The Campfire! My home away from home.

     My great plan for the first trip of this spring was to head North back to the Algonquin Provincial Park/ Leslie Frost Center area since I had spent so much time last year paddlin around more southern regions. Alas, Mother Nature operates on her own agenda that rarely cooperates with the best laid plans of mortal man! The ice was not off those lakes right up to Sunday so I had to scramble a little ....my back up choices had been The Poker Lakes System or the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site, but no luck...still iced in.You can check out daily satellite images on the Modis website... http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.cgi/modis?region=g&page=1 . Then a saviour on www.myccr.com dropped the message that the lakes were ice free in the Parry Sound area! Whoohoo...I have open water to get to. Monday morning I dropped kiddo off at school, went home and loaded the car and was off.

    Left home at 9:45 am .The forecast was callin for daytime temps in the mid 20's, dropping down to low double digits at night. So....late April in Ontario, bright sunshine...mid 20's temps, the smell of spring in the air, the open road, yes my friends that can only mean one thing......

Its Construction Season again!

An hour and fifteen minutes or so later I pulled off highway 11 onto Crooked Bay Road and drove down to the parking area for McRae Lake. Took my time haulin all the gear down over the 150 metre port to the put in at McDonald Lake, the day was just to glorious to rush. The Pileated Woodpeckers were everywhere and try as I might they would not stay still long enough for a picture...oh well...pushed off and paddled into the sunshine. Twenty minutes later and I was at the portage to Mcrae. I had only been here once and figured with three days this time around I could explore this little gem a little more. I left my pack at the take out and loaded the canoe on my shoulders, the portage is not a long one at 250 meters, but the first hundred meters is uphill and the rocks are well worn from heavy use and very slippery. Was very disheartened by what I found at the end of the port...the McDonald River was in full springtime flood mood and was a raging torrent at the put in.

The flooded out tree will give an idea of how high and fast the water was runnin. Some of my tripping friends are gonna call me some choice names fer bailing out on this, but as of yet this self taught canoeist has not had any experience running rivers, and after nearly an hour of hiking up and down the bank, debating whether or not I should, common sense got the better of me. I was all alone out here and that water was solid ice less than a week ago...every time I stepped into it the icy liquid it set my feet and legs into pain it was so cold. The final blow to my ego was this washed out campsite...yes, that was a firepit the last time I passed thru here.

So back to McDonald Lake I go!

As I paddled up McDonald I found another flooded firepit. This was a campsite when I passed thru this lake last year! The waters were indeed in full flood.

Took a nice casual paddle around this beautiful piece of Muskoka and settled on a campsite. Set up camp around 3 pm and made myself a nice barbeque for an early dinner. Grilled chicken thighs and bannock washed down with a wee drop of brandy. The campsites were in much better shape this spring than they were last. The Friends of McRae http://www.mccraelake.org/ have obviuosly been very busy and their message is getting across. There were a couple of really bad sites, but those were right beside the ATV trail and were obviuosly recent disgraces.

Spent the rest of the evening exploring my site and stocking up some wood for the fire. As darkness fell I humped up against a log and reread a few chapters of Steven Kings "The Dark Tower". Funniest part of the night? I was still in cell coverage so I pulled out my cell phone and snapped a pic of the fire. Sent it to my brother in law just to piss him off. I won't repeat his response here but needless to say it gave me quite a laugh! Thanks Marc! Ya little buttercup! Crawled into the tent about 10:30 pm, the hot sun had drained a lot of the energy out of me today,fell asleep to the sweet spring song of loons and spring peepers.

Woke up just before sunrise. Made a quick pot of coffee and watch the world wake up around me....the mist was risin slowly off the cold waters of McDonald Lake as the Bufflehead Ducks and Geese started adding their chorus to the morning! I tried fishing from the rocks off my site with about as much success as I expected...there is a reason why its called fishing and not catching. Loaded myself into the canoe and headed out for a paddle to explore this lake some more. After a slow 4 hour paddle I headed back to camp to make some lunch and found these about twenty feet behind my tent.....

Sharp edges.....very fresh track! A doe I would guess!

About 4 pm I got rousted by the sound of human voices interrupting my little slice of solitude. I could not believe my eyes as these guys paddled past. Cheap Canadian Tire inflatable boats? Man you would not catch me paddlin around a lake tryin to fish from one of these! Especially with the amount of tree stumps and rocks just under the water right now. Look guys...on the far left...is that Louis? Whoever he was he certainly was givin me a good dirty look!

Spent the afternoon reading and as daylight fell into darkness I stoked up the fire once more. Another beautiful cloudless night to view the stars! The sping peepers and loons serenaded me to sleep again!

Marc got his texted wish, sort of...I didn't freeze my McGuffy's off but....woke up at 6 am to the first loud peal of thunder....the storm was right overhead! Man did it ever rain hard...and those thundercalps made the tent walls actually bellows when they happened. Set up the stove in the tent vestiblule and made a pot of coffee to help me ride this one out. 9 AM and the rain had not slacked....decided to bite the bullet. Threw on rain gear and broke camp in a steady downpour...no pics of this..left the camera safely in its camera bag. The gear was packed in under twenty minutes and loaded in the canoe....I paddled back to the takeout  in the rain, not as much a pain in the behind as you may think, with good raingear it was actually a very relaxing paddle back, had to slog thru an ankle deep mudslick of a takeout tho......once the car was loaded you know exactly what happened...the rain stopped! Oh well...whats a fella to do...hit the highway about 10ish and was home by 11:30. Great trip! Great for the mind and great for the soul! For more pics, check out the Photo Gallery http://www.thecampfireonline.com/apps/photos/

Kirk

Some of the best things in life often come without warning and without preamble. Sometimes the winds and tides combine to plot your course for you. And before you have even had a chance to really contemplate what is happening you get caught up in a moment that you will bring cherished memories later. My daughter and I got to experience one of those moments. This started out with a simple statement that anyone with small kids will have heard many times..."I wish it was a PA day so I didn't have to go to school!" So I told her that I had the day off. Then asked if she wanted to stay home with daddy. Of course the answer was a  resounding yes to an unexpected day off school! I whipped thru some chores, tossed back some breakfast and put together a fast daypack and we headed out on an adventure.

We headed for highway 50 and turned north...just past Bolton we turned west onto Castlederg Sideroad for about 4 kilometers to Duffy's Lane then went south for another 3 kilometers till we found what we were after...the Humber Valley Heritage Trail!  www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/5400/

The day was warming up as started our trek over this path. The HVHTA has done a wonderful job of maintaining this trail and have developed an excellent novice hiking trail well suited to those with young children looking for a fun day of walking and enjoying nature!

After an hour and a half Alyssa was getting a little tired. We found ourselves by a swampy area that had a large log dropped down across the path and sat to have a little lunch. Some easy eats...nachos, Vienna Sausage, bananas, Baby Bel cheese and fresh croissants! Simple yet delicious!

It was early enough in the season that blackflies and mosquitos had yet to make their presence felt...not a biting critter to be found. However we still found lots of butterflies, dragonflies, and emerging plant life to keep us well entertained as we explored. The sun poked its way thru the clouds and warmed into a gorgeous spring day! After our lunch, we took a slow lazy hike back to the car exploring every little detail of nature we could find.

The day wasn't done  tho as Alyssa said she didn't want to go home yet so I turned the car north onto highway 50 and headed up to highway 9...a short drive west got us to Glen Haffy Conservation Area. http://www.trcaparks.ca/Website/TRCA/ParksAndCulture/website.nsf/Webpage/trca__parks_and_culture__locations__glen_haffy__visitorinfo__visitorinfo?OpenDocument&Language=EN. Another family friendly site. We settled in to spend the rest of the afternoon fishing the stocked trout ponds and enjoying each others company. It was very quiet at Glen Haffy with just a few others roaming around. Just as we were discussing packing up.... I felt a weight on my line. 10 seconds of excitement later and we had a small 12 inch rainbow trout to bring home! On the drive back I glanced over my shoulder to see my rambunctious 7 year old drifting off to sleep in the back seat...this was indeed one of those magical days...sometimes you just have to put all other things aside and enjoy these rare opportunities.......let it all hang out...and then smile as your kid wolfs down the trout you just cooked her for dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The SOG......Spring Outdoor Gathering.....sponsored by www.outdooradventurecanada.com.....

Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Area, May 25 to 27, 2008

This was my first time attending a SOG event although I have been to several Fall Gatherings. For anyone who is on the fence about attending an organized gathering I highly recommend you get to at least one.They are an incredible way to spend a weekend with fellow outdoos enthusiasts, swapping tall tales, comparing gear, sharing info on trip routes, usually a good paddle involved and always good eats and good company. I had unfortunately bailed out on this trip due to work committments but life is funny that way, a last minute change in my work schedule and suddenly I had the weekend off. So I loaded my gear into the car, grabbed my daughter and off we went, a day late yes, but we made it none the less. The drive up the Bruce Peninsula is an absolute treat. http://www.svca.on.ca/ca-bluffs.htm .The weather graced us with warm 15C + days and cool nights for sleeping, and despite the presence of Brian "The Rainmaker" , Mother Nature blessed us once again with a rain free spring weekend. Unfortunately we were too late to make the paddle down the Saugeen, the campsite was empty as we pulled in, everyone else on the water, but as Alyssa and I were setting up camp Dale and Lucas pulled in as well, so we got to spend some time hanging out with some new friends. Laurie, Brian and Tobias got back to camp just in time to witness the big adventure of the weekend, a bunch of folks paddlin down the Saugeen capsized their canoe, and of course being the responsible, experienced wilderness trippers that we are we ......stayed on shore and photographed the whole thing! This had the potential to be deadly, fortunately they weren't far from shore and were strong swimmers, however....it is a great reminder of what can go wrong at the most unexpected times...these kids weren't wearing life jackets and had just enough drink in them to be reckless, not a great combination.

 Once the excitement of the great dunk was over the OAC flotilla showed up and the festivities commenced! One thing I will say about any outdoors event I have attended is that the potluck meals are incredible! There is no lack of good food! We spent a wonderful night around the fire, getting caught up with old friends, getting acquainted with new friends. Breaking camp Sunday morning was a letdown, I was not ready for this weekend to end, neither was Alyssa. Oh well, on the bright side only 3 more months till the FOG08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out the SOG photo album for more pics from this weekend. http://www.thecampfireonline.com/apps/photos/album.jsp?albumID=1126664

If you are interested in attending the FOG08...check out the planning forum at http://www.outdooradventurecanada.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1552

Kirk

OK...sorry its not a solo...and we didn't bring the canoe....but I wanted to share a few pics of my last car camping trip...Lil One isn't too enthused about the canoe... once we get deep enough that she can no longer see bottom she starts to get very jumpy, so we haven't tried a canoe trip yet...but  every summer around Fathers Day we take off for a couple of nights of Daddy/Daughter bonding around a campfire....sooooo...short story long...I got stuck working Fathers Day but made arrangements for a midweek scoot. Grabbed lil camper and called her school to tell em she wasn't comin in, we loaded the car and headed out to Albion Hills campground, June 2007.

Lil Camper and the "Palais Royale"...Love this tent....6"4" at the center...tonnes of room for 2 double air mattresses! A car camping dream!




A little fishing after dinner

Success!

A night around the fire...a few marshmellows....a full moon...an hour spent chasing fireflies....Magic!

Chasing Butterflies!




Daddy...look what I caught!




Apparently the frog population is very healthy! We caught these little fella's in transition...they had fully formed legs but still had thier tadpole tails! A marvel to behold for a 6 year old.

I am hoping to take her to McCrae for an overnighter in August to get her used to the canoe...I think she will make an excellent tripping buddy!...and she seems to catch fish better than her dad!


Kirk