TOURduPARK
Such a beautiful day, I was looking forward to this calm paddle across Little Misty Lake
Approaching P135 to Daisy Lake
Headed west on Misty Lake toward the Petawawa River
Eastern-most campsite on Casey Lake
At some points it is no wider than a creek
Approaching my next portage
Crafty beavers at it again
The sun came out on Rain Lake - seems counter-intuitive
View from the eastern-most campsite on Casey Lake
Passing the 805m portage leading back to Moccasin Lake (via Addions's Lake)
... a precarious balancing act
My journey today takes me from Misty Lake, up the Petawawa River and on to Casey Lake to (surprise) meet a fellow tripper
And these... I think you see where I'm going with this
Looking back at Misty Lake
A very pretty portage landing
The Petawawa River just above the falls on P135
It took me 90 minutes from the time I decided to leave to the time I arrived at the car. I planned ahead and had a beer waiting in my trunk for the end of the trip. So what did I do? I went to the Rain Lake cabin dock, busted out my helinox, took off my shoes and socks, cracked a beer and zoned out while pondering my 23km journey today. Beer done, can crushed and packed out, and I made my way home. When I got within cell reception I texted Glen, ‘Hey! Why aren’t you on Casey Lake?’ He replied, ‘How could you possibly know that?’ to which I replied, ‘Cause I was there two hours ago and you weren’t!’ Unfortunately, his cat fell ill and he had to cancel his trip.
All packed up and ready to begin my journey to Casey Lake
With no chance of Glen showing up, I decided to cut this trip early
If there's one thing I absolutely love, it's being awake for moments like this
Looking west across Rain Lake toward Sawyer Lake
Approaching the Petawawa River
A great spot to take a short break and fuel up a bit
A very clam & wild looking Casey Lake
Rain Lake Cabin (click here to see more)
tr 105: MOCCASIN - MISTY
It was just before 1pm when I launched onto a very calm Daisy Lake. I was relieved the wind hadn’t picked up yet because the shape of Daisy Lake can have wind-tunnel effects. Nobody was camped on Daisy and I took note of a couple of campsites that looked desirable. As I passed the island, I spotted my 2nd ever Algonquin campsite. It’s funny, 11 years had passed and of course I have changed so much in that time but that campsite, and the one on Misty didn’t age a day. I bet it will look identical in 200 years from now. I reached my final portage of the day, 1235m and uphill the entire way. Did I mention every single portage has been a mud fest yet? No? Well guess what? Every portage was a mud trail and again this one was no exception. On day 1 I accepted that I probably won’t have dry feet on this trip.
Rain Lake Cabin - its received an exterior paint job since the last time I was here
By 3:15pm I had a decision to make. Set up camp or book it outta here. I’m not one to bail early on a canoe trip, but I kept thinking ‘I’m so close to the car, I could get there in an hour’. I coupled that though with the forecast (it was supposed to rain tonight) and I decided to call it quits – Everything was dry (except my feet) and I wanted to keep it that way. I crossed P1330 and launched onto Rain Lake – wouldn’t you know it – the clouds lifted and the sun came out. Of course it did. There was no wind and I was grateful for that.
By 10am I was packed up, the campsite was clean and I was on my way to Casey Lake. I’d be travelling up river for most of the day, but the current isn’t very strong so I don’t forecast any problems. The clouds were moving in again and without the sun it was getting chilly. Yet somehow, in the 20 minutes between Misty Lake and Little Misty Lake, the clouds lifted. All of them – and I was left with a beautiful day! I hadn’t seen much wildlife on this trip and I was hopeful I might see a moose somewhere in the Petawawa River. I passed through a very calm Little Misty Lake and began my ascent up the Petawawa. It didn’t take long before I hit a well-constructed beaver dam that required some delicate footwork to get over..
The Petawawa River between Little Misty Lake and P450
Lifting over a beaver dam while trying to maintain dry feet can be....
Continuing up the Petawawa RIver
Little Misty Lake
A typical Algonquin portage (P935 connecting Misty Lake & Little Misty Lake)
The final stretch of river
Oh, and these moments too
The scenery along this river is constantly changing
Day 4: Misty Lake to Casey Lake
Awake pretty early and excited to go surprise my friend on Casey Lake today! It was cold out, really cold – but a beautiful morning. I lit a fire to help me warm up while I drank my coffee. I’m not a fan of being cold (who is?) but October is probably my favorite month to go camping. The colors and scenery are so vibrant. Another quick breakfast of oatmeal, coffee & fruit (to go) and I began the tear-down process.
Headed through the Rain Lake narrows... and it looks like the clouds are coming back
West end of Little Misty Lake, about to re-enter the Petawawa River
I arrived at Casey Lake shortly after 2pm and figured my buddy would be there by now – it can’t take much more than an hour to get from the parking lot to here. I came up to the first campsite on the east shore – vacant. No problem, I continued across the lake to the 2nd campsite – vacant. Okay. I moved on to the 3rd and final campsite – vacant. Where the hell was Glen? I didn’t want to set up camp yet because he was staying here 2 nights so I figured I’d wait for him to pick which site he wants. I waited on the 3rd campsite since it was directly across from the portage. 20 minutes.. 40 minutes.. 60 minutes. Hmmm, I’m starting to think he’s not coming.
The lone campsite on Little Misty Lake
Continuing up the river, I was thoroughly enjoying the day and the paddle. I hadn’t paddled this section of the Petawawa river in over 11 years, so it kinda felt new again – a rare feeling for me in Algonquin. The take out for P450 was very pretty, so I took a short break and enjoyed the scenery for a while. Across the trail and relaunched on the final stretch river. I really want to see a moose, where are they? As I approached P135 to Daisy Lake I had a flashback. The little waterfall there was where I had my first ‘shore lunch’ ever in Algonquin. Trip 1, Day 1. Man, that was a long, long time ago. I sat on the log and had a few snacks. I was making pretty good time so I was in no rush to leave. The sound of the river flowing over the smooth rock made me wish I had a hammock, but its probably better I didn’t - I’d end up sleeping right there.
A well-engineered grill can be found on Casey Lake
If you know a better way to end a trip - I'd sure love to hear it