One lifer checked !
Lifer - a term used by birding community, meaning a new bird first observed by someone. I borrow it for experiencing something/someplace the very first time.
The lifer this time is what I haven't done before - sleeping in a car overnight.
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Subaru's back seat isn't long enough for us to lie all straight, so we need to figure out a way to extend the seating area. My wife suggests to use an ironing board. It's such a brilliant idea, foldable, height adjustable and easy to transport in the vehicle.
Feels like Algonquin park is at our doorstep but somehow we haven't explored it like this time before. For a thanksgiving long weekend, the campsites are usually fully booked months ago. The only chance is to hope someone to cancel it, and I happen to be the first one to book it. It's risky but I have no choice.
I started to check weather forecast everyday. It differed from one day to the next, making me feel uncertain about the trip. Eventually, the time pressured me to make a decision on Thursday night. Somebody did cancel Mew Lake #80 and we decided to book it, but cut the trip from 3 days to 2 days to avoid the probable rainy last day.
Day 1:
Like usual, we got up very early to avoid highway traffic during long weekend. It was almost 2.5-hour driving. After buying a lunch package at Tim Hortons in Hunstville, we headed straight to the Canoe Lake beach area. Wow, there were so many people standing on the beach taking photos, viewing scenery, and there are so many canoes in the lake like I've never seen before.
We unloaded the canoe from the car roof, and I went into the Permit Office to check a few things. Unexpectedly, we noticed many cottages on the lake. At this time of the year, very few motorboats are still running. But it's not hard to image how busy it gets in the summer.
We kept paddling into Potter Creek until blocked by a beaver dam. Are beavers and human the only two creatures that know to transform the environment to their benefits?
While Canoe lake shows some Fall colors, when we paddled into Bonita Lake, there was only pine trees. So we decided to finish today's paddling and to drive to the campsite.
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| Mew Lake site 80: close to the lake, very far from the comfort station, under pine tree, also close to a potable toilet ;-( |
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| This is my lifer 🤣 |
Sleeping in a car isn't as bad as I thought although the night is as cold as a few degrees. We're well prepared with hand warmers and thick sleeping bags. Also the issue is with how to find a flat ground.
Day 2:
Since it's the last day in the park, we think we should squeeze as many things as possible, and not minding getting home late.
After eating some breakfast at the campsite, we drove to the beach of "Lake of Two Rivers". The lake and the mounts nearby shows some brilliant colors under blue sky break, making it a perfect time to take photos.
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| dramatic cloud over the lake and the mount |
Paddling through Madawaska River channel, the small Pog Lake was found surrounded by pine trees. We stopped at a small sandy beach near a boat launch, had some snacks. Giving up the plan to explore Madawaska River west side, we decided to paddle another lake - Canisbay Lake.
Stopped shortly at the store to buy some food, daunted by the crowd, we drove directly to Canisbay Lake beach.
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| snapshot in Canisbay canpground while waiting for the washroom |
The tree color is so bright in all Canisbay campground.
The easy side of the lake shows the most brilliant colors, so we made decision to paddle along the west side.
There are around 10 backcountry campsites in the lake. We checked some campsites, made notes and took pictures. Without portage, it's an easy canoe camping site candidate. Most sites were empty. On the farthest north side, we decided to check the portage trail, along with some body stretch, the portage is rather long, connecting with Minnesing Trail. I've never seen any portage trail this long, maybe 3 km.
Passing many rocks and board walk, we walked until Canibay Creek and made a return.
While returning to the beach, we had this urge to view sunset. So we decided to go to Track and Tower Trail. Before that, we drove to Cache Lake not far to help me remember the last time we visited it. Unfortunately, the only thing I remember is the portage through the highway 60.
It was rather late, around 5:30pm. The busiest spot in the park was gradually emptying out. We easily found one parking spot, and wanted to push our luck to see if we could get to the viewpoint before sun went down the treeline. Brought headlamp, we started the hike. The terrain isn't easy, with rocks and tree roots.
When we get to the cascade bridge, around half way. By evaluating the time, we didn't think we could make it to the top before sunset. So we stayed at the cascade to take some good photos. Some brave young people passed by, with stylish coat and shoes, so determined to make it to the top. On the way back to the parking lot, it got darker and darker, we were glad to have brought the headlamp.
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| Lake with two moons ;-) |
It was total dark at the parking lot around 7:30pm. On the way driving home. we had something to eat at Mcdonald's in Walmart, and got home around 11pm.
It was a packed trip with many new things. It was the trip I made a decision to make notes about the lifer in my life.
Takeaways:
1. Ontario parks require reservation even for day use and annual pass holder. Reserve at https://reservations.ontarioparks.ca/ to avoid disappointment at the gate.
2. Preregister your vehicle to avoid visiting the park office. You can save a lot of time.
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