Algonquin Trip May 24 Weekend 2009

Canoeing on Rock Lake


Rock Wall on Rock Lake


Day 0 Rock Lake
We drove up late after work on Thursday and arrived at Rock Lake at around 11:00. Andy's truck was on empty as we drove into the campsite. This was problematic as there was no gas station within 30 k of where we were. However we put this behind us and setup camp at Rock Lake. It was a beautiful cold night about -2 and clear. There was a full moon out and it glittered off of Rock Lake.

Day 1 Journey to Welcome Lake
Brad cooked us up a nice breakfast the next morning on the small 1 person camping pot set that Eric brought along for the 4 of us :). We sifted through our gear determined to only take what we absolutely needed. Eric suggested we share a tube of tooth paste which I promptly forgot and so we were left without toothpaste for the entire 4 day trip.


Put in on Little Madawaska River

We put in at little Madawaska River (not the white water one). This meandering river flows into Rock Lake. The weather to rise to a beautiful 18 degrees. We paddled past the pristine rock walls of Rock Lake, everyone enjoyed their first paddle of 2009. Brad and I had travelled on Rock lake many times before and were pretty familiar with the route so we were easily able to find the first portage to Penn Lake. For this trip we had to do a large number of long portages so we decided to practice doing the portage in one trip. This meant carrying a big pack on the front and on the back which the guy with the canoe had to take a pack on their back.


Brad studying his Rocks on Rock Lake

After the portage we entered Penn Lake. This is a familiar lake to Brad and I since we had canoed here to camp with the kids twice before. We paddled past some of our favourite campsites until we go to the Galligeo River. This is more like a marsh with a small channel nestled in the middle of it. The challenge is to find your way through to the portage location. Because the water was higher in the springtime we had no problem getting through the stream. The portage was beside the Galligeo Falls. These were the same falls that Sarah had dunked her head in while we were here previously. Had she done it this time around, she would have been swept into the falls as the flow of water was much greater than it had been prevously. We had lunch at the top of the falls.


Portage at Penn Lake


Favourite Penn Lake Campsite

After lunch we portaged to Welcome Lake. This was a killer 2.5 km portage. We packed our gear up so that we could make it in 1 trip. Eric and Bradley (beavertail) were loaded up with canoes and 1 pack each while Andy and I did the double pack. This was quite a challenge. To top it off, there was huge amounts of deadfall trees blocking the path. Eric and Brad managed to manouvre with the canoes around the deadfall and managed to portage the canoes the whole way to Welcome Lake which was quite a feat but I'm sure it crushed their C9 vertebrae.

At Welcome Lake we were so hot from the portaging that we disrobed and went for a swim in the frigid but refreshing water. This was enough to scare the other portagers away from the beautiful beach area. We all managed to get under for a brief second before getting out of the water and drying off.



Welcome Lake Beach Campsite

We then paddled to a beautiful beach site on Welcome Lake where Eric setup his tunes and we sat and talked out on a nice granite table rock that split 2 sandy beaches.



Listening to tunes on Welcome Lake Rock


Day 2 Welcome to Frank Lake

We awoke the next morning to rain. We got in the canoes and paddled through Harry Lake. From Harry we passed through a beautiful river brimming with Speckled Brook trout. We were canoeing against the current so we could see them all swimming beneath us as we canoed by. This brought out the angler in Brad and we vowed to return after setting up camp on Frank Lake. We paddled through Rence Lake to Frank where we had the only campsite on the lake. This was beautiful but just large enough for 2 tents and pretty exposed to the wind which howled through the site. After setting up camp Brad and I headed back to the river with Brad's fishing rod to try to catch dinner. On arriving at Rence river, Brad cast his rod in 3 times and then nailed a beautiful Speckled trout. The problem was bringing it into the boat as we had no net. Brad attempted to bring the trout into the boat without the net but of course the fish was too heavy and broke the line. After that we spent 3 more hours without any single nibble. We headed back to Frank Lake without dinner :(.



Rence Lake just after Speckled Trout River


When we arrived back, Eric and Andy had setup an amazing tarp which was perfect for blocking the wind. We had a nice meal and went to sleep. That night it got quite cold as it dropped to -5.



Andy Fischer "Tarp Master"


We woke the next morning and set off to Louisa. We had a 1.7 km portage which Andy and I did and Brad and Eric took the packs. We made it to Lake Louisa where the wind was howling at aroun 50-60 kms. We got out on the lake and the waves were challenging to canoe with but thankfully they were at our back. When we got out into the open, we had to make a point to point crossing. This was difficult with the waves at our back. Brad and I made the point to point crossing as did Andy and Eric with the wind at our backs. We continued on until we found a campsite that was sheltered from the wind. Because the water was so cold and the wind was so strong, I was more nervous on this lake than I'd been on any of our white water trips.



Sunrise on Lake Louisa

We found a beautiful site on Louisa and setup camp there. We then went on a hike up the hill from the campsite and saw some evidence of Algonquin clearcutting which is a shame.



Clearcutting in Algonquin

Day 3 Louisa Lake to Rock Lake



Nirvana

The next morning we awoke to another frigid but beautiful morning. The water was like glass and the sun was out and steam was rising off Lake Louisa. We journeyed to the portage which was our longest yet. It was 2.7 km distance portage. Thankfully we'd eaten our food. Eric and Brad ... the work horses ... took the canoes again and we did the portage in one trip. This was another challenging portage. We got to Rock Lake and then continued on to our car.



Rippling Water

We loaded up Andy's truck and then prayed for gas fumes to take us to the closest gas station. We saw a moose along the way and thankfully made it to the gas station at canoe lake.

All in all it was a wonderful experience.



Group shot after Louisa to Rock portage