I wasn't expecting the cold spell to end until Tuesday but today's 3:30pm Environment Canada forecast for Ottawa has us back to seasonal temperatures starting Saturday.   Ditto for Algonquin Park and they are even calling for +12 and sunny on Monday!

Stainless wrote:

We tried, but failed, to find the 18a put-in this past August.  The weeds and tall grasses in the clearing were dense and waist high.  There were some ATV tracks that I walked trying to find the put-in, but I definitely wasn't going to drive our Toyota van into that area.  And, I never did see a clearing at the lake.  There is a moderate embankment with trees and bushes along the shoreline.  I couldn't see an easy way down to the lake.  Maybe it will be easier in the spring.

I'll try to mark the launch point when we are back there in the spring.   My wife and I own the cabin right beside 18A.

The area used to be a farm and was last operated as a farm from 1959 to 1962.   We have a book, "From the Kitchen Window", written by one of family members who lived there.   It was interesting to see that the farm at that time was the access point to Wilkins Lake.   People travelling to Wilkins Lake would travel by boat from the landing at the south end of the lake and then travel overland from the farm to Wilkins Lake.
 

Checked out starting point 18A Dennison's Bay on Aylen Lake.   The private property referred to in the written directions and appearing in the aerial photo has been owned by my wife and I since June of this year.  The proximity of two different routes into the interior of Algonquin was definitely a factor in our purchase decision.  The property was very run down so we have not yet had time to explore the portages.   We did see a few canoeists using the field beside our property but given the nature of the canoe route across the lake I don't think it will ever be a popular access point.

I've seen a few years ago that Google Maps would show driving up highway 17 to the Bisset Creek road and then via interior logging roads to get from Ottawa to Lake Travers.   Aside from the fact that it involved travel on roads not open to the public, it would have been a much longer drive than just using the road you are supposed to use to get there!

rgcmce wrote:

I don't see it myself; the corridor is so overrun and beaten to death.  But we're all different with different tastes and viewpoints.

Yes, that's why we generally use the northern access points.  However, the highway 60 corridor does offer easier access to the deep interior (Big Trout, Hogan, Burntroot, etc.) than starting from Kiosk or Cedar.  The car shuttle is also a lot easier between any two access points on highway 60 than say Kiosk and Brent.  The water taxi on Opeongo also helps get you deep into the interior quickly.
 

PaPaddler wrote:

Why not use the cart path to access Dickson and come back out that way?  You can travel all through Lavieille and up/down the Crow River a bit on day trips but that makes it much more manageable and a lot less intense.

It's more enjoyable to do a loop than an in/out trip and travelling the Crow River provides a good opportunity to see moose.  However you do raise a good point -- using the Dickson cart both ways enables cart usage for all except the short portage from Dickson to Lavielle.

PaPaddler wrote:

A few of the Crow River portages are runnable in higher water (not the 1220m) but that route's a bit of a hassle coming in that way due to the number of portages - especially at your age with the portage restrictions you spelled out.  I've stopped at the single campsite on the Crow River between Big Crow and Lavieille but only as a leg stretch and warm-up.  It was serviceable and had a limited but pretty view...nothing compared to the sites on the lakes up or down stream though.

I have run some of the rapids on the Crow River.   Yes, the campsite doesn't compare to the lake campsites but for one night it looks ok.

The group decided to go to Killarney as we haven't been there in quite a few years.   Yes, an odd choice for a group that had discussed using carts to make portaging easier!
 

I really thought someone would recognize the AFA camp located near one of the campsites on the lake in the first photo.   The first photo is the start of a low maintenance portage.   The lake also has two other regular maintenance portages.

Gormy wrote:

Portage into Rain Lake from Sawyer Lake?

A lot further east than there.
 

Knox On Woods wrote:

Lower spectacle to upper spectacle?

Too far north!