Day 4 Routing (7KM): Byers L--> Little Rock L--> Access#15 Kingscote L
At 5:35am I woke up to the sound of someone busy down at the fire-pit. I presumed it was Mike for he was a very early riser. The cracking sound of a campfire brought comfort to my mind as I forced myself to give up the snugness of my sleeping bag. This time around it was quite easy - Sleeping on the hard packed earth with no padding whatsoever was incentive enough to get up! I was a stiff and sore.
By 6:00am I was down at the fire-pit greeting Mike who was already about halfway through packing and was sitting down enjoying the fire. Sean upon hearing my movements began to stir and it wasn't long after I made my move to the fire-pit that Sean joined us. My breakfast was a simple one compared to my two previous ones - One coffee and then oatmeal in my coffee cup. That was it.
I packed up, gave the campsite the 'twice over' and loaded up the canoe. I said 'thank you' to the campsite and launched onto Byers Lake just before 8:00am and as I paddled towards the portage, I saw a loon surface roughly 50m away from me. What was unusual about the loon was that it seemed to be having difficulty - it was struggling in the water.
I quietly paddled closer for a look. The loon ignored my approach as it continued to struggle and I closed into perhaps 10m and at last noticed the reason for the struggle; the loon was trying to swallow a huge fish! The loon would try to swallow the fish unsuccessfully, then giving up its attempt, altered its grip of the fish in its bill, the loon then dove under the water, resurfacing seconds later to try and swallow the struggling fish. The loon repeated this process many times.
Gotta Love June: 5:59am as the sun rises over camp
Arriving at the portage, I decided carry my canoe over first, quickly and efficiently, I loaded up the canoe with the paddles and headed down the trail. The trail was easy to traverse, though not so much with the mosquitos. Near the end of the portage, the trail took a sharp incline up in elevation and while I was huffing and puffing up the slope, my pace slowed and the skeeters caught up to me. I was so looking forward to the end of the trail and the lake breeze that I hoped would follow.
Mike enjoying one last campfire before we break camp
By 8:30am I was back at Byers Lake and loaded up with my pack and camera bags. I headed up the trail once again stropping briefly to photograph some Pink Lady's Slippers. By 8:50am I was back at Big Rock Lake and loaded up my canoe, getting onto the water in a hurry - The mosquitos were all over me! It wasn't till I was about two-thirds of the way across the water to the next portage that I finally shed the last of the demons buzzing around me.
The 1.435m carry-over back to Kingscote Lake was long. There was no avoiding it. Both Mike & I elected to carry our canoes over first, with Mike carrying an additional pack as well. Sean with a mess of camera equipment plus his usual camping gear decided to carry his packs first.
Mike set off with me immediately behind. I sometimes like to jog when I'm carrying the canoe but Mike keep a fast and steady pace, thereby forcing me to relax a little. Both the mosquitos and the occasional muddy section made the carry-over slightly more painful then usual. The muddy sections forcing one to slow down - This is when the mosquitos would catch-up! The portage had more up and downs then the first one, but again the trail was in good condition laced with the occasional muddy section. The carry-over was uneventful except for one particularly muddy section in which Mike slipped on, losing his footing but achieving a fast recovery, at which point I bumped into his canoe with my canoe, pushing Mike forward. Oops!
A dark sky to the northwest contrasted nicely with the rising sun
I'm unsure of the timing but I figure that Mike & I completed the canoe carry-over in under 25 minutes. A brief drink of water and some gorp and both Mike & I headed back down the trail. About one third of the way back, we came across Sean's packs.
Sean was doing a technique known as "One and a half carry". Where one would carry one load halfway, drop the load, return to the beginning of the portage and get the second load, dropping the second load upon returning where the first load was dropped, exchanging loads and then carrying onto the the finish, thereby only having to return halfway down the trail to pickup the last load.
For soloing, it is a good way of breaking up what would otherwise be a double carry. When tripping with a partner the efficiency of a one and a half carry really becomes apparent.
Ahhh! Byers lake was like glass prior to our departure
Around 10:45am I launched onto Kingscote Lake. The sun was shining, the water was near calm and it was quiet. Figures! "Out Day" was the best day of the trip weather wise. Fifteen minutes later Sean & Mike caught up to me and eventually passed me by, landing at the access point a few minutes ahead of me. I have to say that the water clarity of Kingscote Lake is very good.
Once at the access point it was time to load up, say goodbye and I was on my way. It was a good trip, the turn in the weather to cooler temps and rain helped to keep the black flies away, though the mosquitos were bad at times. Overall I'd say the bugs were bad, but I've experienced worse. Mid-June is a buggy time to go - Goes with the territory. Though the lack of people is a real bonus.
Paddling Kingscote Lake back to access#15
The campsite we stayed on Byers Lake was awesome. The York River south of Byers and below High Falls pond is very nice. Above Byers Lake the York River reminded me more of the slow moving Nipissing River, except for all the bass! The area did have a southern flavour, though I found it to have a scrubby look to it. Scorch Lake was a disappointment though. The lake looked like 'shit'.
The portages overall were in good to very good condition, with a few minor blowdowns, all of which were easy to overcome. There were a few broken boardwalks that needed to be fixed, most especially the one at the beginning of the trail to Scorch Lake. One day I wouldn't mind going solo up the panhandle of Algonquin Park, perhaps all the way to Galeairy Lake and back. Until then I look forward to visiting and re-visiting other areas both new and old in Algonquin Park.