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.