Canoe Trip Log-00B

>>> CONSTRUCTION ZONE Last Updated: Mon July 31, 2000 <<<

Log for Canoe Trip 00B Back to Canoe Archives / Back to Doug's Canoe Page

Dates: Sat July 8 - Weds July 12, 2000, 8th Annual Dads & Daughters Trip
Participants: Larry, Doug, Katelyn, Heather, Brianna, Nicole

Travel Route:
Algonquin access 4, Rain Lake, 1810m portage, Little McCraney L, McCraney Lake, (stayed at north site on big island for 4 nights), Little McCraney L, McCraney L, 1810m portage, Rain L.

Map Information: The relevent Top map identifiers is: 31 E/10
Online top map excerpts: (not yet)
Online park map excerpts: (not yet)

Access instructions from park map for access 4: At Emsdale, north of Huntsville on Hwy 11, turn east and follow Hwy 518 for 8 km to the village of Kearney. Park permits and information must be obtained at the park office in the Kearney Community Centre located at the main intersection in the village. Then go south & follow signs to Rain Lake - lots of gravel travel.

Pre-trip Plans & Comments:
As we left the park after the guys spring trip, we dropped into the park office in Kearney to mention to them that a couple portages need to have fallen trees cleared. There happened to be one of the park rangers there, and we got talking about good areas to camp. One of his suggestions was McCraney Lake. He noted that people are usually scared off by the 1810m portage to get to it, but since it's an old railway bed, it's a flat and easy (although long) portage. He recommended the lake, and also exploring to Clare L from the South end of the lake.
So, when it came time to plan the Dads & Daughters trip, we decided to go for it. Naturally we tried to minimize and carefully pack our gear so the portage would be survivable. A single trip wouldn't be possible, since only the 2 dads seem to be allowed to carry the 3 canoes. However, a double trip definitely seemed workable.
As part of this optimization, Larry canvassed the ladies to determine the interest level in fishing. Finding that it wasn't a top priority, he shocked us all by announcing he wasn't bringing any fishing gear. As it turned out ... well, I'll get to that story a little later.
Lindsey wasn't able to join us this year, as she was working hard to earn money for university in the fall. We might get her out on a trip later in the summer, because after that, her weekends are pretty well all reserved for volleyball.
Katelyn & Nicole cooked the traditional chile this trip, and it was a masterpiece. Too bad it was, as usual, a somewhat adlibbed recipe, as it would definitely be worth repeating (so to speak).
The last minute organizing and packing kept Larry and I up to 1 AM on the day of our 5:30 AM departure, but that was actually an improvement over the last trip.

Chronology:

(Click on pictures to see full sized photos).

Instead of having a weekend in the middle of the trip, we did a Saturday to Wednesday trip this time. Thought the Saturday traffic might be hectic, but we made good time - not that the land speed record is in any danger from a van with 2 canoes tied on top. We've seen the people in the Kearney park office so many times they're starting to feel like family - it's always good to see Lois Kahn's smiling face. We must have set a record for the fastest time to get our permits - the secret is to have the answers to the questions that you know they're going to ask already organized and written on a piece of paper you can hand them. Well, maybe the new computerized permit system helps a little, too.

The Rain Lake access point was familiar since the 1996 Dads & Daughters trip started at the same place. It went North to Sawyer Lake, but this time we're going South to McCraney. A nice sandy beach has got to be the best way to launch a canoe trip. Mandatory sunscreen lathering here, followed by the challenge of holding a paddle with slimy hands. With Lindsey absent, we have an even crew of two per canoe. Larry's red canoe was sporting fresh gunwale reinforcement, and he'd just recently acquired the shorter green canoe. The best thing I can say about my blue submarine is that it's pretty durable.

Rain Lake is long and narrow at the beginning, looking more like a river. For me, this is one of the classic images of a canoe trip - deep greens and blues, and a bright sky with the occasional puffy clouds. Larry and Brianna are in the lead, and that's Heather's head you see in the big picture. I tend to be pretty quiet when I paddle, trying to take it all in, and Heather was following my example.

In contrast, you have the style of Nicole and Katelyn, trailing behind in the green boat. You don't need to turn around to see how close they are - you can tell by how loud the continuous stream of gossip is. They also steer a much more exciting route that the dull straight line that Larry and I follow. And Nicole - that's 2 pictures so far without your hat on - what did I tell you about that?

Before we get too far, it's time for lunch. With a favourable tailwind, we pull the boats together and break out the pepperoni and cheese. Notice that Larry is able to balance his paddle across his canoe, hold on to the next canoe with his leg, and still be able to wield a knife with enough agility to divide 8 feet of pepperoni into 6 equal portions. (Larry is a seasoned outdoorsman - don't try this at home.) Oh good - Nicole finally put her hat on.

The easy paddling ends as we come to the 1810m portage. The gear is unloaded and divided into 12 units - 2 trips for each person. We were trying a portaging method described in one of the McGuffins' books where you leapfrog your two loads along the trail, in this case dividing the portage in 3 pieces. The theory is that you get many short rests when you need them, rather than on long one as you return empty handed. It worked out ok, but we didn't seem to need the rests.

That was probably because the portage was indeed very flat as promised, and mostly a three foot wide gravel path. (The people not carrying anything were coming back to pick up their next load when we met.) I noticed that a bear had used the portage as a bathroom at least 4 days earlier, but with the recent publicity about bear attacks, decided that it wasn't worth mentioning.

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Notable Happenings: (weather, wildlife, portages, bugs, fishing, equipment...)

If you have comments or questions on this trip log, or website, please Email me at [email protected].

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	Instead of having a weekend in the middle of the trip, we did a Saturday to Wednesday trip this time. Thought the Saturday traffic might be hectic, but we made good time - not that the land speed record is in any danger from a van with 2 canoes tied on top. We've seen the people in the Kearney park office so many times they're starting to feel like family - it's always good to see Lois Kahn's smiling face. We must have set a record for the fastest time to get our permits - the secret is to have the answers to the questions that you know they're going to ask already organized and written on a piece of paper you can hand them. Well, maybe the new computerized permit system helps a little, too.
	The Rain Lake access point was familiar since the 1996 Dads & Daughters trip started at the same place. It went North to Sawyer Lake, but this time we're going South to McCraney. A nice sandy beach has got to be the best way to launch a canoe trip. Mandatory sunscreen lathering here, followed by the challenge of holding a paddle with slimy hands. With Lindsey absent, we have an even crew of two per canoe. Larry's red canoe was sporting fresh gunwale reinforcement, and he'd just recently acquired the shorter green canoe. The best thing I can say about my blue submarine is that it's pretty durable.
	Rain Lake is long and narrow at the beginning, looking more like a river. For me, this is one of the classic images of a canoe trip - deep greens and blues, and a bright sky with the occasional puffy clouds. Larry and Brianna are in the lead, and that's Heather's head you see in the big picture. I tend to be pretty quiet when I paddle, trying to take it all in, and Heather was following my example.
	In contrast, you have the style of Nicole and Katelyn, trailing behind in the green boat. You don't need to turn around to see how close they are - you can tell by how loud the continuous stream of gossip is. They also steer a much more exciting route that the dull straight line that Larry and I follow. And Nicole - that's 2 pictures so far without your hat on - what did I tell you about that?
	Before we get too far, it's time for lunch. With a favourable tailwind, we pull the boats together and break out the pepperoni and cheese. Notice that Larry is able to balance his paddle across his canoe, hold on to the next canoe with his leg, and still be able to wield a knife with enough agility to divide 8 feet of pepperoni into 6 equal portions. (Larry is a seasoned outdoorsman - don't try this at home.) Oh good - Nicole finally put her hat on.
	The easy paddling ends as we come to the 1810m portage. The gear is unloaded and divided into 12 units - 2 trips for each person. We were trying a portaging method described in one of the McGuffins' books where you leapfrog your two loads along the trail, in this case dividing the portage in 3 pieces. The theory is that you get many short rests when you need them, rather than on long one as you return empty handed. It worked out ok, but we didn't seem to need the rests.
	That was probably because the portage was indeed very flat as promised, and mostly a three foot wide gravel path. (The people not carrying anything were coming back to pick up their next load when we met.) I noticed that a bear had used the portage as a bathroom at least 4 days earlier, but with the recent publicity about bear attacks, decided that it wasn't worth mentioning.
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