Triplogs / Triplog#74 / Days 2&3 / Day 4 / Days 5
October 12 - Day 5 - Down Maple Creek to Kiosk
Sunrise on our last morning on Maple Lake
I was awakened to the sound of a crackling campfire around 5 a.m. Mike the early riser was up and keeping himself warm. I asked him what time it was and he told me, adding that he couldn't sleep anymore. I drifted in and out of sleep for the next hour when I heard Sean get up, now both of them were there talking around the fire. At 6:15 a.m. I got out of my sleeping bag and headed for the campfire. Mike was heating water for coffee, bless him! Just before 7 a.m. dawn approached, we could see that it was partly cloudy and that there might be some sun this day.
Many pictures were taken that morning as the sunrise proved to be a very colourful one, another great memory of Maple Lake to add to my collection, fantastic! After a small breakfast of coffee, breakfast pitas, and fruit I began to pack up my tent and the rest of my gear for the trip home. Sean & Mike busied themselves as well, eventually the campfire was extinguished and the campsite given the twice-over and then we left. By 8:05 a.m. we were on the water. We passed by the neighbouring campsite, the two guys were up and eating, about 45 minutes behind us I figured.
Morning mist surrounds the nearby island campsite
Paddling the short section of Maple creek between the 130m and 805m portages was interesting, frost lined the bush in the marsh surrounding the creek. It made for some pretty pictures and a fresh trek down the trails too, albeit a slippery trek at times.
Heavy frost was everywhere along our trip back down Maple Creek
By 9:30 a.m. we arrived at the beginning of the 630m portage, the frost here was heavy along the creek. It was along this trail that I witnessed a 'leaf-squall'. The frost combined with a breeze, caused many of the large tooth aspen trees along the trail to drop their leaves all at once, resulting in a virtual snow-squall of leaves. It was quite funny actually, but not for Mike or Sean, whose footing was uncertain along the rock and root infested trail now completely covered with leaf litter, wet with frost.
After we completed the 630m portage, we were on the creek again about halfway to the next portage (the 90m trail), when the two guys that camped on the island campsite behind us the night before caught up with us, and passed us by. They were paddling at a furious rate, like they had a bear chasing them or something. We chatted briefly with them as they paddled by, as they were completing a two night/three day loop from Kiosk; Kiosk to Manitou Lake to Maple Lake via Three Mile and back to Kiosk in three days. Wow, that was fast, too fast for me and not my way to 'see' The Park'. Each to their own; we paddled onwards, slow as a snail compared to our neighbours, but I enjoyed our pace more, as I was soon to find out.
Heading down the hill along the 805m portage
Aftermath: I missed an opportunity to photograph a 'leaf-squall',
a virtual blizzard of falling aspen leafs raining down upon the boys
At the 190m portage it was decided that we would take some time out to explore the logging camp ruins that were marked on the Algonquin map that we used. I had seen the trail that leads off the portage before, but have always ignored it as either ascending or descending Maple Creek can be a long day. This time though, we were single carrying and we had time. We walked along the trail eventually coming to a field of raspberry bushes. We spied some old bedding down areas by various animals, possibly deer or moose, these had occurred within the last week. We found a few relics; pieces of rusty metal strips, a bucket, a stove cover, and then I found a moose antler! Mike was jealous, mumbling something about hunting for 20 years walking through kilometres of bush and never seeing even one antler.
Mark with his new treasure: a moose antler
I offered my new found prize to Mike. He declined, it just wouldn't be the same, I understood both his refusal and his longing though. I never did mention that this was not my first antler I had found though! Eventually we started to make our way back and we found rusty bed bunk after rusty bed bunk. There must've been close to two dozen bed bunks out there in the forest. This is why I like to go slow in The Park, for me I feel that I see more. I don't feel that the pace of those two guys was wrong, it was just not my way. That was about it, we finished our portage and paddled the last section of Maple Creek to the 775m trail, the last one of the day. Along the trail I stopped at the old ranger cabin remains and waited for Sean, I pointed out the remains to him, as Sean had mentioned interest in seeing them. The remains are old and although the wooden beams are highly visible, they have degraded over the decades, and trees are growing out of the cabin remains too, one day nothing will be left except for pictures.
Sean arrives at a beaver dam between the 805m & 630m portages
By 11:50 a.m. we launched on Kiosk and I held my breath, this is what I had kept in the back of my mind all weekend long, the paddle out. Kiosk can be a scary lake to paddle, kicking up large rollers and wind that can push you were you don't want to go. The sky was mostly overcast, but the water was near dead calm! woohoo! The paddle back was enjoyable, and by 12:40 p.m. we reached access point, and got out of the canoe, the trip was over.
Another photo of the heavy frost along Maple Creek,
South end of the 630m portage
Mike pauses for a photo at the ruins of a logging camp along Maple Creek
We all had a great time visiting an area of The Park that I had visited many times before but never in the fall. Not many people around at all and the weather can be a huge factor in the enjoyment of one's trip. Campsite selection is equally important at that time of year too. Maple Creek and Maple Lake are very rocky areas of Algonquin Park. The trails are rugged, yet doable even for a novice. It is the landings that can prove a challenge especially for those that do not have a system down pat for loading/unloading a canoe efficiently. This obstacle of landings and the beaver dams will slow you down the most. The last portage into Maple Lake(130m) has the most annoying landings at both ends, so beware. Once again I had a great time, it was good times that will be well remembered with my friends Mike & Sean.
