July and August

We took two family trips in July and August. The first was a long weekend - three nights on OSA Lake. This time we took a trip down Artist Creek, which was navigable enough for a couple of hours amusement, and we also took a trip into Muriel and then Artist Lake just for sight-seeing. I had been in Artist Lake in May - however by July it had filled up beautifully with lillies and Pickerel Weed.

Artist Lake in July

In August, it was a more adventurous portage - the 3km walk from David to Great Mountain, and we did that twice. Coming out was better as we had eaten a lot of food. Great Mountain was booked so we stayed on Fish Lake - it was deserted and it was gorgeous.

Fish Lake in the morning

Late May Trip to Killarney

LATE MAY TRIP
First trip was in late May, and I went with a friend on this route.

Day 1: George-Freeland-Killarney-OSA, day 2: OSA - Muriel - Artist (2km PIG portage) - Threenarrows. Stayed 2 nights on Threenarrows, had a day trip through York Lake and round in a circle. Back out in two stages: Threenarrows (3km Portage) - Killarney; then Killarney and back via Freeland and George.

What was good:
The bugs were nowhere near as bad as I expected and feared. We had to use repellant in the evenings and on the wet portages, but at no time was it enough to destroy enjoyment.
Artist Lake is a lovely place. There's a waterfall at the end of the 185m portage that's very pretty, and the lake becomes full of lillies and dragon flies later in the season.

What wasn't so good:
There are motor boats and cottages on Threenarrows: it takes some of the fun out of back-country camping for me if I can see a Bell Express-Vu dish.
The Pig portage from Artist to Threenarrows deserves its name. After the first flat 700m, it is steep going up, steep going down, and because it's an old logging road, it's a climb over boulders and loose rock the whole way. I wouldn't have minded except that Threenarrows was a bit of a let down for me.

First 2011 Trip to Killarney now booked!

I have now booked my first canoe trip to Killarney for 2011. It's a party of 2 plus a dog: and we're going the weekend after May 24. We're gambling that the visitors for the long weekend will have fed the bugs, though 2 years ago I took the same gamble and it didn't work. And last year we went the week before May 24 and ended up with the tent weighed down with snow and had to go to Sudbury on the Saturday to get a replacement battery for the car.

This year the trip is George Lake access through Freeland - Killarney - OSA (1st night) - Muriel - Three Narrows (2 nights) - Killarney (one night) - then back to George Lake via Freeland.

Below is a picture of Killarney Lake, Thanksgiving 2010.

Mid-February: time to book a July trip!

The Ministry allows us to book Ontario Parks trips 5 months in advance. Now really I am being silly here: by promoting how easy and how much fun it is to camp in the backcountry by canoe, I am going to make it more difficult to get the trips we want in the future.

Last summer, we went into Killarney from the West end, starting from Widgawa Lodge near Espanola.

This was a beautiful trip along the creek, and this summer we want to go in from the same side. This time, though, we want to make sure we can stay on Nellie Lake for a few days. It's such a long portage to get to Nellie it needs to be 2 nights there at least!