Algonquin Adventures / 8 Days Solo in September

**Posted by trippythings** 10/04/2020 3:27 pm

As many of you probably saw I had made a handful of threads while planning this trip. Initially I was going to loop around La Muir / Hogan / Catfish, but with some last minute changes (which always seem to happen), I ended up rebooking to do a there-and-back to Burntroot. I did a very similar route a few years ago except with that trip I came down through White Trout and Sunbeam.

Despite covering no new territory, and having some cold days, rainy days, and incredibly windy days, I still had an amazing time. It was the longest trip I've ever done by 1 additional day (yippee) and having a wolf jump out in front of me in the middle of a portage was definitely a highlight.

https://algonquinbeyond.com/trip-reports/8-days-solo-in-september/

I'll have a video ready as well in the next few days hopefully.

EDIT: Oh and there are 20 new campsite reports at the bottom too

Last edited by trippythings (10/04/2020 3:30 pm)

**Posted by MooseWhizzer Dave** 10/05/2020 8:42 am

It looks like it takes a lot more to make you windbound than it does to make me windbound. I don't know whether to be impressed or speculate on your career as a daredevil.

One word of advice - you need to have a little sit-down talk with your canoe. Once they realize that floating away from you and making you swim is a hilarious thing to do, they'll just keep doing it. Trust me. They respond well to cruel comparisons to other canoes you own: "You know, the ______________ would never do that, and I thought about taking it on this trip instead of you."

**Posted by tentsterforever** 10/05/2020 1:06 pm

You have a real nice way to get your emotions across in your trip report and your pictures are great!
Im sure you'll be bringing a rope next time to tie the canoe to something, saves the nerves and the worries.

**Posted by trippythings** 10/05/2020 4:54 pm

@Dave - thankfully I was already at camp during most of the bad winds, the only exception was the second last day going through Otterslide. That was crazy and I'm still not sure if I made the right decision to leave the site and paddle through it (even though I obviously ended up ok).

@Tentster - thank you, I really appreciate it. I actually do keep a rope tied to the front of the canoe for this purpose, it was just one of those "I'll be ok this one time if I don't tie it down" and it came back to bite me

**Posted by martin2007** 10/07/2020 8:23 am

Cody, congratulations on the beautiful work you've done on this report. Meticulous detail, enjoyable to read, lots of heart in it, and details that will be helpful to others who read it. And you, the traveller, will be left with excellent notes, pictures, and memory-aids as the years advance and you have an inventory of hundreds of trips behind you.
Thanks for sharing your report.

**Posted by trippythings** 10/07/2020 1:51 pm

Thank you Martin! Doing it so I have the memories to look back on is the reason I started writing trip reports. I love looking through pictures and videos from old trips and reliving those experiences

**Posted by MartinG** 10/08/2020 5:06 am

1. Nice Trip Report. Very well written and great pics. What camera are you using?

2. Leave the cell in the car. It's liberating. This is a personal pet peeve. Seems everyone I trip with is staring at their phone and checking for service. It sucks.

3. Scrunch.

Last edited by MartinG (10/09/2020 12:03 pm)

**Posted by BarryB** 10/09/2020 12:01 pm

I got to feeling cold just reading about that persistent wind! And those 'animated gifs' are a nice touch to the written trip-log.

**Posted by trippythings** 10/10/2020 5:52 pm

MartinG wrote:
1. Nice Trip Report. Very well written and great pics. What camera are you using?

2. Leave the cell in the car. It's liberating. This is a personal pet peeve. Seems everyone I trip with is staring at their phone and checking for service. It sucks.

3. Scrunch.

Thanks. Combo of DSLR, GoPro, and iPhone.

I was going to take your advice re #2 but then I saw your #3 so decided it's best not to take your advice

Last edited by trippythings (10/10/2020 5:52 pm)

**Posted by trippythings** 10/10/2020 5:53 pm

BarryB wrote:
I got to feeling cold just reading about that persistent wind! And those 'animated gifs' are a nice touch to the written trip-log.

Thanks - it was my first time using GIFs in a report but I like it, it helps convey some things (like crazy winds) that pictures just cant give justice

**Posted by EddyTurn** 10/13/2020 8:02 am

Very enjoyable reading, thank you. I can closely relate to it at least on two occasions for I experienced both an early May swim after a runaway canoe on Burnt Island and the Anchor site in stormy weather - and I didn't have a tent to retreat to, only a tarp. This site is very nice in calm weather, but calm weather doesn't happen on Burntroot that often. The site on the opposite tip of the island is much calmer, though not as picturesque. Do you use InReach for your weather forecasts? I do and I find them sometimes unreliable. Plus InReach customer service doesn't know anything about a way these forecasts work. How one supposed to interpret "Heavy rain, 0% probability" and how the hell is it different from "No precipitation"?l

**Posted by trippythings** 10/13/2020 1:24 pm

Thanks Eddy; wow basically the exact same thing for both scenarios! I've only been to Burntroot twice (both times stayed at Anchor Island) and the first time was literally the same day of the year, just a few years prior, and it was 25 and sunny with no wind at all.

I've used the InReach weather forecasts before, but this year I had cell service frequently enough that I was able to have someone back home give me a more accurate update. I agree that they're unreliable; it said "light wind 10km" one day that I was watching white cap waves from my campsite on White Trout.

Not surprised that Garmin customer support isn't very helpful for that specifically since the weather is just pulled in from a separate platform that they've integrated with, Dark Sky. There's some basic FAQ here: https://support.garmin.com/en-CA/?faq=y82JG5z3rt8cg21ARUw0N8

8 Days Solo in September - Canoe to Burntroot and back

MartinG wrote:

BarryB wrote: