You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

9/16/2020 6:41 pm  #1


Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Hey everyone,

I did a four day trip up to Big Trout over the long weekend. It was a really fun trip, despite the crowds and a paddle that decided to take early retirement on Grassy Bay. Trip report is up now.

https://allofalgonquin.com/2020/09/16/big-trout-loop-parabola-part-1/

Drew

 

9/17/2020 9:26 am  #2


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Yikes. Broken paddle and a lost inReach - that's gotta hurt. And yet despite that you managed to have a good time and get out in one piece, so nicely done. 

A great read and entertaining story as always Drew!

 

9/17/2020 10:43 am  #3


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Yikes!  Unfortunate gear problems man.  I'm surprised you don't travel with a spare paddle for the "probably won't happen" scenario of a break.  I was up in the Kiosk area during the same storms with my 1 year old and that wind was no joke.  Made it a very interesting trip with a baby. 

 

9/17/2020 12:49 pm  #4


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Oh no!  Not a Kettlewell!!!!  My heart goes out to you.

Loved the pics, that site in Grassy bay is a secret gem in my opinion.

Also, damn that wind and dem storms.  We were up in Manitou/3 Mile/Maple for the week before the weekend and I declared that "Project Whitecap."  I've never seen so much wind in a week, we had it blowing straight through almost every site every day.

 

9/17/2020 1:36 pm  #5


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

"Up until this point in my life I had always understood tailwinds to be a theoretical possibility, but......" 
 

This summer I've narrowed my search of solo canoe models, one of which is the Swift Osprey.  In reading up on it, the chief complaint is that it can be a bit squirrely if you have a tailwind.  At first that put me off, but then realized I couldn't remember the last time I had a tailwind....and that's why the Osprey remains on my list.

In my youth (early 80's), my scout troop took Algonquin trips.  By the end of a travel day, we were always tired, but never too tired to race each other to the campsite.  On this particular day, we were dashing down a narrow bay to a campsite.  In our stern was Doug, the linebacker, with me in the middle sitting on a pack, and Robert in the bow.  To encourage Doug, Robert called out "Doug, there's a naked woman on the beach!"  The canoe surged, causing both Robert and I to lean backward, and in that instant, there was a "SNAP!" that echoed all around.  Our boat veered off course, and the blade of a paddle, propelled from beneath the water, surfaced and skimmed ahead of the boat.  Robert and I turned around, and there's Doug, grinning ear to ear, with just the shaft of the paddle in his hands.  That's the only paddle breaking story I know that doesn't have at least a twinge of "uh-oh" to it.

Terrific report, as always!  Really enjoyed it - 

 

9/17/2020 8:45 pm  #6


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Another fun report to read!
Too bad we didn’t meet, I was on canisbay lake on labour day. The only one there, at least in the morning, I had the site right across from the portage.

 

9/17/2020 10:22 pm  #7


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

IanTendy wrote:

... I declared that "Project Whitecap."  I've never seen so much wind in a week, we had it blowing straight through almost every site every day.

Just got back from an 8 day trip and it was by far the windiest trip I've ever done. White caps on at least 4 of the days, and every single morning there were waves on the water at 7am. Never seen anything like it.


Trip Reports & Campsite Pictures
algonquinbeyond.com
 

9/18/2020 7:06 am  #8


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Just read the full thing - such an unfortunate (and like you said, expensive) series of events that day! Breaking/losing my paddle while solo is one of my biggest Algonquin fears. 

That decision to go from Burnt Island to Canisbay must have been a tough call as well, a lot of paddling vs. a lot of portaging... lesser of two evils.

At the end of the day all the mayhem only makes for better memories


Trip Reports & Campsite Pictures
algonquinbeyond.com
 

9/18/2020 7:43 am  #9


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

A good reminder for all of us to adhere to the 'extra paddle' rule.  Another that is often overlooked is a bailer tied to the canoe so that if you do swamp you can find it and use it.  And PFDs go without saying...oops, said it.

Nice report...you seem to have the same 'eyes are bigger than your stomach' approach to biting off big trips - although this one was a result of availability.

 

9/18/2020 10:15 am  #10


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Very entertaining!! This trip is just exactly what I would expect from any trip in 2020!!
(apologies for finding your misery entertaining but. . . . . . . )

 

9/18/2020 3:49 pm  #11


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

Thanks everyone. It was a great trip, despite the gear disasters.

@Uppa: Thanks! Yeah, it was a good time. The gear issues weren't ideal, but at least we were able to manage. Wouldn't want to think what it would have been like if I'd been on my own trying to navigate with a taped together paddle.

@TripperMike: To the question of why we didn't have a spare, I don't have a good answer. I used to carry one and then eventually I thought to myself "Why am I carrying all this extra weight? I'm never going to actually need it". On another note, I'm impressed that you were out there with your 1 year old, how did they like it? I'm guessing you just hunkered down for the worst of the wind?

@Iantendy: yeah, I was (am) super bummed to loose a Kettlewell. I've to two left, but both of them are the same age as the one that broke (about 20 years old) and both of them have been put through the wringer. The one that broke was probably in the best condition of the three. Might be time to get a new paddle and put the other two up on the wall.

@Trippythings: The decision to go out through Canisbay wasn't necessarily a tough one, it just kind of sucked. Looking at the wind on Burnt I figured trying to tackle it with realistically only one paddle seemed like a pretty bad idea. Also, we made this a group decision and two of the other guys were very much in favour of portaging out, so I figured it would be best to go with a majority decision.  The lone paddling holdout changed his mind about ten strokes into the trip across Burnt anyway

@Tentersforever: Too bad we missed you. I did see one site taken on Canisbay as we paddled up, maybe that was you!

@PaPaddler: The funny thing about the "eyes bigger than my stomach" approach (which I am usually very much guilty of) is that for this trip I tried really hard to make it an easy route. As you point out, the timing worked against me.

@MWD, fun story about the Scout trip. I agree with keeping the Osprey on the list despite the tailwind warning.  I mean, it probably doesn't handle that well in a hail storm either but I feel like that's just as likely to happen as a tailwind sometimes.

@Oldboyscout: Thanks! And don't worry, vicarious misery is the funniest kind of misery.

     Thread Starter
 

9/18/2020 8:57 pm  #12


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

> Burnt Island is a big damn lake. And possibly dangerous too!

Wow. Been there, done that. On the way back from the Otterslide one time it was cloudy and the rain was spitting here and there. Still, it was clear when we shoved off to where we'd left the bulk of our gear (big mistake, right there) but I would say that it got surly after about 5 minutes, about when turning back seemed like an undesirable option.

Well, about two minutes later it was dark as night - ah, this was in the late afternoon like. The waves whipped up and in no time we were way out in the open, soaked and just trying to maintain an even course with the whitecaps breaking out over the prow. We made for like a 10 x 25 foot (maybe) rock sticking out of the water, then flipped over the canoe and crawled underneath... we stayed that way for about an hour until things died down enough for us to continue our dash to the far shore.

My buddy said that if we had landed another 30 seconds later he wouldn't have been able to locate the gear cache -- including our tent -- in the dark. Which was a good thing (being able to find the gear) because the night brought a massive continuation of the storm with thunder and lightning right through until morning; the electrics lighting up the inside of the tent as bright as day. In our haste we popped the tent on a slope... I woke up in the morning with about half of the tent filled with 12" of water, my feet completely "submerged". But the sun came out and we were able to dry everything "crispy".

Ontario weather: unpredictable.

I had the same thing happen to me on Lake Ontario - nice day one minute/black as night the next, with giant waves - but it was on a boat that could hold 100+ people. Still, scary as all get-out and I had to think "Oh no, not again!!!".

)-:

 

9/21/2020 8:02 am  #13


Re: Big Trout Loop (sort of)

AlgonquinLakes wrote:

@TripperMike: To the question of why we didn't have a spare, I don't have a good answer. I used to carry one and then eventually I thought to myself "Why am I carrying all this extra weight? I'm never going to actually need it". On another note, I'm impressed that you were out there with your 1 year old, how did they like it? I'm guessing you just hunkered down for the worst of the wind?

We shoved off from Kiosk into a 35kmh SW wind, we were both pretty nervous having the kid in that water but it didn't seem like the day was going to chill out for quite some time.  Both of us are experienced paddlers so we crushed it, but not without some serious adrenaline flowing.  Paddled into the east bay to campsite 4 and found a nice flat spot out of the wind for the tarp.  We did a few day trips to Mink and Lauder with rain and wind whipping up half way into each.  Spent most of our time at camp with a fire going and the little guy figuring out how to walk over roots and rocks.  All in all a good time but I think I'll plan the family trip for mid August next year. 

 

Board footera

LNT Canada is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships.