Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (Access #5)
Distance To Access Point: 5.2 KM (1.5 – 2 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Medium
Maintenance Level: Low
Date of Visit: May, 2020
This is a nice little site on the eastern end of Drummer. It’s directly across from the Drummer/Gill portage and, all things considered, is probably my favourite site on Drummer.
Terrain: Pretty flat. Except for the parts where it isn’t. Tremendous reporting so far in this one. Basically, the site is on an island (or maybe it’s a loosely connected peninsula, I didn’t actually check) and it rises gradually from its western tip back towards the eastern shore of Drummer. Most of the site is more or less on the same level, except for one small hill behind the fire pit that has a nice little view of the north shore.
Canoe Landing: There’s a narrow landing on the south side of the site. There are a few underwater rocks, so keep an eye out. The rest of the shoreline is pretty rocky and not all that conducive to landing a boat. Once you’ve made it in to that narrow landing there is actually decent enough footing for loading unloading.
Tent Sites: There are a couple of nice flat spots for tents near the fire pit. Apart from those, the ground is just uneven enough in a few other spots that while they would do in a pinch, you wouldn’t be happy about it.
Swimability: Not super swimmable. The rocky shoreline doesn’t make for an ideal slip in, slip out experience. You could probably wade in by the canoe landing, or pick your way through the rocks off the western tip, but the swimmability is probably the biggest drawback of the site.
Fire Pit: The fire pit is awesome. It’s this massive stone pit built against a flat backing rock on one side. The net result is a kind of truncated chimney. You could have a badass campfire in that pit.
Accessories: There’s a cool little stone table in between two benches facing the fire pit. Definitely helps add to the “Greatest Fire Pit In The (Drummer Lake Part Of The) World” vibe. There’s also some charred roots and a split in half cedar thanks to a lightning strike and a poorly placed clothesline (it’s across the path leading up from the canoe landing).
Thunderbox: Surprisingly close to the rest of the site. Not a problem if you’re tripping with an old friend or your family. More of a problem if this is a corporate retreat with your new company. Of course, if your corporate retreat is staying on Drummer Lake, you probably have bigger company related problems than hearing your boss passing last night’s chili.
Views: You’ve got a nice view west down Drummer from the tip of the island. From the top of the hill behind the firepit you look over at the north shore of Drummer and you can see the portage from the south side. The tree coverage along the shoreline in pretty much all directions is light enough to not really obstruct your view, but thick enough to make it feel like you’re not completely on display.
Notes: I like this site. If I was going to stay on Drummer it would be a toss up between this and the site on Little Drummer. That being said, I’ve come to the realization over the past year that I don’t think I’d actually want to stay on Drummer. I really like going up there as a day trip, but I’m not convinced I’d actually want to spend a night. There aren’t really an better options nearby though (the site on Tonakela is basically a primordial wasteland), so if you are heading into the Ahmek District, this is probably your best choice for night one.
Related Trip Report: Ahmek District
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