Canoeing at Killarney - Day 3

Day three started off nicely. But, unlike the day before, it stayed nice. Brian and Emily #2 were up first. We heard them in the water swimming and Peter and I decided to join in. Since Emily #1 couldn't swim she stayed by the shore.

Like I mentioned before, the water was relatively warm. And, since there were only four campsites on Grey Lake, it was even more quiet and peaceful than Bell Lake. While in the water Peter and I even saw a loon swim unhurriedly by.

It was magical swimming/floating on our backs looking up at the pine trees and sky above. Just so relaxing. A brief while later I got the idea of wearing our life jackets in the water and floating around. This would allow Emily to join us (which she did). We bobbed up and down in the water for a good part of the morning. It was wonderful.

We packed and headed back to the parking lot shortly after 1:00 p.m. It didn't take us too long to get there. We did our last portage and were attacked by mosquitoes once again.

After returning their canoe to the outfitters, Emily #2 and Brian hit the road. We had to lash ours to the top of Peter's M3 before heading off.

We stopped at Burger Priest in Barrie for dinner. Before that we grabbed milkshakes at Kawartha Dairy to drink. Yummy, yummy.

The traffic was still pretty bad going south on the 400. Even at that time in the evening. I don't believe we got home until after 11:00 p.m. after dropping the canoe off at Peter's friend's place in Etobicoke.

The trips had its ups and downs. It was mostly the mosquitoes that annoyed us. So many bites. The canoeing was amazing. Just being on, or even in, the water was great. I'd surely do it again. Especially in a place like Killarney. So pleasant, so serene.

Canoeing at Killarney - Day 2

Our second day at Killarney started off well. The sun was shining and the skies clear. We took our time with breakfast and just hanging out before heading over to our next campsite at nearby Grey Lake. It was a short paddle to the 530-540 metre portage point from our first site.

At the beginning of the portage I thought I'd try carrying our canoe solo. It was Kevlar after all, so it's not as heavy as the ones from the olden days. Still, two-thirds the way through, I was dying. Dyyyying.

The paddle to our campsite on Grey Lake was pretty easy. It's no more than a kilometre and a half long. After passing on the first site we saw, we found a decent one around a kilometre from the end of the portage. We set up our tents and headed back out for a hike. We were going to Silver Peak.

It was a long day. Unfortunately we had to do the portage again since the beginning of the Silver Peak hike was at the far west end of Bell Lake. In total I believe we paddle around 10 kilometres (5 each way) and hiked about 8 kilometres (4 each way up and down the hill).

By the time we started the hike the skies had clouded over. When we reached the peak we could see rain in the distance. It caught up with us maybe an hour or so before we got back to the canoes. We pretty much paddled most of the way back to our Grey Lake campsite in the rain. Yuck.

The views from Silver Peak were decent. Besides the rain, the hike wasn't too bad either. Especially after doing Alberta last summer. Nothing here can compete with the steepness or the rocky terrain there. The third time doing the portage was pretty tiring. The mosquitoes along the way were relentless. As well, back at the campsite, they were ready to feast. It was miserable.

Brian and Emily #2 prepared Shepherd's Pie using mashed potato mix from Bulk Barn. We were pretty much famished from our daily activities that we happily wolfed it down. Afterwards Peter, Emily and I went for a quick paddle to catch the fleeting sunset before bedding down. This time we put the tent flies on turning them into sweaty saunas. So uncomfortable.

Canoeing at Killarney - Day 1

Peter, Emily, her friend, Emily, (yeah, I know...) and her husband, Brian, and I went up to Killarney Provincial Park to go camping and canoeing over the Civic Day long weekend.

I slept at Peter's place Friday night and he drove Emily and I. We met Emily #2 and Brian at the Barrie ONroute at around 9:30 Saturday morning and we continued together. Without traffic the drive is just over 4 hours. Being the long weekend, it was busier than normal though. We arrived at the park a bit past 2:30.

Peter had borrowed a canoe from his co-worker, while Emily #2 and Brian rented one from Killarney Kanoes (at the park). After doing the administrative work at the park office/store we headed out onto the lake.

Since it was a long weekend, the park was fully booked. We were unable to get one campsite for the two nights. Instead our first site would be on Bell Lake (where Killarney Kanoes is located). The second would be a 540 metre portage east on Grey Lake.

Each lake has a certain number of campsites. They're first come, first served. Though they only book enough reservations per lake to fill all the spots, no more. So you don't have to worry about not getting a site, just which one.

I think Bell Lake had at total eight campsites while Grey Lake had four. We paddled about 2 kilometres to find one we liked on Bell Lake. On Grey Lake we found a suitable one just over 1 kilometre from the end of the portage.

The Bell Lake campsite was really nice. At the tip of a short peninsula/island it had a nearly 180º view of the surroundings. There was a nice clearing amongst the tall pines where we set up our tents and where the fire pit was located.

After setting up camp, Emily #2 and Brian went in the water for a dip. At this time of the year the lake was pretty warm.

As for Peter, Emily and I... we took our canoe out for a short spin. Since I was the most experienced canoeist of the three, I took the rear seat and guided us to our site. But now that we weren't in any hurry to get anywhere, Emily took a turn at the back. She did pretty well overall. Peter was content to sit in the middle.

I have to say, the first day was beautiful. The sun was shining, the skies were blue. It wasn't overly hot and the lake was calm. Since there weren't many campsites on the lake it was peaceful and quiet too. Amazing time to be in or on the water.

We paddled for nearly an hour before coming back for dinner. Brian and Emily #2 made some sausages and veggies. There were also vegetarian hot dogs for Emily #2. They looked like regular ones, so I ate one. Eh... not so good.

After eating, Peter and I went back out onto the water to catch the sunset. There were some wispy clouds in the sky and the reds and oranges that bounced off them were stunning.

We came back to shore and sat around the campfire until the stars came out and then photographed them too. There were a number of great vantages points because, as I mentioned before, we were on the tip of a peninsula.

Bedtime was at 11:00. It was warm out, so we all slept without our tent flies.

Killarney Camping Trip Pt. 3

Otto the otter at the Killarney Harbour.

After taking some night shots at George Lake, Peter and I headed back to our campsite. The campfire was out and the girls were already in bed. We readied ourselves and hit the sack soon after.

As usual it took me awhile to get to sleep. I normally toss and turn for a bit. I can't remember if I actually fell asleep or not, but at what I later believed to be 2:00 in the morning I felt a drip of water on my face. Then another... and another...

Our tent was leaking...

...And outside was an intense thunderstorm.

I grabbed my glasses from the pocket on the inside of the tent and turned on my flashlight. Above I could see water seeping through the mesh covering of our tent. Above was our tent fly which we quickly learned wasn't meant to hold back such heavy precipitation.

My camera bag, clothing and other things were spread out beside me inside the tent. I quickly rounded them up and put them in plastic bags to try to keep dry. Luckily for me I had brought a good number of them.

I couldn't quite roll up my sleeping bag tight enough fast enough to keep it from soaking up water, so I placed it on top of my backpack and placed Emily's sleeping pad on top of everything to keep them from the water seeping in from above. Then I sat while water dripped down on and around me.

I suppose I caused enough of a commotion to wake the others. From the tent next door Emily asked us what we wanted to do. Her tent was holding fast so she and her mother were unaffected by the rain.

She said if we wanted to go she could pack everything up in the morning. That was something I had considered, but I don't know if Peter or Fiona wanted to do that.

In short order I made a mad dash for the nearby comfort station. I had to go to the bathroom. I waited as long as I could and the rain had let up slightly, so I didn't get too wet.

Besides the mens and ladies bathrooms, the comfort station had 7 shower stalls and a small laundry room. That's where I stayed until the rain let up. Sitting alone under buzzing fluorescent lights with moths and other flying insect flitting about outside the double doors.

It was unpleasant to say the least. But, as far as I was concerned, much better than the alternative of lying in the dark in a wet sleeping bag not knowing when the rain was going to let up.

After an hour or two the rain stopped. I could still hear it dripping from the trees, but that was it. I went back to the tent and flipped the sleeping pad onto the dry side and tried to place my sleeping bag directly on it so it wouldn't sop up too much water from the floor and tried to get some rest.

In the morning we assessed the damage. Everything was soaked. We had left all our gear out overnight - The folding chairs, the bug screen, our tent, some towels on our makeshift laundry line... everything was wet.

We disassembled it all and threw most of it, dirty and wet, into Emily's trunk. We didn't have the time to let it air dry. That would have to wait until later.

For breakfast Peter cooked up the remaining eggs and bacon making French toast again.

After that Emily and her mum headed back to the city. They had to meet up with Emily's brother by 6:00 in the evening.

Peter, Fiona and I weren't restrained by any time schedule so we headed into the town of Killarney to look for the fish and chips truck and to walk around.

The main drag is along Channel Street at the western end of Highway 637. That's where the harbour is along the Killarney Channel.

We hung out there taking some pictures. That's where Fiona noticed the River Otter swimming around the docks. I have to say it was pretty elusive. It would only poke it's head out for a few seconds before ducking under and resurfacing somewhere else.

With a bit of luck I managed to get a couple of shots of him. The rest of the time he submerged himself beforehand. Peter never actually saw it (let alone get a picture of it). That was too bad.

Afterwards we had our fish and chips from the Herbert Fisheries truck. We followed that up with a cup of ice cream from the nearby trailer corner store before Peter drove us home.

In spite of the rain, I'd have to say it was a good trip overall. A big thanks goes out to Emily for all her hard work in organizing and to Peter for driving and helping with the food.

Killarney Camping Trip Pt. 2

On our second day at Killarney Provincial Park we hiked the Crack Trail (no, it has nothing to do with Mayor Rob Ford and his pipe smoking habit).

We headed there after a breakfast of French toast and bacon courtesy of the culinary skills of Peter.

The trail is 6 kilometres long (3 kilometres each way, there and back) and rated at a high level of difficulty. It's located 7 kilometres east of the park along Highway 637. Get there early because the parking lot fills up fast.

The trail starts off easy. It's pretty much flat for the first kilometre or two. By the time you near the end it rises sharply as you climb over huge boulders on your way up to the ridge. You have to be in good shape to attempt it for sure.

The views from the top are great. You overlook inland lakes and white hills in the park as well as the vast coastline of Georgian Bay. We took a break up there and snacked on the Vietnamese sandwiches Peter bought.

The Crack hike took around 4 hours. We returned to the campground by 4:30. It was fairly late in the afternoon to be sure, but we still wanted to do another hike.

The next one we tried was the Granite Ridge Trial. Em's mom was a bit tired so she stayed back and went to the George Lake beach while the rest of us walked across the street (Highway 637) to the trailhead.

The Granite Ridge Trail is a loop trail that's 2 kilometres long. It's rated at a moderate level with some steep sections. The suggested hiking time is estimated at 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

On the top of the ridge at the end of the trail you can see a thin sliver of Georgian Bay to the south. Turning to the north you see the La Cloche Range. After hiking The Crack earlier in the day this trail was ho-hum.

Dinner was next. We finished the remaining lamb, steak and sausages. They were still good, so none of us got sick.

Peter and I headed out to Lake George to try some more night photography at around 9:30. The skies were overcast this evening, so we didn't get any star shots. Instead we took long exposures of the clouds in the skies. I found a couple of new vantage points to shoot from. It was all right.

Killarney Camping Trip Pt. 1

Chikanishing Trail to Georgian Bay.

Emily organized another camping trip over the Civic Day long weekend. Five of us went this time - Emily and her mother were in one car and Peter drove Fiona and I.

We went to Killarney Provincial Park on Georgian Bay. It's about 5 hours north of Toronto. You drive up Highway 400 past Parry Sound; the 400 turns into Highway 69 which you take to Highway 637 and head west until you see the park sign.

We left on Saturday morning. Fiona came by and picked me up and we went to Peter's place, loaded his car then headed up. Emily and her mum left at least half an hour later.

Traffic was understandably backed up going into Barrie. It's like that on weekends during summer with everyone trying to escape the city for cottage country. Being a long weekend probably made it even worse.

Since our car had a sizeable lead in time we stopped a couple of times along the way. The first time was at a roadside rest stop along the 400 to pick up coffee and snacks south of Barrie. The second was for gas and a bathroom break in Parry Sound.

Emily and her mother beat us to the park. They only stopped once to pick up burgers at Lick's (which Emily ate while driving).

Since we arrived at the park in the late afternoon we only had time to hike one of the shorter trails after unpacking and setting up our tents. We picked the Chikanishing Trail first. It's a couple of kilometres west of the main gate on the park's southern boundary.

The trail is a 3 kilometre loop according to the Ontario Parks website (or 3.5 kilometres long according to the sign at the trailhead). It's supposed to take 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours to hike (again depending on the info on the park's website or the sign at the trailhead).

According to the sign - "The Chikanishing Trail crosses over a series of small ridges, ending up at a scenic, wave-washed point on Georgian Bay." and "it meanders across Canadian Shield granite."

It was a good hike rated at a moderate difficulty level. The scenery was decent and the skies clear blue. Peter and I took full advantage both taking a fair number of shots. The trail was fairly well marked and relatively bug free (at the time of the day we went anyway).

After the hike we lit a fire at our campsite and hung out. We cooked part of our dinner over the fire as well as using Emily's camp stove.

Later we headed over to George Lake (a short walk from our campsite) to take star/Milky Way pics. Peter and I took photos while the others hung out and looked for shooting stars. We stayed out an hour before retiring to our tents for the night.