John McClane wrote:
Where we you headed ultimately? I spend a lot of time on Rock but that direction doesn't look very sexy on the map (probably my lack of imagination) but would love to hear what I'm missing out on!
We were headed to Fork Lake for the night. It's a fine route, not spectacular. Gordon Lake is pretty generic, as is Jean Lake. The portage out of Gordon up to Rock Creek was one of the most overgrown portages I've come across in the Park. Which is weird, because it's like three kilometers from an access point. I liked Rock Creek. Or, more accurately, I liked the first half of Rock Creek. It's fairly open and while there are a few beaver dams, it feels like a quick enough paddle and the scenery is very nice. There's a P55 about two thirds of the way to Jean Lake. After that portage, I liked Rock Creek a lot less. It was very shallow as we were going through (mid September) and we did more dragging than paddling. I quite liked Fork Lake. The island site in the south end is a good one and you feel like you're much further into the backcountry than you actually are (you can see the Visitor's centre from the north end of Fork). All in all, I'm glad I did the route, but I don't think I need to do it again.
That's the Coles Notes. If you want more detail/pictures, I did a write up on the route here:
https://allofalgonquin.com/2021/10/13/pinetree-lake-loop/
