Canoe camping in Algonquin National Park
During the last week of September in 1979 we went with our good friends Chris and Cobber Eccles for a week-long canoe camping trip in Algonquin National Park in northern Ontario. We drove from Madison, WI with our dog Phoenix to meet them while they came up from Baltimore. In general it was a great trip: the fall colors were near their peak, the weather was great with mostly clear days and cool nights and comfortable temperatures, the fishing was decent, and there were only a few mosquitoes! These images are scanned from the Kodachrome slides taken at that time and digitized on a Pacific Image PrimeFilm XA slide scanner during the Covid pandemic year of 2020.
We met them at a pre-arranged campsite on Opeongo Lake after a day and a half drive from WI. The following morning we spotted a car on Canoe Lake, got the canoes organized and started the trip with a long paddle on Opeongo Lake. Our route took us through Happy Isle Lake, Otterslide Lake, Little Otterslide Lake, Burnt Island Lake, Little Joe Lake and Canoe Lake interconnected by portages. I think this is a very popular canoe route in the park, but we saw few other paddlers except near the end at Canoe Lake where it appeared that most were doing the route in the opposite direction.
Sunset over two loons
Early morning mist
Fishing in the mist
We had great weather
Kingfisher on a dead tree
Watching a great blue heron
Portages
There were a total of 8 portages, ranging in length from 240 to 2189 meters, or about 250 yards to over a mile. On the longer portages, there were canoe rests placed so that you could place the upside-down canoe on an inverted U shaped structure. On the longest portage which was the first one from Oneongo to Happy Isle Lake, there were 5 canoe rests spaced along the almost 1.5 mile route. Most of the portages also had a mixture of up and down gradients of various degrees. We were not skilled enough to do the portages in one trip as some very experienced canoeist do. Carrying the canoe, let alone with a backpack, was plenty.
Campsites
Since we were there in the off season, we saw very few other paddlers so there was generally no problem in finding a suitable campsite. We camped on several small islands. On several occasions we were able to supplement our freeze dried diet with fresh fish from the lake. Lunches were usually simple crackers with sausage or cheese and sometimes eaten in the boats.
Chris worked on her poetry during the quiet hours
Back home!
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