Algonquin Adventures / First Solo, first trip report.

**Posted by Treater** 6/26/2016 4:26 pm

My destination was Namakootchie Lake, out of Canoe lake access. Black portages and campsites. and not a single person was what I was looking for.
I left the night before from London, and planned to crash in my van in Huntsville where I could grab breakfast and coffee and still be at Canoe Lake before the office opened.
They called for beautiful weather all weekend,

so I left the windows open for the night. Low and behold at three am I heard and felt rain. When I got up to close the windows I realized I was parked beside a set of sprinklers! Doh! Not a good start so far.
Up at 5:30am for breakfast.
And into the park.
Just past the Whiskey Rapids Trail this awesome sight! Woohoo! This is how you start a trip!
Here's my new to me canoe, ready to launch into a perfectly calm and already hot Canoe Lake.
In no time at all I was at my first portage
I skipped the 100m into Gill, then the big one.
Home for the next couple of nights was tiny, buggy, and didn't have much of a view. And it was glorious! I'd made it in about four hours and I was whipped. After setting up, I had a nap until sun and the heat woke me up. Then it was time for a swim. There is a perfect log dock to dive off of and I used it a lot over the weekend.
That night I heard what must of been wolves yipping near by. So cool! I was worried about getting to sleep but it turned out that I had no problem. Out like a light and slept for 10Hrs!?!
Saturday was pretty windy and I didn't feel like fighting it so I went fishing on the much smaller Medge Lake, behind the site I was on. If you want to know what the fishing was like you'll just have to go there and try it out.

I spent most of day relaxing and lots of swimming. The wind subsided as the sunset.
So out fishing I went.

My site is straight off the bow. You can see how closed in the site is.
One my friends that were keeping me company.

The second night while falling asleep I heard an owl. It sounded like it was right above my tent. Another awesome experience, for the first 10 minutes. After a while he flew off or quieted down and out in no time again.
Sunday morning I awoke to these guys lining the inside of my fly.

Today I was heading home. Up at 6:00am and packed and on the water by 7:00am. I was so refreshed in body and spirit that I only needed one rest along the long portage.

Cool looking nearly dry stream crossing the portage.
I made my way out in less than three hours. After a shower and a stop at the souvenir shop for t-shirts(gotta keep the family happy) I was on my way. Not long after hitting the highway, a lot of my peace and serenity were gone.

A normally 5 hour trip, took 6.5 hours. Argh!
While I love camping with my boys and my friends, I'm now hooked on soloing. I can't wait to get back there alone.

**Posted by kellycamps** 6/26/2016 5:42 pm

Great trip report Treater. Love the shot of the moose - awesome sighting! The park is a great place to catch up on sleep eh? 👍

K

http://www.youtube.com/user/kayakcamper · **Posted by Uppa** 6/27/2016 6:16 am

Solo tripping is hard to give up once you try it. Congrats!

**Posted by DanPM** 6/28/2016 7:17 am

Cool report, I like the canoe bow photos. The stream crossing the portage looks like it has a paved road. What's the canoe model?

Oh and how were the portages, being "low maintenance" ones as they are?

Last edited by DanPM (6/28/2016 7:19 am)

**Posted by Jdbonney** 6/28/2016 7:32 am

great sounding, and looking, trip.

**Posted by dontgroandaddy** 6/28/2016 8:51 am

That is such an awesome report, and looks like you had a great trip. Congratulations! I've got my first solo planned for September, and now you've got me all excited about it.

That hard smack of reality when you hit traffic coming home is not a pleasant one. Anytime I get back in the car after camping I have to roll the windows down no matter the weather because it feels so stifling.

**Posted by Treater** 6/30/2016 9:40 am

Thanks guys.
@DanPM The canoe is a Swift Algonquin. At 39lbs it is nearly half the weight of the old goldenglass Algonquin I was tripping with. It made single carrying solo, possible for me. The low maintenance portages were not nearly as bad as I was anticipating. A few blowdowns but nothing too severe. The portage from Drummer to Namakoothcie dissapears once in awhile but was not difficult to pick up again.
@dontgroandaddy Good Luck! You're gonna love it!

**Posted by MartinG** 6/30/2016 10:02 am

Great trip to a nice quiet part of the park! Congrats on your first solo. You made me pencil in Medge Lake as a place to check out. Haha!

**Posted by Methye** 7/01/2016 10:12 pm

Great report. Thanks for posting it!

**Posted by Algonquintripper** 7/03/2016 4:39 pm

Congrats!
They say you always remember your first!

What length of a paddle did you use and how did it work for you?

**Posted by Treater** 7/05/2016 10:48 am

I'm not exactly sure about the length. Somewhere around 6'. I built an extension piece that put it somewhere around 7' but I found I didn't really need it. I love the double blade so much that I bring it when tandem, for the bow paddler. Using it solo, the wind was much less a factor. I did miss the feel of the wood paddle when all was calm, but everything was a trade off when deciding how much weight I wanted to carry.