TOURduPARK
Ready to launch on Maple Creek from the 660m portage
We passed up this creepy looking campsite on Nadine Lake
The beginnings of Heart Attack Hill – this is nothing. You’ll wish this was the worst later on
Getting packed up and ready to move on to our next destination
Day 3: Erables Lake to Nadine Lake
Remember when I said I never sleep in while in Algonquin Park? I lied. I stayed in bed until 9:30am and loved every minute of it. I slept so well last night, and I had the pleasure of not having to wake up and use the bathroom half way through the night! I crawled out of my sleeping bag and out of the tent. I looked up and was happy to see a mix of sun and cloud, none of which looked like rain clouds so that’s always nice. I retrieved the food and setup the stove with some water for coffee. Angela was awake and packing up the inside of the tent. I’m really happy with how she is adjusting to moving each day, it’s not so bad once you get a good routine going. Today was a short day in distance, only 12.6 km but half of that was portaging. We had a total of 7 portages today, one of them nicknamed ‘Heart Attack Hill’ and the last one being the longest of trip at 1830m. Today we had BLT’s and coffee for breakfast. I really love a good BLT and find two of them hits me just hard enough that I don’t need a big lunch. Angela finished with the inside of the tent so she came to the seating area to enjoy some coffee while I took the tent down. We were really getting into that nice routing I was speak of earlier. During breakfast we were reminiscing of our little adventure yesterday and we were both still very please with the outcome of the loon family. We took our time during breakfast and opted to have an extra cup of coffee. It was only 11am and following our intense day yesterday, we were in no rush today!
Looking back and happy that the longest portage of the trip & the last of the day is behind us
tr 62: Little Cauchon - Erables - Nadine - Nipissing
The obstruction in Maple Creek at the 90m portage
‘What the hell?!! There’s a fish in my pants!!’ I yelled out after exiting the lake. I lifted my left pant leg to shake it out and a huge frog popped out! What the heck?! How? When? Huh? No idea! I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when I stepped into the lake. Both Angela and I got a pretty good laugh at it though. It was a comedic finish to a hard day of portaging. I loaded the packs into the canoe, then we headed off onto a cloudy but dead calm Nadine Lake. This is a very beautiful lake and I was happy we came here instead of holding back on Osler Lake. A friend has recommended the northern most campsite so that was our target. We could see the first three campsites once we paddled out onto the lake and they were all vacant. The fourth site was hidden behind an island and it wasn’t for another few minutes until we could see it was also vacant! Perfect, we’re 3 for 3 on desired campsites so far and tomorrow were guaranteed our desired campsites because it’s the only one in the area and we booked it.
Erables Lake to Nadine Lake
A slightly gloomy Nadine Lake
It was 4pm and we were halfway down Osler Lake when I heard some thunder. I looked around and still saw no lightning so decided to continue to the portage to Nadine. I prefer to be in the forest during a storm anyway. We paddled for about 10 minutes or so and eventually made it to the last portage of the day, which also happens to be the longest portage of the trip. We were both pretty tired and not looking forward to this near 2-km crossing. Sluggishly and as if in slow motion we loaded up and began the walk through the forest. Just as it happened yesterday on our last portage of the day, the rain started up. It wasn’t a heavy storm, but it was raining none the less. So far it has rained each day of our trip, but it hasn’t put a damper (ha!) on it because the storms have been short and intense, so kind of enjoyable. It was a little hot out anyway so I wasn’t too worried about getting wet. We crossed about 500m of the trail and took a break at the first canoe rest. The rain continued and so did we. About another 500m into the trail I shouted back to Angela to keep her eyes peeled for a freshwater spring on the side of the trail. Not five seconds after saying that we came to a boardwalk and just to the right I could see a black pipe – I found the spring! I put the canoe down and waited for Angela to catch up. We took advantage of stopping and dropped our loads to take a full out break. I filled my water bottle with the sweet spring water, chugged it mostly down and filled it again. The water was freezing cold to the point where it left condensation on the outer side of the Nalgene. We both enjoyed fresh water and it was almost as if it gave us a second wind. I grabbed my pack and the canoe, and Angela geared up too. We hit the trail and continued for about ten minutes without stopping until we reached Nadine Lake. The rain had let off during the final leg of our portage but my feet and pants were wet anyway so I just walked right into the lake to place the canoe down
With our second (my third) coffee down I loaded up the canoe and Angela did a once over of the campsite to make sure we weren’t forgetting anything behind. Satisfied, we got in the boat and shoved off shortly after 11:30am. It was only a few minutes before we entered the southern most bay of Erables Lake and Angela asked ‘Where is the portage?’ ‘Right there.’ I said as I pointed forward. ‘Down that creek?!’ she asked. ‘You bet!’ I replied. Angela was not too happy about this, she hates alders and the insects (namely, spiders) that hang out in them. I can’t blame her either, its gross, but sometimes that’s the canoe route. We paddled the creek and within minutes landed at the first portage of the day. A medium one at 660m but I remembered this one being a little hilly. Not wasting any time, we loaded up and made the carry across in a little over ten minutes. We were getting pretty quick at this portaging business. We launched back into Maple Creek and mere minutes later arrived at the next portage – a very quick and easy 90m trail around an obstruction in the creek. Once again we crossed the forest trail with ease then relaunched into a very narrow Maple Creek. Angela became increasingly worried as she has seen my photos from the headwaters of the Nipissing River and wanted nothing to do with it! I assured her this creek remains wide enough that she wont be in the bushes. We continued further up the creek and it began to narrow. I didn’t remember it being this narrow when I came from North Raven Lake a few years back – uh-oh, she’s going to kill me. Luckily, as we rounded the last corner, a yellow portage sign appeared! Phew! Saved by that lovely yellow sign! We landed at out third portage of the day, not too shabby as we have only been on the water for about an hour. This 695m trail leads to Skuce Lake. From here to the Nipissing River was the only part of the trip where I would cover new territory. The rest of the route I have covered on previous trips in previous years. I was really excited for the rest of today because it was all new to me – I had no idea what was behind any corner!
As we approached the campsite, I immediately knew I would love it. Tucked into the pines with a low profile rock slanted into the lake. Nadine Lake has beautiful clean green water, similar to Greenleaf lake. After another long day we finally arrived at our destination for the night and it was almost 5:30pm. The rain has stopped and though it was still cloudy, it looked like the rain would hold off for the rest of the evening. After two intense days of travelling including 13 portages totalling over 11km I really needed a shower. I quickly setup the tent and grabbed a dry pair of clothes. I took a collapsible bucket, some camp suds and a wash cloth behind the campsite and went to town. I really needed a good scrubbing. I rinsed off then ran over to the lake and jumped in for a final rinse. Oh it felt so good to be clear and cool! I stayed in the lake for a bit and Angela said she was in need of the same. Luckily we had the lake to ourselves so privacy wasn’t an issue. I exited the lake, toweled off and put on fresh dry clothes. Man that feels so good sometimes, especially when your muscles are a little sore from a day of labour, being clean just feels that much better! While Angela was cleaning up, I set up the tarp in case the rain decided to make a 4th appearance today or tomorrow. I set up my chair, poured some whiskey with lemonade and did some serious relaxing. It was such a calm evening and I didn’t feel like doing anything other than relaxing in a chair with a nice drink. Not long after Angela joined me and we spent the next two hours just lazing around camp. By 8:30pm it was time to get dinner going and tonight we had chili and fresh bannock. I love making bannock while camping and Angela does too. The chili is easy, I just buy the microwaveable containers of Stagg as they are burnable after and heat it up in a pot on my stove. The bannock takes about 25 minutes and I can only cook them one at a time. With the first bannock cooking, I went to the woods and collected firewood while Angela mixed us some more drinks. It didn’t take long before I had a good pile to get us through the night. With the first bannock done I tossed on the second and lit the campfire. We hung around the warmth of the fire enjoying our whiskey sours until the second bannock was done. Another five minutes to heat up the chili and we’re in business. I really love chili and bannock, another classic camp food for me. We once again sat around the fire while eating dinner and reminiscing about the day – sure it may not have been as exciting as the previous one, but still one hell of an awesome day – heart attack hill or not!
Even though we were both tired after dinner, we didn’t want to hit the hay so early tonight, so after cleaning the dishes and hanging the food we poured a few more whiskey sours and tossed a few more log on the fire. We hung around camp for another hour and a bit before deciding to call it a night. Another hard but awesome day complete.
Finally, at the intersection of Maple Creek and the portage south to Skuce Lake
Approaching our home for the night on Nadine Lake
We loaded up and made the carry across the trail to Skuce Lake. I’ve always been curious about this lake and have wanted to stay here. Well, I don’t know if it was juts an ‘off’ day, but the lake had a funky smell to it, and sort of resembled a swamp. Coupled with the fact that some clouds had rolled in and it was dark, the entire lake just was not appealing in the slightest. We made our way across the lake and landed at the portage to Little Nadine Lake. On the surface, this little 450m portage seems like nothing, but it is very steep. In the first 100m the elevation increases by nearly 25m. It took us a little longer than usual to complete this short trail, and it took quite a bit of energy out of us too. We landed at Little Nadine Lake, which is more of a pond really and decided it was time for lunch. The bugs haven’t been too bad on this trip, but they were kind of heavy on the last portage, so we opted to paddle to the middle of the lake for lunch and to filter some water. I filtered two Nalgene’s of water while Angela made, you guessed it, salami sandwiches with mustard on bagels. I’m telling you, this is the good stuff! I was already pretty hungry so it didn’t take long for me to scarf down the sandwiches. While Angela finished hers, I paddled us over to the next trail – the infamous Heart Attack Hill. The story goes that long ago a camper and his friend were trying to conquer the portage when one of the two suffered a heart-attack. I don’t know if its true, but if you’ve ever taken this portage, it seems quite possible.We loaded up for the trail, expecting the worst. Well, we were given the worst. As an introduction to the trail, a giant pine with massive branches blocked the trail. It was clearly a recently downed tree as there wasn’t any evidence of someone else making their way through it. I climbed over and through it as best I could, then had to set the canoe down for a moment to clear some movable branches for Angela and the next group. With that out of the way, the real struggle began. For about 600m of its 955m length, this trail is uphill. And there is a 100m section near the peak that is severely uphill. We had to take several breaks during this portage because it was just too much. It was unbelievable. I never would’ve guessed it, seriously. In the final 100m of the uphill part, it is so steep that I could only take about 4 or 5 steps, stop for a few seconds, take 4 or 5 more steps, stop for a second and repeat. When I finally got to the top I put the canoe down and collapsed onto the ground. My god, that was absolutely insane! Angela arrived at the top and made use of a big boulder perfect for sitting on. We just relaxed there for a solid ten minutes with no intention of moving. Eventually we got up and finished the trail. The latter half was almost equally challenging as it was a steep decent down to Little Osler Lake. Finally, after nearly 50 minutes of struggling, we made it to Little Osler Lake. However, we didn’t receive a warm welcome, in fact, it looked like it was going to pour rain any minute. Once again there was no sign of thunder or lightning so we make the choice to cross the lake. I took note of some potential campsites to stay at, but kept my camera away in case the rain started. It didn’t take long to cross the lake and the rain managed to hold off. We landed at the 700m portage to Osler Lake. I assured Angela this trail was entirely downhill, so it shouldn’t be too rough. Luckily my assumption was correct and we managed to get across the trail in about 15 minutes. This was our 6th portage of the day and after doing 6 yesterday we were really starting to feel it. Angela inquired about staying on Osler Lake tonight instead of Nadine. I said we could, but I’ve heard such nice things about Nadine that we should try and push for it. I suggested we could break for a while at a campsite on Osler or the portage to Nadine, but Angela agreed we should just push forward as the threat of rain was holding off, for now at least.
Very tired of nearly 6km of portaging for the day but finally on Nadine Lake
Paddling down an ever-narrowing Maple Creek with a not-so-impressed fiancée in the front
Looking back and north at Erables Lake from Maple Creek