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7/14/2017 1:00 pm  #1


Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

Hello all - it has been a busy spring/summer and I haven't had much time to look in on this forum - so lots of new stuff is up!

During the week of the 23rd, 3 dads and a total of 5 kids (ages 5-9 yrs) will be heading into the park.  Given that for two of the kids it is their first backwoods/paddling trip, we wanted to keep portaging to a minimum, in this case zero(!) as we'll be going in at the Tim R. and staying on Tim L..  I have searched this site for info on Tim Lake proper and it is pretty scattered but here is what I have put together so far with a number of interspersed questions, written down as they have come to my brain:

1.  Tim Lake has leeches and mostly these are found on the east shore as this is the direction of water flow.  For this reason sites on the east side of the island are recommended.  Can someone verify this for me?  As you can imagine, swimming will be important with 5 kids and we might as well try to mitigate leech encounters (I just can't help think of the movie "Stand by me")...Can anyone comment on what the swimming at the various sites on Tim lake is like?  Better/worse spots?

2.  Apparently the island doesn't have any firewood - this is not really a problem.  We can pick a few bundles up in Kearny and put them in the boat as we aren't portaging.  Or simply paddling to shore somewhere on the lake usually nets a pile of wood in a few minutes.

3.  Apparently the island site on the west is windy, and I would think it too might have an increased leech population.  Can anyone provide commentary on these points?

4.  There will be 3 tents - Can anyone comment on whether the east island sites will be able to handle this?  From Barry B's PCI report (site 5 and 6, the ones on the east side of the island) he notes there is room for 3 tents, but more than one opinion is always welcome.  Steve E. stayed at the southeastern most site, but this was in October, so perhaps didn't jump in the water and leeches weren't an issue.  Can anyone comment on this site - Steve E. notes it was a wonderful spot to camp.

5.  Jeff's map shows that there is trout in the lake, but I'm not hopeful in catching those now that the warmer water is here.  I am hopeful for the odd bass and perch (?) - any thoughts on fishing?

6.  We were thinking of doing a side trip down the Tim River to the Falls and I suppose we'll see what the water level is like and if the alder bushes are too dense.  Given all the rain in the Perth County area (which has also probably been received in the park) this won't be an issue.  We might also check out the low maintenance sites on Chibiabos L. and visit Indian Pipe L. just for fun.

That's all I can think of for now...Thank you advance everyone for your input, I know it will be useful.

P.S.  Sorry for the longish post and so many questions...

 

7/14/2017 4:20 pm  #2


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

I'll chime in here with my 2 cents as I've stayed on Tim Lake several times over the years (it's a great spot to base camp!)

What we normally do when we get to a lake is paddle around to all the sites to survey what is open and what suits our needs best.  Usually when we go it is very quiet so we generally have our choice of sites.  I haven't been in the summer so you might have a different experience and might not get your first choice of sites (fingers crossed though!).  I would think there would be the possibility of leeches on any of the sites.  The one we stay at generally (the eastern most site) would have leeches for sure.  I've stayed on the island sites as well but honestly can't recall about the leeches.  I would say that for swimming the island sites would be better than the others though.

Bringing in firewood would work as it's a fairly easy paddle into the lake.  Having said that we paddled it last fall and the wind picked up and it was a tricky paddle across even the small part of the lake.  There were a couple other groups that ended up going to shore at the mouth of the river by the access point as they didn't want to risk it.  Just be prepared that even for a small lake the winds can be dangerous on the water.  For firewood we normally do a paddle around the shoreline and collect from there.  Tim lake is a busy lake so you may have a tough time harvesting wood around camp.

The western site on the island might be a viable option if you are looking to mitigate the bugs.  I've never stayed on that site so I can't attest to how windy it would be.

Some of the sites on the Lake are a bit sloped but I think you could find 3 tent pads at most sites (if my memory serves me).  The sites on the east side of the lake would be ok but I can't recall about the others...This is one of the reasons we normally survey all the open sites.  The lake is small so you can check most of them out in short time.

We fished a fair bit in October but didn't have much luck.  Both my dad and I are terrible fishermen though so don't let our experiences dissuade you!

We always do at least one side trip down to the portage (makes for a really nice late evening/night paddle) and for a day trip we go down to Rosebary.  We'll grab lunch somewhere on Rosebary and then paddle back.  It's a great area for moose so keep your eyes peeled! 

Let me know if you have any questions or want pictures or anything...
 

 

7/14/2017 4:24 pm  #3


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

Hi pjr, I stayed on #6 2 years ago and took the pics on the site that are on PCI.
That site is very good, easy to get out of the canoes, 2 places to land actually, a very good fire pit flanked by a humongous rock. It had a shelf between 2 trees that was just large enough to cook on incase you don't cook over the fire. There was more then enough room for 3 tents on rasonably flat surface. A large sloping stone just above the water extended a bit into the lake and would make a great Jump spot for the kids.,water just deep enough that I don't think leeches would be a problem. Now, we camped in September, so leeches weren't a problem at all for us .The landing spots both have a bit of a sandy bottom.
There was absolutely no firewood, not even kindling of any kind. We tried the portages, but found that they had been thoroughly cleaned of firewood too.
The paddle to the Tim river portage is wonderful, but the narrow river after the portage takes a fair bit of time due to hairpin bends, beaver dams etc to get to Rosebary if you intend to go that far. we had head wind and it took 4.5 hours.
Sorry, can't help with the fishing

 

7/14/2017 8:53 pm  #4


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

Hey PJR,  I stayed on the Island NE Campsite on July 3 & 4. This site can accommodate  3 tents. Swimming areas flat rock in one area and a small amount of sand near fire pit. Major down fall is the Thunder Box was severely damaged and T P in various areas especially around the best tent pad. I reported the damaged thunder box to the MNR office in Kearney on the way out, hopefully they repaired or replaced it. The Paddle down Tim R to the portage at the dam  is a good area for viewing moose especially the area just before the dam. Hope this info helps, Enjoy

 

7/16/2017 8:03 pm  #5


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

Hi all - Many thanks for this. I will put a call into the park and see if the Thunder Box was fixed.  Either way it sounds like there are nice options.

I'll be trying some recipes from this site - Peek's bannock and additions to it from CanoeClair.

     Thread Starter
 

7/17/2017 9:10 pm  #6


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

@wolfpaddle Just as an update...I called the park today about the thunder box/site as your description made is a potential stopping point and I only wanted to consider it if the the T-box was fixed. Apparently there is now a brand new Thunderbox on the site!

I pass along their thanks for reporting the issue at the Kearney office.

     Thread Starter
 

7/18/2017 7:32 am  #7


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

pjr2013 wrote:

@wolfpaddle Just as an update...I called the park today about the thunder box/site as your description made is a potential stopping point and I only wanted to consider it if the the T-box was fixed. Apparently there is now a brand new Thunderbox on the site!

I pass along their thanks for reporting the issue at the Kearney office.

Thanks! This is site #6 correct?
 

Last edited by Gilgamesh (7/18/2017 7:33 am)

 

7/18/2017 7:33 am  #8


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

wolfpaddle wrote:

Hey PJR,  I stayed on the Island NE Campsite on July 3 & 4. This site can accommodate  3 tents. Swimming areas flat rock in one area and a small amount of sand near fire pit. Major down fall is the Thunder Box was severely damaged and T P in various areas especially around the best tent pad. I reported the damaged thunder box to the MNR office in Kearney on the way out, hopefully they repaired or replaced it. The Paddle down Tim R to the portage at the dam  is a good area for viewing moose especially the area just before the dam. Hope this info helps, Enjoy

How did you manage the firewood situation?

Thanks!
 

 

7/18/2017 7:40 am  #9


Re: Tim Lake - Lake/site advice

pjr2013 wrote:

5.  Jeff's map shows that there is trout in the lake, but I'm not hopeful in catching those now that the warmer water is here.  I am hopeful for the odd bass and perch (?) - any thoughts on fishing?

As far as I know there are still (thankfully) no bass in Tim Lake. And I've heard its lake trout fishing has declined in recent years due to the introduction of smelt. But there should be some panfish. You could also make early morning excursions down the Tim River past the portage to look for active brookie holes. If you don't catch a speck, you might see a moose.

 

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