The plan was for a 4 day trip - 1st night on Pen, 2nd on Rence and 3rd on Louisa before heading home via my Rock Lake starting point. 

It was my second solo trip and first one in Algonquin and I felt a little anxious but mostly excited. I headed off from Rock Lake access point knowing I was likely to encounter a few storms on the way. I was paddling a rented Keewaydin 15 solo boat and had a single blade and double blade paddle to use. As I came out of the channel into Rock Lake proper, my anxiety and my determination both kicked into high gear. While it wasn't dangerously windy I could tell it was going to be a hard paddle straight into the wind. I stuck close to the shore and had to take several breaks under the cover of cedar branches to wait out the worst of the wind and rain. The kayak paddle was best to get the power I needed to hit the wind head on and I slowly made my way down the lake. 

The moose munching in the marsh before my first portage lifted my spirits and the cold water from the spring on the Rock L - Pen L portage was a delight.

Portaging with the solo canoe was more difficult than I anticipated. In order to single carry with my pack, I had to have the removable yoke further forward than ideal for balance to fit my pack between the yoke and the seat. This made balancing the canoe challenging and made me worried for the longer portages I had in the next few days.

I didn't make it far into Pen before dashing to shore and scrambling out of the boat to wait out a thunderstorm. When that cleared, I took the south facing campsite on the islands. I had wanted to get further down Pen but my arms were exhausted from paddling into the wind and my nerves were raw from the storms. 

The site was ideal with the wind keeping the bugs away, I spent a relaxing night on the point enjoying the views. 


Photo taken during what seemed like the only calm hour of the whole trip. 

I knew I should get up early the next day and get going to avoid the wind but I was way too comfortable on my recently upgraded thermarest to pull myself out of the tent. Besides, the wind had howled all night and the early morning wasn't much different. 

I slowly packed up camp and tried to fight off growing nerves. The wind wasn't dangerous and if I had been paddling tandem, it would have been a fun challenge, but alone it was daunting. I adopted the strategy my husband often uses when I get nervous about an adventure "you don't have to go all the way to the top, but you don't have to stop here. Go a bit further and see how you feel." 

I put in the water and battled the wind staying close to the shore. I made it most of the way down Pen before I made the decision to turn around. The wind wasn't overly strong but it was relentless and I was exhausted already. I could have continued and made it to Rence mostly safely but it would have been a suffer-fest. And the site I had just left was calling to me with it's perfect spot for a breezy, bug-free hammock set up. 

Many would have continued on and had I been with others, I would have too. But, I opted for the safest choice. I was rewarded with another moose sighting shortly after I started my retreat to my Pen Lake haven. 



I took full advantage of that hammock spot and spent a relaxing afternoon enjoying the peacefulness of Algonquin. 

*that's my solo camping partner Berkeley. My husband made the life jacket for him before our last trip together. He's good company and doesn't hog the M&Ms

I made my way out the same way I came in the following day (a day ahead of schedule). Of course the wind had changed directions and I had to fight it on my way back as well. I was mostly protected along the shore but was forced to zig-zag across a bay. I used my single bladed paddle most of the way out. My confidence grew with the single blade and I found it much more effective when trying to travel diagonally to the wind (as opposed to head-long into it) because it allowed me to more quickly turn into the wind when gusts came up. It was also much less tiring when paddling in the protection of the shore. I was grateful for the practice with the single blade as I don't have a lot of experience solo-ing. The kayak paddle is effective and technically easier but I prefer to travel with the traditional single blade. 

While I wasn't able to complete the trip as planned, I'm pleased I went and I'm confident I made the right decisions considering my skill level and abilities. I'm determined to do the route again but I think I'll take a paddle partner along next time to help carry the load.