The final day of our 2016 September canoe trip had a very similar itinerary to our 2014 Catfish Lake outing: a route from Catfish Lake across to the Nippissing River, then down the river to its outlet at Cedar Lake, which we'd then cross to return to the boat launch area near Brent.
Both Kai and Nel had been clamoring to do some stern paddling on this trip, and this morning I gave Nel the opportunity to show her skills as we set off from Catfish Lake westbound. She did suprisingly well on the journey across Catfish - so much so that we were well ahead of the other two canoes by the time we arrived at the Catfish-Luckless portage. After an efficient and fast portage over to Luckless, we continued with this configuration, and once again we managed a speedy crossing of Luckless. Nel was certainly getting the hang of piloting a canoe.
Nearling Luckless Portage
Approaching big Portage to Nippissing R
Next up was my least favorite part of this route - the long three kilometre portage over to the Nippissing River. At first I thought - with my newfound jury-rigging of my canoe's balance - that it wouldn't be too bad. However, not too far into the crossing, probably around the 500-meter mark, I found that my system wasn't working that well. The canoe was once again sliding off to the right, my shoulder on that side was aching, and I wasn't able to achieve as fast of a pace as I'd have liked (which of course further prolongs the discomfort). Partway along the portage, Dave zipped past me practically at a trot. I stopped at the 2/3rds mark for a bit of shoulder relief, with Nancy and Gosia soon also passing me by. Now at the back of the pack, I shouldered the canoe back into position and soldiered on for the final kilometer. Very glad to see the banks of the Nippissing a few tens of minutes later. Canoe number 517 Algonquin Bound: hope to never rent you again!
After the long and unpleasant portage, it was a pleasure to relax and start the glide down the Nippissing River. With Nel now in the front of the boat, we half-paddled, half-glided down with the current, experimenting with a riverbank-grazing technique that we christened bush-scraping.
The waters of the Nippissing were very low this September, and frequently we had to watch out for submerged boulders and other types of shallow terrain. We ran several minor rapids and riffles without much trouble, managing to skip one small portage in the process. A final 900+ metre portage then brought us down to Cedar Lake.
The open waters of Cedar Lake can be tricky if winds whip up the waves, but with this weekend's perfect weather, the waters of the lake were quite placid. Gosia was in my canoe with me at this point, and we got into a bit of a race with Arn and Kai, who were manning the Hyndman canoe. Unfortunately for us, they managed to eke out the win, arriving back at the Brent dock at 3:30pm and about 45 seconds before us. Kudos to Kai for keeping the pace up across the wide waters of Cedar Lake.
So, that's a wrap for this trip. Three and a half days and 55.7 kilometres of total elapsed mileage (combined paddling and walking). Not bad at all. Thanks again to everyone for accommodating me on another of your most enjoyable Algonquin outings.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Catfish Lake Semi Loop - click map to view
Start-to-finish, Catfish Semi-Loop
Distance:
55.7 km
(34.61 mi)
Average Speed:
0.8 km/hr
(0.5 mph)
Time:
68h59m
Start Elevation:
994ft
(303m)
*
Max Elevation:
1311ft
(400m)
*
Min Elevation:
985ft
(300m)
*
End Elevation:
1019ft
(311m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
705ft
(215m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
685ft
(209m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
