papabear wrote:

Good points Trippy.  The buffer makes sense. I normally wouldn't stress over it but with a little one ...

Any thoughts on the Rock - Louisa portage and whether it can be done in one go vs multiple trips?  Again, not stressed if it was just me but carrying a canoe/pack/gear while entertaining a little one can be trying...  I'd like to prepare myself mentally for it ahead of time.   

 
It’s a 3km walk with all of your gear, including canoe. You’ll have to ask yourself if it can be done based on your own assessment of yourself and your group.

Many can carry it in one go, but the biggest obstacle is a combination of will power and the quality(weight) of gear you plan to carry.

Jdbonney wrote:

...Many can carry it in one go, but the biggest obstacle is a combination of will power and the quality(weight) of gear you plan to carry.

And the size of the person carrying the gear

Someone that's 6' 200lbs will be able to carry a lot more weight than someone 5'8 140lbs

Here is a mother’s view. I’m hoping there’s more people in your party then you and your little if you’re thinking of attempting a long portage like the one to Louisa. Having portaged with little ones many times,I found the shorter the portage the better. The 3 km portage to Louisa is easy to many, but not so much for small kids. There’s still lots of places with rocks, at times slippery which makes it easy for kids to  trip. mud if it’s been raining and if they fall or throw a temper tantrum it could be a long haul.There shorter legs can’t go fast as you and in case you do a double it would mean 9 km, even if you carry a child back the 3 km, it would mean 6 km of walking for him/her if you’re carrying a load.
My preference would go to Rock -Pen-Clydegale. Clydegale has an island with a nice campsite. Pen lake has lots of good campsites and all portages are short.
Pen lake also has a lovely waterfall, for an afternoon of fun.
I’d also like to recommend the Shall lake access point, although it’s quite far
, well beyond the east gate. Crotch lake has an island with sites, it’s great for kids, many sites have a sandy beach, and all are paddle in, no portaging. From there you can also go to Shirley lake, 1 km, wide Easy portage, big lake, island, campsites far apart. Or Booth lake, also many sites with beaches and 2 short portages.

Pen lake portage is only 375 m, easy, mostly just flat, some of it over wooden boards, which were in good shape a few years ago. There’s a water spring along the portage for cool water, comes out of a small black pipe. Galeaerie is open to boats with a motor, campsites are heavily used we found, ( did this as a day trip) as boats with motors have access to them. When the wind is up galeairy past squaw point was quite the paddle.
The portage from rock to galeairy is just around a wide dam, very short.
We liked pen and glydegale as campsites are nicely spaced, some quite large, but most of all I got a nice reasonably relaxed trip, as nothing was very difficult or far, or became too boring for the kids. If you stay on Pen lake, a short day trip back to Rock Lake and walking the Booths trail is a neat adventure for a kid. You can access the trail from Rock Lake by canoeing to the old estate along the water, it climbs a hill with a fantastic rock ledge that gives you a view of the surrounding area. I’m not a 100 percent certain but I think it’s about 5 km of hiking. Ask about it at the access point where you get your permit.
A bit controversial , but I found the campsite across from the end of Rock Lake- Pen portage a great one  for kids,as it has the waterfall beside it and gave them hours of entertainment. However, the site being across at the end from the portage meant a lot of people/ canoes came by.
Not sure if you have gone to the algonquinadventures.com  website, it has a tab for PCI, where people post pics of campsites they have been to, from all over Algonquin. Have a look at them and see if the lakes you’re interested in have some pictures.

papabear wrote:

The PCI info is great!  Thanks for the suggestion and the info on the portage.

Just got back from SAIL and MEC.  Shelves are pretty bare. 

Are they ever!  I'm trying to find some pretty basic stuff (fuel canisters, seam sealer, etc.) and for many items they have no stock in store or even online...
 

papabear wrote:

...It's just me and my little one (9 years old)...

 
9 years old. I think the kid could walk. My almost 3 year old handles steep and rough terrain with surprising agility and she easily manages several hundred meters without a break and many times that if she is inspired or excited.

Make sure her gear is a good fit and lightweight.  The rule of carrying up to 1/3 of your body weight is intended for adults.  For the average nine year old, I wouldn't go above 20 or maybe 25% of their body weight.  If her pack is a child's size and design, that should be quite manageable.  

I'd also make sure the pace is comfortable for her and take as many breaks as needed - as well as having some nice treats she enjoys, a few creature comforts (lightweight chair) and activities as well (i.e. swimming, reading, games, etc.).  Those things go a long way towards making the experience a positive one.