Algonquin Adventures / Tom Thomson with my daughter

**Posted by AlgonquinLakes** 7/31/2019 8:12 pm

I've had a pretty quiet July. I tore my hamstring pretty badly at the end of June and it put me out of commission for most of the month. The good news is that it seems to have healed up pretty well. I was able to get out with my daughter to Tom Thomson for an overnight last week and I'm still walking. I've got a report up now over at my blog and just booked a two nighter to Pinetree Lake in a couple of weeks, so looking forward to getting back out there.

For now, here's the report on Tom Thomson. http://allofalgonquin.com/2019/07/31/a-night-on-tom-thomson/

**Posted by scratchypants** 8/01/2019 5:25 am

I'll be on Pinetree with my nephew Aug 23rd.

**Posted by oldboyscout** 8/01/2019 8:33 am

Very nice!! I'm happy to hear your daughter had a good time

**Posted by IanTendy** 8/01/2019 9:11 am

Great report, hope your leg feels better soon! That looked nasty.

**Posted by PaPaddler** 8/01/2019 10:43 am

I suffered a similar injury once but, in a strange twist, it was while canoe-tripping and it prevented me from playing softball for a while. Jumped off of a pile of driftwood on the upstream end of an island onto a mud-flat on the Susquehanna River. I even eyeballed it for a moment before I jumped to analyze the amount of gravel/dirt - it didn't look too slippery and looked like enough traction. Unfortunately, I did a split and wailed like a little girl. At the end of the day we had about an hour car ride home...I was virtually in tears with the pain of getting out of the vehicle after it stiffened up. Still bothers me to this day and it's been a good 10 or 15 years ago that it happened.

**Posted by MooseWhizzer Dave** 8/01/2019 12:05 pm

Fun report - sounds like you had a great time. I've only been on Thomson once, and just for a few minutes to say I had been there, but it doesn't surprise me the further-away sites were open. It is such a long paddle from the access point (to me anyway), I have to think most people are all in by the time they see the welcoming orange sign on a tree. You broke up your paddling a little bit with stops here and there, and that's probably the way to do it.

That hamstring....I guess you know what projectile tears are now. I showed it to a woman I work with, and she said "at some point, you have to stop playing sports." My sports started drawing to a conclusion when my son was a toddler and we'd play mini-stick hockey in the kitchen. I bled through socks a couple of times and he sent some toenail segments flying when I didn't wear socks. If he were bigger I would have sent him through the boards, but eventually I wised up and retired from mini-sticks.

**Posted by AlgonquinLakes** 8/03/2019 7:52 pm

@scratchypants - Awesome. Will that be your first time on Pinetree? If not, do you have a preferred site?

@oldboyscout - Thanks! So am I. She's been on a few trips with me now and I think I've done a good job of getting her hooked on it.

@IanTendy - Thank you. The leg is doing much better. I basically just get twinges here or there, not much different than a regular muscle pull at this point.

@PaPaddler - Yeah, it's no fun. I don't think I ever could have imagined the feeling of the hamstring splitting until it actually happened. Like an elastic that's been pulled too far apart. For me the pain was pretty much instant. I had to drive myself home from the game and that was not a pleasant experience.

@MWD - I am happy to report that I have officially retired from softball. And basically any other sport that could potentially stop me from paddling for a month ever again.

**Posted by scratchypants** 8/03/2019 10:27 pm

Not been to Pinetree before. The trip is a quick there-and-back to Sylvia to see how the lad (he's 18) likes it.

**Posted by GordK** 8/06/2019 12:57 pm

Thanks Drew, amusing as always. I must say the leg pictures and poop descriptions were a bit gross. I understand that Billy Ray did a remake or guest appearance on Old Town Road -- maybe we're on the cusp of a Billy Ray revival (yikes).

Looking forward to the Pinetree report as I was thinking about for the fall. The 2km hike seems intimidating for a family camp full of gear so would appreciate any/all descriptions of the trail and the sites, especially the 2 not in the PCI. The one site that Barry stayed on and inventoried looks a little small for our family.

**Posted by BarryB** 8/06/2019 3:59 pm

I remember the campsite nearest the incoming portage as being upon a rock ledge well above the landing. I also remember the third campsite as being high upon a treed rock "dome" with a considerable grade up from the landing. And yes, the site I stayed at was quite small and also had a rock ledge access. None of them are ideal for families, particularly with smaller children.

Here's a shot I took way back in 2003 of the "middle" campsite looking way down to the lake ...

And, there's a tiny photo of the third campsite in Randy Borne's 2003 trip-log .. http://www.algonquinadventures.com/triplogs/rborn2.htm

* The portage has some sections with rocks like overturned soup-bowls .. and the put-in can be a log-fest depending on how the winter's ice has pushed the resident dead-heads and floaters.

**Posted by GordK** 8/07/2019 9:58 am

Thanks Barry. Pinetree does seem to feature a lot of sloping land - and scenic rock faces. Looking at the picture you included, might be able to get something sleep-able on the "middle" site. In at least one photo from Randy's trip log (Robert testing chair) it looks like there is a bit of flat grass beside their tent. So, some options. Maybe time to move everyone to hammocks : )

**Posted by boknows** 8/13/2019 9:22 am

As a possible side trip, go to Fraser and on to Sylvia Lake. There is (was) a huge rookery of herons with nests in tress on the island there Pretty amazingly scary when they take flight if you get too close to island while fishing.