09-06-2010 Killarney to Toronto

I didn’t take a lot of photos on this day, but it was a truly exciting day nonetheless. This was the day be bought our beautiful Swift kayaks.

After the gorgeous day we enjoyed yesterday, this morning we woke again to gloomy rainy weather.  Deciding to skip the morning hikes in the pouring rain, we packed up the MoHo and headed for Toronto.  On the way, we happened to stop at a roadside information kiosk where the attendant told us about the Muskoga Lake Region.  She also was incredibly helpful and made phone calls for us to the Swift Kayak and Canoe Company where we planned to visit. 

On the way, we visited the charming little town of Muskoka Lake, and stopped at an area dominated by huge exposures of the Pre-Cambrian Shield. This is some of the oldest rock in the world, covering a large portion of Ontario and where much of the wealth of the province is derived.

I had searched the internet for lightweight kayaks, and knew that the main store selling the Swift Adirondack kayaks was located nearby.  At the last minute we re-routed back north and through the lake district, with the idea that we were just visiting.  I have been admiring these beautiful boats on the internet for some time now. These kayaks are sleek and gorgeous, weighing only 34 pounds, with a cockpit that can accommodate Abby, and sealed bulkheads that will keep our gear dry.  The owner just happened to be in the store, and offered to ship to the US, saving us the 13 percent provincial tax.  It was an exciting day, and our boats will arrive in Oregon when we return after October 1st.

Even though we were traveling the beautiful lake district, with all the forests we didn’t see very much of the lakes and didn’t want to take more time to stop and visit.  It is a beautiful area, however, and I would have loved to spend more time.  The rest of the day was uneventful, as we navigated into the eastern part of the city of Toronto where we planned to camp at the city owned Glen Rouge Park.

 

09-05-2010 Sault Ste Marie to Killarney and a bear!

Our day turned out to be wonderfully exciting and beautiful as we crossed the border into Canada.  The weather was gloomy at first, but cleared as the day progressed.  Originally, our plan for this trip included several days in the provincial parks along the northern shore of Lake Superior where we planned to kayak the lakes and rivers of this part of Ontario.  We changed our plans a few days ago, and it turned out to be a good idea.  The storms and rain would have kept us from doing any kayaking and the drives were long and featureless with the lake hidden by miles and miles of trees.  In addition, the cost of gasoline in Canada ran as high as 4.00 per US gallon, so those many miles would have been expensive.

Instead, our only day camping in Ontario parks was today, at Killarney Provincial Park.  Once over the border, which was completely uneventful, we stopped at the Ontario visitors center for information.  The guide there was knowledgeable and helpful, and told us in her opinion Killarney was the loveliest park to see. 

On the way through the park we stopped for a roadside rest along a lovely lake and hiked around a bit with the dog before continuing. Arriving at the campground around 2 in the afternoon, we set up our camp and thrilled at the brilliant sunshine. 

The park brochure listed several excellent hikes that were accessible to us, in addition to visiting the small coastal town of Killarney and kayaking either a lake or a river.  After perusing the map and the weather we opted for a chance to actually take our boats down and get in the water for the first time on this trip!  The skies were gorgeous and the winds were high, but the launching point on Chickanishing Creek was protected enough and had a good ramp.  There were several people coming in to land, and the winds were a bit daunting, but we launched and headed for the “Big Water”. 

We paddled through meandering water with very little current, among huge pink boulders of granite, smoothed by glaciers and dotted with pine, spruce, and fir.  Once we emerged onto Lake Superior, there were granite islands all around us, but the wind was so high we were afraid to go very far into the waves.  We don’t have skirts for our kayaks, and big winds make big waves, and we didn’t want to swamp in the extremely cold water so we turned back. 

Paddling upstream was almost effortless, and back in the protected shelter of the creekside banks and cliffs the wind wasn’t as difficult to manage.  While gliding along watching the bank, I suddenly realized that something was also watching me!  I was eye to eye with a small black bear on the bank, just a few feet from my kayak.  Wow!  I was glad to be in my boat, even knowing that bears are great swimmers, I felt OK.  I called out to Mo, backpaddled to get a better view and take some photos. 

Abby was sniffing like crazy trying to figure out what that thing was, and the bear was doing the same. We didn’t stay around long enough for him to get more interested in us, but he didn’t seem the least bit afraid of us either.  It was the first bear I have seen up that close in ages, not since my mapping days in North Idaho in the 90’s. He was cute.  From the safety of my boat, at least.

The weather held up just long enough for us to get the boats out of the water and to settle into camp before the rain began.  Lucky us.