May 27th and it seems like winter just does not want to let go yet.. This will be our first camping trip of the year, and my first one retired! The plan had been for a longer more adventurous trip, however we had the opportunity to spend some time with Odin so modified the trip (Thank goodness, as the weather was not pleasant)

One of the reasons we do not camp in Algonquin often, is that you cannot book a camp site in the back country, you book “a lake” which may have 20 sites scattered along its length. This makes detailed planning impossible, as you can never know how far you have to travel to find a vacant site, or even be aware of the quality of the site (The tendency is to pick the first vacant site to avoid the phenomenon known as “Paddling all over the f#*@^ng lake”) Since it was a Monday. cold and rain forecasted, we assumed the lake would be relatively empty. Our hope was to find the site close to the Booth Rock trail, and that it would be empty……It was!

Maps compliment of Jeff at Jeff’s Maps.

The boat launch at Rock Lake was designed more for larger boats, and not very canoe friendly, we prefer launching from a beach, it was however not busy.

This is also the maiden voyage for our new canoe, a Swift Keewaydin 17 footer in carbon innegra. Our Kevlar Swift was a light 55 Lb, this beauty is a mere 36 Lb which makes carrying so much easier.

The paddle out was uneventful, low winds and easy paddling, we found the site we were hoping for was empty, however it was not an easy spot to land, especially not easy to off load (Part of that might have been our anxiety over “the first scratch” syndrome on the new canoe.

We managed to get everything offloaded with minimal damage to aging backs and knees, only a single motrin will be required tonight! The site was “not bad” but lacked a certain feel to it (We have been spoilt by some really spectacular camp sites – this was unfortunately not one of them) There was a lot of room for many tents and would make a great group site. It was dry (which was more than could be said about some sites we saw.

The forecast called for a lot of rain, so we set about getting the camp set up…Tarps are the answer, you should consider investing at least as much on good tarps as you do on your tents.

We had planned on paddling the next day and check out the other campsites on the lake, however the weather had other thoughts, we woke to heavy rains and strong winds. Another shock was that it dropped to a tropical 3 degrees over night, a damn good thing I had the foresight to buy 10 degree sleeping bags…Hmm I see another trip to MEC in the near future! We spent the morning at camp and then when the rain stopped we decided to check out the Booth Rock trail.

As the trail approaches Rock Lake again, there is a side trail to the former site of the Barclay Estate, once a palatial lakeside retreat for a relative of lumber baron J.R. Booth. Not much is left except a few remnants of tennis courts and various bits of concrete foundations. The area is gradually being reclaimed by forest. Part of the trail is on the remains of a once busy railroad, in fact at one time it was Canada’s busiest rail line. J.R. Booth owned the largest lumber complex in the world.

While we were out walking we decided to walk back to the main campground (Too windy for paddling) Then since we were there we treated ourselves to a hot shower (pure bliss in this weather) We also drove to a nearby LCBO to pick up some vino (to help with the evening chill!) but in order to carry it all back to camp I picked up a little backpack..not sure if I should keep it or give it to our Grandson Odin??

We came to the steps…and there are a lot of them! unfortunately this was where we had to abandon the walk and head back, as Marcus cannot handle that many steps anymore (arthritis in his hips) and I cannot carry him up (arthritis everywhere else)

Later in the afternoon the sun came out, it did not warm up as much as the forecast had predicted. Unfortunately dry fire wood was very hard to come by, and the stuff we bought at the camp store was not very dry either, but it was nice warming up by the camp fire (it was even too cold for the usually ubiquitous black flies)

Time now for our sponsor of the week! This trip was a retirement of multiples. My retirement, the retirement of our trusty Kevlar canoe, and the retirement of my old Pentax camera. I had wanted to replace with another Pentax, but unfortunately Pentax has not come out with anything worthwhile, so decided instead to change systems to mirrorless Fuji XT3. So far I am loving the camera.

While we were sitting around the campsite two Hercules transport planes flew over the lake at very low level, was an amazing site..The next day it happened again and I was able to get a quick shot…Unfortunately all I had on the camera was a wide angle lens (not the best for this type of shot).

Our three night soon came to an end, the weather had not been the greatest, but it was nice to get out camping again. Last year we were forced to camp on weekends, now that we are retired it is nice to leave the weekends for all the poor working types..we can now camp the week days (makes reservations easier too) We packed up camp, and headed out into some strong winds.

We landed on the beach instead of the boat launch…it was a great trip, highly recommend camping here (other than the outdated reservation system…Algonquin get a grip!)

Next week we are off again this time to Murphy’s point Provincial park…see you all then….