Mon. Sept 9
Route Paddled: Waterclear Lake to Club Lake, Mouse Lake, Mink Creek and Big Thunder Lake
Distance Paddled: 6.7 km = 4.2 miles
Distance Portaged: 1280 metres (1.3 km x 3 = 3.9 km OR 0.8 x 3 = 2.4 miles)
Weather: 30+-Degree C and humid

Shafts of sunlight began to highlight their way through the forest – it was a stupendous moment of solitude so often appreciated during past ventures into the park and another reason why we, like so many others, are drawn to wilderness canoeing every year. Leaving this exquisite site would be difficult, but an early departure was essential if we were to beat the heat of the day on the open water and the long portages.

Norm H, "true to form", had a campfire started at 6 am as we enjoyed "a camper’s delight" breakfast consisting of bacon, omelets, coffee and toast cooked with a forked branch over an open campfire and then dabbed with peanut butter and jam.

We began the day’s journey by paddling around the point and into a mat of lily pads situated in a cove next to our portage (4P240) to Club Lake. Midway through the portage, we passed three balsam fir trees that were blanketed with hundreds of spider webs, the sun’s reflection accenting the morning dew on them. Beyond these trees lay a wetland and small valley. We were soon confronted with a 20-foot wide swampy channel that had to be inconveniently traversed by canoe. At the end of this portage the unique tracks in the gooey mud clearly indicated that a moose had been recently drinking the murky water and foraging along the shoreline.

From the open waters of Club Lake, with the day getting progressively hotter, we entered the main channel to a serpentine wetland where Norm H and Wayne’s canoe momentarily grated to a halt on a submerged rock. To the left of the intersecting channel, we saw the remnants of a cement foundation - an old sawmill believed operated by the Ritchie brothers of Ottawa before World War II. The dam, no longer used for logging purposes, lay next to the portage to Mink Lake. Turning right, we slithered through the shallow, grassy waterway, on constant alert for sharp, submerged boulders. Canoeists, not so lucky during their passage over the summer, left a collection of rocks well marked with various colours. The blazing heat became a challenge on the still, open waters and we looked forward to hiking in the much cooler forests.

Norm H and Wayne stopped at a campsite on the northeastern shoreline of Club Lake – it was very disconcerting to discover the personal toiletries and excrement left among the bushes within the campsite by previous campers – totally despicable. The trees growing here represented the dense concentration of old-growth red and white pine in Algonquin. We were especially impressed with the grandeur and majestic size of a two century + old white pine that was, perhaps, too small to cut down during the logging era. John and Norm R ventured to the southerly campsite where Norm R went for a refreshing swim.

Regrouping, we continued our journey through the meandering wetland channel, painstakingly walking our canoes for short distances over fallen logs and deltas towards the portage – except for the heat bugs screeching intermittently, all was still. Along side the portage (5P640) to Mouse Lake, water could be heard trickling under the stream’s rocks – rain was so desperately needed. The rutted, portage trail went straight up a constant rise before it leveled off just before reaching Mouse Lake - under the protection of the cooler forest, we began to enjoy the trek.

Using binoculars, we scanned and located our next portage across Mouse Lake - the layout of the rolling and spanning ridge gave us cause to brace ourselves for a humungous trek. With time on our side and a need to get out of the sun, we decided to cross the lake to have lunch in the shade of a campsite. Just as we departed from the put-in, a light, southwesterly breeze offered a short-lived reprieve. On the eastern shore of Mouse Lake, we observed a campsite with a sweeping, sandy beach. John Leto (from Ohio) informed us the following day that he and his wife were fortunate to have camped at this site and that he was able to spot two moose with the use of his binoculars; however, the animals had left the area upon their arrival at the portage.

At the campsite, we ate upon a boulder that was engulfed by the tentacle-like roots of a towering pine tree – it was amazing how the tree could survive under such conditions. After an invigorating swim, we continued our journey to the westerly corner of the lake where we identified cow and calf moose tracks at the portage entrance next to a bog. This unspoiled habitat was truly ideal for wildlife in the Park, especially for "species at risk".

The 6P1700 portage from Mouse Lake to Mink Creek could be considered one of the top three harrowing and challenging hikes we had ever encountered during our years of tripping and the mid-afternoon heat didn’t help matters. To ease any burden of discomfort, we completed the portage in three phases, drank plenty of water at each rest stop to avoid dehydration, and leisurely walked back when retrieving our canoes. We later concurred that the first 1400 metres had to be straight up an incredibly steep path that led to the top of the escarpment before gradually leveling out. The last 50 metres of the portage involved a steep descent to the muddy, putrid put-in at Mink Creek.

We "tough slogged" through this snake-like channel, relentlessly digging our paddles into the murky bottom so as to acquire some kind of leverage to advance forward through the thick, swamp grass - the progress was so slow and exhausting. The shoreline, indicating the presence of beaver in the area, soon confirmed our first and only beaver dam – it was unfortunate that the beaver didn’t have the sense to build the dam closer to the portage! We eagerly skidded our canoes over the dam into deeper water where paddling was so much easier - we were soon at our last portage (7P230) for the day to Big Thunder Lake.

At the portage, we slowly and cautiously maneuvered ourselves as well as the equipment out of the canoes. For a moment, it was like "déjà vu" from last year’s encounter in a bog to Low Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. Norm R and John were in the process of hauling their canoe to higher ground when big Norm R, thinking that John was already at the stern, grabbed onto the bow and hauled the canoe forward and to the left, not knowing that John was between the canoe and a foot away from being pushed sideways into the stench waters of the beaver channel. Luckily, John was able to sidestep the canoe – the look on his face said it all!

Our trek through the last portage was done in short order. Rounding the point of Big Thunder Lake, we snagged a light breeze – a blessing with the temperature at 34-degrees C and possibly nearing 40+-degrees C with the humidex. We were soon rewarded with a sheltered, sandy beach within a placid cove where a steady incline up the embankment led to a campsite on a rocky outcrop. Benches half surrounded the campfire area next to two ideal places to pitch our tents under towering, pine trees – we could ask for nothing more!

After shrugging off the last of our equipment, we sat on the benches in total exhaustion – our day was brutal. Wayne, displaying a slight smirk on his face, casually reached into his backpack and slowly pulled out some cool refreshments, much to the delight and exuberation of all. We sat quietly, slowly savoring every last drop.

We managed to escape the heat – briefly – by swimming in the warm lake amongst a swarm of iridescent blue dragonflies and then resting in our tents. Overall, we filtered our five one-litre water bottles five times during the day. John’s complaint of being plagued and bitten by masses of mosquitoes and deer flies during the portaging did not go unnoticed – his back was engulfed with welts; however, wearing the same T-shirt for the past three days without washing it was definitely not a deterrent!

Of all days, the scheduled day’s supper menu consisted of hot, spicy Mexican chili. By 9 pm, the temperature dropped to 25-degrees C with a slight breeze. None of us were in much of a mood for a campfire; instead, we enjoyed the view - the creamy, yellow quarter moon reflection upon a tranquil lake under a constellation of stars. Waterfowl calls and a medley of various insects floated across the water throughout the evening. Unfortunately, once again, the hissing heat bugs did their best to warn us that another hot day awaited us.