TOURduPARK
Blue Skies and Rain - Yup, that's Algonquin all-right!
We hung around the area for a while then it began to rain. It wasn’t very hard, but rain none the less. We took shelter in the treed area between the dam and the campsite and luckily the rain passed after 10 minutes or so. With nothing much left to see and with loosing so much of the day waiting for those damn moose to move their butts, we decided to head back to camp. We opted to take the same route back as we felt completing a loop would take too much time. It wasn’t long before we landed back at the portage with the moose and we discussed our action plan. Hopefully the moose were still far enough in the bush that our presence wouldn’t bother them. We loaded up and started across the trail, this time walking much faster than before. We passed the area where it all went down, and passed the fallen tree we used as protection. About 25 minutes after we started on West Harry Lake, we arrived back on Thunder Lake. Shortly after 6pm we were back at our campsite. We were both a little tired from our trip but we had new memories and a great story to tell. Shane got the fire going while I grabbed the food sack and began to prepare dinner. Tonight we had chili and bread – another camp favorite meal. It was pre-made so all that was required was to heat it up and serve. Following dinner we cleaned up and decided to enjoy the rest of our rye and ginger ale. We had a big fire as tonight was noticeable cooler than the previous two nights. After a couple hours around the fire and reminiscing about our day we eventually decided to hit the hay, shortly before 11pm.
At the end of the day, I`ve always had respect for the creatures of Algonquin – especially the ones that can kill me. When I look back at this, I am confident we handled this situation as best we could; we managed to get out of the area without provocation or startling the animals. The only thing I might have done differently is move further back down the trail. But the way that tree had fallen with large branches all around everywhere we felt safe. It may have been a false sense of security, but it did the job at the time. The only photos of the encounter I have are from when the very first cow crossed the trail while we were taking a break at the tree, beyond that my priority wasn’t to take photos.
While paddling up a marshy area, we accidentally went up the middle of a giant bog mat. It slowly narrowed and eventually we ran out of water. I could see an open channel on either side of us – but it involved crossing 20 feet of bog mat. It looked pretty solid and even had the odd small pine tree growing on it, so I figured we might be able to walk across it. I asked Shane to steady the boat so I could step out onto the bog mat and test its integrity. I stepped out with one foot and it sank a little bit, but not very much and my foot was still dry so I decided to fully get out. Wow! Mistake! As soon as my full weight was on the bog mat it immediately began to sink, and quickly. I yelled out ‘Not ground! Not ground!’ and while handing onto the side of the boat I managed to get back in. I didn’t get a total soaker, but I was submerged half way up the shin. Back in the safety of the boat we both laughed at what happened then turned around to paddle up the correct channel. We arrived at West Harry Lake proper and I must admit, in the fall (and I’m sure summer too) this is a beautiful lake. The way the hills surround it, it almost make you feel as though you are in a giant bowl. It was just awesome. We crossed the lake and arrived at the take out to Floss Lake. We had no intention of crossing this trail as we were more interested in seeing the old logging dam and checking out the campsite. We found a small trail leading towards the dam from the campsite. We followed it and a minute later we came out at the dam. I do not know how old this dam is, but it has definitely been here a while. Perhaps not as old as some of the other dam ruins in Algonquin, but it had signs of having been there a while. I took note of some sizeable rocks on the lower platform of the dam and pondered how strong the current during the spring flood must be in order to move rocks of such great size.
The view down West Harry Lake as seen from the campsite/portage
Then continued on into the forest
A lot of time had passed, and during most of it we could still hear the occasional sounds made by the Moose. A branch breaking here, and loud mooing or snort there. It was crazy! The crappy thing was, we had to leave the canoe where Shane had put it down due to the charging Moose – so even if we back-tracked to Thunder Lake we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. The odd thing about this encounter is the fact that I said we should go to West Harry via the Lupus portage because we are more likely to see Moose (I thought in the Marshy part of West Harry though) while Shane wanted to go via the Panther and Mossy portages. Well, I suppose we got what I came for. Sure it was a majestic experience, but also slightly frightening – there are some who say the Bull Moose in the rut is the most dangerous animal in Canada – and considering we have Grizzly’s and Polar Bears, that’s a pretty bold statement – I am absolutely terrified of Grizzly Bears – ever see the movie the edge? Yeah.
At about the 70 minute mark, it had been a while since we hear any sounds or movements. Then, one of the Cows crossed the trail about 80 feet down and made her way through the bush on the other side. We could hear her slowly moving away from the area. Around 20 minutes after that, I told Shane I will slowly go down the hill to see what is going on. As I crawled over the final branch out of the bunker, I began to walk towards the canoe while saying to Shane “Now if I die doing this...” and I was immediately cut off by the Bull moose walking out onto the trail, stopping, and while still facing the bush (I am facing his side) he turns his head and looks directly at me. He was about 60 feet down the trail, and I was about 20 feet away from Shane in the branch bunker. “Get down, don’t move.” Shane said calmly. I slowly dropped to the ground wondering what the hell had I got myself into. I looked back at the beast, and while he was still looking right at me – he had me pegged. I noticed one of the cow’s cross the trail behind him. Another minute or two passed and while I was looking at the ground (my legs were getting tired) Shane said another 2 cows had passed behind him. He also finished crossing the trail. At this point, all four Moose are on the right side of the trail now, and to our knowledge there are no more on the left side. We waited another 30 minutes and we did not hear anything in the bush since they had crossed the trail. At this point, it has taken us almost two and a half hours to complete the portage trail – I’ve heard of being held up by Moose before, but I never thought they could be so stubborn! Neither of us were willing to do anything to try to scare the animal off. First because technically, we’re in their territory, but more importantly, we did not want to do anything to inadvertently upset the Moose – we did not want them to come over and have a talk with us. I figured by now, hopefully enough time had passed and we could either retrieve our canoe and go back somewhere else, or continue forward. I slowly walked down the trail and made my way to the canoe. I could not see the moose in the bush. I walked a little further, to where they had crossed the trail – sure enough, I could still see them. The Bull and two of the cows were about 60 feet into the bush still just doing whatever they do – eating? I don’t know. Getting ready to get down? I don`t know. That Bull had three ladies with him at once – I didn’t know stuff like that went down in the forest. We retreated once more as we’d both rather be safe than sorry. We grabbed the loose gear and began to discuss our next plans. Would we still go to the Dam at West Harry, or back-track and do a small loop through the Mossy – White Spruce – Dace Lakes area. I figured since we were already so far up this trail, we might as well continue along when it’s safe. The crappy thing is, we left our campsite on Thunder Lake at 10:30am to give plenty of time for the day-trip, and it was now almost 1:30pm. After not much longer, the Moose had made their way about 100ft into the bush, and it was so thick we could barely see them anymore. We figured it to be safe to retrieve the canoe and quickly continue along the trail. We did so without any trouble and launched onto a beautiful marshy area of West Harry Lake.
Looking down West Harry Lake
I know the Moose rutting season is a time to exercise extra caution, every now and then I am sure we all think of our action plan in the event of an unfriendly encounter – but until you’re actually face-to-face with the majestic beast, you truly do not know how you will react – you only hope it’s the right reaction.
We were about 85% finished the portage when we had stopped to deal with a fallen tree. Shane was carrying the canoe, and I was carrying the day packs, food, paddles and fishing rod. He set the canoe down on the fallen tree and I broke out some snacks. While we were relaxing for about five minutes, we could hear a rustle in the bush to our right and down a little bit (we were at the top of a hill). The rustling came closer to the trail, but still downhill from us. We waited in silence and watched as a Cow Moose crossed the trail into the forest on the left (still downhill). We were both humbled to see a Moose, but we were also very close to it, probably within 80 feet or so. During the time she was within visibility, we both made next to no movements and kept quiet – we did not want to startle the animal. We gave it about 10 minutes for her to move on into the bush before we proceeded. Shane picked up the canoe, and I loaded up with the packs and paddles. Shane was ready to go before I was, and I suppose because we were so close to the end of the trail he decided to start down the hill. I caught up to him within 40 feet or so, but I was not ahead of him like the first part of the trail. We didn’t get further than 20 feet and I was looking into the bush to my left, to see if I could still see the cow. Something caught my eye, but it just didn’t seem right. I thought I had seen a massive bull moose – “Stop.” I calmly said to Shane. He did, I looked more and the antlers were so incredibly huge I thought I must have been mistaken – there’s no way that’s a moose. “Never mind, go” I said. Immediately I saw the impossible-to-be antlers move, and then I saw the giant brute’s head. “Stop. Put the canoe down.” I said calmly, but afterwards Shane told me the tone of my voice made him nervous. “Drop it? Or put it down.” He asked, probably wondering what the hell I am seeing. “Slowly put the canoe down to your right, and step back.” I replied. He did, and I unloaded my stuff, in case we had to run. We both looked through the bush, and less than 50 feet away was the largest Bull Moose either of us have ever seen – this thing belongs in Alaska or something. His antlers were simply massive, he had a huge arch in his back, and the blackest back & sides I`ve ever seen. He had a female with him. I knew we were in a bad spot, and we needed to get back to safety – but the bull was looking right at us, and I felt any sudden movements could spell disaster. The Cow was mooing and moaning, as if to tell the Bull to deal with the intruders.
I really wonder how old this dam is
Lupus Lake
A photo I snapped while ducked down and hiding from the big brute
Eggs & thick-cut maple smoked bacon for breakfast
The dam at West Harry Lake forming the headwaters to The Big East River (Click here to see more)
Waiting patiently to go
The beast snorted at us. You may have heard a Bull Moose snort on video or something alike – but when they are starring you in the eye and snorting at you – the bass resonates right through your soul. It was both amazing and terrifying at the same time. Thus far the experience has been about 20-30 seconds since Shane put the canoe down. Suddenly, also to our left, I hear more crashing through the bush. Coming from the top of the hill we were on, but to our left at the time, two Cows were crashing through the bush. One was chasing the other, as it mooed loudly and made quick dashes to escape. “Oh F&#%! We have to go. Now.” We slowly made our way backwards, leaving most of the stuff at the canoe. We retreated the 60-80 feet back up the trail to the fallen tree. I know this is not very far from the action, but because of the up-hill and the layout of the forest we were out of view (but still audible I am sure). We chose to stay at the fallen tree because of the many braches sticking out everywhere (thick branches) it almost created a shelter all around us (or a trap when I look back at it). I don’t know about Shane, but my heart was racing. We stayed within the confines of the fallen-tree bunker and were both on guard for sounds and other warning signs from all around the forest. I told Shane that in the many times I’ve encountered moose in the Park, I’ve never, ever, seen one that big – nor has an encounter ever frightened me. You mostly see Moose from the boat, in the relative safety of the water. You only occasionally see them on land while you’re on land – or at least that’s how it has been for me. The only other time I can think of seeing Moose on the same land as me was along the Crow River, at the campsite in the Jack Pine stand – and even then I only heard them in the forest near me, I didn’t see them until they came out of the river at the river bank about 20 feet down from my campsite – two Cows. A lot of time had passed, and during most of it we could still hear the occasional sounds made by the Moose. A branch breaking here, and loud mooing or snort there. It was crazy! The crappy thing was, we had to leave the canoe where Shane had put it down due to the charging Moose – so even if we back-tracked to Thunder Lake we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. The odd thing about this encounter is the fact that I said we should go to West Harry via the Lupus portage because we are more likely to see Moose (I thought in the Marshy part of West Harry though) while Shane wanted to go via the Panther and Mossy portages. Well, I suppose we got what I came for. Sure it was a majestic experience, but also slightly frightening – there are some who say the Bull Moose in the rut is the most dangerous animal in Canada – and considering we have Grizzly’s and Polar Bears, that’s a pretty bold statement – I am absolutely terrified of Grizzly Bears – ever see the movie the edge? Yeah.
She looked right at us!
A cow moose steps out onto the trail
Little did we know what we were in for on the other side of this trail...
Preparing for our day trip to West Harry Lake
Thunder Lake to West Harry Lake
tr 23: tHUNDER LAKE
Day 2: Day trip to West Harry Lake
I slept in a bit today (by Algonquin standards) and I wasn’t out of the tent until 8:30am. It was a beautiful sunny morning with patches of clouds here and there. It was fairly warm for mid-September and I didn’t need to be wearing a hoodie or sweater despite it being relatively early in the day. With nothing but an optional day trip to West Harry Lake planned, I simply wandered around the campsite a little bit. I took the food bag down and put on a pot of water for coffee. With the coffee ready I made a big cup and decided I would take a short walk with my coffee along the hiking trails. I didn’t go very far, maybe 20 minutes each way and I arrived back at camp around 9:30am. Shane was just getting up and we began to discuss ideas for the day. We both wanted to see West Harry Lake and also considered coming back via a different route, making a loop out of our day trip. We cooked a breakfast of scrambled eggs with peppers and onion as well as some thick cut maple bacon. It was amazing. Food always seems to taste better out here – I wonder why that is? We did some dishes and cleaned the campsite. I rehung the food and Shane compiled a few items for our daytrip to West Harry. At about 10:50am we launched the canoe and landed at the trail leading to Lupus and connecting to West Harry Lake. At 11am on the dot we began down the trail. What happened next was very unexpected.