Stepping up the ante on the canoe-tripping front, I accepted an invitation from Arn and family for a second 2016 Algonquin multi-day canoe trip (the first being
back in May to Clydegale Lake). The trip took place over the labour day long weekend in early September; Jenn was unavailable to join owing to a previously-scheduled trip she had to visit her brother in Victoria, BC.
Nancy, Dave and Emma, perennial canoe-trippers and friends of the Hyndman family, were also along for the journey.
The itinerary for this trip was essentially the same as for our
2014 Algonquin canoe outing - a trip from the Brent outpost into the Catfish Lake area of the park. The only difference between that trip and this one was the extra day afforded to us by the long weekend.
Since I was attending this trip solo, I drove to and from Algonquin with the Hyndmans, essentially becoming a true LC (er, rather an HC) for the weekend.
We stopped at Algonquin Bound outfitters and at the park's Brent office to obtain our rental canoes and camp permits, respectively. We then drove down the long, twisty, dusty road to the cottage outpost of Brent itself, situated on the shores of Cedar Lake, the major body of water in this sector of the park.
Once at Brent, we did a final pack-up and launched the canoes into the water. Our objective was a simple paddle across the lake to whatever unoccupied campsite we could find. Fortunately, we managed to find one (in fact, the same one we had used on our 2014 trip) close to the mouth of the Petawawa, positioning us well for the next leg of our journey the following morning.
It was a perfect evening, weather-wise: clear and warm and not humid, and little wind to speak of. In fact, the forecast for the entire weekend was exceptionally placid and consistent: much of the same right through to the end of our itinerary.
