The Shall Access Exploratory
An Oral History
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The Shall Access Exploratory: An Oral History
On the first Saturday of November in 2024, three well layered guys from Ottawa decided to take advantage of the slightly warmer than usual weather and head into Algonquin Park for the day. Their goal was to paddle the area around the Shall Lake access point, check out some new (to them) lakes and, if everything went according to plan, eat some fried salami. This is their story as told by the witnesses to that day.
Drew’s Alarm: “5:30 am shouldn’t exist. It’s cold, it’s dark and the only people excited to see it probably have way too much of their identity wrapped up in getting to the gym early and then telling everyone else about it. I understand that it’s a long drive and that the guys wanted to get to the Park as early as possible, but come on. The sun was still sleeping, so why weren’t we?
Drew’s Backpack: “I heard Alarm going off around 5:30. Then I heard some muffled swearing and, eventually, Drew moving around. That was good. He’d packed me the night before but I figured he’d need a least a few minutes of being downstairs and more than half awake to remember anything he might have forgotten to throw in the night before. Not that I’m saying there was anything.”
Lunch: “It was me. He almost forgot me”.
Drew’s Backpack: “Right, but he didn’t. And he was downstairs and had me and the rest of his gear ready to go when Mark pulled into the driveway at exactly 6:15″
Mark’s Vehicle: “I wasn’t even supposed to be going on the trip. Drew’s Vehicle backed out at the last minute. Almost wrecked the entire plan.”
Drew’s Vehicle: “Want to get out of a 430 KM roundtrip? Just go on strike the day before. I figured if I refused to start in his driveway, there was no way he would risk me doing the same thing at an access point in Algonquin Park. And I was right!”
Mark’s Vehicle: “Yeah, Drew’s Vehicle is kind of an *inaudible* -hole. Fortunately Mark’s Wife came to the rescue and offered me up. She’s the real hero of this trip. Well, after the fried salami of course.”
The Canoe: By the time they had me strapped onto Mark’s Car, the third member of the expedition, Byron, had arrived. They had the car fully loaded and were on the road well before 7.
The drive from Ottawa to the Shall Lake access point takes about 3 hours. The last half hour is along Major Lake Road, a dirt and gravel strip that heads north out of the town of Madawaska. Twisting past a series of small lakes, creeks and ponds, this can be a great road for seeing wildlife as you drive into the Park.
Birds: “There were about 10 of us in the flock. We burst out of the brush in a group and flew up the road just in front of the guys for a few seconds.”
Mark’s Vehicle: “It was pretty cool. They were small birds with white bodies and darker patches along their backs and wings. I heard Mark say that he thought they might be Snow Buntings.”
Snow Buntings?: “Sure, why not? I can tell you we’re definitely not loons”
Mark’s Vehicle: “Whatever they were, they were pretty. The kind of sight that reminds you you’re about to see a whole lot of nature.”
Snow Buntings?: “Also, if we were in fact Snow Buntings, a pretty decent bit of foreshadowing from Mother Nature as well. I think the roadside frost started right around the time we ran into those guys”.
Frost: “Yup. If you ever need to remind someone that it’s November, just give me a call. I took it easy at first, just spreading out in patches here or there. As it got closer to the access point I really went to work. By the time they were pulling into the parking lot I had the forest floor on either side of the road painted white and, honestly, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought there was a bit of Snow mixed in there with me”
Snow: *gives a big thumbs up*
Shall Lake Access Point: “They pulled into the parking area around 9:30. The only other car in the lot was covered in a fine layer of Snow. I don’t know who owned that vehicle or where they were, but they probably had a pretty chilly sleep the night before. The temperature was in the low single digits as the guys got the Canoe off the vehicle, and it didn’t feel like the day was going to warm up all that quickly.”
Reasonable Camping Temperatures: “Nah man, I’ve got nothing to contribute here. I’ve been hanging out down in Kentucky the past few weeks. It’s cold up there now”
Unreasonable Camping Temperatures: “Sure is. I was there and thrilled to be a part of the day. I was going to let it get up into the mid single digits with some sun by the afternoon, but I wanted to spend some quality time with the guys before that. I figured I’d keep things near zero for an hour or so, maybe throw in a light dusting of snow somewhere near Farm Lake. Just enough to immediately make them wonder why they were out there you know?”
The Shall Lake access point is located on a small bend in the Opeongo River in between Farm Lake and Crotch Lake. Trippers use it to access popular destination lakes like Booth Lake to the west and Ryan Lake to the east. Drew, Mark and Byron were heading west, which meant a quick paddle upriver towards Farm Lake to start.
Farm Lake: “It was still pretty chilly when they reached me. Drew and Mark were paddling, so at least they were keeping the blood flowing as they came out into the lake. Byron had drawn the middle seat straw to start off, so he was sitting in the bottom of the canoe. It didn’t look that comfortable.
Middle Canoe Spot: “Yeah, I suck”.
Drew’s Fingers: “The rest of Drew warmed up pretty quickly, but man were we cold. Didn’t matter that we were wearing gloves, it took a long time for us to heat up. And, honestly, we don’t know if we ever really warmed up or just eventually went numb”.
Farm Lake: “Fortunately for the guys I was in a good mood that day. I kept the water calm and the wind almost non-existent. I was happy to see them coming through. There hadn’t been anyone camping on me the night before, and given how busy I am during the summer it was a bit strange to feel so completely deserted.”
Farm Lake Bald Eagle: “Well, not completely deserted, right?”
Farm Lake: “Shoot, yeah, of course. Bald Eagle was there! – ”
Farm Lake Bald Eagle: “-no shooting-”
Farm Lake: “ – Right. I forgot. Everyone around here gets touchy about that word during hunting season. Anyways, like I was saying, Bald Eagle was there. He flew around my western bay as the guys paddled through. It was pretty spectacular.”
Mother Nature: “It was, wasn’t it? That eagle was just the start. I did some good work that day. I figured the guys had come so far for just the day, might as well try and make the trip worth it. Fortunately, I had buy in from eagle and a few others as well.”
The Opeongo River Otters: “When Mother Nature comes calling you don’t send her to voicemail. We made our first appearance just as the Bald Eagle was settling down at the top of a bare birch on the south shore. I don’t think the guys knew exactly what we were at first. I heard Drew whisper something about ‘furry river snakes’ while Mark and Byron more reasonably discussed whether we were beavers or otters. We decided to make it easy for them and scampered ashore where Farm turns back into the Opeongo River so they could see that we didn’t have one of those absurd pancake tails the beavers are stuck with”.
Beaver: “Hey!”
The Opeongo River Otters: “Just calling it like we see it Nickel Rat. Anyways, we circled through the forest and hopped back into the water in front of the guys around the next bend in the river. Wanted to make it special for them, you know?”
There’s a short paddle from Farm Lake along the Opeongo River to the next set of portages. From here you can choose whether to continue east along the river to Kitty and Booth lakes or turn north for Bridle Lake. This junction is also home to the Kitty Lake Ranger Cabin.
Kitty Lake Ranger Cabin: “The guys had originally hoped to book me for a night. Kelis has her milkshake but I’ve got a woodstove, and in Algonquin Park in early November that’s what brings the boys to your yard. Unfortunately, the Park closes all the ranger cabins down in late October. That didn’t stop the guys from dropping by on their way to Bridle Lake though. They took a few minutes to check me out, then stumbled across a terrible portent of impending doom.
The Terrible Portent of Impending Doom: “I’m the guest book”
Kitty Ranger Cabin: “Dooooooooom”
Kitty Ranger Cabin Guest Book: *sighs* “Every ranger cabin has a guest book that people can sign and tell stories about their stay in the cabin. It just so happened that the last entry in my guest book was from someone who’d been there in early October and seen someone from another group break their leg on the Bridle Lake portage. The writer had helped the injured tripper until the Park Rangers and EMS could arrive, and it sounded like everything ended okay. Not the kind of thing you necessarily want to read just as you’re about to start that same portage, but at least you’d know that help can get to you if you need it? I’d hardly call that a terrible portent of impending d-“
Kitty Ranger Cabin: “Doooooooooooommmmmmmmm!”
Kitty Ranger Cabin Guest Book: “We done here?”
Kitty Ranger Cabin: “… yes”
The portage up to Bridle Lake is 760 meters of easy trail. The path slopes slightly upward and crosses an old forest road at one point. It’s quite pretty.
P760 to Bridle Lake: “I’m a straight shooter. What you see is what you get with me. I know what people like in portages, and I give it to ‘em. You want blowdowns, rock gardens, muck pits? Not going to find that here. Just a straight, easy to follow path through the trees all the way to Bridle. I remember thinking how lucky those guys were when they arrived. This was their first portage of the day and you can’t start with much better. I’d even talked Snow into leaving a light dusting on the leaves and branches on either side of the trail. Made it seem like you were walking through a Christmas tree farm in places.”
Snow: “Just happy to be part of the journey, you know?”
Bridle Lake: “By the time the guys showed up at my south put-in the day was looking a bit brighter. Still lots of clouds overhead, but they were breaking up. There were bigger and bigger patches of blue coming through that grey, and you could almost believe that at some point we’d see the six degrees above zero that the weather report had promised. Drew took the middle while Mark and Byron paddled across me.”
Middle Canoe Spot: “I still suck”
Bridle Lake: “Actually, Drew seemed to be enjoying the whole ‘sit in the middle of the canoe and take pictures’ of it all. I’m not the biggest lake, but he’s probably got more shots of me than he does all the non middle spot lakes on this trip combined. Not only did he do no work for this part of the trip, he also convinced Mark and Byron to stop at my only campsite so he could take a bunch of pictures of it as well.
Bridle Lake Campsite: “Mark and Byron stayed with the Canoe while Drew did a quick walk around. He seemed impressed, and why wouldn’t he be? Lots of flat ground, a nice fire pit and a lake all to yourself? I’m awesome.
Bridle Lake: “Swimming area could be better.”
Bridle Lake Campsite: “That’s on you. My responsibility ends where the water starts. I can’t help it if you’re too lazy to clear out the weeds and deadfall. Besides, it’s not actually that bad.”
Bridle Lake: “I’m not having this conversation again. Messy shoreline aside, I think we impressed those guys. The portage up from the Kitty cabin is in great shape and easy to navigate, the campsite is a solid B+ – ”
Bridle Lake Campsite: “A- at least”
Bridle Lake: “– A solid B+. And I’m not too shabby myself. Nice scenery, clear water. Can’t ask for much more. I know this was Drew’s first time visiting me, but I don’t think it will be his last.”
Bridle Lake Campsite: “Oh, definitely not. We’d be a great spot if you wanted to give your kids a taste of a longer portage and a more secluded feeling campsite, while still being very close to an access point if you have to leave in a hurry.”
P1320 Bridle to Shirley Lake: “Yeah, yeah, everyone’s great. You done with this love in? You’ve spent more time talking about how awesome you are than the guys did paddling across you.”
The 1.3 KM portage from the north end of Bridle Lake to Shirley Lake isn’t quite as friendly as the one coming into Bridle from the south. The trail is messier and there’s more elevation change.
P1320 Bridle to Shirley Lake: “Mark carried the boat across me while Drew and Byron followed. I tried to trip Mark up a couple of time with some slippery rocks and muck, but he got through no problem.
Mid Bridle to Shirley Mud Pit: “I got Drew. Sucker thought he’d make it through the day with dry feet. Not on my watch.
P1320 Bridle to Shirley Lake: “Ha. Yeah. That was great. I’m guessing the best part of this stretch for those guys was the snack break they took at the Shirley end.”
Shirley Lake Put-In: “Byron won the snack break when he pulled out a bag with three feet worth of fresh cheese bread in it. Made Drew’s protein bar seem a lot less exciting in comparison.”
Shirley Lake: “Once they’d finished their snacks they paddled down my western shore. Drew and Byron were the paddlers this time with Mark in the middle.
Middle Canoe Spot: “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me”.
Shirley Lake: “I’m a big lake. In the wrong conditions I can be a tough paddle, especially this late in the season. But, fortunately, Mother Nature was still keeping an eye on the guys. By now the clouds had mostly cleared out and the water was calm. They stayed close to shore, which was smart. The water is damn cold this time of year. If you go in and you’re any distance from shore you’re screwed. But it was a nice paddle.”
There’s a road that runs up Shirley’s east side. It cuts through the portage to Ryan Lake and is an artery for the logging operations in the area. It can also have other uses.
Random Shirley Lake RV: “Turns out the portage from the road to Shirley Lake is just the right size for an RV. There’s a campsite on Shirley’s east side that connects to that portage, and I’d set up there. I could see the guys trying to figure out what I was from across the lake as they paddled past.”
The Canoe: “Yeah, that was a weird one. Don’t usually expect to see an RV on a backcountry site, but bow hunting season had already started, and rifle season was about a day away. There’d been a Harvest Monitor parked at the side of the road just before the access point when we drove in, which you can also file under the heading of ‘things you don’t usually see during the summer’, so I’m guessing the rules are different once hunting season starts. Either way, I know Drew was feeling pretty good about his choice of a bright orange toque as we pulled up to the p1320 down to Crotch Lake”.
P1320 Shirley Lake to Crotch Lake: ”They were over me quickly. Don’t let my distance fool you, I’m about as easy a portage as we come. It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure I started life as a road. And a flat one at that. Byron carried the canoe and Drew and Mark followed behind, discussing whether or not Owaissa Lake would count as an official lake on Drew’s scoresheet”.
Owaissa Lake: “They called me a backup lake. Can you believe that BS? Just because I’m not actually on the canoe route? You can see me from the portage! It took Drew 20 seconds to bushwhack to me from the trail.”
P1320: “Yeah, but he didn’t actually make it to Owaissa, did he? There was still like 20 feet of soggy meadow between him and the lake when he stopped to snap that picture.”
Owaissa Lake: “… whatever. I’ll bet you I end up on that list before he hits 500.”
P1320: “Oh, 100%”.
Crotch Lake was the final lake on the main loop. From here there were some side trip options but, more importantly, there were some lunch options.
Crotch Lake: “They arrived on me around noon. By then, the day was beautiful. The clouds were pretty much gone and the November sun was about as warm as a November sun gets. They paddled south from the portage to my northern island. There are two campsites there. The first one, the northwestern site, is a decent spot. Lots of room, nice fire pit set up. But the shoreline is hemmed in by trees and there wasn’t a single patch of sunlight on the site. There was about a ten degree difference between the sunlight and the shade so they kept moving. Fortunately, the second site, the one with the southeastern exposure, was the closest thing they were going to find to a tanning salon in Algonquin.”
Crotch Lake, Site 2: “I knew they’d pick me. I’m a great option any time of year. It’s true, I’m sharing the island with Site 1, and we’re not that far away from each other, but everything else works well. I’m facing away from the main route that connects the access point to the Shirley portage, so I don’t get as many people paddling past as Site 1. I’ve got great views, good swimming and room for a couple of tents at least. So what if you can see Site 1’s thunderbox from my own thunderbox? Just gives people a chance to compare their trip notes in a relaxed setting”.
Lunch: “It’s true, I couldn’t have asked for a better place to do my bit. Drew brought the salami and cheese, Mark brought the wraps and Byron brought some homemade chocolate chip cookies that were very likely the best chocolate chip cookies ever eaten on that site. They fried up the salami, brewed some tea and coffee and had an awesome break. If there’s a better me option out there than fried salami wraps I haven’t found it yet.”
Post Lunch Malaise: “I tried. I tried so hard. I made them full. I made the sun warm. I did everything I could to get them to throw away the side trips and just hang out on the site for the rest of the afternoon, but they were having none of it. They were back on the water by 2 pm, headed for the Robin Lake portage.”
Robin Lake Portage: “People don’t like me.”
Robin Lake: “I’m 50 meters above Crotch Lake and the portage up to me is just about 500 meters long. That means a decent amount of uphill over a relatively short distance. Drew carried the canoe up to me and I could hear him regretting taking seconds on the fried salami with every uphill step.”
Robin Lake Portage: “In my defense, at least I’m consistent. You start climbing basically as soon as you leave Crotch Lake, and you don’t stop until you put the canoe in Robin.”
Robin Lake: “That’s not an exaggeration. One second you’re climbing the hill, the next you’re eye level with the water, then you’re standing at the edge of the lake wondering how it doesn’t all spill out. It feels like one person with a shovel and a bit of time on their hands could turn the portage into a waterfall”.
Robin Lake is a small lake. It takes about five minutes to paddle one end to the other. The official Park map shows a campsite in the southeast corner, but on this day that site was nowhere to be found.
Robin Lake Campsite: “I’m pretty sure I don’t exist anymore.”
The Canoe: “The guys couldn’t see any sign of the campsite as they paddled past. You know what else they couldn’t see? Any way to access the actual portage takeout over to Kinglet Lake at the north end of Robin.”
Kinglet Lake Portage: “Yeah, I’m kind of a pain in the ass. There’s a jumble of long driftwood logs piled up like pickup sticks in front of my takeout. You can’t get a canoe over it without adding a few scratches – “
The Canoe: “No More Scratches, please! I swear you can see right through me in places.”
Kinglet Lake Portage: “- A few scratches. The guys ended up pulling up into a tangle of brush about thirty meters up the shore, then walking through the tangle to get to me.”
Unidentified But Very Prickly Bush: “I got Drew’s legs soooo good.”
Kinglet Lake Portage: “Once they were out of the tangle and onto my trail, they didn’t seem that into me. It’s a consistently steep downward slope to start off. There’s about 400 meters of downhill that ends at an access road. They followed the road for about a hundred meters before turning back into the woods. The Kinglet side of the portage isn’t much better, with some mucky bits and both up and down slopes. And for their efforts they got Kinglet Lake which … Honestly, I don’t think I’m worth it.”
Kinglet Lake: “Hey!”
Kinglet Lake Portage: “Sorry, but it’s true. You’re a small lake about 300 meters from the access road with no campsites and some mucky shoreline. I’m steeper than the Crotch to Robin portage in places, and you have to pick your way around Robin’s north shore to get to me. If you were that exciting, I think they would have done more than snap a couple of pictures then turn around and head back.”
Kinglet Lake: “They did do more. Drew dropped his phone in me.”
Kinglet Lake Portage: “Oh yeah! Hah! That was funny. Lucky for him the phone just landed in your godawful mucky shoreline. So there you go, you’ve got a new header for your marketing materials: ‘come to Kinglet Lake! I’m a pain to get to, but at least you might lose your phone!’”
Kinglet Lake: “I don’t like you.”
Kinglet Lake Portage: “Join the club.”
Kinglet Lake is an out and back from Crotch. The climb back to Robin Lake is unwelcome, but better if you aren’t carrying a canoe. They arrived back at Crotch Lake with a couple hours of daylight left, and a couple of lakes left to visit.
Crotch Lake: “Once they were done with that Kinglet side trip they had a few options. They could call it a day and paddle out to the access point, head to my south end and check out either Oram or Shall Lake or, if they were feeling energetic, check out both. The paddle south towards the access point went smoothly and it wasn’t long before they were crossing into my bottom half”.
Shall Lake Access Point: “I watched them paddle past without so much as looking in my direction.”
Crotch Lake: “It was clear that they were going to try and get to one more of Oram or Shall, if not both. Just depended on how quickly they were losing light. Sunset comes fast this time of year. It’s basically the guy who shows up to the party half an hour before it’s supposed to start and looks surprised that you’re still in your bathrobe.”
Sunset: “I love this time of year. I get my work done before six, which leaves plenty of time for Jeopardy and an early dinner.”
Crotch Lake: “They decided to do the Oram side trip first. That was the one that would require them walking a portage, and with the sun setting it was going to get dark in the woods before it got dark on the water.”
Oram Lake Portage: “Yeah, there was a noticeable difference in the light as soon as they started walking me. I don’t think it bothered them, although I did hear Drew talking very loudly about how he wasn’t a deer. I guess the combination of low light, proximity to the road and bow hunting season being in full swing kind of spooked him”.
It is not a long walk to Oram Lake, but it is an interesting one. The portage rises along a ridge with steep gullies on either side. The trail crosses the remains of an old road at one point and ends with a view that is unusual in Algonquin Park.
Oram Lake: *Sighs* “You’re talking about the hydro line, right? Everyone always wants to talk about the hydro line.”
There is a significant hydro cut through this part of the Park. It enters Algonquin just south of Oram Lake and doesn’t leave again until it gets to the Park’s northern border. The cut, and the towers that are built there, dominate the view of Oram’s south shore from the portage.
Oram Lake: “I hate those lines. If that cut wasn’t there I’d be a pretty desirable spot. Close to an access point, an easy portage in and a couple of campsite options? That sounds like a great place to take the kids, right? But the hydro lines throw cold water on the whole ‘back to nature’ vibe people are going for in Algonquin. Pretty hard to forget about civilization when it’s buzzing at you from across the lake. Take the guys for example. I think they spent maybe three minutes standing at the end of the portage, and they were probably talking about the hydro cut for 90% of the time. I’m more than just hydro lines people. But no one sees that.”
Sunset: “Honestly, by that time I think the only thing they were seeing was me, coming on like a freight train.”
Oram Portage: “They didn’t spend too much time on Oram. It was darker on the walk back to Crotch compared to the walk across, and it had only been about a ten-minute round trip. Once they were out of the woods it got better though. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so as long as the sun was on the right side of the horizon they were going to have light”.
Shall Lake: “I don’t think there was ever really any doubt that they’d try and squeeze in one last side trip as long as the light cooperated. They talked about it briefly as they were paddling out of the Oram portage bay, but they were all confident that they could come check me out and still get back to the access point before dark.”
Crotch Lake and Shall Lake are connected by a stretch of the Opeongo River that runs out of Crotch’s south east corner. The river passes under the same hydro lines that are visible from Oram Lake, climbing a barren hill on the south shore and disappearing into the distance over a wetland patch to the north.
The Hydro Cut: “I think I get a bad rap. Sure, I’m a gaping wound in the landscape that looks like it’s never going to heal, but I’ve heard Drew talking about how weirdly pretty he thinks I am as well. Kind of like the Scottish Highlands, but with hydro towers”.
Hydro Cut Moose: “I like it”.
The Canoe: “Mark was the one who spotted the moose. It was near the top of the hill, silhouetted against the fading sky. And a hydro tower.”
Hydro Cut Moose: “I looked hella cool”.
The Canoe: ”Do people still say ‘hella’ anything?”
They do not.
Hydro Cut Moose: “Well, I do. I gave the guys a couple of minutes to really drink in my presence but then I remembered that it’s hunting season and standing in a clearing a few hundred meters wide and a few hundred kilometers long probably isn’t the best idea. If they could see me from half a kilometer away so can everyone else. I took off over the hill and left them to finish off with Shall Lake.”
Shall Lake: “After the moose encounter, I think I was a bit of a disappointment.”
The Canoe: “There were just so many weeds. Everywhere.”
Shall Lake: “I mean, it’s basically in my name. Add an ‘ow’ and you’ve got a good description of what I’m offering. Good fishing though. I think.”
The Canoe: “The thing is, there isn’t really anything wrong with Shall Lake. It’s just that there isn’t really anything exciting about it, either. It’s a small-ish widening in the river, and not much else. There are no campsites, not that you’d really want to camp there. I think this one was a problem of expectations more than anything else. Whenever Drew looked at the map for the area he mentally classified the string of sites in Crotch’s southeast corner as Shall Lake campsites because I guess he’s not very good at looking at maps? Net result, he thought that Shall was a popular lake to camp on when, in fact, you can’t camp there at all.”
Shall Lake: “I look good during golden hour though!”
Unreasonable Camping Temperatures: “They didn’t spend a lot of time on Shall. They were there just long enough for Drew to get a couple of pictures, then they turned and headed for the access point. It was around then that I decided to check back in with them. With the sun closing in on the horizon, I was getting frisky. Drew was in the middle seat for this part of the paddle and with the cold water rushing underneath, shadows stretching over the river and lack of muscle movement to stay warm, I made it a chilly trip back for him.”
The Middle Seat: “I cannot stress enough how terrible I am”.
Sunset: “They beat me by about half an hour. I’ll get ‘em next time.”
Shall Lake Access Point: “They made it back just after 5 pm. They’d been on the water for about 7.5 hours and covered 27 kilometers. Not a bad day. They seemed happy with what they’d accomplished, and even happier with the giant bag of post-trip Doritos Mark pulled out once they were packed up.”
Post-Trip Doritos: “I am so good at the end of a paddle. There are no words”.
The drive back to Ottawa went smoothly. They were back at Drew’s place and pulling the canoe off Mark’s vehicle before 9 pm. Soon after, the three of them went their separate ways, agreeing that it had been a good day. They weren’t the only ones who felt that way.
The Canoe: “I felt really good about this trip. That loop was the perfect length for a day trip. Best part? I didn’t add a single new scratch to my collection.”
Mother Nature: “I did the best I could for those guys. By the end of the day I’d given them that flock of Snow Buntings, the eagle, all the otters you could ask for and a moose. I even talked Reasonable Camping Temperatures into stopping by for a couple of hours. Good work all around.”
The Opeongo River Otters: “That was a lot of fun. We tend to stay out of the way during the busier season, so it was good to get out and remind everyone that Algonquin is our house too.”
Hydro Cut Moose: “It was great seeing them out on the water. If you’re in the Park in November and you’re not holding a boomstick you’re okay in my books”.
Bridle Lake: “I’m pretty sure I won the new lake-off for the trip. I’m scenic enough, I’m not terrible to get to, I’ve got a campsite and I don’t have a massive hydro cut running along one shore.”
Oram Lake: “I can’t do anything about that! I’m still a pretty nice lake … but, yeah, Bridle is better. At least I’m not Kinglet.”
Bridle Lake: “Amen to that”.
Kinglet Lake: “Hey!”
The 2024 Shall Lake Exploratory was by all accounts a successful day trip to Algonquin Park. Close enough to Ottawa to make the drive feasible, it was an excellent way to ring out the tripping season. With luck, there will be more November paddles in our heroes futures. But, for now, we close the books on this trip and this tripping season. We can’t wait for the next one.
Drew’s Editor: “How the hell did this guy get 5700 words out of a day trip?”
Trip Stats:
New Lakes: 4
Total Lakes: 8
Total Portages: 7
Total Portage Distance: 6.56 KM
Total Distance: 27.02 KM
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