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Kevin Acker’s Canoe Trip Log – Algonquin Park, Ontario, 2007
This is the trip log from the canoe trip of Kevin Acker, accompanied by Jason Conaty and Josh Goldstein, on a seven-day canoe trip in Algonquin Park, Ontario from July 30 to August 4, 2007.
Day 1: Canoe Lake – Joe Lake – Burnt Island
Kevin Acker started off on Canoe Lake, using the Portage Store as outfitters. Driving in from Toronto that morning, the group got off to a bit of a late start, leaving for Burnt Island at about 4 pm. The arrangement for the trip would be three people in an 18’ canoe, with Kevin Acker handling the steering duties from the stern seat. Fully loaded, the canoe was a bit of a tank and hard to maneuver.
Day 2: Burnt Island – Otterslides – Big Trout Lake – Lake LaMuir
Day 2 was a difficult day. Kevin Acker found the 2,600 meter portage between Big Trout and LaMuir particularly difficult. There was only one campsite open on the LaMuir and, after paddling around the lake for about 90 minutes, Kevin Acker was finally able to locate it. Once again, the group barely made camp before dark. Overall, it was about a 10-hour day.
Day 3: Lake LaMuir – Hogan Lake – Catfish Lake
A moderate day, with about six hours of travel time. Kevin Acker spotted two moose on the way into Catfish. The island campsite in the middle of the south arm of Catfish was occupied by a large group, so Kevin Acker and group instead used the campsite next to the island on a small peninsula – also a very good site. For the first time, the group arrived well before dark and was able to enjoy the lake for a while before cooking dinner. During the night, it rained quite hard for a while. Kevin Acker was using a covered hammock (made by Hennessey), which handled the rain without problems. And, it was much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground!
Day 4: Catfish Lake – Petawawa River – Burntroot Lake – Redpine Bay
A very nice paddle for Kevin Acker and group, mixing beautiful rivers and lakes. The group bypassed most of the portages on the Petawawa, with Jason Conaty dragging the canoe. Burntroot is one of the nicest lakes in Algonquin, and is full of great campsites. Unfortunately, almost all of them were taken. Kevin Acker and group had originally planned to stay the night in the middle part of Burntroot, but due to the lack of campsites pushed on to Redpine Bay. What was supposed to be a moderate day turned into a very difficult one. Kevin Acker found the campsite adequate, but nothing special.
Day 5: Redpine Bay – Longer Lake – Big Trout
A nice, well deserved, short day. Redpine Bay to Big Trout only took about four hours, and Kevin Acker and group decided to take the first campsite on the island across the lake from the portage. The group spent the afternoon relaxing. There was a great sense of isolation for the only time of the trip – it was the only day that the group didn’t see a single other trip.
Day 6: Big Trout – White Trout – Grassy Bay – Sunbeam
Sunbeam, though small and potentially quite crowded due to its easy access from the Canoe Lake put-in, is one of the nicest lakes in the Park. The prime island campsites were all taken, so the Kevin Acker settled into a decent campsite on a hill on the northeast part of the lake. There was a great place to hang the hammock on a rocky ledge overlooking the lake – a very nice spot for Kevin Acker to spend the night.
Day 7: Sunbeam – Tom Thompson – Littledoe – Joe – Canoe
A nice easy paddle back into Canoe Lake. The water levels were low in the ponds between Sunbeam and Tom Thompson, so the group ended up portaging around the lakes. As it was the beginning of a holiday weekend in Canada, Kevin Acker found the lakes and portages quite crowded the entire way back.
Overall, a very difficult trip. In retrospect, probably a little bit too ambitious for three people in a slow-moving fully-loaded canoe.
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