What a fun time this was!
There were myself, Geordie, my son Maxwell, and three registered Pipit members. One became ill right before the trip, so we changed the canoe rental to a tandem from a 3 seater. I paddled my canoe with a new canoe tripper Pipit, Geordie was with another canoe tripping Pipit, and Maxwell in a kayak. This would be my first backcountry trip ever with Maxwell, as well as a first backcountry canoe trip ever for my son as well as my paddling partner. What a blast!
We started the day with my car making a grating sound...thought it was brakes, and with the canoe strapped on, and everyone present, took it into a mechanic who pulled a rock out of the brake parts. Phew. An hour later than we planned, and all was good.
We stopped in Huntsville to pick up the canoe and kayak, and launched onto Rain Lake around 1pm. Within a couple hours we were ready to find a campsite, but the first few we passed weren't great. Finally, we came upon the site I had hoped was empty - a site on a peninsula point - and it was open and as awesome as I had hoped it would be. Rocky shores sloping gently down into the lake. Two adjacent cleared areas perfect for a couple tents each. A good fire pit, and lots of room for cooking, and building the fire.
The weather was spectacular - cool at night, but lovely and clear with little wind both days and nights we stayed there.
On the day after we paddled in, we went out in the boats and explored the lake during the morning. In the afternoon, a few of us paddled to the shore and went for a short hike on the Western Upland Hiking Trail. We saw two different Pine Martens, one a youngster judging by size and behaviour.
I'm sharing some photos here... the misty lake shots were taken by phone on our first night.
Enjoy!
Thanks everyone for coming on the trip, and a special thanks to Geordie and Maxwell, the heavy lifters - you two made this trip happen!
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