Back on the August long weekend, Paul and I had  a wonderful canoe trip up in Algonquin Park. Paul and I haven’t canoe-tripped in over 20 years, and this past holiday weekend, we decided to give it a go once again. We left the beach at Canoe Lake at 6:30 am under cloudy skies, but the water was calm as we paddled up towards the north end of the lake. We had a bit of a mix-up at the north end when we went the wrong way and ended up in a small bay instead of the river that led to Tom Thompson Lake, but after paddling around for a bit, we found our way out and traveled up the river to the one and only portage where we unloaded the canoe and carried everything to above a dam, where, after a brief rest, we continued on our way. It was pretty clear paddling from there to our destination, Bartlett Lake, which is situated just to one side of Tom Thompson Lake. We found a site and pitched camp, which included hanging our food barrel from a sturdy tree branch out of the reach of any bears that might be in the area, and stringing a couple of tarps as a windbreak and for shelter from the weather. Next on the agenda was lunch, during which we were visited by a Northern three-toed woodpecker, and then came a two-hour nap. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring our small lake, both for wildlife, at the same time fishing. If we were planning on fish for supper, we would have starved. Some of the fish were smaller than the lures we were using. It was pretty pathetic. That night we fell asleep to the haunting call of the loons on the lake and a barred owl hooting in the distance.

            After supper we decided to check out Tom Thompson Lake for fish. We were expecting brook trout or lake trout, but seeing as how the weather was really too warm for either, didn’t have of catching anything bigger than a sunfish.. We found a small weed patch in a quiet bay and cast into it. I’ve never seen so many large bass in one spot before and we had a grand time trying to land at least one. Alas, it was not to be. All three fish got off the hook before we could land them. Oh well we always release them anyway.

            The next morning we tried our luck again, but the fish had headed for parts unknown. We continued to paddle down a channel where we had come into the lake. Suddenly Paul pointed to a large dark shape in the water near the shore. It was a huge bull moose in velvet, just standing there in the water, munching away on water lily pads. It allowed us to approach it close enough to take several pictures of it with the 300mm telephoto zoom lens. We were there for at least an hour watching him as he leisurely ate his breakfast, very unconcerned with our presence. He stayed there most of the morning and many other campers had an opportunity to photograph him without disturbing him and his meal. A real treat indeed!

            Monday morning came way too soon. We had a thunderstorm in the wee hours that kept us awake wondering if we would be able to make it home as scheduled, but it was over by the time we rolled out of bed. After a quick breakfast, we were packed and on our way. It was a beautiful morning, with the sun burning the off the dense fog as we made our way down river. The river was like a sheet of glass. At the portage, we were greeted by a very cooperative Great Blue Heron that allowed me to take its picture before other canoeists tramped through and scared it off. We bucked a pretty stiff wind all the way down Canoe Lake to the Portage Store and were very glad to set foot on the beach. It was an all around great first trip and guess what? We’re going back!

The second week in August saw Paul and I on our second canoe trip. This time we went for a four-day trip, up to Sunbeam Lake by way of Tom Thompson Lake. As usual so far on our trips, we had the wind against us going up Canoe Lake, but surprisingly, we paddled up to the top in record time. We spent our first night on Tom Thompson at a campsite that we had used some twenty years ago. It was like going back in time. The next day we took a series of portages up to Sunbeam Lake. It turned out to be a bit of a challenge for us since one of the ponds had dried up and we had to portage around it instead of paddling across it. At the end of the first portage was a beautiful little lake where we came across three otters swimming by the shoreline. They were extremely shy and we couldn’t get close enough for a picture. The next stretch of portaging took us to a very shallow lake, where in some places, the paddles touched bottom in about six inches of water. The pond was so covered in lily pads that it was difficult to tell just how deep the water was. The last portage was the longest and I was very glad to see the last lake of our trip. We camped on a beautiful little island just across from the portage, and for two days had that end of the lake all to ourselves. Loons called and displayed in front of our camp, day and night. We had a visit from a curious raccoon, but since we had left nothing out for it to eat or get into, it soon left. We had wonderful weather in our favor and the fishing wasn’t too bad either. We spent our last night on Tom Thompson Lake, sharing the site with a nice young couple from Denmark. We had the company a huge bullfrog that we named Jeremiah. I discovered him while going down to the shoreline to get water. I didn’t have a picture of a bullfrog so I ran back up to camp for my camera. I was able to take his (I presume it was a “he”) and he didn’t even flinch as the flash went off. He serenaded us in the evening as well as the next morning.

All too soon our stay was over and it was time to head back to civilization, so we packed up early on our last morning and headed out the same way we had gone in. On the way out, we were treated to being able to watch five more otters playing and fishing in the calm water of the river. We also had a loon swim straight toward us and pass within ten feet of the canoe. What an experience even though I didn’t manage to get a picture. Later on, further downstream seven loons flew over our heads. They were calling the whole time and it was as though they were saying “Good-bye”. Once again we hit a headwind going down Canoe Lake, but we handled it with time to spare and I cheered as we made land on the beach. I don’t know if we’ll get out for another trip this year, but we’re certainly looking forward to doing more canoe-tripping next year.

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