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9/18/2016 6:42 pm  #1


Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

I hate to even ask this question, but here goes. 
I have a high profile friend from the outdoors community who is in town for 1 full day - October 1.  My task is to show him the essence of Algonquin in 1 day - ideally a moose, fall colours, catch a fish, avoid crowds - you know, the impossible. I'm thinking any of the hiking trails will be out of the question since what's looking like what will be Peak colour date will bring crowds.
I'm considering a couple of options, in order of priority.
1.  A short canoe trip loop - Rain, Hot, Islet, Wee, McCraney, Rain.
2.  Canoe loop out of Canoe Lake - crowded but a good representation- no moose or fish, just scenery.
3.  Logging museum, Western Uplands or Highland linear hike - boring, crowded,  it representative
4.  Help!

 

9/18/2016 10:31 pm  #2


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Agreed it's an impossible task. Algonquin does not give up its essence in one-day.

That said, it's Algonquin, so the essence is canoeing, with a bit of hiking, too.. How about Rock Lake?  Assuming you're coming from the west, you get a drive through the park. Then Canoe to the pictograph rock, then over to Booth's, get out and  climb the hill for a view from the top. Back down. Paddle back to the access point, over to the Park reception centre and logging museum, which are nearby...

Or given this is a celebrity, could you break a few rules? Get permission to drive to the camp on Teepee lake. launch a canoe from there, go to Tom Thomson Lake, (cutting out the boring paddle up cottage-lined Canoe Lake).  If time paddle into Bartlett lake and over the portage to Willow, one of the nicest small lakes in the park, and campsite-free.  Then back again.  

 

 

9/18/2016 11:00 pm  #3


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

My Self Reliance wrote:

1. A short canoe trip loop - Rain, Hot, Islet, Wee, McCraney, Rain.

If you want this person to think the worst of Algonquin, take him/her from McCraney through Way and Weed to Islet.

Don't think Way and Weed would even be paddleable by October 1st.

If the colours are still holding, anything on Highway 60 will be a zoo.  Even yesterday, in the rain, each of the day-hiking trails were busy. 

The drive to Rain Lake is pretty nice, if the colours are holding.  You could paddle the entire length of Rain Lake in an hour. Check out the foundations at the start of the hiking trail. 


Barbara
 


Take everything as it comes; the wave passes, deal with the next one.

Tom Thomson, 1877-1917
 

9/18/2016 11:26 pm  #4


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

So you're not camping, but have all day for an ambitious-ish day trip, and can go pretty much anywhere?

My thoughts:

1. Had the same thought as Barbara re passability, though I don't know for sure.
2. I would rather go south on Smoke than north on Canoe; you could do the Ragged-Claude loop in a day. Hopefully budgeting a little time for a picnic and bass fishing on Ragged.
3. Honestly I would rather hike Centennial Ridges, even on a crowded weekend... but yes the backpacking trails would probably be a little less busy. Maybe from Mew Lake campground to Starling Lake lookout? Or you could launch a canoe on LoTR, portage it to Provoking, and combine some bass/splake fishing with a short jaunt to the lookout?
4. How about a Farm-Bridle-Shirley-Crotch loop? A bit less crowded area with no cottages or motorboats, and you could try for a pike or bass (not in Shirley). Even detour to Ryan for splake. Another Hwy 60 option would be Cache-Head-Head Creek-Madawaska back to Cache, making a detour off the last portage to hike up the Track and Tower lookout.

 

9/19/2016 12:56 am  #5


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

DanPM wrote:

4. How about a Farm-Bridle-Shirley-Crotch loop? A bit less crowded area with no cottages or motorboats, and you could try for a pike or bass (not in Shirley). Even detour to Ryan for splake.

Ryan is currently experiencing an "algal bloom".  It's not advisable to have your hands/skin contact water affected by the algae.
http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/news/algonquin_park_advisories.php

Another Hwy 60 option would be Cache-Head-Head Creek-Madawaska back to Cache, making a detour off the last portage to hike up the Track and Tower lookout.

Best colours we ever experienced, even though the leaves had pretty much fallen, was on the Track and Tower Trail.  Crazy chipmunk experience as well.


Barbara


Take everything as it comes; the wave passes, deal with the next one.

Tom Thomson, 1877-1917
 

9/19/2016 12:58 am  #6


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

And, of course, one must be aware of the fishing regulations for that time of year, and whatever location chosen, and whether the visitor has the appropriate fishing licence.


Barbara

Last edited by Barbara (9/19/2016 12:58 am)


Take everything as it comes; the wave passes, deal with the next one.

Tom Thomson, 1877-1917
 

9/19/2016 7:40 am  #7


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Right - I forgot about the algae bloom. No side trip to Ryan. Still worth considering the Shirley Lake loop, which doesn't require Ryan.

I mention splake, bass and pike above because lake trout and brook trout will have just closed, but everything else you'd normally fish will be in season.

The one thing no one's addressed is moose... and to be honest I'm not sure where is best to find them at that time of year, the rut will be gearing up so the bulls could be anywhere searching for female company. And since you're not camping you probably won't be out in the very early morning, which makes it more difficult. Some well-known hotspots like the upper Tim are not ideal for day tripping, especially if you want to do a loop. I suppose you could hire a water taxi to Hailstorm Creek and paddle around up there if you want to prioritize wildlife. Moose do get seen on Pen, which you could loop through, ie Rock-Pen-Night-Galeairy-Rock (and try to squeeze in Methye's suggestions on Rock).

 

9/19/2016 8:24 am  #8


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

You didn't mention it had to be on the 60 corridor so I'd reccomend fishing in McManus Lake for smallmouth, muskie and walleye and doing the barron canyon hike. Longer drive but much better scenery and fishing than the 60 corridor offers. 

 

9/19/2016 8:29 am  #9


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

I have no idea if this is any kind of an option or not, maybe water levels are tough this time of year I dunno, but I was looking at the map last night.....how about entering at Tim River, heading out to the Tim's lake, having lunch at a campsite, maybe walking one of the carries to a lake north or south (though both are less maintained....) if not actually doing the carry, or just continuing east a little while further on the Tim River?  I think you'd be out of luck with fishing season in that area, but here's what you'd get:  River travel, decent sized lake where you won't get obliterated if there's a significant wind (and you can get behind some land to block it), a good-sized area where there are no campsites so you get that "deep woods" feel, then an area where there are some campsites where you can prepare a shore lunch and visit a thunderbox should the need arise, islands, a portage if you've a mind to, and probably some nice colors.  It is kind of a dead end for further travel in one day, but I think you could make a nice day of it without spending every waking second on the move, and get someplace nice for dinner.  The sun will be setting pretty early by then!

 

9/19/2016 8:54 am  #10


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Ralph Bice and a loop through Daisy will show some good color in the hilltops if fall colors are peaking... that area is dominated by sugar maples and less likely to be crowded than the Hwy 60 corridor.

Moose will be in rut and probably be in upland locations away from wetlands although you never know, esp on ports. Not sure if trout fishing ends that weekend but it can be time-consuming and time is probably better spent paddling and porting for the true essence of Algonquin to be absorbed by the first-time visitor. 

PS... if it is windy, maybe best to avoid the waves on Ralph Bice and head south to Daisy and some of the smaller, wind-sheltered lakes... good luck.

Last edited by frozentripper (9/19/2016 8:57 am)

 

9/19/2016 11:34 am  #11


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Assuming you mean 1 NIGHT-er, I echo the Cache to Head via Madawaska. Great overnight trip and the view from Track and Tower has got to be one of the best in the park.

Last edited by John McClane (9/19/2016 11:34 am)

 

9/19/2016 12:22 pm  #12


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Track and Tower is the only trail accessible by road in the park that I haven't done! What section of the trail is the most scenic? I will make sure to do it by the end of the week!

 

9/19/2016 12:47 pm  #13


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

All great tips and advice - thank you so much (I'll r ad through again tonight) Token, the tower portion is by far the best, coming in from the west side so you see the falls on the Mad.
In further talks, seeing a moose is at the top of the list. For that reason, I'm leaning toward the Rain Lake area, possibly with a bush whack into the hills if I can locate some moose a day or two ahead of time.

     Thread Starter
 

9/19/2016 1:31 pm  #14


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Token- there's a great lookout labelled as "Skymount" on Jeff's map. It can be accessed by road of course, but also from the portage between Cache Lake and the Madawaska River. Google images should quickly give you some photos that are far better than anything I took.

 

9/20/2016 8:08 am  #15


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

I'm not sure if it's true that moose won't be in wetland/lakeshore areas during the rut... didn't one of you regulars see a lot of moose activity on Longbow last October? Hunters certainly target rutting moose along waterways, though not exclusively. I think basically during the rut moose are on the move a lot and use all habitat types.

I think if moose are the priority you might want to spend the day on the upper Tim River, between the access point and the first portage past the lake, or even farther down if time and water levels allow. Either that or take a water taxi to Hailstorm Creek. Or if you do the Bice-Daisy loop, detour a little ways down the Pet.

 

9/20/2016 9:18 am  #16


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Dan,



"I'm not sure if it's true that moose won't be in wetland/lakeshore areas during the rut..."




The most moose I've ever seen in APP during the rut was actually along lakeshores on Grand and Stratton lakes... they were standing around on rocky areas looking bored mostly, no threat displays when I canoed by. The nearest large wetland would have probably been Carcajou creek above High Falls on Carcajou Bay.




That was in the days before the big game hunt. Since then moose seem to have have made themselves scarce, at least I haven't seen any Sept-Oct in that area.



PS... logging roads might be good places to see moose, since the native hunters on the east side seem to drive the roads looking for them. I did get to see a huge bull shot dead by the side of the Shirley road near the Shall access with hunters standing around waiting for a truck to carry it away.

 

Last edited by frozentripper (9/20/2016 9:25 am)

 

9/20/2016 10:10 am  #17


Re: Where to for 1 day on October 1st?

Moose use open areas and waterways as travel and mate location areas and then move back into the bush to breed. Mating calls travel further in these areas.  It's definitely hit and miss once they stop feeding in wetlands, but it's more likely to see them where they more densely populated, which I believe is the maple forests of the mid west area outside of the hunting zones.

     Thread Starter
 

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