The weather forecast was looking good - a few consecutive days of sunny skies with temperatures in the high teens - so a last minute trip to take advantage of the unseasonal weather seemed appropriate. Corky and I left Toronto around 9am, a little later than planned, and arrived at Cache Lake at 1pm after first going to the West Gate and the Canoe Lake Office only to find them both closed. There was a note to call the East Gate for a telephone issued permit which we did. There was no wind to contend with and the water was calm so we enjoyed a leisurely paddle through the narrows into Tanamakoon Lake to the 120m Sheriff Pond portage.

Entering into the narrows

It's only a five minute paddle to the other side of the pond and the takeout there was very muddy. The mud was at least half way up Corky's legs. She was not impressed and felt the best way to express this was to climb into the canoe onto my seat rather than her spot in the bow. Terriers! The portage to Little Island Lake is 320m and from there it's only another ten minutes to the campsite on the south-east end of the island that was recommended by ShawnD. This is indeed the best site on the lake. It's located on a point so while the main portion of the site gets the morning sun, there is a clearing on the southern side of the site that receives sunlight for most of the afternoon as well. The site is flat with a nice bed of pine needles, has good water access for landing and swimming and a great view. While the center of the site is open allowing for sunning and stargazing, there are a number of large pines to the rear providing cover for tents. A kitchen area has been constructed to one side providing a large counter for food prep and a stable cooking area. Some pictures of the site are below.







It gets dark early at this time of year so after a nice pasta meal and a little wine under the star-filled sky we went to bed for a good long sleep. The temperature went down close to zero that night but we came prepared and stayed nice and warm.

The next day we decided to investigate the island thinking there may be trails linking the campsites. There aren't. We started out following a trail that went out past the thunderbox but after a while it would fade away only to seemingly reappear just as we considered turning back. After a while we decided to just continue on and bushwhacked our way along the southern side of the island. We came across an unmarked campsite along that side and further along, a decades old Schooner beer can that was unopened yet empty. Just as well as it would probably have been a little skunky anyway. We saw no other signs of human activity until we reached the large site on the western end of the island. This site has a nice fire pit for a group.



Once around to the northern side of the island we bushwhacked some more until we arrived back to our site. All together a good three hour workout. For the rest of the day I read while Corky napped in the sun. Before dinner we went out in the canoe to try a little fishing but once again, no luck. This year's score: Fish 5, Dave 0.The next morning was spent reading in the sun and leisurely packing up. We left for the return trip around 2pm and had an enjoyable paddle out. Never saw a soul the whole three days. Not that I'm complaining.

Here are some more pics









And the mandatory dog pic - Corky lounging in her PJs