Start Date ...July 2
End Date...Aug 16
Total Nights...46

Prologue...

Yes I know 46 nights is not my legacy 125 nights I had planned.  Yes, I really, really know and not impressed with the way my trip went.  It started off with covid hitting me, then a bad cold, then a severely arthritic left knee, then total energy, and finally MR WIND.
If I now have your attention, grab a beverage and get comfy  as this is a long trip log.  If not just curse MR WIND for me!  That will make me extremely happy

The Beginning.....

July 2 .... A few days after schools out for summer and my part-time job driving special needs students to and from school over, I am off to Sec Lake for the start of my originally planned 125 consecutive nights legacy trip.  Then covid started on day 2 on Sec.  On day one I felt great and on day two I felt miserable, i.e. headache, fever, zero energy, and no desire to do anything but like down and rest.  I felt miserable for five more nights, then felt good enough to leave Sec for Cedar.    No more covid but stupidity had taken its place.  On my canoe ride to access point I had a terrible thought.  Did I bring my car fob with me?    My memory hadn't been good since covid.  I decided I must have packed it and off I paddled.

Upon reaching access point, the search began, began, and then began again for my fob!  NO FOB!
I canoed back to my site and searched every square inch but no fob could be found.  Canoed again back to access point in a not too pleasant mood and the 4th search began of my gear for my fob.  NO FOB!!! 

Really, after 60 years of interior camping I have no fob or car keys and my cell phone in my car.  And I live in Ottawa...what the hell do I do now????  I was totally mentally and physically spent and totally depressed.  I was unable to think rationally so I decided to camp on the site real close to access point that I could walk too.    I then could rest and hopefully come up with a viable solution.

I got all my gear to campsite and started putting up my tent.  My tent went up easier than usual .  I went inside and the sun came out in shining force in my mesh tent and my eye caught something shining.  MY FOB!!!  HALLELUJAH!!!  I swear you could have heard my excited yell all the way back home.  Fob was lying in a corner of the tent where my wallet was.  Depression now gone!!!  I don't know how I could have missed this but I did .
I stayed the night and next morning started my long drive to Cedar.

I arrived to see a float plane landing and taking off with some rangers.  I also saw float planes on Kioshkokwi and Opeongo.  As usual the wind was from the west and changed my plan on Aura Lee.  With MR WIND at my back and sometimes sideways, I had a not so fun canoe paddle down Cedar.  I eventually found a campsite on a big Island (the only campsite on it) which had a terrible landing that was up a small mountain to a very flat and spacious site .  This was late in the day, my cold was draining my energy and I was tired and hungry.  A quick dinner and in tent for the night around 8 pm.  I always have problems sleeping and awoke around 2 am and couldn't get back to sleep.  I turned on my $9.99 battery operated tent lantern, found my small transistor radio (with earphones) and was introduced to a radio show called Coast to Coast which turned out to be a paranormal, ufo, bigfoot, conspiracies station on every night from 2 am to 5 am.    I listened until show was over and fell back to sleep until 7 am.  Once outside tent I noticed another trail up a bigger mountain.  At the top .... WOW...what a view of all of Cedar.  It had another camping spot for tent and another firepit.  It was so spectacular that I spent every night of my 5 days here until dark watching everyone canoeing and everything happening on Cedar.

Ok ..so now I have had covid, a bad cold, a severely arthritic left knee, zero energy and if course my fob issue.  Now it is my departure time from this site and MR WIND time again.  And boy was MR WIND ever waiting for me for my canoeing back up Cedar.  This paddle was the worst I have ever done solo in my life.  Whitecaps in front, back, sideways and at times all sides and side ways.    How I never dumped was a miracle.  I even made it too shore once and stopped for around 30 minutes as I finally found it too dangerous to paddle.  Finally a lull in the wind happened and I paddled as hard as I could even without any energy for close to 3 hours.  Yes....3 hours on angry Cedar.  Total paddling time from my island campsite to campsite next to Portage over catfish mountain was 5 1/2 hours against the worst windy conditions I have ever paddled in.    To say I was mentally and physically exhausted is a great understatement.  I had basically enough energy to put up tent and crawled into tent to lay down around 7 pm.  I eventually fell asleep and woke up at 2 am to listen to Coast to Coast again.   Once show over I decided to crawl out of tent and gather some firewood in the dim daylight and started a small fire.    The real morning came quickly and what a gorgeous day developed and no MR WIND the entire day.  Go figure!!!

I spent 2 nights here and in the morning I decided to outsmart MR WIND and started my way to access point around 5:30 am.  However MR WIND had other plans for me and after halfway across MR WIND woke up and I ended my Cedar Lake experience trying to not dump again with huge waves broadsiding me but this time it was Bo 1 and MR WIND 0.

Left Cedar around 8 am and headed for Kioshkokwi for 17 nights .  This was my biggest stupidity mistake.  It was after the first few days at Kiosk with more wind, huge waves and now torrential rain.  I hate to say it, but I just quit.  I had had enough and thankful to still be safe and alive.  My legacy trip will have to wait for another year.    This is what happened next!

I arrived at Kiosk on July 13 and facing crosswinds again, I made it under the old train bridge and canoed to the site I wanted as I had camped there before.  It is the 2nd site on your left after going under the train bridge.  It is a very level easy access to site and very spacious too.  I had a relaxing day and managed to get 4 hrs sleep that night.  If course I listened to Coast to Coast.  On my way to Kiosk, I forgot to pick up in Mattawa some important things like food and fuel and worms.  So next day on July 14 I went back to Mattawa (58 kms,) to make up for my stupidity the day before.  On my way out, Smedley ran into me at Park Office.  We chatted for a bit and seeing he was camping in campground with his daughter and her husband and another friend, it was agreed that I would drop in for a visit upon my return from Mattawa. 

I then drove to Mattawa, got what I needed (forgot worms again) and back to Kiosk and Smedley's campsite where I had a beverage and good conversation for about 2 hours.  MR WIND was picking up again and I knew a storm was forth coming from a weather advisory at Park Office.  So I bade my farewell and out on the lake again to take on MR WIND.  Luckily it was somewhat of a tailwind and I got back to my site safely and in good time.

I made sure my tarp was fastened good as well as my tent fly for the aforementioned storm that was approaching.    Then a little rain and a little wind and then all hell broke loose.  He'll started with MR WIND ripping down my tarp and then ripping my tent fly off my tent.    The little rain turned into torrential rain accompanied by 100 kms wind for about 20 minutes.  Everything in tent was now soaked.  I tried to put fly back on tent but MR WIND had other ideas and blew stronger.  I then decided to take refuge in the forest to no avail .  Now I was being pummelled by small pebbles and acorns that hurt so I grabbed my camp chair and got into my soaked tent.  When storm finished I had over 1 inch of rain in my roofless tent and my campsite was a mess with a few trees down.    Like I said this was early afternoon and the sun came back out.  I managed to dry totally soaked clothes and sleeping bag to just wet and damp which made for a very uncomfortable and chilly night.    The next 2 days were sunny and no MR WIND so I managed to get everything dry and campsite cleared of the mess.  However there is a small swamp to the left of my site and the rain brought out tons of mosquitos again.  I played a game called Killing Mosquitos Flying with my Repellent but gave up after killing around 50 and headed for my tent for respite as they seemed to be getting angry at me.  I spent the entire day and night in my tent, retiring there at 1 pm in the afternoon. 

So on July 18 I started making plans to get the hell off Kioshkokwi and camp elsewhere.  However it dawned on me that I had booked until July 26 so I just stayed.  I started to think about next camping on Canisbay, Rock, Opeongo or Galeairy.  I finally left Kiosk on July 27 with destination being Canisbay paddle in sites.  I got lost somehow in North Bay and was headed for Timmins until I realized my mistake.  I was on highway 11N instead of 11S.  Duh!!!  Back on track I arrived in Huntsville around noon.  I then proceeded to Walmart for more groceries for the next 11 days.  I heard on radio that the LCBO strike was over so found a store and bought 4L red wine in cardboard box and 2lastic bottles of Smirnoff for emergency situations only....which were many .

I was still good hour from Canisbay and it was around 3 pm.  I arrived at Canisbay Park office to discover all paddle in sites were booked.  However, the south arm of Opeongo had availability for my next 11 nights.  I arrived at Opeongo around 5 pm and at store bought some bass lures, a new FOAP map that MR WIND destroyed at Kioshkokwi my previous map.  I knew I had to hurry as daylight was fading fast.  I wanted to get past Bates Island BUT MR WIND was blowing fiercely down Sproule Bay.    Then lo and behold I spotted an empty site right across from the store so I said what the hell, and proceeded to claim it.    I only took over necessities for the night and would come back in the morning for my other stuff.  This sites access to was even worse than my island site on Cedar.  It is the worst access I have ever had the privilege to do.  It is so treacherous with slippery rocks with weeds growing on them that ti be safe, you have to get knee deep in the water to load and unload your canoe up another small mountain to a spacious site.

I stayed here for 3 nights and then made my way up Opeongo to the best site I have ever camped on across from Bates Island on your left going up Opeongo.  Only drawback was the water taxis and all motorboats go past your site.
The site is separated by a gray area on one side for your tent and the other side for a table, firepit and 2 broom for clearing another tent site and a thunderbox up another mountain.

On my 11th day on Opeongo I canoed back to access point ,(about an hour paddle), checked the weather forecast and decided to book another 3 nights rather than breaking camp and camping elsewhere for my final 3 nights on this trip   

I finally said a sad goodbye to this gorgeous site and my fellow chipmunks on Friday, August 16 and canoed back to access point across a tranquil and serene Opeongo Lake.

THE END