Diana:
13C sunny, clear, calm to start
Bob:
10:09 -- just off from Brent. Away from house at 8:05. At permit office at opening at 9:00 am. One campsite occupied at Brent but several cars parked.
Crossed the lake in 25 minutes. Cedar was a little breezy but no big waves; wind from scattered directions (Basically west -- D.) Day is sunny and clear.
11.38 sitting in canoe above Falls finished up our snack break. Took ~45 minute on portage including photos of the Falls. Saw a squirrel swimming across river above the Falls.
12:40 and at our campsite above timberslide on opposite shore Campsite ok but no good tent spots -- lots of choice but all sloping and lumpy.
It's mid-afternoon. I don't know exactly what time it is because I've turned the GPS off. Diana has a watch but she's having a nap. We've now had some more lunch/snacks and coffee -- went down very well. We're both feeling a bit light headed Whether it's low blood pressure, low blood sugar or overheating (or dehydration -- D.), don't know. Probably just old age.
The wind is pretty lively. But it's rising and falling and will probably die at sundown. Two canoes, four guys passed heading down stream, the only humans we've seen [since the permit office]. And now as I write this, I look out and see two fishermen in a canoe drifting downstream I realize now I saw them earlier at distance, but convinced myself it was just a couple of deadheads. [Maybe they are]
Diana:
There was a tent at the campsite at the mouth of the Petawawa on Cedar, but no sign of canoe or people, so maybe these 2 guys. Saw a small bear on the Brent Road not far from permit office -- no other wildlife (except squirrel) so far. Lots of water in the river -- both High Falls and Timberslide are roaring.
3:30 Bob has put up food rope, soup & supper (Minestrone and Jambalaya with pepperoni) are soaking. Tent is up, mattresses inflated. Bob has filtered a couple of litres of water. No rain likely so we have not put up the tarp. Campsite still strewn with bags, but won't be hard to tidy. Time for another snack to give us a shot of energy.
Bob:
7:00pm -- dinner over, dishes washed, food up -- although it's not obvious what it's protected against. Certainly not bear, raccoons & squirrels. Maybe mice & certainly rabbits.
Before dinner we saw another squirrel swimming across the river, and so did a gull. It flew in, landed and gave the squirrel a peck on the head. The squirrel turned and fought back and made it safely to shore.
Sun is slipping below the tree line across the river. It is almost time for our evening drink.
Diana:
High temp 23. Wind is dying away & there are a few mosquitoes.
And now for Bushmills!
Bob:
6:50 and we are having morning coffee. Up at 6:15. Quiet night. Lots of moonlight early in the night, then stars. Sky mainly clear with some low cloud. Temp 15C.
Diana:
Quiet night. Nice moonlight with some hazy clouds; light but steady breeze most of the night. Robins started making noise a bit after 6:00 -- a good alarm clock. Hint of mist on the water.
8:22 temp 17C sun earlier, now light overcast. Calm & hazy -- feels like rain to come. Breakfast done, dishes washed, tent down, everything stashed in its proper bags. Bob now organizing the packs.
Bob:
11:00 am and resting at "party central" at the top of Unicorn Hill. We left our campsite a little before 9:00 and started the portage at 9:25. We are doing a full (4 pieces) double carry, which was a smart move.
12:30 Sitting on the shore of the Petawawa River. Just under 3 hr for the portage.
Diana:
Weather warm & very humid (& so we are hot and sweaty). Mostly light overcast with sun peeking through from time to time. Occasional breeze. 20 min snack break at top of hill. Trail is rough in places -- rocks & mud, roots & mud, rocks, roots, mud - & there are a few steep uphills (the rest is mostly gradual uphills). Double carry worked well.
Can hear noises off towards the river -- presumably logging. The bridge across the Petawawa below Narrowbag has been re-installed. Rest, snack, drink -- now time to carry on (~12:45).
Bob:
3:00 pm at our campsite on Catfish Lake -- north end of lake. Finished off our lunch/snacks and are about to set up camp.
A somewhat embarrassing episode near the portage on Narrowbag. We got hung up on a rock in deep water. We were firmly aground. We could pivot the canoe through 360° but we couldn't move it in any direction. We tried shifting packs around but that didn't work. Fortunately we were close enough to shore that Bob was able to abandon ship over the stern without getting his feet wet. That was sufficient to free the canoe.
5:30 -- coffee over, soup on, dinner soaking, food rope up. Weather looks more threatening, wind fresh out of the south west.
It seems I twisted my ankle on the long portage. I noticed it at the time, but I was able to walk it off. But it has been aching since arriving at the campsite and is noticeably bruised. We'll see what develops.
Diana:
Nearly 8:00, light starting to fade, some clouds & some clear sky, 3/4 moon rising. Light occasional breezes & very light showers (probably condensation of humidity with evening cooling). Not much left of the dam at top of Narrowbag -- just a few timbers sticking out of the water. Campsite has active and noisy squirrels, one pesky chipmunk. Catfish Lake is very quiet -- we have seen no-one else today. Bushmills time now.
Bob:
8:20 sitting around having coffee -- a late start to a lazy day. No rain yet. My ankle feels better this morning. I took 2 advil at bedtime last night and another this morning and I wrapped it. Overcast, slight wind from the south west. Temp holding steady at 20C.
Diana:
Had our drink almost in the dark last night. Wind dropped, all very quiet in the bush & on the lake. Into tent ~9:00. Fairly quiet night. Early on, rising & falling wind, sometimes quite strong. Quiet later with lots of stars. By morning thin overcast & wind pretty much from south. Loons during the night.
Woke ~6:20, decided not to get up yet -- more snoozing then up at 7:20. Stumbling around but things now reasonably well underway. A lot of noise from local squirrels. My right ankle is bothering me a bit -- will wrap with smaller elastic bandage & see how it goes. No ambitious plans for the day -- depends on how the weather develops.
Bob:
3:30 -- a lazy day in camp. We're pseudo wind bound. If we had to travel we could but it's much too windy for a pleasant recreational paddle. Since the wind is rising and falling, the waves haven't developed but there are a few white caps. The wind abated a little after lunch and we went for a short paddle down to the narrows, checked out the alligator and other campsites, etc. We decided this campsite is as good as any, especially in a blow. As I write this I think I can hear some distant thunder. (25C)
Diana
4:35 Soup & supper are soaking. Still windy, warm, humid. No development yet from distant thunder (?). Sun peeks out occasionally. My ankle feels pretty good with elastic bandage. Main complaint right now is stiff quads from hill-climbing with heavy packs yesterday. We both had a good rest/nap before lunch. Lots of noisy squirrels running around. Some loons on the lake. Saw two otters this morning. Still no other people.
Bob
7:00pm. The wind has shifted. Now more out of the west. At first with low broken clouds with some blue sky. I was hoping for a cheerful sunset but now it is completely overcast. I've had to readjust the tarp to account for the wind shift. (I'm still working on my degree in tarpology but I haven't decided on a thesis topic yet.) Everything is put away for the night. Time to relax, have our Bushmills and wait for the rain.
Diana:
7:10 Getting darker with sun low & thicker clouds. Good to be all set for the night. The tarp is flapping but providing good coverage for our gear (assuming that is necessary). A plane is passing over just now. Feels like rain. Bushmills time?
Bob:
It started to rain at 7:45, with distant thunder and lightning soon after. However, just as the sun was setting there was a thin red line along the western tree line. The time is currently 8:55, we are in the tent, and it continues to rain. No immediate thunder cells. The wind has been calm but now it is increasing.
Bob:
Quiet night. The rain stopped about when I finished writing last night. Wind died away. It is currently 7:00 am, up at 6.30. Temp 13. High overcast, lake calm. The weekend hordes have not yet arrived.
On the water at 9:10. Low broken cloud out of the west. Light cool breeze as well.
11:20 pulled over finishing our snack break a little above Catfish rapids. Met two guys at the portage who were looping out of Kiosk/Cedar/Burntroot/Nadine etc. Also there was a group (2 adults & child) camped on the alligator island. The rest of Catfish looked empty.
1:30 having lunch/snack in canoe just above Cedar Rapids. While we were booked to stay at Cedar Rapids we decided to push on to Burntroot. Campsite has little to redeem itself. The portages around Catfish rapids and Snowshoe rapids were good, the portage at Cedar Rapids is a real hog's wallow.
5:45 ensconced in our campsite on the point on the east shore of Burntroot Lake. We arrived here at 4:45 after checking out our "old" island campsite -- it has been decommissioned -- and the mid lake island with 2 campsites (both poor). This site is ok but it is somewhat exposed to the west [north] wind which is certainly blowing. I put up the tarp which gives us some shelter. As far as we can see, we have the lake to ourselves. It will be a late night as we are just getting our coffee on.
7:30 Sun just going down. Supper just about ready.
8:48 Sun is down, moon is up, everything is put away for the night. Time for the evening Bushmills. Dead quiet but some night breezes. (Actually the "night breezes" became quite vigorous but eventually died away).
Diana:
Good day -- worked hard & it went well. Clouds breaking & eventually more blue sky than grey around noon. Sunlight & clear air -- sky cleared completely in afternoon. Illegal Alligator campers had a white canoe & maybe a yellow (or at least light-coloured) tent. Other than the 2 guys at Catfish Rapids, saw no further people. They looked very fit & competent (& both white-bearded). Nice looking Eureka canoe pack.
Paddle up Perley went well & quite fast, despite current & headwind.
Our old island on Burntroot is quite grown in. There is a small fire ring where the big fireplace used to be. The other island campsites were barren & unappealing. One had a really lousy landing. The other was fully exposed to the wind. I think the point we are on now is a reasonable compromise. Despite our late arrival (& tiredness) we got everything squared away & set up. Dined 'fashionably late' by moonlight. Beautiful red sunset.
Cooled off during the night. Very bright moonlight, nice & quiet (except for occasional loons & geese). Wind came & went. (Forgot to mention a flock of migrating geese passed over when we were on Perley L.)
Bob:
No [early] morning photos this am; we slept through it. Up at 7:15, currently 7:50 and we are having our coffee. Slight wind from the north, temp 9C, sky clear but a little milky on the horizon.
Diana:
Beautiful clear morning sunlight. Nice to sleep in. So far (~8:00?) a nice relaxing morning.
Bob:
(note that all times are suspect because Diana's watch is misbehaving. We can check the GPS or cameras less conveniently).
2:00 pm -- finishing up lunch and a nap on the southern campsite on Anchor Island. We have no regrets that we didn't stay here. We spent the morning (albeit, a late start) exploring Barnet Depot. Everything is getting pretty grown in, not that much left in the way of buildings, etc. We found and photographed what was left of the alligator. It too is pretty far gone. Finding it was a bit of a challenge but we weren't going to leave without finding it. I will not describe how to find it: Enough yahoos have already found it and "salvaged" it, carved their initials, left their wine bottles, etc. Let it rest in peace and decay in dignity.
Late afternoon. We arrived back at our campsite at about 2:40. Had coffee and more snacks, pumped water, rearranged tomorrow's food, etc. We decided we will stay here for another day before moving on. The wind has shifted more to the west and is becoming a bit of a nuisance and will probably require some fly adjustments. A flock of 14 mergansers just swam by our campsite before taking exception to our presence.
Diana:
Beautiful morning for an expedition to Barnet Depot -- relatively calm, clear sky, nice sun. Temp was 13C to start. Nice islands & bays (I don't remember any of the landscape [from 30 years ago]). Some of the Depot area is still sort of open, with tall weeds and various brambles growing over everything. No building remains visible in the fields. Old ice house & fallen-in foundation near the shore. Various junk lying around -- buckets, hardware, barrel hoops, stove parts, etc. Explored the fields. Did a lot of bushwhacking & paddling along the shore looking for the alligator (the shore is very thick with alders). Finally found it & spent a while taking photos. A lot of the wood has rotted & collapsed, though some is still in surprisingly good shape. Wheelhouse has collapsed into the engine room. Most of the winch & steering mechanisms are still present, as are the firebox & engine. The front of the boat has rotted away, but the armour plating is still lying in position on the ground. It was good to see it again - 1st time since 1976. No surprise it has disintegrated somewhat.
Nice paddle to our lunch spot, pleasant lunch and siesta in the sun. Wind increasing. Paddled back on south side of Anchor Island. then across & up the shore to campsite. Temp 18C when we got back. No people today, but loons, cormorants, mergansers, & what may have been an eagle or osprey plucking a fish from the surface. Saw a loon grooming, also one with a fish which it then swallowed. Saw a pair with chick (full size but brownish grey colour). Some clouds coming & going, but mostly sunny. Wind lively from west or maybe even southwest.
Have had coffee & lunch part 2, now preparing for supper. It's ~5:00 so time to get on with it.
Diana
Nice evening watching the sunset. Wind died, sky red (no clouds). After dark full moon rose. Nice nightlight later on. Loons & geese.
Bob:
Up and out of the tent about 7:00. Quiet night. Morning, clear sky but perhaps a bit milky. A few small patches of mist on the water, but now the wind is out of the south, so perhaps a change in the weather -- hope not!
1:30 -- back in camp after an exploratory paddle of the west shore of the lake. The sky is clear -- cloudless -- although a little milky at the horizon. The wind is fresh out of the south [or maybe south west? - D.] When we got back to camp, we rotated the tarp through 180C to accommodate the new wind direction. I think I am going to fail my course in tarpology as one of the tarp grommets is beginning to let go.)
I have always wondered about Whistle Bay. Indeed we determined that it is a good echo chamber. Lots of fun with an alligator. (How else are you going to amuse yourself while hauling logs for months on end on Burntroot Lake).
Dana:
This lake has a great variety of rock/soil -- ribs and knobs of bedrock, boulders, gravel, sand, etc. - in various arrangements. Everything from low sandbars to granite cliffs & even some fine clay-like dirt at our campsite. A lot of the lake seems fairly shallow.
2:17 just about finished coffee & lunch. Relaxing under the tarp (very well positioned -- thank you, Bob). Clear sky, sunshine, temp in the low 20's, nice breeze. We have been lucky with the weather.
Bob
Warmer this evening. Wind still from the south. Although it is diminishing, it is persisting later. Some high stratus cloud to the west. I fear rain is on the way; the question is when. Although we haven't encouraged him, the campsite chipmunk is getting bolder and bolder.
Diana
Supper -- chicken & rice with gravy -- not too bad but maybe a bit too much. Also, don't need to get fancy with vegetables -- simplify. Somewhat red sunset, but not 100% convincing. Clear night, brilliant moonlight.
Bob
Up at 6:00 am (which is tricky because with the full moon, the light level inside the tent never changes until well after dawn and we don't have a convenient working timepiece). The wind blew out of the south all night with just a bit of a respite in the early hours. A little blue sky overhead but high overcast to the west. The sunrise this am was pink. The rain signs continue. 7:00 am, 15C.
8:50 and we're on the water. Slow! The wind is out of the the south and we're heading north so we've got that going for us.
Through to Perley Lake @ 9:45.
11:38 -- drifting down the Petawawa between Cedar Rapids & the little swift. [which we didn't run]
12:45 -- sitting in the canoe below Snowshoe Rapids finishing lunch/snack. While we haven't seen anyone all day, or the last several days for that matter, there was a canoe and tent at campsite a little south of the portage out of Burntroot Lake. The sky is largely overcast with low stratus clouds coming out of the south, but there are the occasional patches of blue as well.
1:30 and through Catfish Rapids.
Diana
Awake at 4:45 this morning, then back to sleep & up at 6:00. It got darker before it got lighter. We did seem sluggish about breakfast & packing up. Anyway, it worked and we are now camped on Catfish L. again. Saw one canoe heading upstream towards Catfish Rapids -- man & woman, not much gear -- travelling or day trip? Checked out 2nd campsite in lake -- unappealing, plus what looked like piles of dogshit along the beach. Looked at our old storm campsite -- just as gloomy as remembered, plus no good suitable tent spot. Went around into bay by Turtle Rock and took the sheltered campsite in behind. Now 5:24 -- have had coffee & square, soup has boiled, supper (mac & bacon) soaking. Tent & tarp up, most stuff in tent. Still need to do this evening's food rearranging. One canoe approached earlier, then turned around when they saw campsite was occupied. Two canoes came out of narrows and passed by later. It has been cloudy with short periods of sun. Breeze (still from S.) still blowing, feels cooler, but not bad as we are very sheltered here.
Bob
7:35 -- tranquil, benign evening. Pink sunset, winds calm. So perhaps no rain this time. We'll see.
Diana:
Sky is more clear than cloud, wind has died. Cooler with mosquitoes. Beautiful evening light & sunset. Now all set for Bushmills -- dishes done, food up, teeth brushed, all tidy for the night. 7:42.
Bob:
Beautiful clear still night. Bright moon. Up at 5:30. A bit of a navigational challenge to find the thunderbox at that hour. Now 6:45. Dead still, absolute quiet except for the odd mosquito and distant loon. Slight mist on the water, slight wisps of pink in the sunrise. Light overcast. Morning cloud?
In our canoe off our campsite at 8:47. Lake is now mist covered but is breaking as is cloud cover overhead.
Into Luckless Lake at 9:54. Day is hazy and humid. The water of Luckless Lake is very clear and it is perhaps a green headwater lake.
Through to the Nipissing by 12:05. Moored off shore for a snack/lunch. Day remains calm, low clouds. Finished lunch @ 12:30.
Rejected camping at the portage because of the very mucky water access. Checked out Rolling Dam. Bottom site too exposed, top site not easily tarped. Continued down river, checked out campsite between "Moose Lake" and portage. Greeted by piles of cormorant shit at access. Rejected site because of the cormorant shit, the high steep climb to the site, and the tarpological difficulties of the site.
Continued down river.
Noted the esker at the last portage. Checked out the two side by side campsites below the portage (the campsite at [the end of] the portage would be in extremis only). These sited were ok, but because we were so close to Brent we decided to just go home. We met two fishermen in a motor boat at the Ravenau Lake portage. They said, "Well at least it isn't raining yet." Cedar Lake was calm. We started across. The wind started to blow from the east but not too bad. The rain started when we were within 0.5 km of the Brent beach. Safely on shore at about 5:20.
We got loaded up and had a snack in the car. It really started to rain on the way home. Home at about 7:30.
It rained very heavily during the night with a significant drop in temperature on Thursday (high 13). High winds. The Ottawa River was a sea of whitecaps. There would have been no crossing of Cedar Lake on Thursday. Coming out a day early turned out to be an excellent (but lucky) decision.
Diana:
Wednesday was grey, humid & oppressive all day (except early morning). Felt dreary & coloured my feelings about the Nipissing and all the campsites we looked at. The river is better in the spring. The long portage over from Luckless went quite well & only took 1 hr 45 min. A lot of mosquitoes along the way, plus deer flies. It was a long & strenuous day, but actually went pretty well. Encouraging that we can still do it. So lucky that we did decide to go home, given the rain & high winds that came overnight, & high winds on Thurs. Cedar Lake would have been impossible. Now (5:30 on Thurs) tired & stiff but feeling good. Some clothes washed, food leftovers unpacked & weighed. Picked up a few things at Valumart (main shopping tomorrow). Nice to have the breathing space. Looked at our nearly 1000 photos -- some good stuff in there. Over all, a successful trip.