David Lake / Silver Peak Loop

Map provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have made additional markings to show route information. 

In August of 2019, my father and I completed a 6-day loop trip in North Killarney. We arrived at David Lake from the long and difficult portage from Great Mountain Lake. We had every intention of hiking up to Silver Peak on that trip but simply didn't have enough time. We were only able to book a single night on David Lake because, as is often the case, the campsites on the pretty lakes of Killarney Provincial Park are booked solid from the moment they become available five months earlier.

As a consolation, Dad and I did a quick after-dinner hike up the ridge that stands between David and Boundary Lakes to meet up with the Silhouette Trail. There, we got a good glimpse of those gleaming white Lacloche Mountain rocks that are so indicative of Killarney's beauty. We could see Silver Peak in the distance and very much wanted to get there but simply did not have enough daylight hours to do so. Awestruck with the view, I vowed to return to hike to the peak. 

Flash forward five years later and my wife had a week of vacation available in the second week of August. We originally had planned to do a full week of canoe tripping further afield from our home; however, something came up that we needed to take care of at home and we had to shorten our time away from the house. This meant that I had to reduce a 7-day trip to a 4-day trip at the last minute. On a whim, I quickly logged onto the Ontario Parks website to see what was available, and lo and behold, I was actually able to cobble together a trip to the David Lake area of Killarney on the days that we could travel! I was booking sites in Killarney just a few days before our departure date. Wow. Better yet, I was able to book a site on David Lake for two nights. Best yet, the site backed onto the Silhouette Trail and we could hike to Silver Peak right from our campsite! Whoo hoo! Someone must have cancelled their booking just prior because, except for the sites that I booked, every other site was unavailable. What luck! I immediately booked it.  

Day 1 - Bell Lake Access Point to David Lake 

Distance: 8 km

Number of Portages: 2 (not including the short portage from the parking lot to the lake)

Total Portage Distance: 910 meters

On the second Sunday of August, Dahee and I left our home in Peterborough around 8 AM and made our way north. It rained most of the way. We were hoping that we would drive through it by the time we reached Killarney but it was absolutely teeming when we took the off-ramp from Highway 69 and started making our way west on Highway 637. It was still raining hard when we rocked up to Killarney Kanoes on the south shore of Bell Lake. There, we checked in with the staff by showing our permits and then made our way back to the parking lot. Unbelievably, when I started untying the canoe from the car, someone turned off the faucet. Just like that, the rain stopped. Again with the luck! 

I mean, I don't mind having rain on a backcountry trip, but I would prefer not to start the trip off feeling wet. That would surely dampen our spirits and who wants to start a canoe trip off in a wave of emotion. (I just hope moist of these puns aren't going over your head. I'm simply trying to start this trip report with a splash and hoping you'll dive right in. Perhaps, I should just abandon the puns, wet go and relax?) Rain or not, we were feeling great just being there. Hiking up Silver Peak has long been on our bucket mist and we were looking forward to doing it.

We made the short portage from the parking lot to the lake and shoved off onto Bell Lake just after 1:30 PM, excited to be on the water and ready to start our four-day adventure in the beautiful Killarney backcountry.  We were able to push off just ahead of another canoe party.   

My trip before this one was a 10-day solo trip in Quetico Provincial Park. The lakes are much bigger there and this kind of messed with my head while paddling out onto Bell Lake. In Quetico, looking at my map, I was used to paddling greater distances to make a lake crossing. I guess I still had this mentality while paddling on Bell Lake and we kept trucking north on Bell Lake after putting in. I just wasn't used to such short distances again. We missed turning west toward our portage after the first headland and I only clued into my mistake after going nearly a full kilometre out of our way toward the north end of the lake. Doh! Normally, I am quite proud of my navigational and map skills, but alas, as they say in Korea, "Sometimes, even monkeys fall from trees." This time, I fell. 

"Honey, think of it this way. Now, you've had the chance to see more of this gorgeous lake! Lucky you!" I tried, but she wasn't having it. Dahee was not impressed with my lack of navigational prowess only 5 minutes after launch. Canoe Dad? Yeah right, more like Canoe Dud. 

After some profuse apologizing, we backtracked and made our way to the west end of Bell Lake, passing a pretty headland on the north shore where we could get our first glimpse of the white quartzite rocks that Killarney is famous for. 

Twenty minutes after that, we were into the narrows at the far southwestern corner of Bell Lake. A crisp wind had come in and blown away most of the nasty dark clouds. We were able to see blue skies for the first time that day as we got our first look at Silver Peak toward the southwest. 

We arrived at the take-out to the 700-meter portage that would get us into David Creek. Another family was at the take-out completing their portage in the opposite direction. They were finishing their trip and reported that they had a wonderful time in Killarney despite dealing with a lot of rain. Good reports of a trip always augur well for those about to start them. 

The portage was relatively flat and easy, and we made fairly quick work of the double-trip carry. Putting in on David Creek, we prepared to exit the canoe again almost immediately with a formidable beaver dam in our view just ahead of us. 

As suspected, the dam was too large to lift over; however, there was an easy little escape route to the right of it. We left most of our gear in the boat, each of us grabbing an end, and carried it past the dam. This route was extremely well-travelled. 

We made our way through the lilypads of David Creek as it widened. Despite causing us to get out of the boat and do the short portage past it, we were grateful for the beaver dam. It raised the water to an acceptable level where we could easily paddle up David Creek. Without it, we would have probably been slogging through a mud field. 

That reminds me, have you ever heard the alternative country-rock ditty "Slogging Through a Mud Field" by Creedence Murkywater Revival? 

Well, neither have I, but just for a second there, I thought it might exist. 

Ten minutes past the beaver dam, we arrived at a small chute where David Creek departed David Lake. We took out to the right of it to take the 200-meter portage into David Lake. It was very pretty. 

The portage was easy and relatively flat. Our map indicated that there were some logging camp ruins at the David Lake end of the portage but we were unable to locate them while attempting a quick search. We did notice a number of rotting logs choking the creek at various points, most likely remnants of the logs that did not complete their high-water spring run down the creek many moons ago. 

Along the portage, the creek emerged into a large swampy area before dumping over the chute at the start of the portage. 

Paddling out onto David Lake we discovered that the wind had come up. Travelling westward and with Georgian Bay relatively nearby, it was a stiff headwind.  We hugged the southern shore, taking advantage of points and headlands to lessen the burden. It was tricky making our way around the headland that sported site 194. We received the full brunt of the wind there as we rounded the point and made our way carefully to site 193, our home for the next two nights. 

The site was a great one. It had a wonderful, sloping rock as a front porch and tons of space for tents in a grove of pines. Upon arrival, we were so busy setting up that I forgot to get a good photo of the site, but here is a shot of the site from the water that I took two days later upon departing it. 

We made camp and enjoyed our dinner that we cooked over an open fire. 

That reminds me, have you ever heard the grunge tune "Cooked Over an Open Fire" by the early 90s rockers Seattle Charcoal? 

Well, neither have I, but just for a second there, I thought it might exist. 

The wind blew in some more clouds that were threatening to be a little nasty and there was a momentary sprinkle or two, but nothing that necessitated an immediate tarp installation. When the sun got very low in the sky, beneath the cloud ceiling, it cast an amazing magenta hue into the darkening night. It was as if the sun wanted to say goodnight to us. We obliged it and sauntered down to the lakeside to reply with our own goodnights.