Bonnechere Lake and beyond
Canadian Shield rock islands populate Big Porcupine Lake
It was another grey morning with the threat of rain again. We didn't have to be anywhere, so we had a slow, lazy start to the day and enjoyed every second of it. By lunchtime, 12:30pm to be precise, we left camp heading for the lower part of Big Porcupine Lake. I paddled with Sean in his green tandem canoe and Swede soloing in his canoe. It was still grey out, however the cloud deck had risen and looked like the rain might told off.
We paddled through the narrows and noticed that the campsite on our left (where the woman asking for the lighter came from) was vacant. As we passed the campsite, we got a look at the site as we passed and kept on going; it didn't seem to impressive. The narrows became very shallow in places as we approached the North end of the channel and so we had to slow down and make a few evasive turns to avoid rock and sunken timbers.
Swede paddles Big Porcupine Lake
The next site on our right at the tip of the opposite end of the narrows was another story. The rock shelf landing invited curiosity and we weren't immune. We pulled up and got out to investigate this gem of a campsite. There was a boulder that served as a windbreak for a large fire-pit. Large, open and relatively flat spaces were scattered through-out the large campsite under the canopy of pine. The site is partly exposed to the North so late season camping might not be ideal, however the fire-pit would certainly keep you warm.
Next we paddled onto the lower portion of Big Porcupine Lake proper. The view was very nice, colourful trees with a lake studded with islands and no one in sight either!
A camper who cares: Swede stocks up a vacant campsite's wood supply
Like the upper part of the lake, there is a lot of Canadian Shield rock, only more so on the lower section. Distant thunder could be heard as we paddled onto glassy waters, heading towards the eastern shoreline, yet there was no wind, no rain; The thunder remained distant.
We stopped by one island passing a campsite located there and landing at the West end of the island, where we stumbled upon the scene of a past forest fire. The campsite (If that is what it was) reeked of charred wood. The landing involved scaling rock and climbing up and over cedar trees that we falling into the water. Some were hacked up and we suspected fire-fighting crews had done the job of removing some of the trees as a firebreak. There was an extensive burn zone and we wondered what had started the fire. There was no campsite there, yet it looked like someone had been there, as there was a few pieces of junk around the area of the fire. For all we know, it could've been lightning too. We'll never know.
A campsite on Big Porcupine Lake looking southwest
We left the island heading for some tempting looking campsites along the east shore of the lake. We landed at one campsite just south of the 200m portage into Bonnechére Lake. The campsite was made up mostly of Canadian Shield rock and was fairly clean. Swede arrived as well and we sat back to soak in the view and eat some lunch. On the campsite we found a side trail that led to the 200m portage, so Sean & I decided to carry over to Bonnechére Lake and explore the area there. Swede decided to hang around and continue to explore the lower section of Big Porcupine Lake. I do not remember much about the trail except that it was smooth and it had a drop-down approach to the put-in…it was muddy and shallow.
Bonnechére Lake is much smaller than Big Porcupine Lake, yet it shares some the same characteristics; it has lots of Canadian Shield rock and is convoluted in shape, which I might add makes for an interesting paddle. As we came onto the lake proper, a rather large outcropping of Canadian Shield rock caught our eyes. We paddled over to investigate. As we paddled up to the ridge, it loomed over us, indeed it was not only large it had some height to it too.
Looking back at Sean as we paddle by the 'gaga' site
We paddled around to the East side of the ridge and found a beautiful and very tiny beach to land the canoe. There was a campsite sign nearby indicating that the area was a designated campsite. We got out and explored the campsite. It was massive. There was even a picnic table on top of the ridge that was possibly made by rangers. The fire-pit was located near the landing. Hidden behind the ridge and protected from winds, as it should be. I just couldn't get over the beauty of the site and named it the 'gaga' site of Bonnechére Lake. We hung around the campsite for about 30 minutes, soaking in the imagery, the site had a commanding view of the surrounding bays. You have to visit this site to really appreciate the scale of it.
Another image looking alongside the 'gaga' campsite
The sheltered, gem of a landing at the 'gaga' campsite on Bonnechére Lake
With Upper Head Lake being in the immediate vicinity, we decided to explore that area, instead of heading further up the lake and into Cradle Lake. While we were on the campsite we observed a canoe heading towards Cradle Lake anyway and didn't want to disturb our fellow canoeists. We relished the idea of exploring a waterway that was not on a canoe route and paddled our way up to a rather ancient looking beaver dam and continued on, the waterway becoming more narrow and shallow as we progressed closer to Upper Head Lake.
Heading up the waterway to Upper Head Lake
Finally, we made it to the lake, paddled around it in ten minutes, stopped off at what looked to be a 'grandfathered' campsite and then turned around and headed back. It was getting late in the day, but before we headed back we paddled over to the nearby portage to North Lemon Creek. We didn't walk the 1250m trail, there wasn't time, it was almost 6:00pm. We just landed walked a few meters, took a few pictures and left. The landing was quite muddy and one would do well to wear boots there.
Crossing the old beaver/earthen dam on our way to Upper Head Lake
This portage will have to wait till another day
We arrived back at camp at 7:00pm and we could barely see Swede standing atop the rock on our campsite, the darkness fell around us as we paddled and we didn't realize it until we tried to focus on Swede. To our surprise and to the satisfaction of our tummies and tired muscles, Swede prepared a feast, that to this day I remember as the best meal I've ever had in Algonquin Park. We arrived at the kitchen to see Swede had two stoves fired up and was cooking on both of them at the same time. Swede served us a hungry-man style dinner; Chipotle Chicken, Steak, mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet green peas, smothered in cheese, cooked in olive oil, Swede was a genius with food. It was awesome!
Swede: Algonquin Park chef extraodinaire
Mouth-watering meal prepared and served by 'Swede'
Never had I felt so satisfied by a meal in The Park and the shared laughs that night around the fire-pit is a night we will all remember. It was a blast! Algonquin Park and Swede were so good to us! The overcast held throughout the overnight hours and as such it was very dark that night with no stars present.
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