Triplogs / Triplog#20 / Day 2
Lake Opeongo(IN) - Dickson Lake - White Partridge Lake - Dickson Lake - Lake Opeongo(East Arm)(OUT)
Day 2 - Dickson Lake(Cisco Bay) & Animoosh L
I woke up just after 6am..by 6:30am, I was off, heading back to pick up the canoe.
500ml of water and some granola bars was all I had for breakfast that morning, as I walked back to the canoe.
It was a party cloudy day, and cool too...there was just a hint of frost on the ground.
I guess the canoe was alot farther back than I thought. It wasn't till 9am, that I made it back to Dickson Lake. On the way, I met up with Dan & Rick, who were now on their way out. They had quite a load on that cart and were struggling with the cart over some rocks, as I met up with them. I was tired and the canoe was getting heavy. Without further ado, we exchanged goodbyes and I was on my way again. I packed up my tent and gear, and by 9:30, I was on the water.
One of many islands on Dickson Lake's south end
The waves and wind, were nothing special and helped me along my way, down the lake. Dickson Lake, at least the lower half that I was on, is very beautiful. I didn't see or hear a soul, on my way down the lake. Granted, there aren't many campsites here either. There were a few islands along the west shore, one of them concealing a campsite among the pines. At the south end of the lake there is a very big hill looming over the horizon. I learned later on, that if you want to get to Round Island Lake from Dickson Lake, you have to portage that 'mountain'. Yikes! Maybe in another lifetime, I had something better in mind, a rendezvous with Racoon.
South end of Dickson Lake
In the distance: The 'mountain' portage to Round Island Lake
As I rounded the point on the south end, I came upon a lone campsite, with lots of rocks guarding the site, I had to steer wide of the point to avoid them. I looked ahead and could see an island in the distance, with a canoe on shore. That should be Racoon, if he hadn't moved on yet. I stopped in the middle of the lake here, to take pictures of some rock face on the south shore. That's when the wind woke up, and blew me toward the south shore. Sometimes I get carried away with the camera and it wasn't till I was mere meters from the shore and rocks that I put the camera down and decided to save myself from crashing into the rocks. It was 10:05am
The breeze increased and I fought my way up the shoreline. I had lost site of the island and it's occupants there. Finally, I rounded a point and the island once again came into view. Two folks were standing on shore there. 'Racoooon!', I yelled out.
No response...I got closer, then I heard, 'Markus', 'Racoooon!' I called out again.
It was them. I did it, I was a day late but I made it. It was 10:35am. Racoon and his friend Rob, were camped on an island site in Cisco Bay. The only site in this part of the lake. Rob and Racoon helped me dock and extract my gear from the canoe. We pulled the canoe onto land, and after greetings and handshakes, I told'em of my adventure on my last trip and the near catastrophe with my 'lost' canoe. Racoon produced a rope and tied my canoe to a tree. What a pro! We talked for a while, each relating our previous experiences on our current trips. Racoon, offered me his last beer(plastic bottle). What a guy! I gratefully accepted it. Racoon asked me if I had any drinks for the evening. I produced a 1 liter plastic bottle of Rye. 'That's it, you're staying with us tonite, we're commandeering you and your booze!'. Racoon and Rob, then decided to head over to Animoosh Lake for some fishing. This is what I had looked forward to. Never having 'trolled' or cleaned and cooked fish, I was excited at the prospect of hanging with some experts in that department. The opportunity to learn and to experience the company of others so knowledgeable of 'The Park' was priceless, this was why I came all this way to meet Racoon, and eventually 'Bo Knows'.
Mark & Racoon
Racoon & Rob
Three of us headed over in a 62lbs fiberglass canoe that Racoon had bought at the last moment before his trip. Reaching the portage to Animoosh Lake, Rob shouldered the canoe and moved ahead of Racoon and I. Racoon carried the day pack. Myself was unburdened with the pfd's, rods. and paddles. I was exhausted with the portaging of the last few days. Racoon and I chatted up a storm as we trekked across the 1200m portage, Rob was gone! He took off, like he was on an Olympic triathlon. Upon arrival on Animoosh, we found Rob, relaxing by a tree, wondering what had happened to us. Taking pictures was my excuse, I can't remember what Racoon's was. Heh Heh..oh what fun it was to be around people again, tripping thru the bush together! I had been soloing for so long, I forgot how much fun it is with others around.
Animoosh - Dickson Portage: Flat & easy
Arrival on Animoosh Lake: Catch limit notice
We geared up and headed out onto the lake. Racoon in the stern paddling, Rob in the middle, and me in the bow. We let out the lines, and not 5 minutes into it, Rob says, 'I got something'. Seconds later, he starts to reel in, 'I have a fish', he said. I was struck dumb, so fast, we already had a fish. Racoon said, 'Markus man, get yer camera ready'. I awoke from my stupor, and reeled in my line as fast as possible. Fumbled with my camera, as Racoon wetted his net, and scooped up the fish. Snapping away like mad with the camera..I got many pic's of the fish. It was a nice 2lbs speckled trout. Maybe 2.5lbs. At least that's what the guys agreed on. I looked at the fish closely, having never seen a speckled trout before. What a beautiful fish. The pattern and colour scheme of the fish was nothing like I'd ever seen before. Racoon set the fish on a 'stringer' and put the fish back in the water. This way the fish would still live unharmed and could be released later on if so desired. We reached the end of the lake with no further luck, and then decided to have lunch at the campsite there.
Racoon netting the speckled trout
Rob with his beautiful Speckled Trout
Setting the fish on a stringer
We looked the site over and noticed there was a portage to Fairy L as well. The site itself was exposed to the north, but had the looks of a great site for summer camping. Sandy and loaded with red pine, it extended out into the lake with a fine shallow sandy beach, great for swimming. As Racoon, prepped the stove for coffee, realization sunk in that the pots with which to boil the water, had been left behind at the site on Cisco Bay. Undaunted, the quick-thinking Racoon, pulled out a granola mix pak, and emptied it. It was a foil pouch. Filled with water and placed over the stove, Racoon was able to boil water, and made excellent tea and coffee.
Odd things were discovered on the site. a Plastic jug, filled with dirt..I don't know why, worms maybe..a no-no for this lake. Also half of an aluminum paddle, that looked suspiciously like the other half of a paddle I found at the cart trail beginning on Dickson Lake. The logic here didn't make sense. Why would someone carry the remnants of a broken paddle all the way to Animoosh from the cart trail on Dickson OR vise versa?
Animoosh Lake
Lunch finished, we set out again. This time I took the stern and paddled, Racoon and Rob, letting out their lines. Reaching the north end of the lake, we switched again, this time Rob, paddling. Reaching the site again, we headed back up to the north end. The rest of the afternoon, we didn't catch another fish. A few times lines were reeled in, only to discover the hook was caught on the line, or weeds covered the spinner. I learned from Racoon, that Rob's luck was holding, on a previous trip last year, Rob was the winning fisherman, just like today. This seemed to annoy him some, for he looked at the fish every once in a while with a fever in his eyes. I could tell he was really looking forward to eating it. We pulled up to shore, and it was then decided to kill and clean the fish there. I told Rob, That I had never seen this done, and that I was a bit sensitive to what was about to happen. I asked him to describe what was going to happen.
A proud Rob with the 'Catch of the Day'!
Close-up of Rob's fine tasting Speckled Trout
Rob was great, he carefully went through the steps of killing the fish and cleaning it, then courteously asked, 'are you ready?'. 'Yup..go for it', I said. Placing the blade of the paddle just behind the fish's head, Rob raised the paddle a few inches. As he brought the paddle down. Racoon let out a bellow of blood curdling screams!
It was funny as hell, and took the edge off the morbid scene, as I watched the process of killing the fish. No one had brought a knife, but I produced a swiss army knife, that Rob handled with expertise, as he cleaned the fish. Rob even asked me if I wanted to clean the fish. I preferred to watch. Normally I'm a hands on guy, but for this event, I preferred to watch and learn. In no time at all, Rob had the fish cleaned, the guts coming out in a neat package. These along with the head, were tossed into the lake. The smell of fish was very strong, and even after Rob cleaned his hands a few times, it still smelled faintly of fish. Now I understood about fish odour and attraction to it from bears. It was very strong indeed. The idea of cleaning the fish no where near your own or anyone else's site is a good one. We packed up and headed back to Dickson Lake.
Rob & Racoon prepping lunch on Animoosh
Forgetting the cooking pot on Dickson Lake,
Racoon utilized a foil food packet to boil water
I sat in the middle this time around and was even given a back rest, one of those portable seats that cost $20. Wow! It was like I was sitting in a waterborne limousine. This was the coolest 'ride' I'd ever had in a canoe. Lines were let out on the way back to camp. No luck came and we landed at our site for the evening.
Racoon, showed me around the island. What was really cool, was a another firepit on the east side of the island. This way if the winds should prove unfavorable at one firepit, there was another to try. Rob and Racoon, got everything ready for dinner. It was a fantastic nite. Rob wrapping the fish, with butter, in foil and placing it in a heap of coals he had prepared in the fire pit. Racoon, prepared rice and creamed corn over the stove. Coffee and tea were poured for the meal. The fish was amazing. The nite before was my first time I had ever tasted trout, thanks to Rick. However, there was something different, 'bout this fish. I had witnessed Rob, catch, kill, clean, and cook the fish. It added to the pleasure of the meal. Something that I had never expected or experienced before. The fish was tasty, and had almost no fishy taste either.The flesh looked alot like salmon, this surprised me. I had lots to learn 'bout trout.
After dinner and dishes were done, the Rye came out as we sat around the fire. The clouds slowly cleared and a bright moon came out. Racoon produced some 'tang' mix, which we mixed with the rye. Soon the tang ran out and I pulled out some crystal lite and the rye slowly disappeared. We sat around the fire for a long time, each drinking and telling stories and having a generally great time. Racoon was funny as hell. Rob was too.
I was really happy to have met them both. They added an element to Algonquin that I had never experienced, and I enjoyed their company very much. We had such a blast. Soon the rum was gone, and Racoon pulled out a very small bottle of left over Brandy, I can't remember what it was...but it was strong stuff, and had difficulty drinking it down.
I don't drink much, and almost never get drunk, but that night I was catching such a good glow, I think we all were, so much so, that we stayed up till 2am.
After this we went to bed, and I had the best sleep ever in Algonquin that night!