Algonquin Adventures / Three "end of summer" father, brother, and son trips

**Posted by shaggy** 1/24/2018 10:55 pm

Hello All!

Long time lurker, first time 'poster' here. During the past few winters I've read through pretty much all of of the trip logs available through the site and forums, so I figured the next step would be to contribute a little to what has helped me a great deal. I've been thankful for this resource and community for some time.

Here are the write-ups of three trips that we've taken at the end of each summer over the past three years. My brother and I were fortunate enough to be part of a group of 'father and sons' that completed week long trips in our 'tween' and 'teen' years. As my own child began to show some interest we decided to try once again. This annual end-of-summer trip has become a bit of a tradition now, and something we all look forward to.

As I wrote things out based on some notes we had kept the entries became quite wordy, but I've left them as is. Hopefully the content isn't too self-indulgent...

The first trip was taken in 2015, where we try things out after a long time away from canoe tripping. It is a two night trip out of the Magnetawan access point.
http://themasonfamily.ca/algonquin/our-return-to-algonquin-park.html

The second trip is from 2016. This was a week long trip also out of the Magnetawan access point, visiting a few familiar places as well as covering lots of new territory for the three of us.
http://themasonfamily.ca/algonquin/late-summer-2016-trip.html

This past year's trip was another week long, covering almost all new territory to us, starting and ending at the Cedar Lake access point.
http://themasonfamily.ca/algonquin/late-summer-2017-trip.html

We're currently looking for a route for this summer (2018)...

Thanks again everyone!
Sean

**Posted by ATVenture** 1/25/2018 8:09 am

I just read #1 and half of #2. Leaving in a few minutes to go ice fishing so I'll read more tomorrow.
I'm so glad you posted these! I've been having a very bad case of 'cabin fever' lately, so this will help satisfy the itch (or make it stronger). Very good write up and photos, by the way! I hope you continue to do trip logs in the future!

Quick question - How did you like the canoe from Basecamp? I think I may have been working when you guys came in and picked up your gear but I was off when you finished your trip.
Cheers,
Andrew

**Posted by oldboyscout** 1/25/2018 10:03 am

Great report and excellent pictures!!
Thanks

**Posted by Peek** 1/25/2018 10:57 am

Shaggy - I've only read the 3rd one so far, but man oh man, I really enjoyed it. Writing and pics are great - thanks for posting these - can't wait to read the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/user/kayakcamper · **Posted by Uppa** 1/25/2018 3:20 pm

Read two of them this morning and the last one just now. Really enjoyable stuff - thanks for posting!

I'm glad your son was willing to give it another shot after that first outing. A bad experience on a first trip can easily mean it's also the last trip. I have a friend I took into Algonquin once, and on that trip the bugs were absolutely brutal. That was 8 years ago and he still won't consider going camping with me again.

But mostly I was thinking about my daughter. She's still very young, but when the time comes I'll be desperately trying to ensure her first interior trip is a super fun experience - and even so, bad weather or just bad luck could make her hate it, and then I'd have to give her up for adoption.

**Posted by Dead_Weight (DW)** 1/25/2018 4:05 pm

Hey Sean ... I don't think there's ever too much detail in a trip report this time of year ... all good reading.

man ... you guys cover some serious ground ... great routes ...

I have two girls ... 9 and 11 and they are almost at an age where they can so more serious paddling .. .I said they could I didn't say they would ! They love the park though .. fishing, swimming and wildlife.

You reports are inspiring for those with rug rats !!

**Posted by AlgonquinLakes** 1/25/2018 4:35 pm

Hey Sean,

I’ve only read number three so far, but really enjoyed it. Great writing and so many great pics. Loved the shots of Radiant in particular, great reminder of the nicest weekend of the summer.

Drew

**Posted by AlgonquinLakes** 1/26/2018 12:02 pm

Just read # 2. Another great report. You take some fantastic pictures. Looking forward to seeing how it all began with the next one.

**Posted by shaggy** 1/27/2018 7:52 am

ATVenture wrote:
Quick question - How did you like the canoe from Basecamp? I think I may have been working when you guys came in and picked up your gear but I was off when you finished your trip.

Oh, we really like that Souris River 18.5. We've rented one two years in a row from Algonquin Basecamp now, and haven't seen anything else that we think would suit us better. We've been able to get it up and down some meandering rivers, and have now had it in some very choppy conditions, and have always remarked how well it handles wherever we've gone so far.

I believe it was you that helped us this past year. I was going to specify AA board name 'handles' in the write-ups, but wasn't sure if that was OK so I left things a bit vague.