Two and a half men in a boat - Part 1

When Jack Sparrow turned down the offer of being our canoeing and camping trip guide due to some financial constraints after agreeing initially, I was almost certain that we can't go for the trip that Vishnu and I had been looking forward to for ages. It being the first time, we thought we would need a guide, and the weekend chosen was very busy(3 day weekend + summer finally here). We contacted Parks Ontario and decided to go on our own - Vishnu, Irene and I.

On Canada day, all of Canada was on the move, and we were in something we had not expected in our dreams. A traffic jam extending for 30-40 kilometres on a Canadian highway. For that stretch, the car speed never crossed 20 kmph. Finally when we reached the outfitters place, it was late in the afternoon. We got all our camping equipments, got our canoe, learnt our J and C strokes, tried to canoe in a straight line, ended up making arcs. A tutorial was provided on setting up a tent, and making a campfire.

 The canoe on the car

Then came the important question of where would we put up for the night. The motels were too expensive for our liking. Finally we made best use of our camping equipment by deciding to camp outdoors at a lakeside place, privately managed by a big old guy wearing black ("You will know it's him when you see him"). It was good practice for us too before the real thing.
In the evening, we went to what is called the Ragged Falls. The rocks at the bend of the falls make an excellent viewing and resting spot in the backdrop of the thunderous spectacle 2-3 metres away.

Ragged Falls

After returning to our campsite, we chatted in the open, the insect repellent creating a barrier between us and them. Shaun joined us for a while. Over 'Hau Mau' cigarettes, he told us as to why he misses his country, and why in spite of that he would hate to return. Some fireworks for Canada Day made me look up to the sky, and I was left speechless by a light exhibition of a different kind. The night sky was speckled by tens of thousands of stars. I remember seeing such a spectacle only once as a kid, at my grandfather's place in the village. Such a sight is so rare, that it suddenly made me feel that I was on a different planet altogether.

Next morning, when I went to the lake to get fresh, I noticed a strange thing. There was a mist just above the water surface upto half-a-metre extending throughout. I realized that the water was being evaporated then and there, and it was moving along with the water flow forming its own eddies at times. After everyone was up, we started off for the Smoke Lake entry point by car. We collected our Camping Permit and finally set off in our canoe at 10.30 am. Vishnu up front, Irene next, myself at the stern. We checked the map and for a start decided to stay somewhat close to the right bank - 10 metres away or so. The sky was gloomy, the forecast gloomier. Smoke lake loomed large extending till the horizon up ahead. The banks were our only companion for the moment. Gradually as we gained confidence, we moved farther away from the shore. We took one visible target at a time keeping track of our position in the map every 15 minutes or so. Being at the hind section, I was largely responsible both for propulsion, and direction. It took some time getting used to, but apart from some lapses towards the end, I made myself proud. 

Meanwhile we got company... some other canoes, whom I often turned into competitors. But before we got to the portage, we let them go ahead and diverted to at a small secluded bay with a rugged stream/waterfall connecting it to some other lake. For long, from time to time, we had been hearing menacing howls from the distance. We considered possibilities of coyotes coming to our campsite. Finally we met the real creatures behind the scene.... a pair of Common Loons, the duck-like bird in the Canadian notes, floated past our canoe near the stream.

The Common Loon

The Algonquin park is pockmarked with thousands of lakes, some connected, some not. Over the 7500 sq.km. of its extent, one could choose short routes like we did as starters, or one could opt for fortnight-long camping trips to the wilder interiors of the park. For going from one lake to another, one might have to cross small sections of land inbetween carrying the canoe and equipment. These are called portages, and are mostly less than a kilometre long. The one connecting Smoke lake and Ragged lake, was about 200 metres long, and it was quite a Herculean task, transferring everything at one go. The canoe was relatively light - 23 kgs, almost as heavy as the two bags having everything we needed for the trip. At the end of it, we had chocolates more to restore our energy than for the taste.

Like in the picture

The canoeing continued over to the Ragged Lake. The wind was largely against us, making our task more difficult. This lake was very weirdly shaped with many inlets and narrow through passages. We decided to go around a large island, instead of a shortcut which would have required skilful maneuvering through half submerged tree stumps.
At Parkside Bay, there are 20-25 campsites each independent and away from each other by 250 metres or more. Our initial intention was to capture one of the islands which had a single campsite. It so happened that a party at a camp we were passing by overheard our conversation, and informed us that the island was already taken. So we chose another spot, but as we rowed till near it, we realized that it was taken too. Opposite to the island, in the mainland shore we spotted another of the orange posters from the distance. No one seemed to be near that. This site was ours!

Finally reached the camping site

The complete route - Smoke lake to Ragged Lake (portage in red),
in a map showing 1/50 of the entire Algonquin area