For today, we decided to put in at Rock Lake inside Algonquin Provincial Park and paddle down lake and, hopefully, down wind through Galeairy Lake and take out at the public boat ramp in Whitney, not far from our hotel.
Originally, we thought we might make a longer trip by starting in Whitefish Lake, but after some inquiry with park rangers, we determined that was going to be way too much for us.
We had a nice little breakfast at the hotel, and then dropped off our Jeep at the public boat ramp. We took both our Sea Eagle FastTracks in Steve & Esther's Jeep.
It was only about 50 degrees with highs expected to reach the upper 50s if we were lucky. We hadn't brought the proper clothing for that weather, so we made a quick stop at one of the local outfitters. We picked up a couple of knit caps, some paddling gloves, and some hand warmers. Fortunately, we brought our rain gear.
We reached the Rock Lake canoe launch area and inflated our boats in a minor drizzle.
We bundled up, got everything loaded and were soon on our way for some big lake paddling - not our favorite kind of paddling, but that's what most of the paddling here in Algonquin is.
Also, there are numerous portages with almost any canoe trail you take. Today's trip would involve only one short portage - one of the reasons we decided on the route.
On the way out from the sheltered lauch area ....
into Rock Lake, we saw some kingfishers, herons, and mergansers. Little did we know that would be about all the wildlife we would see today.
We paddled along the shore of Rock Lake, and Esther navigated with the canoe routes map that Steve purchased yesterday. The drizzle stopped and the wind wasn't bad, but there were still some hefty waves in the widest part of the lakes where we needed to make crossings.
We had to go by a large rock cliff, so we detoured just a little to get a closer look.
It was pretty cool, but the wind was blowing a bit more there and the waves were bouncing off the cliff wall. It got a bit rough, so we got the heck out of there.
Once we reached the end of Rock Lake, we took a narrower passage that we could just float. The Madawaska River runs through the lakes we were paddling today, so for a brief section, we got to enjoy going with the current with the wind at our back.
Soon, we reached the dam and had to portage.
Just before we got to the portage, Steve & Esther got hung up on a rather large rock. They managed to free themselves, but not without a cost.
The Sea Eagle FastTracks have a removable skeg (a fin-like thing on the bottom of the boat like solid rudder to help with control). It's rather long, so it's great for keeping you straight when paddling, but it would get in the way when packing up the boats, so they made it removable. However, Steve & Esther's boat is a few years older than ours and the removable skeg has been redesigned. Ours slides in and has a clip to lock it in place. Theirs slides into a couple of grooves, but there is nothing to lock it on.
Yep, you guessed it. They lost their skeg. They didn't realize it until we portaged our boats.
Once we made the short portage, we put in below the dam. Without their skeg, they had no control over their boat. We still had a long way to go, and we weren't exactly sure what we were going to do.
We tied their boat to ours and tried to tow them. But there was no way Linda was going to be able to keep that up. Esther & Steve switched places in their boat, with Steve paddling and Esther steering in the back. That worked okay, but we needed more power up front.
We eventually pulled over at one of the many campsites. We put Steve in the back of our boat, I moved to the front, and Linda got in their boat. Esther continued to use her paddle just to steer. She was an integral part to making this work. Without her steering the rear kayak, we would get out of alignment and lose momentum very quickly.
That combination seemed to work the best, but it was going to be quite the chore for Steve and I to tow the other boat the several miles we still had to go.
But we sucked it up and did it. Yep, it's always and adventure with Howard & Linda. Sheesh.
Fortunately, the rain held off, and the wind wasn't too bad. But we were afraid to stop and rest because a turn in the weather or an increase in the wind was going to be very bad news.
Considering the bad luck, and the constant paddling and steering, we stayed in pretty good spirits. We joked about our misfortune and that it might be a good idea to carry on extra skeg in the future. :)
Galeairy Lake was even bigger than Rock Lake and we really struggled with some large waves as we had to make a couple of long, hard crossings. We were just thankful that the wind was behind us. Some canoers going in the opposite direction weren't making much headway at all.
Finally, the public boat ramp in Whitney came into view. And none too soon. The wind was picking up and the temperatures felt colder. And I'm not too sure how much farther Steve and I could've paddled. But we made it. Hallelujah! :)
We covered our route in about four and a half hours, with I'd say half to two thirds of it while towing. We had planned on perhaps a five to six hour leisurely paddle with a few breaks. That didn't exactly work out. :)
We dried off and cleaned the boats, we deflated them, and we just folded them up and stuck them in the back of the Jeep. We dropped the girls off at the hotel so they could go ahead and get hot showers, and I drove Steve back to the put-in to get their Jeep.
That certainly wasn't the fun day of paddling we had in mind. But we have a story to tell.
After Steve and I got back and we had our hot showers, we headed over to the Mad Musher again for dinner. This time we got bigger dinners and sprung for shared desserts. We certainly felt like we earned them. :)
Tomorrow's forecasts are all over the place. We checked three or four different forecasts and none of them matched. It was going to be slightly warmer, but there was no doubt it was going to rain and thunder showers were likely later in the day. Our best guess was that the rain might hold off in the morning.
I suggested we head out around 6:30 so we could stop at a cafe in the park at 7:00 so Steve and Linda could get coffee. The early start would allow us a better chance to see wildlife, avoid the crowds on the trail, and possibly beat the rain.
At any rate, I bet we sleep good tonight so getting up at 6:00 shouldn't be too much of a problem. Whew. What a day. :)
We also have the old style Fast Tracks and I lost my skeg once in the Keys. I immediately knew it though because of the lack of steering, and we were able to retrieve it. We have an extra skeg and I think your story has convinced me to carry an extra with us.
It looks like it was cold!!
Posted by: Karen Lueck | Sunday, August 17, 2014 at 08:03 AM
Glad you're enjoying Algonquin, though maybe you didn't 'enjoy' that! We paddled rock Lake twice years and years ago, saw a moose in one of the little streams we explored.
Posted by: Furry Gnome | Sunday, August 17, 2014 at 09:19 AM
I would have bailed at "50 degrees"! Glad you all made it back safely - that water looked really choppy.
Posted by: Bill and Jodee | Sunday, August 17, 2014 at 11:31 AM