Time for our big trip, Karen and I try to get out for one long backcountry canoe trip each year, and The Massasauga seems to keep calling us back. This year we were able to book nine days (the park is very popular and hard to get sites unless booked very early) “Massasauga” means “mouth of the river” in Ojibwe. The name also refers to the massasauga rattlesnake, which is found in the area. (thankfully not found by us yet)

We stayed overnight in Bracebridge, to allow us to visit with family and get an early start to our trip. The Massasauga is a backcountry only park. The only way to access the park’s 135 campsites is by canoe, kayak or boat. (or I guess for the truly adventurous you could try swimming) Forty-eight campsites are on inland lakes accessible by portages of varying length and difficulty. There are two main access points into the park. In the North is the Oastler Three Legged Lake access, and at the south is Pete’s access point. We have only used the Three Legged lake access (plans on a return trip using Pete’s access are in the works)

Our first two nights were spent on site 15 in spider lake, there is a 370 metre portage out of Three legged lake and into spider. This is a very well used route and the trail is in great shape.

We were able to do the portage in two carries…..unfortunately one of the inevitable results of being a member of the quinquagenarian society (One of us is a sexagenarian, but I value my life too much to say whom) is that this was the last portage we were able to do this. Despite reducing our load weight each time we ate, it seemed that it became harder to portage our gear.

The paddle to site 15 was as usual into the wind (it seems that every time we paddle or bike, the wind is in our face) I used the following web site to help choose campsites, this being our second trip, I find his assessment of sites is very accurate. Site 15 was small, and not a good choice if you have a group, it was also very rocky, with uneven ground, for one tent and our bug shelter, it was fine.

We were expecting rain, so the tarp went up, as it turned out we really only had really bad weather on one day throughout the trip, with a short rainfall on our second day at this site.

An important feature in a good campsite, is a decent spot for swimming, some sites have muddy or weedy shore lines, others have fantastic rock ledges and beaches…site 15 had a small beach and fantastic sloping rock perfect for swimming…or it was for me, I learnt something about Karen on this trip..Karen has a fear of snapping turtles…

The Snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in Canada, it is currently listed as Special Concern under the Ontario Endangered Species Act and all sightings should be reported. This particular one kept appearing every time we sat by the waters edge (a park Ranger a few days later theorised that they return to areas that campers are prone to wash their dishes, in the hopes of food scraps) – we were so hungry there were precious few scraps, those that were, Marcus soon devoured!

I enjoy sunrises and sunsets, unfortunately this trip saw little of either, not because of the weather, but because of the location of all but our last campsite. There is of course a huge advantage to knowing you cannot get a decent sunrise shot, you can sleep in! (well you could if your Dog has not been programmed to get up at the crack of dawn – anyone know how to re-programme a dog?

Site 15 is located at a narrow stretch of the lake, as such you get to see a lot of campers pass by the site, we saw a lot of families with young kids packed into canoes. Both Karen and I are looking forward to when Odin is old enough to be introduced to back country camping, we found a perfect site for his first experience. Site 5 has a huge beach in front of the campsite (although I’m sure it will be hard to book) As a note we are still waiting on Grandkids from the other kids – hint hint….

Our two days went by quickly, with our food barrel slightly lighter (nine days food plus safety reserve weighs a lot) – Karen experienced that first hand as the carrier of food. A story told to me as a kid came to mind. I believe a ferry was being built in Kisumu (a town on Lake Victoria in Kenya) the rail road had not yet been built so the parts for the ferry were being portered across land. When the parts arrived it turned out the ferry could not be built, as those carrying the crates of parts had lightened their loads by tossing out the occasional bolts or rivets across the East African savannah. I was very thankful Karen did not adopt this technique.

The portage while 500 metres and very steep at the last section, was in good condition. coming down the steep hill with the canoe on my shoulders I could swear I heard my knees screaming obscenities. It is at times like this that I truly appreciate the most important characteristic of carbon fibre in canoe construction!

The entry into beaver pond was thick and extremely smelly mud, Marcus seemed to revel in it (looking for hidden frogs) But it does make loading very difficult. Karen and I both hung our feet overboard as soon as we made open water, to wash the foul gunk out of our sandals.

Beaver pond to the portage into Vicary lake was very short, and hard to navigate, water levels were low, and the channel through the weeds and mud very narrow. Trying to navigate a 17 foot canoe through winding channels was an adventure (in this context “adventure” is secret code for “it sucked”)

The start of the next portage, while muddy did have a low stable bank to off load our gear, so we were able to avoid getting mired in the mud. (well Karen and I did, a certain other member of the group-not so much) I was confused by all the footprints in the thick mud, surely we were not the only ones to realize you can off load against the bank?

Vicary lake is a small and very scenic, there are two campsites on the lake, 106 and 104 (not sure what happened to 105) at first appearance 104 seems to be the best choice – in fact Karen was initially a little envious of its apparent magnificence- We visited it and discovered that while it is photogenic from afar, it has very few flat spots for tents and our site 106 was indeed the far better site. (I of course tried to convince Karen that this was due to my superior planning prowess)

I had been sure that this far out in the bush, we would not get any cell phone coverage, I was wrong, while not great reception, we received cell phone reception at every site. It was a mixed blessing, while I prefer not to be tempted by connectivity while out back country camping, it did allow us to be forewarned of an incoming thunder storm. So once again the tarps went up.

It rained for most of the morning with a fair bit of lightning and heavy wind. Karen and I spent most of the day under cover in our bug shelter reading the storm away….which Segway’s me into our sponsored product of the week…e-books. Karen and I both have one, I prefer Kindle and Karen has a Kobo. If you like to travel and camp, they are invaluable. I am re-reading a series by Bryce Courtenay starting with the Potato factory (an advantage with having the memory of an aging goldfish is that you get to enjoy previously read books)

Site 106 despite where we put our tent, had several flat locations and could easily accommodate a fair sized group. We ended up putting our tent up in a small rocky ledge both because it gave us fantastic views across the lake, and because it was nicely sheltered from the storm we knew was coming.

Another advantage to the site is the easy access to off load and load your canoe. Some sites make it very hard to land your canoe without fear of running into rocks, or sinking up to your chin in mud when you step out. We were at site 106 for two nights, and then off on another portage to another lake and new campsite…..

A strange incident occurred, very Bermuda trianglish in nature. A family in two canoes passed our site during the storm heading for the portage into Creswicke lake. So far this story line is neither strange or even interesting…But it will all be revealed in Part 2 of the Massasauga adventure, its mystery would have been envied by Agatha Christie……

Until our next installment……………..