Looking east across Misty Lake
Clouds are back - ready for the rain!
Day 2: Moccasin Lake to Misty Lake via Wenona
I slept in a bit today and even after I woke up, I stayed cozy in my sleeping bag and pondered the event from last night - I was still a little shaken up.
Step 1
I was happy with my selection; the site was quite interesting. It was on a point and on one side, it had a private cobblestone beach. The other side was giant slabs of rock and a beautiful view looking down Misty Lake. I set up camp and made a firewood run. Luckily I came across a giant dead maple tree, so I spent my time harvesting from it instead of foraging for firewood. My efforts paid off and in no time I was relaxing next to a campfire. There was a threat of rain so I hung the tarp, but I use quick release clips so I can easily slide it off to one side on the ridgeline when its not required.
Secret tunnel down to the private beach
It was getting late and I was getting hungry – dinner tonight is souvlaki with rice. Worked out well. With camp cleaned up and the food hung, I had a drink next to the fire and enjoyed the view until it was time for bed.
Never-the-less, I was treated with an absolutely stunning morning. It looks like its going to be another great day in Algonquin Park!
Looking east across Misty Lake - the wind is picking up a bit, time to find a campsite
A short jaunt from Moccasin Lake over to Misty Lake
Looking out at Misty Lake
Dinner tonight is Souvlaki with smokey rice & beans - and a couple whiskey sours
Looking north (ish) across Misty Lake
tr 105: MOCCASIN - MISTY
No rain yet, so I unclipped the tarp and slid it across the ridgeline to one side.
Of all trees to almost kill me - it was the tree with the campsite sign nailed to it. Potential revenge on humans for driving 4 nails into it?
Small island on Bandit Lake. Great spot for a summer shore lunch
Yet another short, but muddy trail took me to Muslim Lake. By this time, the sun was making an appearance and it looked like it was shaping up to be a nice day. I reached my final portage for the day, a 1030m trail down to Misty Lake. I crossed it in about 15 minutes but if I was going the other way, it probably wouldn’t have been so quick. The entire trail was downhill to Misty, an overall drop of 42m.
A lot of tenting options - this was a very large and very open site.
So there you have it. It was actually a really nice morning despite the events of last night and I was awake in time to see the sun rise up over the tree line. It was a bit chilly and I had plenty of fire wood (courtesy of my attempted murder) so I lit a fire and relaxed next to it with a coffee. I decided to keep breakfast simple on this trip – Oatmeal, coffee & fruit (to go). I wasted no time packing up and I was on the water by 10:15am. My destination today is Misty Lake for the next two nights.
Clouds are... not back? What a strange day for weather
Step 2
So, I almost died last night. Not because of anything I did wrong – just luck (or lack thereof?). I could type out the story, but I’ll do you one better. Here is a video I took explaining what happened last night.
About to launch onto Muslim Lake.
Not such a nice landing anymore
Pulling up to the private beach on my campsite
TOURduPARK
The put-in on the Wenona side of P540 from Bandit Lake
Looking south across Misty Lake
Campsite on Wenona Lake. Looks pretty inviting - definitely going to spend a night here at some point
When I arrived at Misty Lake, I was greeted by a west wind – not surprising. In an effort to not become windbound, I decided I would make camp at one of the several campsites in the west half of the lake. The campsite immediately to the left of the portage was the very first campsite I had ever stayed on. I debated staying there but it wasn’t getting any sun and in October, you want as much warmth as possible. I paddled straight across the lake and after checking out three campsites, I chose the first site on the north shore – basically directly across from my very first campsite, so at least I could look at it!
Not the greatest bench system, but that's what the Helinox is for!
I guess this is what they mean when they say 'a mix of sun and clouds'
The portage to Bandit lake was really muddy – in fact, all the portages yesterday we covered in mud as well. Heavily worn down, which is likely a result of the surge of visitors Algonquin received this year. Bandit lake is very pretty, I had stayed here once before but never went beyond it. Another muddy trail and I was launching on Wenona Lake. There something about Wenona. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that there is only one campsite, or that it’s a small, private lake, or the scenery, or what – but I’m going to make a point of camping here in the future. The campsite looked very desirable from the water, but I didn’t get out for a closer look.
Ready to cross the first of four portages today. A quick 440m jaunt over to Bandit Lake
The age-old question of: If a tree falls in the woods, and you're sitting right beside it - does it kill you?
And of course, step 3
Small island on Misty Lake - also, the clouds are back :(