Introduction: My first backcountry trip in Algonquin for years and add to that a 3750m portage and you have one heck of a story!

The Algonquin Thunderbox Tour Crew Members

Day 1: Rise and shine at 5:30AM to the sound of a screaming baby in the next campsite at Pog Lake. Not sure whether I slept at all that night due to excitement or the sound of a crying baby.

My mom always taught me to arrive early, so the crew of five and I plus a dog had our permits and waited by the dock 15 minutes early for our water taxi.

The taxi dropped us off at the 1395m portage into Proulx. It was a good start to the trip and the combination of gazillions of mosquitoes, late season black flies, horse and deer flies was enough to make us honest about the 8 days to come.

Proulx Lake

Having my paddle cut the water in Proulx was what I had been waiting for since I booked the trip. Winding down the Crow River was lazy at best. We might have been going too slow because we startled a loon on her nest. We paddled away as fast as we could as to not disturb her anymore.

Keeping our Distance on the Crow River

The wind picked up on Big Crow and made for a tense crossing. We quartered into the waves and eventually paddled far enough across that we could start paddling up the lake with a tailwind.

Day 2: My husband proposed to me under an old growth white pine on the Tall Pines trail, and I remember looking at a map of Algonquin during my first backcountry trip six years ago. My eyes were fixed on an old growth white pine forest on the map. The adventure to get there seemed impossible. Taking the loop planned meant that I was ready to attempt this route and finally hike to a place that has been in the back of my mind since.

We woke up to rain falling on our tents and went to bed damp. It was a great day to hike the Giant Pines Trail. We packed our day bags and paddled to the mouth of the Crow River. Mist was rising from the highlands and rain pitter-pattered on the earth's surface. The rich earth tones of nature were saturated and it was hard to see the Bull Moose munching on aquatic plants right in front of us.

A Wonderful Encounter

When you couldn't paddle any further because of a log dam, there was a sign and flagging tape on the south side of the river. The hike to the old growth stand was enjoyable. Standing amongst the oldest trees in the forest is a feeling I'll never forget. I often like to think of the happenings those trees have witnessed. Mind blowing.

Old Growth White Pine

Day 3: You prepare and prepare and prepare some more, but you can never be prepared enough. I learned this lesson while portaging the 3750m's between Big Crow and Hogan. We all agreed to take the cart trail. Advice from other trip reports said this was the easier route, although longer but terrain more moderate. When you're carrying over 50lbs of gear, it doesn't really matter what the terrain is like for the distance between those two lakes.

The Start to a Long Day

The Writing on the Wall

We were in high spirits and excited to cease the day. We tried the carry and a half method, but more planning could have gone into what roles each of us played. The plan we agreed to never happened. A couple went straight to the end of the portage, and the rest of us went back to grab more gear. We tried to pack light, but only a couple of days into the trip the food barrels were still heavy.

I was one who returned to the beginning to get the last bag. When I passed the point where I had made my first drop, and the point that was supposed to be the halfway mark, I was pumped. This portage was a walk in the woods. When only 5 minutes later I came to a logging road, I thought this was the last junction of the route that met the final part of the portage. That was until I saw flagging tape to the left of me and a cart trail sign pointing right. I was confused. So was everyone else. With map in I looked closely enough to see a logging road, two in fact. We weren't half way at all, maybe a quarter.

All we could do was follow the cart trail signs. I walked down the logging road until another cart trail sign pointed left to continue down a portage trail.

After the hike along the portage trail, I came to the second logging road. Getting myself this far was difficult. I had the food barrel and kitchen bag to carry and I had to zigzag the whole way. They were too heavy. After my drop at the final junction of the logging road and the last part of the trail that would eventually take me to Hogan, I had to return all the way back to where I'd left the food barrel. I passed my canoe where my husband dropped it, and after passing that I realized I was the last one on the logging road.

The road was lined with raspberry bushes. I was in bear country. I started talking out loud, telling myself a story about the life of an oak tree, starting as an acorn. I reached the food barrel and could hardly pick it up. I concentrated on taking one step at a time. Time passed and all of a sudden I could see my husband walking toward me. He asked if I was okay and I told him about the acorn. He thought I was delirious. Maybe I was. He ordered me to drop the food barrel and hike to the end of the portage and start filtering water to send back for others.

By the time we all reached the end it had taken 5.5 hours. It was more than 4000+ meters doing the cart trail and by the time you factor in all of the back and forths. I probably did 8-10 kilometers of portaging that day. But the feeling of seeing blue water through the trees gives you an extra burst of energy that you tried to find while putting yourself through the ringer.

Day 4: Hogan was very beautiful and we stayed on one of the best sites throughout the trip. We should have stayed here longer.

Hogan Island Site

A Hearty Breakfast of Sticky Buns

We broke camp early and paddled across the lake to the opening of a creek, which then led us to our first portage.

Winding River

It was an easy 685m into Lake La Muir compared to the previous day. Stepping out of the canoe in leech-infested waters was an experience to say the least, and the last few meters trying not to sink in mud was tricky, but it made for some good laughs when our friends who were tandem-carrying their canoe sank knee-deep.

With it being a long day, I can't remember our last portage of 735m into Red Pine. I can assume it was probably comparable to any other portage of the same length.

Paddling Red Pine Bay

Day 5: Red Pine was a beauty. We stayed on the only island that had an aggressive amount of red pines. This site had an incredible cooking area. The fire pit was nestled in a huge boulder that was covered with thick creosote from fires burned over many years. Unfortunately, there were bits of garbage left here. I was unable to comprehend how someone who made it this far into the backcountry would leave a site in such a mess.

Creosote Fire Pit

As always, we packed garbage found out with us and always made sure to leave lightwood and kindling for the next person needing the quick warmth of a fire. It's a tremendous gesture in the backcountry, and one that I am always happy to provide.

Day 6: Canada Day. What a way to celebrate this holiday than in the backcountry of Algonquin Park.

We had more river travel this day. We paddled up stream to a short 75m around rapids and then another 45m around more. There was a lot of poison ivy here but thankfully none of us were affected.

Opening to Longer Lake

Jeff's Map is correct about a lot of things. While I wish there was more detail around the mishap on the portage between Big Crow and Hogan, I was anticipating the sight of a moose nearing the end of the river.

The map was right; a cow moose was spotted munching on lily pads. Another happening that made this the best Canada Day ever.

Cow Moose

The winds kicked up and dark clouds loomed behind us. Thankfully the wind was at our backs and we paddled down Longer Lake to our last portage of the day.

300m and we were into Big Trout Lake. We were lucky to have a tailwind again because we sailed down this lake in record time and were all looking forward to our second, last, and much needed rest day of the trip.

On this lake we started to see other paddlers. It was an indication that we were getting closer and closer to civilization.

Day 7: A rest day. We dried out gear, slept in, played in the water, watched the sun fall into the earth and saw Mars and Jupiter's reflection on the water.

Bannock and Coffee

Watching the Sun Fall

Jupiter and Mars Reflection

Campfire Stories

Day 8: I wasn't confident about finding the portage from Big Crow into Merchant. You paddle into a wetland and if you veer left you will be taken to Tamarack, if you veer right, you will find the portage into Merchant. It seemed like a longer paddle than indicated on the map, but we just kept going and eventually found the portage.

We nailed the carry and a half method. Portage was 1840m, but we finally passed other human life on trail. A group of young girls and a camp leader huffed and puffed by, and at the put in to Merchant we were stormed by a group of young boys in canoes with their camp leaders. They were too young to know the etiquette when approaching a portage, but they were all excited and I didn't want to say anything because I was just happy to see youth in the wilderness.

A quick paddle across Merchant brought us to our last portage of the day, 340m into Happy Isle.

We aimed for the island with three sites, but they were all taken. It was getting late in the day and we needed to find a site and get something to eat and rehydrate.

We paddled to the south shore site adjacent to the big island and were really disappointed to find garbage, corn and other food waste in the fire pit. There was no consideration for the next people to occupy this site. Unfortunately for us, this meant a longer paddle down to the southern most site on the lake.

It ended up being worth it because we had a bay all to ourselves. I caught a couple of smallmouth's to accompany dinner and we all enjoyed our last night of the trip. With a group of six people it is often hard to listen to the sounds of nature, but we made sure to have a few moments of silence to listen to the warblers, waves wash up on shore and other sounds of the forest.

Day 9: Our final day and 2235m between us and our water taxi. With our endurance built, it was a pleasant portage. It was long, but seeing the blue water through the trees meant that we all made it.

The End

Conclusion: We were bruised, blistered, bitten, and soggy but not one of us complained about the bugs, the weather or discomforts. It was a trip to remember with a great group of like-minded friends.

Banjo