Trip Reports, Campsites & More
Year in Review (2023)
The Moosie Awards (Part two)
Welcome to Part Two of the 2023 Moosie Awards. Part One started things off with awards in categories like Best Waterfall, Thunderiest Thunderbox and Worst Portage. Those categories are fine and all, but they’re not the reason you come to the Moosies. They’re the Moosie equivalent of the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. You’re happy to see someone win, but you also wish they’d play off that acceptance speech just a bit faster. Part Two, however, is where the heavy hitters come out to play. Part Two is where we find out which was the best campsite of the year, the best lake and the best route. You can already feel the excitement, right? So let’s get to it! The 2023 Moosies, Part Two, right after this word from our sponsors.
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Best Moment
Every canoe trip has a string of moments that take up residence in your memory and never move out. Some of them, like the moments spent watching the sun set the sky on fire over Philip Lake or watching the water pour over Hollywood Falls in the early Autumn sun, are good. Some, like the moments (that feel like hours) spent pushing through the alder quagmire that is Maple Creek between Skuce and Tillie Lakes, are less good. And some, some are downright incredible.
This photo was taken on a rocky, island campsite in Opeongo’s East Arm. That’s my oldest daughter beside me. She’s been paddling with me since she was four. She’s a lot older than four now. That particular morning she and I left our extended family trip behind and set out to check out some of the sites in the area. It was a beautiful day in mid July. Sun shining, wind blowing, water dancing. We had spent the better part of a couple of hours paddling around the East Arm’s last bay and decided that this campsite, site 8, was going to be our final stop before heading back. This was a lovely little spot, tacked on to a small point at the southern tip of Pine Island. We got out to explore and my daughter immediately fell in love. She loves finding big rocks to sit on and watch the world go by. And big rocks were something this site was only too happy to provide. There was a rocky perch at the back of the site with a nice view of the site itself, and the one in the picture above with a great view of Opeongo. I remember watching her scramble around the rocks, getting excited about the different vantage points she was finding and talking about how much she loved being there, while a warm wind blew through the site and the sun beat down between the intermittent clouds.
It was perfect. And it was this year’s best moment.
Best Campsite
I had an incredible summer for campsites. Every trip included at least one site that I would happily revisit, and there were three sites I saw this year that I’d probably slot into my top 20 all time, maybe top 10. So, you’d think this would be a hard category to pick, right?
It’s not.
But let’s not spoil the suspense. Before we get to this year’s winner, let’s talk a bit about the two runners up.
If you read Part One of this year’s Moosies, in particular the Best Swimming section, you already know one of this year’s finalists. Clamshell Lake, Site 1 was an awesome little spot. The sole campsite on Clamshell Lake, it sits on a mostly rocky shelf in the lake’s northeast corner and offers one of the best swimming spots I’ve found in the Park. The thing is, it’s that swimming that makes the site so good. Without the swimming … well, it would be a nice site, but I don’t think it would stand out to me as much as it does. I didn’t love the proximity of the majority of the tent pads to the fire pit, and the loading/unloading areas were shallow and a pain to navigate. Don’t get me wrong, these are minor issues and most years Clamshell would probably win. But this year, up against this competition, they’re more than enough to take Clamshell out of the running.
Our next runner up is Philip Lake, site 4. This is another memorable site. Tucked away in a small, west facing bay on Philip’s south shore, this is a gorgeous little spot fronted by a sandy beach, with plenty of flat ground, a nice fire pit area and a great nearby point from which to watch the sun set. I’m reaching for a reason to dock it points here, but if there’s any drawback it’s that the site proper is fairly exposed. This means two things: 1) a strong wind from the west is going to blow right through the site and do a great job of air cooling any fall campers who might be staying there and 2) there isn’t a whole lot of tree or brush coverage to break up sightlines. Number 2 doesn’t sound like too much of a problem, until you remember that the Thunderbox is maybe 50 feet from the fire pit area. Great if you don’t want to interrupt your conversation to answer nature’s call. Not so great if you don’t want your trip buddies to know just how badly last night’s chili wants to get out. These are nitpicks, I know. This is a great site. It’s just not my favourite of the year. That honour goes to …
Is it weird that this year’s winner is a site I didn’t actually stay on? I spent nights on both Clamshell and Philip Lakes, but Radiant Lake – site 9, which was by far my favourite site of the year, was only home for two short hours in the middle of the day last September. But they were an awesome two hours.
We arrived at the site after spending the better part of the morning on the Little Madawaska River. It was a hot day, barely any clouds in the sky, and although we didn’t know it at the time, we were on the cusp of an early September heat wave that was going to drive temperatures into the 30s. In other words, it was a perfect time for a swim break. We pulled up to the site for lunch. Radiant was only an interim stop as we were heading on to Clamshell for the night. Right from the start I knew I was going to like this spot. It’s wrapped around a small, rocky corner on Radiant’s west side, right where the Petawawa empties into the lake. The site is up a bit from the water, with a nicely set up fire pit, great views east on Radiant and the single greatest fireside bench I’ve seen in the Park. This thing could teach a Muskoka Chair a thing or two about outdoors comfort (and style!).
So, great fire pit area and views. Fine. But what else have you got, Radiant Lake – site 9?
How about some of the best swimming this side of Clamshell? Remember that rocky shoreline I mentioned? The lake bottom drops away from the shore fairly sharply in places, leaving at least a couple of spots that make for great jumping ledges (here’s where I remind you to always, always do your own check before jumping. Don’t take my word for it. Please.). We spent a solid half hour jumping from various heights and swimming around the edges of the site. The only reason this site didn’t win this year’s best swimming is because rope swing > no rope swing.
The site isn’t perfect, it’s very near one cottage and within shouting distance of a couple of others, but it’s pretty damn close. There’s enough room for at least a couple of tents, and there are some cool nearby features worth exploring as well. All in all, I would happily stay at this site any time, and it’s an easy winner for this year’s Best Campsite.
Best Lake
There is a very large part of me that wants to give this to Lake Louisa. I love Lake Louisa. It’s a gorgeous lake with multiple campsites that would rank in my top twenty all-time. But Louisa is already a two time winner in this category. It took home the hardware back in 2019 and it won the inaugural Moosies way back in 2016. I mean, Louisa’s nice, but it’s not 1990’s Tom Hanks. It can’t just be penciled in for the win every time it shows up onscreen. Besides, I’m not convinced that Louisa was this year’s best lake.
Enter, Hogan Lake.
Man, I like Hogan Lake. Smack in the middle of the Park, Hogan is a massive stretch of east/west water. It’s got to be close to 10 KM wide from one end to the other, and those ten kilometers are mostly uninterrupted Algonquin scenery at its best. For such a big lake, there are only ten campsites. That’s one campsite per kilometer, and it means that there’s a good chance you’re going to feel like you’ve got this massive body of water all to yourself if you stay there.
The sites I’ve visited on Hogan have been pretty special. In particular, I’m a big fan of the west facing island site on the way to Lake La Muir (site 1 in the campsite report archive) and the eastern bay site just before the entrance to the Little Madawaska (site 9). Both sites have a lot going for them, including some spectacular views and great swimming options.
Another thing I like about Hogan is that it’s a crossroads lake. You can get pretty much anywhere from here. Heading north you’ve got Catfish, Sunfish and the Petawawa River. East you’ve Philip Lake and the Little Madawasaka River. South you’ve got Big Crow, Little Crow and, eventually, Opeongo. And to the west you’ve got Lake La Muir into Big Trout and the entire western half of the Park. You can make Hogan a one night stop on your way to any one of these destinations, or set up base camp here for a week and never run out of things to explore. Heck, there’s tons to see without even leaving Hogan. I haven’t personally made the climb, but I’ve seen pictures taken from the top of Hogan’s southern cliffs and the view looks awesome. According to Jeff’s Algonquin Map there are logging camp ruins at the top tip of Parks Bay, and I can say with certainty that the small point just north of Site 9 is an awesome spot to stop for a picnic.
Add all that together, and we’ve got this year’s Best Lake (Sorry Louisa).
Best Route
If you read Part One, you might remember me basically spoiling this category in the introduction, then trying to walk it back. My exact words were “I have repeatedly called one of this year’s trips an all-timer, easily in my lifetime top five. That said, the category is Best Route, not Best Trip. So maybe there’s some wriggle room there”. Sorry, Part One Drew, that was semantic nonsense. There’s no wiggle room here. Whether you want to call it Best Route, Best Trip or Best Way to Spend Four Days in Early September, My Labour Day Loop out of Cedar Lake wins this year’s final Moosie in a landslide.
This was an incredible trip that started and ended from Access #27 (the old town of Brent on Cedar Lake). Absolutely everything went right on this trip (well, not everything. We did get stuck on Catfish – site 11 for the first night). The weather was phenomenal. We had blue skies and sun from the moment we put our canoes in the water at the Brent access til the moment we ground them back up on that same beach four days later. Great weather makes for great swimming, and I spent a ton of time in the water, which isn’t always a guarantee by Labour Day, but is definitely the sign of a good trip (unless that time you spent in the water is because your canoe dumped in the middle of Hogan. Then it’s not so great).
The route included stops on Catfish, Philip and Clamshell Lakes. After a last minute decision to turn the trip around and go counterclockwise out of Cedar instead of clockwise, we headed up the Petawawa to Catfish Lake for our first night. Day two took us south to Hogan by way of Sunfish Lake, then east to Philip and its gorgeous southern campsite for night two. Day three included a lovely downstream paddle on the Little Madawaska River and lunch on Radiant Lake, before finishing the day on Clamshell with hands down the best rope swinging I’ve ever done. Even the final day, a return trip from Clamshell up the Petawawa and across Cedar, was exceptional. Cedar, which can be as challenging as any lake in the Park if the wind is up, was smooth as glass and an absolute delight to paddle.
This route included a little bit of everything. Want some river travel? The Petawawa and Little Madawaska are waiting for you. Want some big lake paddling? Hogan and Cedar are about as big as it gets. Prefer smaller lakes? Newt and Manta are pretty little spots in between Sunfish and Hogan, and Clamshell is awesome. Like long portages? Really? What’s wrong with you? Anyways, this route’s got those as well. Unicorn Hill along the Petawawa is 2.4 KM of leg toning uphill, and the 3.5 KM trek along the Little Madawaska is actually a kind of pleasant carry despite its length.
There are too many highlights to count, but some of my favourites included sitting beside Hollywood Falls on the first day, watching the water rush past and getting excited for everything that was to come. Four days later, coming up the Petawawa from the other direction and watching the river spill over the end of the Surprise Rapids, was just as pretty, if a little bit less exciting since I knew it meant the trip was almost done. Sticking with the river theme, but not the Petawawa, paddling the Little Madawaska and coming up on a set of cliffs that were straight out of Tolkien, and seemingly came out of nowhere, was another awesome experience. Over on the lake side of things, watching the sun go down over Philip Lake and, later, sitting by the fire while the stars came out was one of the best evenings of trip I remember. Those moments only scratch the surface of everything that was great about this trip (and I’ve already talked about the awesome swimming on Radiant and Clamshell). Even the tougher moments, like scaling Unicorn Hill and fighting the wind on Hogan, were just tough enough to feel like a challenge without being spirit breaking.
Put that all together, and what do you get? You get your Best Route winner for 2023, and one of the best trips I’ve ever done.
And that’s it folks. We’re finally putting a bow on the 2023 paddling season (which makes sense, because the 2024 season seems like it’s going to start any day now). Last year was awesome. From my ice out trip through parts of the Park I’ve wanted to visit since I started this thing, to my final two day basecamp on Pen Lake as the fall colours were in full force, I was lucky enough to have a ton of incredible trips and experiences. As always, thank you so much to everyone who reads this site. This was my 8th season writing this thing, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the continued support and feedback. It still blows my mind that so many people have wandered into this corner of the internet, but I really appreciate you stopping by.
This coming season will hopefully bring more of the same. I’ve got my May trip booked and my September trip planned. There will hopefully be other trips as well, but even if I just get out for those two I’m going to find some new lakes to love and some new portages to hate. For now, I’ve got a couple of campsite reports that still need to be written, and I feel like I owe the world at least one Thunderbox before paddling season starts. So keep your eyes peeled for that, and, in the meantime, start planning those routes. The ice will be gone before we know it.
