I don't recall what time I woke up. I don't recall what I ate or what I even had for dinner for that that matter. Everything before and after my day on the York River was a blur. The River. That's what this trip was all about. The lure of rushing water, of rock and pine. The smell of fresh water, thousands and thousands of litres of it gushing by. The sound; The non-stop power of water as it flows through the bedrock of the earth. Bubbling, churning and spilling its way over countless falls and rapids. This was our day, the day to explore, fish and paddle the York River below Byers Lake.

Around 9:30am we left camp under a heavy overcast sky with a light drizzle. The black-flies were out as well as the mosquitos. It was going to be a buggy day. We paddled down to the bottom end of Byers Lake to the first portage of the day - 145m trail to The York River proper. I don't remember much about the portage except that the take-out was rocky and grassy. Not a bad combination, though we had to disembark one at a time as the landing wasn't large.

Mike & I hang back while Sean unloads at the 145m portage: York River

By 10:30am I was on the river, paddling down through a lush, green forest. If it weren't for the bugs I'd think I had woken up in Heaven. Despite the bugs, I enjoyed my surroundings as the beauty and silence of the land lulled me into an almost trance-like state.

We had agreed beforehand to stick together as well Sean had wanted to do some filming. Something inside me pushed me on. I wanted to be alone, I wanted to solo, even if it was just for an hour. So I pushed on and soon was much further down the river then Sean & Mike. I knew Sean would be annoyed, but I didn't care - I needed this.

Paddling a peaceful York River between the 145m & 150m portages

As I progressed down the river, The sun began to emerge adding a new light to the scene around me and increasing the bug count. By 11:00am I had completed the next portage - The 150m trail. Here the river opened up into a wide area, almost like a large pond as the river emptied into it from a series of rapids above. I broke out my fishing rod and by the second cast I caught my first and only speckled trout of the trip. It had to be the smallest speckled trout I had ever landed and put the fish back - I would need 40 of them to make a meal!

I landed at the rocky shoreline below the rapids and began to fish more seriously. After a few minutes I had landed several bass, a few of which were quite large. A pity the season was still closed. All were put back. Mike & Sean arrived and I hung around for a few minutes, taking pictures of Mike fishing and then began paddling down the river. Sean uttered a complaint, even Mike was shaking his head in dissatisfaction. I was sorry to disappoint my friends but I wanted to paddle alone. I needed to escape, if only for an hour.

Gut Rapids at the 150m portage [York River]

The next stretch of the river was quite short before I came upon the next portage - The 320m portage around "The Gut". I knew nothing of this area save for the fact that if I wanted to see "The Gut" first-hand, it was best to paddle past the portage, right up to the channel itself. This is exactly what I did and I was not disappointed. The river opens up to pond status where it exits thru a narrow channel carved out of a high wall of Canadian Shield bedrock.

The scene was very impressive and the swift current of the water channeling through the narrow waterway was tantalizing. I wanted to paddle down it! I was alone and unsure - So I passed on the opportunity, erring on the side of caution. Definitely not a wise place to paddle - Especially alone and not having scouted the route ahead beforehand.

It was just past 12:30pm. I landed my canoe and explored along the rocky shoreline for a few more meters into the gut. In the shadow of the rock, it was cool and I sat for a good fifteen minutes listening to the whispering of the water as it flowed downstream through the channel.

It was at times like this that I was very happy to be alone. There was a feeling that lurked in the back of my soul that gave me such pleasure to be there at that moment, to be alone to enjoy the solitude and beauty of Algonquin Park and to think; This wasn't even the best part of the river. There was yet lots more to come!

York River: Below the 150m portage (Gut Rapids)

I headed back and landed at the take-out for the 320m portage around "The Gut". The landing was made tedious by a large pine that had fallen across the landing. With nowhere else to place my canoe, I used the tree trunk as a resting place for my canoe, this had two advantages - It put my canoe in a position where it was easy for me to pick it up as well as leaving the path clear for fellow canoeists to get by. Still, the free space at the landing was limited by the fallen tree. It really needed to be cleared.

I do remember the 320m portage as seeming longer then it actually was. That probably was because there was a climb on the trail as soon as I entered the forest. At the top of the climb, the second half of the trail was a long slow descent to the river. I took my time, double carrying everything; First my paddles, camera, fishing gear and daypack of food and water. The second trip was the canoe itself. I don't usually double carry on a day-trip, there is no need and certainly the mosquitos would necessitate the need for a single-carry. It didn't make sense, but I was fine with the double carry, so be it.

The trailhead of the 320m portage around "The Gut"

I launched again onto the river before 1:30pm and soon arrived at a beaver dam, crossing this, the current became swift and I let the water carry me downstream, spinning the canoe around. I enjoyed the carefree moment as I came around another bend and entered High Falls Pond. The pond itself is quite large and shallow in spots. The wind had shifted making my carefree moment disappear as I now had to work to make gains getting across the pond.

My efforts were rewarded when I spotted a patch of blonde moving through the tall grasses along the eastern shoreline. Sure enough it was a deer and I quietly put my paddle down and pulled out my camera, switching to my zoom lens. My silent efforts weren't enough, perhaps the deer had picked up my scent for not soon after I had begun to take photos, the deer sensed me and looked around, finally locking its gaze onto me and then bolted for the cover of the forest. I was perhaps 40m away from the deer out on the water and it was probably another 10 feet or more deep into the shoreline grass. That's probably why this deer had survived to grow to adulthood - It knew when to flee.

Approaching "The Gut"

At the end of the pond, the river continues on, passing through a 'gate' of a half dozen boulders that separate the pond from the river. Passing this, the portage comes into view. Just before 2pm I landed at the 445m portage. The rocky landing is easy to take-out, though one must take care not to get swept downstream before you land. At the head of the portage one can see right away that this is where the river gets interesting.

I began by walking down the portage and eventually abandoned it in favour walking, making my way along the rocky shoreline. I was rewarded with the ruggedness of the Canadian Shield bedrock as hunks of fractured rock lined the river, guiding the water along its course through the bones of the earth. I took many photos of the area while fighting off black-flies. They were becoming more numerous as I descended into the rocky chasm.

I decided to change my plan: I rejoined the portage and walked the full length of it to the end. I would then walk back up the river (If I could) to the trailhead. This proved to be a great idea though I did manage to get eaten alive - The portage was a gauntlet of mosquitos and black-flies. Finally reaching the end of the trail, I arrived a a large pool where the bugs didn't permit me anytime to refresh myself. Beyond the pool the river continued its tortured and convoluted descent and I could see the next portage in the distance. It was there that I turned around and began my ascent up the river, climbing over rock and wood to make my way up to "High Falls".

The black-flies began to bite and between batting them away and climbing over slippery rock and trees, I grew hot and tired. Finally, I realized it was way past lunchtime and plopped down inches from the rushing water to rest and refresh myself. It was then that I spotted Mike further up the river, he too was also checking out the river in a similar fashion - hiking along the rugged shoreline.

Portrait shot of York River along the 445m portage

After my short lunch break I moved further upstream. The pools and falls and rapids I encountered were like some great reward. As if I had found a treasure. Rather then stroll on by, I lingered, settling down and sitting on the bare rock to stare and savour my newfound treasure. Many photos were taken that day in that hour or two wandering the river.

"The Gut" on the York River

Ascending even more I could see a froth of whitewater rushing down a slope off in the distance and Mike standing there. I left my camera and tripod and everything else behind as I hurried to join Mike. Silly it was, 'cause I'd have to go back and retrieve it but I didn't care. The rock along the shore began to slope at a more gentle angle. No longer was the rock angular and sharp. There is was flat and sloped and that was were High Falls was - The river flowed down upon a large slope of rock to tumble into a pool and then continue its journey down the bedrock trail.

High Falls in the distance & close-up of the falls

It was there at the top of High Falls that Mike had lunched. Nice choice! It was a great view and the bug situation there was a vast improvement over my bug problems further down the river. It was 3 o'clock and I hung around for 45 minutes, taking yet more photos, then headed back to grab my gear where I encountered Sean coming up the river. Sean was having a field day with his cameras too. The sun was out now full on and it was getting close to 4 o'clock. Long past when we usually start making for our base-camp, but it had turned out to be such a nice day and with it being June, we still had five hours of sun left!

Nearby at the top of the falls, there was a fire-pit. Someone at some time had made camp there. On the way along the portage there is an official campsite, but it is poor when compared to the many other spots one could camp along the river. Though, I'm thinking more of the bug situation then any other reason to give the site a poor rating.

Four photos from the High Falls Pond area

We packed up and began our trip back to camp, encountering along the way three other guys (Tandem and one soloist) who were also camped on our lake at the only other campsite on Byers Lake. Mike stopped by for a peek and declared that we had the better campsite. Nice.

We reached camp just before 6pm and got a fire going. I remember now what we had for dinner. It was my turn and I produced dehydrated chilli which I rehydrated and served with tortilla chips and cheddar. That night was a quiet one around the fire as the weather grew calm and buggy. I didn't stay up too long. I had a very fulfilling day and decided to have a few stiff drinks and try and sleep on the hard packed earth before getting up the next day and packing it in for the trip out.

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