Algonquin Adventures / May 2019: Kiosk to Birchcliffe Cabin

**Posted by Evan Briden** 7/05/2019 9:26 pm

Evening everyone!
Day three was a tough day for all three of us. It started out amazing, waking up warm and cozy in the cabin, and then the day quickly deteriorated into a seemingly endless grind of cutting, pulling, and ducking. Somehow I still managed to get enough speed on a beaver dam to dump myself into the surprising deep and cold Birchcliffe creek.

It is days like this where it can be hard to keep the cameras rolling and the spirits high, but looking back these days are some of the most vivid memories to share amongst friends.

Or in this case, share with you guys!

Day #3: https://youtu.be/Ym0z71qii8I

Enjoy and have a good weekend out there!

**Posted by solos** 7/10/2019 10:18 am

Wow, Birchcliffe Creek is intense. I guess that's why Jeff's Map recommends Loughrin Creek as always being easier. Question: weren't you freezing after dumping in that cold water?

**Posted by Evan Briden** 7/10/2019 11:25 am

solos wrote:
Wow, Birchcliffe Creek is intense. I guess that's why Jeff's Map recommends Loughrin Creek as always being easier. Question: weren't you freezing after dumping in that cold water?

Yeah, I ended up being in the water for 3-5 minutes, fishing my gear, bag and boat out from under the overhanging alder, handing everything to the other guys, and then pulling myself out. With the shock and adrenaline, it was numbingly cold but manageable... but once we got going on the creek again I got scary cold.

Luckily I dumped close to the only campsite on the creek, so shortly after this I was able to strip all of my wet top layers off and put on some dry clothes and do some jumping jacks.

It then started raining, which lasted well into the evening...

**Posted by MooseWhizzer Dave** 7/10/2019 4:39 pm

WOW that was incredible. It has to be frustrating as all get out to have your progress grind to a halt like that, plus dumping the boat! Lots of scary things to go with that too - hypothermia obviously, losing gear potentially, not really knowing the depth of the water, and on a creek like that, how easy it would be to get a foot or a leg pinned between branches/logs, etc. That last one makes me shiver - glad you came out of it ok. Your video shows a pretty good example of maintaining a level head in an emergency situation - well done.

**Posted by MartinG** 7/10/2019 6:38 pm

Off the list! That looked like hell.

**Posted by PaPaddler** 7/11/2019 8:14 am

Fortunate it was in a manageable area. Unfortunate about virtually everything else!

**Posted by SmedleyCo** 7/12/2019 8:32 am

MartinG wrote:
Off the list! That looked like hell.

What you talking about MartinG?? I told you on the Top to Bottom death march that this was going to be our route next spring. Totally remember you saying it would be great, looked like a fun trip.

**Posted by Peek** 7/14/2019 12:46 pm

Finally got a chance to watch part 3 uninterrupted - I gotta say, so far I am really digging this series. I'm particularly impressed with the general demeanor of your group. Regardless of the situation, you guys are calm and collected - even in the face of a springtime dunking.

Great stuff - looking forward to more!

**Posted by Evan Briden** 7/14/2019 1:06 pm

Thanks all for watching. This was one of our hardest trips to date so far, especially over a 4 day period but we had a decent idea going in as to how hard the route was going to be. This helped tremendously in keeping our cool and slogging along. The one thing that almost put us over the top though was the weather and the high water, which was not something we could prepare much for. Typically we go on a spring trip near the may long weekend, and get cool weather to very hot weather, but this year it seemed extra cold and wet (dumping doesn't help!).

I will post the You Tube link for the Day 4 video tonight.
Thanks again for watching!

May 2019: Kiosk to Birchcliffe Cabin - 4 Day Loop DAY 3

solos wrote:

MartinG wrote: