Embedded Files
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 3 - Wasaksina Lake to Shiningwood Bay (4 km)
Once again, we awoke to sunny skies. Awesome.
Knowing we had a 5-hour drive back to my house that day, we got on the water at a respectable time after coffee and oatmeal. After breaking camp, we made sure the site was clean and we took a few more photos of the magical site for posterity's sake.
As mentioned at the outset of this trip report, a small notebook was left in a freezer bag under the shelf on this site. It was for the visitors of the site to leave a little note to record what they wanted about their visit. JP opted to document our visit. His entry was concise and appropriate for our amazing trip that was coming to an end.
Perfect.
We received the last 'drive-by' visit from the pair of ladies we'd been leapfrogging with on the route. They were paddling past just as we were about to load our boats. We bid our adieus and wished them happy canoe tripping in the future.
We got on the water just before nine, and I snapped a shot of the site from the water as we departed.
We rounded Denedus Point in one of the rare moments of calm water that we had on the entire trip, and headed north between cottage-laden islands on our way to the Central Access.
Dodging a couple of nasty boat-induced waves on the way, we arrived at the ultimate take-out in a little over half an hour after leaving our site.
We found our vehicle in exactly the same condition we had left it in. (Always a good thing on a multi-day trip!) After bringing it down to the water, we loaded the car and miraculously got everything into it without having to put any bags on the roof. Jason was pleased.
As is normal after a canoe trip, the craving to eat at a restaurant was strong. The Swiss Chalet in North Bay answered the call.
On the way home, we made another stop in Gravenhurst to visit one of our relatives, but not before making a small visit to pick up some cans from the Sawdust City Brewing Co. -- an excellent local microbrewery.
We posed for a photo in the parking lot. I'd like to show it to you now. After all, chairing is caring. Just sit back and take a gander at this wonderful photo. I know, it's a bit childish, but I just hope you won't think it so childish that we would require the use of high chairs. (Not that there is anything wrong with high chairs, after all, they really elevate the dining experience!)
Have you had enough of bad puns? Some would say that these puns are so bad that I should have a few sessions of chair-a-py. Others, who are intrinsically more chairitable, would tell me to continue to chair my puns with my readers, but to chair with care. Either way, I encourage you to write in and chair your thoughts (or puns).
Ok, enough! I don't want to have this blog become seated in controversy. That would be a very bad seatuation for everyone.
In the end, we had a great trip. JP's ankle survived the trip unscathed. For us, this trip was about four friends getting together to hang out, have some laughs, and take a much-needed break from the normal day-to-day routine of our respective lives. We just happened to accomplish that in the wonderful backdrop that is the Temagami Wilderness, and I can't think of a better place to have done that! For others who may want to try the loop that we did, here are a few comments.
Pros: It's a relatively easy trip. There are only 6 portages, and none of them are over 500 meters long. There is only one portage that I would say is a little challenging, but even that one is no worse than many one would encounter in Algonquin. After portaging away from Lake Temagami, the lakes are stunningly beautiful. No permits are required, so it is free for Canadian residents. Non-residents of Canada will need to purchase crown land camping permits. It wasn't busy with canoeists in the way that Algonquin is, so parties will most likely not have trouble with campsites being occupied to the point of not finding one at the end of the day. The campsites that we experienced were all fantastic and very clean. I encourage people who visit the area to donate a little to the Friends of Temagami. They do wonderful work in maintaining the sites and portages! Although we didn't spend a lot of time doing it, the bass fishing in the area is good. So is the walleye fishing, purportedly.
Cons: There are not many problematic issues on this route if one is looking for a lovely short backcountry trip, but here are a couple that some may experience. There is some big open water on this route, and paddlers may find themselves windbound in spots like we were on Day 3. Work around weather reports if possible, and get early starts to the day to beat the prevailing afternoon west winds. Large parts of this route are on Lake Temagami. Although it is a beautiful lake, it is busy with motorboats and has a number of cottages. Once off the big lake, pockets of isolated wilderness can be experienced.
Until the next trip...
Day 2 - Lake Temagami to Iceland Lake (16 km)
Day 3 - Iceland Lake to Wasaksina Lake (7 km)
Day 4 - Wasaksina Lake to Shiningwood Bay (13 km)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse