Day 1 - Margaret Lake to Black Lake (8 km)

Maps provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have marked my route in blue and portages in red. 

Day 1 - Margaret Lake to Black Lake (8 km)

I finished teaching my last-period accounting class in Peterborough, Ontario, and made my way to my vehicle that had my 15' Esquif Prospecteur tied to the roof racks and fully-laden canoe pack already stowed inside. 

I made my way north to the Haliburton Highlands and turned left onto Margaret Lake Road from Highway 35 just before 6 PM. I quickly unloaded in a cloud of blackflies, parked my car at the allotted space on the side of the road, and shoved off onto Margaret Lake just after 6. 

Prior to doing this, though, I took a quick shot of the lovely, log-jammed creek that trickled into Margaret Lake next to the launch site. 

I had decided to start this trip on Margaret Lake with the intention of looping back to it on Sunday. Alas, this did not occur for reasons that will be explained in Day 2 of this report. 

It was a pleasant paddle through the narrows into the main portion of the lake; the glass-like lake was incredibly calm. I took a quick shot of the lovely cliffs on the south shore --  a beacon of wilderness on an otherwise cottage-adorned shoreline. 

The 340-meter portage at the north end of the lake was a well-used trail that went up a slight incline and emerged at a cottage access road. Across the road was the put-in at the incredibly scenic swampy southern back bay of Dan Lake. 

I trolled a line through Dan Lake, which is apparently stocked with splake, but didn't have any takers. There were a couple of guys casting from the south shore, as well. I hope they had better luck than I did.  

Having been through the area a few times before, I knew that I could probably avoid the 125-meter portage into McEwen Lake by taking the early June high-water creek between the two lakes.  

Indeed, the water was plenty high enough to get over the rocks, but I did need to get out and lift over a log that spanned the creek on the McEwen Lake side. 

Paddling the length of McEwen Lake was sublime in the conditions I was enjoying. It was like paddling on a mirror. I took some time to reflect. It really put me in the right frame of mind. Looking back on it now, it was vaintastic and not paneful at all! I find that mirror therapy really helps a person face themself. 

By far, the best part of the reflection in that mirror was the gorgeous image of McEwen Lake with its rocky eastern shore and island-studded bay at its north end. 

The 215-meter portage into Horse Lake was a little more rugged, but the nasty bits were made easy by installed boardwalks. I did need to duck under a formidible fallen pine tree along the way. 

The beauty of the area continued on Horse Lake where I put in under a canopy of cedars. 

Paddling past the pretty islands on the mane part of Horse Lake, I reached the 265-meter trail into the Black River in short order. I don't know if Horse Lake is popular, but I hear it has a strong colt following. I was beginning to get a little tired at this point, but I still had a little horsepower left in the tank. I was just glad there wasn't any wind; I felt stable  in the canoe. If I had capsized, it truly would have been a nightmare.  Approaching the portage, I got sad to leave the beauty of the lake. Some might even say that I had a long face. 

The trail out of Horse Lake was clear and was a downhill slope next to a trickling creek that dumped into the river. I was happy to be travelling in the downhill direction. 

It emerged at a swampy put-in where I had to tentatively walk across some floating bog moss to reach a place to properly put in. I snapped a shot of the put-in as I paddled away, but it came out blurry, unfortunately. 

I was only on the Black River for a matter of minutes before I had to take out again to portage past a substantial waterfall that emptied into Black Lake. 

There was a bag and some fishing gear at the take-out. This made me obviously assume that someone was on the portage and would be back for their second load. However, when I returned for my second load it was gone, and I hadn't encountered anyone on the portage. It was odd. Perhaps, they had hiked in without a canoe and were investigating the falls while I completed the portage. 

Even though I had done this portage a year earlier, I still couldn't help but take a shot of the falls from the trail and  walk down to the base of the falls to get another look from the bottom 

The 755-meter portage was undulating and wet for the most part. It went up a steep incline only to have a dramatic drop to the lake where I had to watch my step carefully descending some rocks. 

Black Lake is the largest lake en route, and I was happy to have the calm conditions continue. There were a couple of cottages on the northern shore that appeared to be vacant when I paddled past. Other than the two fishermen on Dan Lake, I hadn't seen anyone else on the route. It would appear that I had the lake to myself. 

I arrived at my booked campsite at the west end of the lake by 8:30 PM and I quickly set up my hammock and bug shelter before dusk and mosquito witching hour arrived. I didn't think to get a shot of the site until the following morning however. Here it is. 

I cooked steak over the fire accompanied by some mashed potatoes and an adult beverage, which I consumed in the bug tent when the bugs came out. It was delicious, as is everything in the backcountry when one is hungry and has earned a good meal. 

Inexplicably, when darkness fully descended after 10 PM, I was able to sit out by the fire a bit. The bugs weren't too bad for the first weekend in June -- unheard of!