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5/22/2018 6:44 am  #1


Kiosk-White Birch-Maple- Maple Creek Report

Day One
-Pushed out of Kiosk around 2pm, the water was colder than we ever felt it. Could literally not put our feet in the water for more than a few seconds. Didn't realize we needed to go under the train bridge, but figured it out eventually. 
-Portages to White Birch were pretty straight forward and nothing too difficult
-We took the third campsite on the left on White Birch. It was an amazing campsite with beautiful views. Surprised the guys with Hungarian Pork Tenderloin and Potatoes and Cabbage. We destroyed it. 
Day Two
-Pushed out in the morning after a breakfast of kielbasa, eggs, hashbrowns, and beans (literally ate like 7 pounds of food on day one, which is good for the future portages). Were planning on staying on Mouse but a site was already taken and we prefer lakes to ourselves, so we changed our reservation to Big Thunder. Although after meeting the guys and having them find part of our fishing pole later in our trip, we would have been okay with sharing the beach with them. 
-Portages were all pretty clear. Our paddle across Mouse was a little scary with high winds and waves, apparently the crew watching us from the shore thought we were crazy, maybe. Then the portage from Mouse to Mink Creek was brutal. Mostly uphill and felt twice as long as posted. Overall this day took us much longer than expected to get to Big Thunder. We ended up stopping for lunch before the portage to Mink Creek, which added even more time.
-Portage from Mink to Big Thunder is up a beaver dam and very muddy at the portage. 
-Arrived at Big Thunder in the evening and loved the campsite and the lake. It was windy but beautiful. There were a ton of leaches in the water, but seeing we were there so late, we didn't have time to fish.

Day Three
-Woke up and had some coffee and oatmeal. Met the guys from Mouse who found part of our fishing pole and they shared their concern for our paddle across Mouse, which made us second guess future cross-lake adventures. 
-Another long portage to Erables, but at least it was mostly level. 
-Paddle across Erables and took the short portage to Maple, grabbed the first island campsite on the entrance to the lake. I think this site rivals Shangri-la, almost as good. 
-Spent two nights on the Maple Lake island. Literally not a nibble on our lines, but lots of sunshine and beautiful sunsets.
-Found a really nice little table with a note on it. Apparently a scout named Billy lashed it for a project and we really enjoyed it. We took a picture with it and posted it for him. These are the kind of site improvements we like, biodegradable sisal twine and expertise.

Day Five
Pushed out in the morning to head to Maple Creek. We thought it would be nice to camp by a river one night. Started raining in the morning and got progressively worse. Ended up spending the day trying to catch at least one fish on our trip, to no avail (minus a tiny chub). Had a nice dinner under the tarp. The campsites are not great on this section, but the first one toward Kiosk was okay. Nice view of the river and you could hear the waterfall all night. Day Six
Got up early and headed out. Of course it was all wind to Kiosk, apparently no matter which way you go in Algonquin, the wind tries to force you back in on the way out. Headed to Myrts Family Restaurant and ordered most of the menu. 

One of our favorite loops in Algonquin. 

Feel free to message me for any specific details. 

 

5/22/2018 12:03 pm  #2


Re: Kiosk-White Birch-Maple- Maple Creek Report

Thanks for sharing, and nice pictures! The Maple picture looks like the northern of the two island sites, not the first one coming from the portage..It’s been a few years since I was there though so maybe things got rearranged. It is a really great site though; I’ve never stayed at the Shangri La site but I’ve heard good things so good to know they’re comparable.


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5/22/2018 4:58 pm  #3


Re: Kiosk-White Birch-Maple- Maple Creek Report

It is the northern island campsite. Both are great. Better if there were fish around them.

     Thread Starter
 

5/24/2018 7:33 am  #4


Re: Kiosk-White Birch-Maple- Maple Creek Report

Nice report perry. The site on Big Thunder looks more appealing than I remember.

You guys must've been one (or two) of the 4 canoes we saw paddle up Erables while camped on the big rock site. The rain on Saturday was pretty intense throughout the night - the look on your faces while chilling under the tarp says it all.

I bet when you left your site on Maple Creek the following morning and saw the alternative site (on P630) you were glad you camped where you did. Of the two sites on Maple Creek, you guys definitely took the better one - the other one is just plain old spooky!

Great season opener!

 

5/25/2018 7:37 pm  #5


Re: Kiosk-White Birch-Maple- Maple Creek Report

We were just two canoes, and didn't see anyone on Erables, but knew there were people out there! We actually scouted the second campsite on Maple Creek, reminded us of the campsite above the Falls off Cedar Lake, but worse. So we definitely knew we made the right choice. The park should really consider updating those sites. It's a beautiful area with several gorgeous falls hidden away. Funny enough, we had a blast under the tarp, nice change of pace and different view. Plus, it was our last day of 6 so we finished all of our food an liquor (well maybe not all of the Knob Creek).

     Thread Starter
 

5/25/2018 7:40 pm  #6


Re: Kiosk-White Birch-Maple- Maple Creek Report

Oh and the site on Big Thunder is awesome for all of those people flirting with the idea. Two long and painful portages away from anyone else, sandy entry in Lake, gorgeous views, a no brainer.

     Thread Starter
 

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