Camping in Algonquin Park

After a week in New York it was time for a change of pace. So with Bridget, Martin and Rowie, Donna and I set the GPS for Algonquin Park and Algonquin Outfitters for a two day canoeing and camping trip. But first we would spend the day, and most of the night, with friends Bill and Jeanette at the Blue Skies Festival, held annually near their place, and then leave for the park from there.

The Blue Skies Festival is a nearly 40 year old event held in Lanark County; an eclectic mix of country, blues and folk music styles with workshops during the day covering a diverse range of topics including Cree Indian language, tie dying a tee shirt and to slide guitar. A very interesting day/night (it didn't finish until 2.00am in the morning) with some great music in an unspoilt rural setting.

We had organised with Algonquin Outfitters to help us out as we had no camping or canoeing equipment and they would fit us out with all the equipment and food we needed plus a guide all for a price. However, with everything included it worked out to be around $100 per day per person which we thought was very reasonable for the service and equipment they provided.

They provided a tented camp for us the night prior to departure - next morning we collected our gear, met our guide, purchased our park permit and headed off into the wilderness. All food went into a waterproof barrel, clothes and personal gear into waterproof packs and then packed into large canoe packs ready for portaging when necessary. We were transported to Smoke Lake, launched our canoes and paddled for the rest of the morning to our first portage point.

We beached the canoes, hoisted packs and canoes onto our shoulders and trekked up a steep hill, and down the other side, to the next leg of our journey through Ragged Lake. It was so peaceful paddling across and along the shore line of the lakes. I tried a little fishing from the canoe but in the wind it made it difficult for Rowie to keep the canoe on track and also for us to keep up with the others so I decided to shelve that idea until we reached our camp site that evening. The weather was warm with a cloudless sky, a beautiful day to be out on the water. Donna and Alex (the guide) in one canoe, Martin and Bridget in one and Rowie and I in another.

We reached a likely camp site about 4.00pm that afternoon and set about erecting tents, gathering wood for the camp fire and putting up a tarp as a shelter as it was forecast to rain early the next morning. After a swim to cool down, and relax tired shoulder muscles not used to paddling a canoe all day, I decide to see if there were any fish in the lake. Unbelievably, the very first cast and much to everyone's surprise, I am hooked up. After an exciting tussle with a hard fighting competitor I guided the reluctant Pisces into the waiting net. Wow, a small mouth bass, and according to the guide a really good specimen to boot. After a few photo snaps it was back to the watery homeland for the unlucky bass, where he can tell his mates about people with funny accents he encountered on land.

During the night a shower of rain forecast things to come next day. We arose next morning just in time to get breakfast cooking when the drizzle started and it persisted. We packed up in the rain, loaded the canoes and headed for home. It was warm and muggy even with the rain. We investigated a couple of shallow swamps looking for moose on our way back but none were visible. After another portage to get us back into the main lake we could see the end although there was still a couple of hours of paddling to get there. A float plane came in low overhead and landed at the other end of the lake. By this time the rain had cleared and it was again a sunny day.

What a great two days, Algonquin Outfitters really looked after us. Great guide providing advice where needed and with a wealth of local knowledge, great food and first class equipment that was well maintained. It was well worth the cost if you don't have equipment of your own and made our camping/canoe trip very enjoyable.