Picking up Bonnie on the way north, we left Barrie around 7:15 and with coffee’s in hand, enjoyed a relaxed, traffic-free drive. We made a quick stop in Huntsville for a coffee refill of extra large Tim Hortons. It led me to discover a little later, yes it is possible to paddle with a half a coffee sitting upright in the bottom of the canoe without spilling.

Everything was going well until I turned off Highway 11, passed through Emsdale and started heading for Kearny. Now I know I have only done this drive a couple of times but I was pretty sure that the roads were paved all the way. But now I found myself driving down a dirt road. Oh well the G.P.S. seemed to think we were heading in the right direction and it was a nice drive. It somehow ended with us coming into Kearny right beside the Permit Office.

The paperwork got done and off we went, arriving at the launch on Rain Lake without any more scenic detours. We were loaded and ready to leave the dock around 10.

We took our time paddling up the lake, with the help of the occasional 20kmh tail wind. It was decided that to avoid as much of the winds as we could when returning, we would stop at the site on the north side upon entering the narrows, before the lake opens into the large bay with the island. We pulled-up to a small beach landing.

With everything in the food barrel, unloading was no problem. The coffee was soon perking, as we settled in to just relax and do nothing for the better part of the afternoon. Coffee made and the fire started for lunch, we just sat back and enjoyed where we were, while watching the odd canoe pass by.

Bonnie took some time to try her luck fishing from shore.

Lunch was my traditional first night meal of steak with baked potatoes and asparagus done in and over the fire. The dishes were promptly picked up and bagged ready for the dishwasher when I got home. After all, day trips do have their advantages.

Looking east towards the narrows.

The afternoon somehow just flew by. We were doing nothing but just sitting on the side of a lake beside a good fire and just enjoying the conversation of a good friend. Before we realized it, the sun was starting to drop and we started thinking about packing up and moving on.

Looking west into the sun and wind.

With the fire drowned and everything packed, we pushed off around 5:30. We headed straight for the opposite shore, taking our time heading back and exploring the shoreline.

There were the odd 20 to 30kmh headwinds. No matter what my bow partner may have mentioned at the time, I still say that we were moving forward during the gusts. Had we stopped making forward progress, her fishing line would have gone slack!

Leaving the lake behind us and entering the small bay, we were greeted with glass smooth water to end the day. We arrived back at the dock around 6:00.

Things were going wonderfully with the gear loaded and the canoe tied to the car. We pulled out of the parking lot just after 6:30 and again did not have a problem until we passed through Kearny. It seems I may have taken a slight zig where I should have zagged somewhere. We had e a very long but very scenic drive in the country, with a lot of dirt roads. We finally arrived at a friend’s in Novar promptly at 9pm.

Two things were pointed out to me later ...
1: It is a very good thing I do much better on water than I do on land .. or they would still be looking for us.
2: It is not against the rules to stop and ask someone who happens to be out in their front yard if they know where you are, since I obviously had no idea.

Overall it was a great day, with temperatures of 23 degrees and sunshine. The only wildlife we saw was a grouse in the road in and a group of 6 loons swimming by.

For the rest of the pictures go to http://photobucket.com/Rain8112011