Day 1 : Opeongo Lake (Access Point) to Big Crow Lake
TOTAL KM: 27.8 KM |
# OF PORTAGES (DISTANCE): 1 (1.4 KM)
The start to this summer trip was anything but ordinary. The Toronto Maple Leafs were still in the playoffs, do not get too excited it was still only the first round (Covid delay). Evan was also coming off 3 months of working 16 hours a day, and the food packing had not taken place yet. We decided to purchase and pack the food on the Friday night while watching the Leaf game and then head up to Algonquin right after. Long story short, the game went to overtime and the boys hit the road around 11pm EST.
We had decided a few weeks earlier to adjust our drive-up logistics to include an Ursack food drop near the bridge at Shall Lake. We were going to be passing under this feature on day five anyways, so why not shed some food and alcohol weight, right? We drove to the Shall Lake access in the middle of the night, secured our food packages firmly to a tree out of sight, and headed towards Opeongo. By the time we reached the parking lot at Opeongo dawn was not far off, and we were thoroughly exhausted.
In Rich’s sleep deprived state, he hilariously thought Elon Musk’s star link satellites were alien spacecraft. We slept in our vehicles for 3 hours and woke up around 0730 EST to catch our taxi.
This was going to be our first time on Opeongo, and our first time using a water taxi. We decided that it was a wise choice to try the water taxi on day one to avoid any delays in getting our scheduled 7-day trip underway. We wanted to get deep into the park as quickly as possible. We also had the McKaskill cabin booked for nights 3 and 4, so we did not want to be late for those expensive rentals. Just our luck, the lake was like glass on Saturday morning. We paid a couple hundred dollars to save 3 hours of paddling… oh well. The boat ride was scenic, and it gave us a chance to scope out what to expect on our paddle out many days later. We spent most of the ride chatting with Matt (our chauffeur) about the lake, the surrounding lakes, the infestation of cormorants, and his experience in the park. We highly recommend Opeongo Outfitters for your taxi service. Taking the old cedar boats into the park was a neat experience, and Matt was excellent.
The P1395 portage into Proulx Lake starts on a large dock then you head up a reasonably steep section. The rest of the portage is wide and flat and not difficult. A third of the way in you can elect to drop the boats into a small pond to cut off some of the portage, but we elected to just carry around as it might have just slowed us down. We passed two ladies on the portage, we know it is not a race in the park, and we had a particular campsite in mind on Big Crow. We picked up the pace slightly and made sure to separate from them ASAP.
On the Proulx lake end the put in is sandy, and it opens up to a beautiful view down the length of the lake. There was zero wind today, so the hills and trees were mirrored perfectly in the water. We made short work of the lake, but it was a gorgeous paddle. The sun was shining, and the oppressive heat of the day had not settled in yet. The entire week was supposed to be 25-30 degrees, with only 1 afternoon of rain scheduled for mid week.
You exit Proulx lake into the Crow River. The river itself is scenic, with plenty of twists, turns, and wildlife. Going is perceivably slow due to switch backs, and the occasional carry over, but the wildlife is worth it. We stopped to hydrate and snack at the end of the P3085 from Red Rock into the Crow. Evan had done this portage in the summer of 2015, and fondly remembered how long and hot this hike was. Accessing Big Crow Lake via Proulx and a water taxi was much easier.
The Crow enters Little Crow Lake and immediately on the right the cliffs between the crow lakes come into view. There was a rowdy bunch of campers near the “burned out” campsite on Little Crow. Whatever was happening sounded to be very funny, but our attention was on the natural backdrop. We swung the corner into the narrows, and Evan recalled hand pumping water in this section in a previous trip. This is not recommended, as this resulted in 4-6 litres of disgusting lake bottom water that tasted like compost run off. Much better to just wait until you reach the main body of the lake… hindsight is 20/20.
Big Crow Lake is a beautiful lake. Once you enter one of the first things you notice is a massive beach on the Northeastern shore. The lake does stretch out to the north side, so the wind does tent to funnel down towards to the cliffs. The next thing you notice is the towering cliffs on the right, and if you look in the right spot you can see the lookout point by the fire tower. We made a b-line right towards the beach campsite to the left of the Crow river, and luckily it was vacant. This campsite is top notch. It has ample areas for tents and hammocks, plenty of logs to sit on around the fire, and it even came with a game of corn hole! To top it all off, the beach is excellent, and you can walk out into the water on the sandy bottom of nearly 100 meters and still be above water. After we set up our camp, we spent our early afternoon wading as far into the lake as we could, sometimes with canoes passing within 20-30 meters of us.
The plan for the afternoon was to load up into one of the boats and head down to the “Giant Pines Trail” to see the old growth white pines. It is a short little paddle, and once you get to the widening of the river before the P240 portage head to river right. There is a white sign on the shore, with a tricky little rock landing. It was even trickier with 6-7 teenagers and multiple canoes taking up most of the good landing area. The trail into the pines is steep, so good footwear is highly recommended… not knockoff crocs that were purchased right before the trip and worn without socks. These old pines are a remarkable sight. It is hard to put into words, but the way the light was shining in, with the massive trunks towering up into the canopy… it was impressive. Rich, Ryan, and I could not link our arms around some of the larger trees. If you are camping on Big Crow, or even passing through the Crow River, you should make the effort to experience for yourself.
We headed back to camp and cooked up our night one feast (chicken pot pie with homemade biscuits), and a few ciders to wash it down. The after-dinner adventure was going to be an evening hike up the fire tower trail to hopefully catch a sunset from the lookout. While waiting for the evening to pass, Ryan and Rich played some corn hole and Evan managed to find a comfortable log to catch up on some much-needed sleep. When it was time to go, we loaded up some beverages, dessert, and a cell phone loaded with some comedic relief and pushed off.
The fire tower trail starts behind the Big Crow Lake ranger cabin. The cabin itself has the same footprint as the Birchcliffe and White trout cabins. It has two rooms with bunk beds, and a small kitchen/fireplace area. This cabin was in rough shape and based on the graffiti dates on the walls it had been used heavily in the spring during covid lockdown. The door appeared to have been kicked in and repaired numerous times, and the entire place was filthy / rubbish strewn. Left of the cabin, closer to the shore, there is a small trail that leads you into the woods. If you follow this trail fifty meters or so in, you will find a small spring. There are cinder blocks and remnants of an old lid. The water was very cold and refreshing. Make sure to grab some as the hike to the top of the cliff is very steep! If you head to the left of the cabin, you will see an outhouse back in the woods. Climb up and around several large blowdowns and eventually you will find yourself following the fire tower trail. Many of the blue portage signs have either fallen off or were originally on trees that are now lying horizontal. The trail is still simple to follow, but gains in elevation rapidly. By the time we emerged at the top we were huffing and puffing and ready to have an extended sit at the top. The metal fire tower base is still standing, but unfortunately the wooden platform is no longer present. On the backside of the tower platform there is another small trail which will take you out to the lookout.
We sat on top of the cliff, swapping stories, and partaking in many beverages long after the sun went down. The sky had clouded over so the sunset was underwhelming, but the view was still worth the hike. We donned the headlamps and made our way back down to the canoe. Hiking uphill during the day was unpleasant. Hiking downhill in the dark proved to be borderline dangerous. Either leave earlier, bring more sources of light, or drink less to reduce the difficulty.
We made it back to our campsite and decided to sit around the fire for a little bit. It had been a crazy year so far, with all the work from home, covid restrictions and such. It was nice to spend time with friends, blissfully unaware of the world beyond the circle of our fire. For the next week we could just tackle life one day at a time, and really soak in our surroundings without having to worry about masks or mandates. I think more people, at the time, could have really used this kind of escape in their lives. Day two was going to be reasonably long, so we eventually made the smart decision to drag ourselves into the hammocks.