite on Hogan Lake
Day 8 - Fri. September 15th
Temperature Readings:
7am: 13°C
3:50pm: 19.1°C
4:05pm: 18.8°C
Although this was not a moving day, I was up early, we both were. Unfortunately, it was another "blah" day. The temperature was warm, and after a lazy morning fire and breakfast, and by 10am, Joan and I climbed into our canoe and went for a paddle. I wanted to climb the cliff of Hogan Lake. I had asked previously on the AA msg. board(algonquinadventures.com), if anyone new of a trail to the top. One fellow remarked that supposedly there was one among the rocks below, and another mentioned one possibly from the nearby campsite. I didn't like the idea of climbing over(and stumbling on) the garage-sized boulders.
The comfy looking campsite at the other end of our island
The high cliff of Hogan Lake
Before we reached the cliff, We pulled up to the campsite on the flip-side of our island. It was unoccupied, and Joan hopped out to investigate, while I remained in the stern of the canoe.
The campsite was far more attractive than ours, the fire-pit was very close to the shore, no climbing up stairs to this campsite! There was also a kitchen, better tree logs for benches,and a decent supply of firewood. The campsite looked to be a very cozy one, fully protected from the elements. Joan finished her survey and climbed back in the canoe, we resumed our paddle to the cliff. A few minutes before we reached the cliff face, we spied a small beach to on our right. I decided to land on the beach, and pursue a way through the forest to the top of the cliff. Joan remained behind, while I bush-whacked my way to the top. Within fifteen minutes I was at the top, I had a fantastic perspective looking over the west end of Hogan Lake. I had a great climb through the damp and bug free forest, and the view along with the solitude among the the pine clad cliff top, completed the scene. The oppressive grey sky and waters made for poor photography that day, but I didn't mind, I stayed up there by myself for almost 45 minutes, all the while keeping in verbal contact with Joan below on the beach. I could not see her, as there were pine trees on the cliff below blocking my view, but we could hear each other. Climbing down was easy, and within 10 minutes I was back on the beach.
Looking west on Hogan lake, from the top of the cliff
The neighboring campsite on our island can barely be seen,
behind the two islands in the foreground, behind the left island.
Lake La Muir: The hilltop far in the distance
We paddled over to the bottom of the cliff, huge boulders, the size of dump trucks, lined the shore. After the cliff, we paddled out into the main part of the lake, where we followed the lake east. I was hoping we would find some moose, and spied several green patches of weed grass(along the north shore), indicative of creeks flowing into the lake. We paddled along the north shoreline, stopping at one point for a rest and some lunch. We turned around and headed west, paddling over to a few islands. It was here that Joan spotted her bird of prey again. It had flown past us, and landed on a tree on the island next to us. As we paddled closer, it took off, flying to the adjacent island. The bird sure was 'flighty'. As we paddled towards it again, It showed signs off taking off again, I pulled out my camera, zoom lens already mounted and snapped a few of it among the trees. I reviewed it in my camera's LCD. It looked like a bald eagle! It was hard to tell, but, against the white sky, the head looked white, not black as expected. It took off again, passing near to us, I half stood up in the canoe(tricky to do, especially when someone else is in there with you), and snapped a shot off at 1/500th of sec at full zoom. Yup, it definitely was a Bald eagle, beautiful steel blue eyes too. I had contacted Park staff at a later date inquiring if Bald eagles were rare in Algonquin. I received a reply back, that although they were not listed among the more 'common' of birds in Algonquin Park, they were not rare either. In the last few years, there seems to be more and more sightings of this magnificent bird. It was just after 2pm now, and Joan remarked that it was getting warm out. She was right, not only that, there seemed to be more definition in the cloud deck above us. We paddled further west, along the north shoreline. A loon popped up, not far away from our canoe. It was young loon, soon it was followed by an adult loon. The adult called to the young, which responded by diving and swimming toward the adult. I guess it was too close to us. Loons...hmmm...I pulled out my fishing rod, and cast a few times. Well, what do you know, there was fish down there in them depths.
Seen from the top of the cliff: The large marsh southwest off of
Hogan Lake. The cart trail terminus is almost dead centre in the image
A bald eagle on Hogan Lake
I kept getting nibbles but no bites, nothing hooked. By 3:30pm, the lake grew dead calm, and then the clouds started to break up. We headed back to our campsite, the temperature near 20°C, The sun came out, our campsite warmed by the sun, seemed a more cheerful place. At last the last 4 days of gloomy weather was finally fading away. Barely ninety minutes later, I was out in the canoe again, going solo again. I headed over to the portage to Big Crow Lake.
We were scheduled to be on Big Crow Lake the following day, and as well were expecting a few friends to meet up with us, and give us a re-supply of food, that we had pre-arranged weeks ahead of time. So I was curious to walk the few hundred meters of the trail to see what it was like. I had heard it was a nasty beginning. I trolled my way over, getting hung up on weeds too many times, so that I eventually gave up fishing. The landing was a mix of gravel and rock, easy to land on. The landing was heavily shaded, I climbed up past a large tree a few meters from the water's edge, now completely in the forest, I looked up, and up, and up. The trail kept ascending at a crazy angle as far as the eye could see. I was not looking forward to carrying my canoe up that trail the next day! For about the first 60m, the trail climbs at a very steep angle. Sixty meters might not sound like much, but scaling an escalator with a 60lbs canoe on your head and shoulders is hard work, especially when this trail was much steeper than the grade of a typical escalator. After about 60m, the trail jogs a little to the left, with the terrain sloping a bit to one side, here there was a canoe rest(Thank God!). I took a break and pulled out my camera. Remember, I was just scouting this trail. The canoe carry wouldn't come till the morrow. There was a lot of fungi around. I wasn't surprised with the rain and dampness of late, and given several long dead trees nearby, the conditions were ripe for explosive fungi growth. I took a few pictures, then looked up the trail. It continued to climb, but the steepness of the ascent was finished, here it ascended at a more 'humane' angle. The forest all around me was beautiful, mainly of the hardwood variety, it was cool and shady.
A close-up of our Hogan Lake bald eagle
3,750m: There is a very steep climb at the beginning
I returned to my canoe, and paddled back to camp, along the way I explored more shoreline, and coming around a bend, I unexpectedly came upon about a dozen mergansers roosting on a log washed up on the shoreline, they immediately headed for the water as a group. It was so quite and the suddenness of the mergansers flight was so startling, that lost my paddle in the water, but I was able to quickly retrieve it with my second paddle that I had brought along...a safety precaution every soloist should practice. I returned to camp, just before sunset, Joan had just made dinner, and so we sat by the fire-pit, enjoying the warm sunset and meal, it was great to have a sunset again, and some warmth too, nice for mid-September.
The early evening was gorgeous, warm & sunny,
and not a bug or another person in sight!
Many fungi grew along the portage to Big Crow Lake
It was a warm and beautiful night, so much so, that the wildlife in our vicinity took advantage of it. Both Joan & I cannot recall ever experiencing such an active night in Algonquin Park. We could hear moose rutting in the vicinity of the portage to Big Crow Lake. Among the coughs, roars, and hiccups, a wailing could be heard, we suspect it was a cow moose in heat, possibly even the act of conception was taking place. It was quite noisy. During all this, we heard owls mating, several hootings back and forth, then crazy maniac bird screams. I had hear owls do this before. Then I tried calling for wolves. It was one of those rare moments when I actually received a reply.
Mergansers fleeing from my presence
The clouds began to break-up,
giving me the opportunity to take this picture of the cliff
The wolf replying was very far away, but it was very clear, and it;'s answer came several minutes after my call. That wolf's reply sent shivers up my spine. It was very satisfying to hear. There were a few other wildlife sounds that we could not identify, and all this, this orchestra of nature that surrounded us, as we watched the stars that night, it was as if the entire park and it's creatures were celebrating the return of summer in its brief September appearance. A night to remember.
Finally! A sunset, both beautiful to enjoy and remember!