Just finished my first-ever canoe trip: four-days, starting from the very popular Canoe Lake access point, the Sunday after the Labor Day holiday. The weather forecast was consistent sunshine and warmer than normal temperatures with light winds for the entire trip. The forecast was accurate except for the wind on the last two days which kicked up to what I'll describe as a strong breeze, steady 10-12 mph at a guess, during the middle of both days.
I reserved my backcountry permit online which was easy to do. I then had to pick up the actual paper at the access point permit office which was also easy to do. I arrived mid-afternoon and was able to get my permit and get out of the office within five minutes.
As may be expected, there were lots of "day trippers" in rentals on Canoe Lake and these thinned out markedly as soon as I got out of sight of the rental store around a bend in the lake. There was only one powerboat on Canoe Lake which was small and so was its wake. Of note, three people speaking with a British accent flipped their canoe about 50 feet from me less than 10 minutes after I set off. I stayed with them while they swam the canoe to the nearby shore and got refloated.
I've watched a lot of Youtube videos about canoe trips, especially in Algonquin, and the first portage was as expected -- easy, flat, and dry. The shore at both ends was a gently sloping sandy bank with only a few boulders that were easily avoided. I just counted, and I had a total of 13 portages on this trip. At a guess, about 1/3 of them had conditions like this at the take-out/put-in point. The second third, though, were all granite and required a bit of care if you wanted to protect the finish of your boat. The final third were steep-sided roots/boulders right to the waters edge with no possibility of entering or exiting the canoe without stepping fully into water that was anywhere from ankle to shin deep. I found it was best to just plan on having wet shoes/feet during the day while traveling.
The portages themselves were a similar story. Perhaps not surprisingly, people only tend to video/photograph when it's easy and convenient to have their cameras out. As a consequence, videos showing portages that are muddy in places do exist, but I don't remember seeing any videos of the somewhat treacherous muddy, steep-sloped, rock gardens I encountered. Sticking with the 1/3 divisions, I'd guess that 1/3 of my portages were relatively easy, flattish, with only a bit of easily avoided mud. The second 1/3 was rolling small slopes but with significant mud sections and/or rock gardens and/or muddy rock gardens. (I define "rock garden" as a spot with extensive large rocks, 10 to 30 inches across, spaced closely together.) The final 1/3 of the portages were unlike anything I had seen in the videos -- steep, slippery, muddy slopes with extensive boulders and hull-cracking rocks. These were, of course, manageable, but they take much more care and more time to get through safely. More than once, I had the thought that if I slipped and dropped the canoe on to one of these rocks, I could cause some serious hull damage.
My first camp was on the East Arm of Joe Lake, which is easily reached from the access point. The first campsite I checked had flies buzzing around and two beer bottles stuck on the upturned branches of a pine tree. The second campsite, directly across from the first, was in much better shape but someone had left an old pair of shorts there. On a positive note, there was an excellent food-bag bear cable hang system someone had created and left in place -- nice stout rope with strong steel hook and an excellent pulley at the top. On the way out, I stopped and checked a couple of campsites on the also easily accessed Littledoe Lake and these too showed evidence of heavy use and careless campers. I am inclined to conclude that the campsites that do not require significant portages are likely to be heavily used and perhaps of poor quality in Algonquin.
My second camp was idyllic and one of the main reasons I went to Algonquin in the first place. It was on the eastern point of an island in Little Otterslide lake. I had the entire lake all to myself, the campsite was largish with plenty of flat ground for my tent and was not "trashed". There was also a handy bushcraft shelf built between two nearby trees that I made good use of.
Camp number three was on Sunbeam lake and it looked like what you'd see on a post card picture with islands of various sizes in the middle of gorgeous stretches of water surrounded by magnificent northern forest. That aspect was awesome. The two large groups of guys, yelling across the water at each other, shouting loudly, and just in general being young and having fun, simply did not fit in with the scenery. Fortunately, they weren't always loud and they quieted right after sunset. Flat space for the tent in this location, though, was just barely adequate. This was also true in other sites I saw and I strongly suspect that sites with significant flat tent space may be in high demand.
As for wildlife, Algonquin did not disappoint. I saw a cow moose from about 100 feet away, saw a bear stick its head out of its den from about 50 feet away, heard numerous loons, and even a lone wolf howling. There was also a baby beaver.
Jim
I reserved my backcountry permit online which was easy to do. I then had to pick up the actual paper at the access point permit office which was also easy to do. I arrived mid-afternoon and was able to get my permit and get out of the office within five minutes.
As may be expected, there were lots of "day trippers" in rentals on Canoe Lake and these thinned out markedly as soon as I got out of sight of the rental store around a bend in the lake. There was only one powerboat on Canoe Lake which was small and so was its wake. Of note, three people speaking with a British accent flipped their canoe about 50 feet from me less than 10 minutes after I set off. I stayed with them while they swam the canoe to the nearby shore and got refloated.
I've watched a lot of Youtube videos about canoe trips, especially in Algonquin, and the first portage was as expected -- easy, flat, and dry. The shore at both ends was a gently sloping sandy bank with only a few boulders that were easily avoided. I just counted, and I had a total of 13 portages on this trip. At a guess, about 1/3 of them had conditions like this at the take-out/put-in point. The second third, though, were all granite and required a bit of care if you wanted to protect the finish of your boat. The final third were steep-sided roots/boulders right to the waters edge with no possibility of entering or exiting the canoe without stepping fully into water that was anywhere from ankle to shin deep. I found it was best to just plan on having wet shoes/feet during the day while traveling.
The portages themselves were a similar story. Perhaps not surprisingly, people only tend to video/photograph when it's easy and convenient to have their cameras out. As a consequence, videos showing portages that are muddy in places do exist, but I don't remember seeing any videos of the somewhat treacherous muddy, steep-sloped, rock gardens I encountered. Sticking with the 1/3 divisions, I'd guess that 1/3 of my portages were relatively easy, flattish, with only a bit of easily avoided mud. The second 1/3 was rolling small slopes but with significant mud sections and/or rock gardens and/or muddy rock gardens. (I define "rock garden" as a spot with extensive large rocks, 10 to 30 inches across, spaced closely together.) The final 1/3 of the portages were unlike anything I had seen in the videos -- steep, slippery, muddy slopes with extensive boulders and hull-cracking rocks. These were, of course, manageable, but they take much more care and more time to get through safely. More than once, I had the thought that if I slipped and dropped the canoe on to one of these rocks, I could cause some serious hull damage.
My first camp was on the East Arm of Joe Lake, which is easily reached from the access point. The first campsite I checked had flies buzzing around and two beer bottles stuck on the upturned branches of a pine tree. The second campsite, directly across from the first, was in much better shape but someone had left an old pair of shorts there. On a positive note, there was an excellent food-bag bear cable hang system someone had created and left in place -- nice stout rope with strong steel hook and an excellent pulley at the top. On the way out, I stopped and checked a couple of campsites on the also easily accessed Littledoe Lake and these too showed evidence of heavy use and careless campers. I am inclined to conclude that the campsites that do not require significant portages are likely to be heavily used and perhaps of poor quality in Algonquin.
My second camp was idyllic and one of the main reasons I went to Algonquin in the first place. It was on the eastern point of an island in Little Otterslide lake. I had the entire lake all to myself, the campsite was largish with plenty of flat ground for my tent and was not "trashed". There was also a handy bushcraft shelf built between two nearby trees that I made good use of.
Camp number three was on Sunbeam lake and it looked like what you'd see on a post card picture with islands of various sizes in the middle of gorgeous stretches of water surrounded by magnificent northern forest. That aspect was awesome. The two large groups of guys, yelling across the water at each other, shouting loudly, and just in general being young and having fun, simply did not fit in with the scenery. Fortunately, they weren't always loud and they quieted right after sunset. Flat space for the tent in this location, though, was just barely adequate. This was also true in other sites I saw and I strongly suspect that sites with significant flat tent space may be in high demand.
As for wildlife, Algonquin did not disappoint. I saw a cow moose from about 100 feet away, saw a bear stick its head out of its den from about 50 feet away, heard numerous loons, and even a lone wolf howling. There was also a baby beaver.
Jim
