Brilliant Killarney

Brilliant Killarney

We drove up to Widgawa lodge which is just outside Whitefish Falls. About a 6 hour drive from Waterloo. The lodge is on the western most edge of Killarney. Actually about a 3 hour paddle away from Killarney. I was very excited since I had booked the trip back in February. The crew that went was Jackie, Katie and Sarah, the Fischers and me. Unfortunately Janice couldn't join us because she couldn't get the time off from her new job.

When we arrived at the Widgawa lodge we were pleased to be housed in a pretty little 2 bedroom cabin with a living room and kitchen. The lodge had a main lodge, swimming pool and best of all a river that had huge water snakes and giant snapping turtles.

Widgawa Snakes Are The Biggest

We woke Thursday morning to a bountiful breakfast prepared by our hostess Heather. We all ate very heartily knowing it would be our last meal for a while until we were able to set up camp.

We canoed through Frood Lake for about 2 1/2 hours. Jackie and Theresa were in one canoe. Alan, Katie and Carly in another and Andy, Sarah and Emily in the last. We had a beautiful canoe ride through Frood Lake.

Alan's Repaired Canoe On Frood Lake

Cool Carly Canoeing

Next came the portage to Grace Lake. This was quite exhausting. Sarah and Emily feigned dehydration and managed to get out of portaging much gear. The portage was about 1 1/2 kms. We all managed but were at wits end when we finally got all of our geat to Grace Lake.

Grace Lake was as beautiful as I had remembered. But this time we had our canoes to explore the mythical islands. We had our pick of 3 wonderful campsites since there was noone else on the lake. We picked a picturesque campsite that overlooked a tiny island which was well within swimming distance for the girls.

Next we set up camp and had a tough time finding anything remotely flat especially since I know had my massive 6 man tent.

That night we slept to a mystical full moon which from my tent was visible most of the night over one of the quartzite peaks of the hills. We also heard loons and owls for a good part of the night.

Girls on a Hike on Grace Lake
 
Alan in Heaven

The next day we had decided to do the 2 km hike to Nelly Lake. Nelly is known for the highest visibility in the park because sadly it is a dead lake. Nelly is surrounded mostly by quartzite shoreline and as a result isn't able to fight the acid rain from Sudbury nickle mines as well as the other granite shored lakes of Killarney. The water however is wonderful for swimming. Opening your eyes in the water was a magical experience as you were presented with a brilliant aquamarine blue like I've never seen before.

We picked a stunning spot for lunch which was at the first campsite on a little peninsula just near the entrance to Nelly. Andy challenged me to a gunnel bobbing competition which I quickly lost and the girls were so entranced by Nelly Lake that we couldn't get them out of the water when it was time to go.

Nelly Girls!

We came back to a wonderful campfire meal cooked by Andy. We cooked while the kids picked a desert of wonderful wild blueberries from the top of the quartzite hills. In about 20 minutes the girls had picked enough blueberries to fill us all for desert.

Kack Picks Some Desert

We had another wonderful night with fantastic animal sounds. The next morning we awoke bright and early. Jackie shot up at around 5:30 and I thought wow is she energetic. I heard her out swimming just as the sun was coming up. Tired as I was I had to measure up to my mother so I dragged my tired butt out of bed and dove in the refreshing lake. When we were drying off I asked Jackie why she had gotten up so early. Her response was that my alarm went off as it always does at 5:30. I am so used to sleeping through it that it doesn't wake me but when Jackie heard it she thought it was more like 6:30. Anyways this got us going on an early start to the day which we needed in order to make the trip back.

The Relaxed Passenger

The trip back was fast paced. We were on a timeline to get back in time to get groceries and meet darling Sue Sue at the ferry. We portaged the gear back and on the way we met 2 couples who were so impressed by our portaging girls that they offered us their cabin for lunch. This was a welcome resting spot since we were battling a strong headwind. We rested for lunch at the cottage and then continued on back to Widgawa Lodge.

Jackie Portaging

All in all a fantastic trip! I only wish we could have added one more day to our stay in the park.

Group Shot at Campsite at Nelly