Day 7 - Osler Lake

Heart of the Park - Kiosk to Opeongo - Algonquin Park Canoe Trip Report

Osler Lake

We survived

Heart Attack Hill

(sort of)

Day 7 – AUGUST 16 - Skuce to Osler (hardest day of the trip)

450m into Little Nadine – steep

995 into Little Osler – extremely steep (heart attack hill)

700 into Osler - downhill
Day 8 – AUGUST 17 - Rest Day on Osler

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Dramatic Clouds

Misty Afternoon

Campsite Rating:

• Water Access: excellent
• Tent Sites: One flat tent pad, a possible second site for a tent
• Fire Pit - Okay - Norman reconstructed it with the rocks; no grill
• Firewood:  Tons
• Kybo - Brand new - obviously Rangers have been through recently
• Swimming - Clear and deep once you get past the large underwater boulders
• Scenery - gorgeous

Surviving a very hard portage!

By design we have been taking it slow. Norm's sore shoulders and my increasingly sore knees need all the rest they can get between portaging days. While moving from Skuce to Osler doesn't seem like much of a distance it was really rugged terrain. Thank god the food barrels were lighter! I was feeling stronger as well, which is good as the portages on this day were difficult for one reason or another. 

The 450 out of Skuce was extremely steep and rocky in the beginning and then a long decline down to Little Nadine. It was a really pretty walk and an acceptable trade off for having to double carry. I could sense the wild remoteness of where we were. 

The landing into Little Nadine was deep bog, at least 10 feet of bog from grassy edge to water deep enough to float a boat. Rickety skinny floating dead wood provided some foot support to move packs out to the boat. I went down once, up to my knee, and almost lost a boot. Not knowing any better the dogs jumped in to cool off and disappeared under the black swill. I had to drag them out by the collar and they stunk! Norman dropped his point and shoot camera which the bog quickly ate up. Except for the strap we would have lost it. I find these types of portages hard on the back -- all that lifting on angles and perilous walking with weight.

Little Nadine is little more than a pond and a puddle jump to the portage into Little Osler. The most anticipated portage of the trip.

A boggy put-in at Little Nadine. You can see the next Portage across this tiny lake.

We were pumped and ready to attack heart attack hill. What can I say --- it lived up to its hype. There is an extremely steep and extra long section that gets you to the top of the ridge and from there it is very steep up and downs into Little Osler. I do have to brag and remind myself that I carried both barrels at the same time the entire length of the portage. But it didn't really do me any favours as the second load, my light load, was excruciatingly hard. My calves and hamstrings were burnt out and I basically crawled on all fours in places.

I think this portage is when Norman ruptured a tendon in his rotator cuff (he will be receiving surgery to repair.) Anyone who has done this portage knows that there is a large sitting rock at the top of the longest steepest climb.  You can see it for awhile and use it as a goal marker. He got to the rock with the heavy pack and as he tried to get it off his back the strap caught on his collar bone and pulled his shoulder out of whack.  This was day 7 of a 19 day trip. 

Norm at the sitting rock after longest hardest climb. Lots more ahead.

My shoulder hurts!

I was happy with my accomplishment.

(I should mention the 6 little boys carrying massive packs and the three young councillors carrying cedar strip canoes that we met on this portage.  They couldn't understand why someone would write Heart Attack Hill on the sign.)

At the landing into Little Osler there was a nice rest spot for lunch, after which we pushed off for the 700 meter into Osler. The portage had a steady climb for a bit and then levelled out into a very nice trail.

OSLER LAKE - In Photos

I loved it here. Our campsite was small and flat. The old notched-bench furniture had a lovely window-like view of the lake. There was a tent pad and a tarp site and enough firewood to last a lifetime.  It was truly wild and remote. I felt in sync with the landscape as it dictated movement and speed. The world had slowed down and expanded.

Tent site on Osler Lake

Considerate campers left enough wood for a fire

Good swimming

Rest Day -- just a drizzle on Osler

While sitting under the tarp reading this beauty came to rest in front of me

Every night of the trip was special

Waiting for the sunset

Enjoying the quietude and gorgeous scenery

Breathtaking - Wish I was still there!

Misty Afternoon

Day 9 - High Falls/Nipissing River

Heart of the Park - Kiosk to Opeongo - Algonquin Park Canoe Trip Report

High Falls/Nipissing River

12,270 meter portage day!

Day 9 – AUGUST 18 - Osler to Nadine to High Falls Nipissing River

1930m -  reported as okay (in reality uphill steep and long)

1410m to Nipissing River – downhill

5km. Paddle south on Nipissing River

850m around Gauthier’s Dam

Day 10 - Rest Day at High Falls

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High Falls

High Falls

Campsite Rating:

• Water Access: eroded shore line, incline to site, roots, pebbles and sand 
• Tent Sites: one flat area, room for a 2nd tent
• Fire Pit - Okay, no grate
• Firewood:  Ample wood, old benches
• Kybo - Old with a broken lid, but not gross
• Swimming - Could not swim, beautiful clear flowing water about a foot deep
• Scenery - A view up and down the river, very secluded and pretty

High Falls/Nipissing River Campsite

Westerly view from site

Looking East

This was a day full of great accomplishments and also the worst day of the trip (speaking for myself.) We are almost half way through and some of the aches and pains have caught up to us, especially at night as we try to sleep. So tensions felt high and of course when you are in the middle of the Park there is no "bug out" -- we are stuck with each other for the next 10 days of wilderness travel. And sooner or later Norman and I have always have a "disagreement." This was the day. 

We left Osler at 9:00. Originally I wanted stop on Nadine, but things didn't work out that way. The 1830 portage Osler to Nadine was a very tough way to start the day. It was unexpectedly steep, hilly, always up up up, rocky and just plain nasty. It felt long. 

While crossing paths on the portage trail Norman informed me that we were going to push on, get as far as possible, go home. He had visions of Lazy Boys and Blue Jay's games dancing in his head. Well, after much "discussion" at the put-in, the can of Pam spray I hurled at him was all that (almost) glanced off his head. The spray-- never to be seen again, despite my great attempts to locate it in the woods.

---sigh---

Nadine was stunningly beautiful. The lake is smallish with clear deep water and a high ridge snaking along the south east shore. One day I will get back there.

The 1410 to the Nipissing River had a vertical calf-killing incline to start then a long steady downhill to the river. It was a pretty walk. I have just loved the crazy wildness and topography of the portages along the first half of this trip.

After we apologized and made up we paddled about 5 km. against the current (not fast water so okay) to Gauthier's Dam. The water was low and we had to repeatedly get out of the canoe to negotiate around sand bars. 

Then we had our first encounter of the trip with people and a dog. They were resting on a sandbar and their dog was playing. Our dogs went crazy. I guess the early tensions had rubbed off on them and the shock of people and pets on the horizon sent them into a frenzied bark mode. Norm held Tripper and I held Misty with one hand, and we tried to paddle the canoe with the other hand. One handed paddling is geeky and ineffective. Somehow we got past the people and we were still upright in the canoe. I was quite embarrassed.

As we approached our next portage we ran out of river water. We had to carry the packs and canoe over over rocks for about 20 meters to the actual portage. (It is worth noting, the campsite at this portage is horrible. No thunder box, not much of a fire pit ring, no trees for a hammock and the only spot for a tent was overgrown. Never plan to stay here.)  

Portage at Gauthier's Dam, Nipissing River

The 850m around Gauthier’s Dam was just unpleasant, probably, because I was so tired. A walk through high grass, up a hill, around some downed trees and back down to the river. No dam in sight. We saw quite a few people along this portage. I could feel the times they are a-changin' as the wild remoteness of the small lakes is left behind.

Finally, our destination campsite was only a couple of km. away! The river is lovely, but again, the water so low we did a lot of walking. 

Low water along the Nipissing, just before High Falls

I was worried the campsite would be awful. It was getting onto 5:00, I was hungry and tired, so when we finally saw the big orange sign I was ecstatic, even more so when I saw the how cute and perfect the site was for us.

No lazy boys, but an amazing place to call home for an extra day!!!

On our day off we slept in, moved slowly, had extra coffee, did our laundry, laid out flat on the river bottom so the cool water could wash over us. At noon we went to the Falls and quickly realized we needed to go back in the morning to take photos with nice morning light. We walked the 1300 portage trail that followed an impressive roaring section of the Nipissing River. The first campsite along the river was okay -- the second as horrible, worse, than the one at Gauthier's dam. All in all we had a wonderful day.

The rest of our stay at High Falls in photos!

Norman recovering

Relaxing morning coffee with a view

Wash Day

Even though a bear walked though our site earlier all we got were photos of underwear

Dogs were exhausted

This guy was around for two days

Coming back from our walk to the falls

High Falls

High Falls

I would love to see High Falls during high water

The Falls as seen from the Portage Trail

There are two campsites marked along the 1300 meter portage trail beside the river. The east site is okay with a flat tent site and a walk out to the river. The site furthest west is unusable and should be removed from the Park's map. (These are terrible point and shoot photos but they give you an idea of what they're like.)

East site

West site

Day 11 - Robinson Lake

Heart of the Park - Kiosk to Opeongo - Algonquin Park Canoe Trip Report

Robinson Lake

"Best campsite in the Park (?)"

Day 11 – AUGUST 20 - High Falls/Nipissing River to Robinson

short paddle

1930m into Remona 

435m into Whiskey Jack

75m into Robinson 

Day 12 – AUGUST 21 - Rest Day on Robinson

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Robinson Lake Sunset

View from the island campsite on Robinson Lake

Campsite Rating:

• Water Access: very difficult, lots of rocks and waves, steep climb to campsite
• Tent Sites: one small flat area, other tent sites possible but without shelter
• Fire Pit - really nice, built up for the wind, logs to sit on
• Firewood:  Island is full of dead standing and dead fall 
• Kybo - Couldn't ask for better
• Swimming - hard to find a good place to get into the lake
• Scenery - Exceptional - high up campsite

Making our way to the Island Campsite on Robinson

We left High Falls on August 20, my son's birthday. (Happy Birthday Rick!) It was a short paddle to the 1930 portage into Remona. Of course the terrain had to be a calf killer, both at the start of the portage and throughout. You'd go down an almost vertical decline, think ah, I am past the worst, but no... up up up you go. The whole carry is basically up and over a ridge,  and at the end the trail takes you down to Remona.  It took us 1 hr. and 45 minutes, double carry. We both commented on how much stronger we were feeling.

This portage was so pretty I actually put down my gear and dug out the camera. The light filtering through the Maples was magical. (I am one of those weird people who actually like portages even if they kill me.) 

On the trail between Nipissing River and Remona Lake

There is a wonderful lunch/rest spot at the put-in to Remona. Since we were only going as far as Robinson we took our time and my travelling buddies had a nap.

We didn't see a lot of wildlife. But this turtle couldn't hide from Norman 

Loaded and ready to go. The Portage is just on the other shore.

The 435 portage into Whisky Jack was interesting. The ground cover under trees was like a deep dusty mulch. The incline to start the portage was so abrupt it was hard to get my footing and legs under me with the weight of the barrels. The trail went straight up and then straight down and then straight up and then abruptly down to Whiskey Jack. 

Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of Whiskey Jack as the portage into Robinson was just across the bay. Over we paddled into the narrows through beautiful lilies and floating drift wood. At the start of the 75 meter portage we bumped into two guys heading into Whiskey Jack. They had come all the way from Hogan that day! That is a really really long way. How impressive! And one fellow was carrying a massive Pelican Case full of exceptional camera gear including a Herculean tripod. 

They said they had tried to reserve the Robinson Lake campsite but it was taken (by us) and that they had heard it was the very best site in the Park. I too had read that the site was 5 star and my anticipation and expectations grew exponentially.

We quickly completed the 75 meter lift over, loaded up and started paddling to our next home away from home.

Okay... so sometimes I am too worn out to really appreciate the good. We got to the Island and the first challenge was finding somewhere to get out of the boat. Waves were pushing us up against large boulders and the rocky rise of the Island and the water was deep. The next issue was carrying all our gear up to the campsite which seemed very far and elevated at the time. And then I had problems getting water for our dinner and dishes. Even the dogs had difficulty finding a place to drink from the lake The water was at least a couple of feet below the rock ledge and we had to lean perilously far over to dip our bucket. 

I think this was my hump day.  Not an awful day -- I was just feeling really worn out.

But our photos show another point of view. It was a spectacular place to spend an extra day. The scenery is beautiful, the Island has many "sitting spots," we had great sunsets, a good flat place to pitch the tent, lots of little birds to keep us company. 

On our day off we experienced the only heatwave of the trip and although getting into the water for a swim was difficult, the water itself was glorious -- emerald green, deep, cool and oh so soft. 

There was spectacular show of sheet lightning the first night. The next morning a huge thunderstorm crashed all around us. We could see the black wall of rain pouring down on neighbouring lakes while we sat in the sunshine. We didn't get one drop of rain on our island. 

The rest in photos!

View from the campsite

Morning paddlers

Photographing the photographer photographing the sunset

Another spectacular sunset

This guy kept us company for two days

Misty enjoys her day off!

The only picture we have of the tent on Robinson.

The place to unload your boat and get water.

Another photographer photographs the sunset

Good Night

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