I just noticed this trip report here and it is pretty long odds that we both picked same access point and it seems time to go into the park. I wasn't going to post the trip because the camera died and I didn't have very many pics. I hope it ia alright to just piggy back on this report since it is the same area and time and I don't have much of a report.
We were slated to go in May 8th, but delayed to the 9th to avoid the predicted rain in the area. The guys I go with are high school friends and we have been tripping together for a long time (this is year 41). I mention this only because this is about the first time we got a bit apprehensive at the trip start. As we neared FrozenTrippers neck of the woods (Bancroft) we were treated to a snowstorm and the temperature dropped to 1C .... nice welcome to the area. We passed a river that could only be described as raging ..... we stopped at a deli in Bancroft to get the fixing for a tailgate lunch at the Shall Lake Access.
This is at the access point, we are carrying quite a bit of excess gear in anticipation of the weather turning ... if you look at the waterline you can see that the usual launch point is about 25 feet out from the current shore. The ranger told us that the shoreline didn't exist at the moment .... we didn't quite get that until we started out and started looking at the campsites we passed. You could basically paddle past trees right into the campsite proper in a lot of areas .... and it snowed on and off all afternoon. The plan was Farm to Kitty to Booth Lakes and back, just a 4 day early season get away.
The first portage is a 90m lift over some fast water ... what I had read is that in normal times the water moves too fast to just go straight through and all I heard from the 2 guys behind me was "we aren't stopping, run it". I didn't think I was actually going to get through the current, but with them directly behind there wasn't any choice ( if I stopped I would have taken them out).... I did make it without blowing a gasket, this became a running joke on the guy who wanted to just run it for the rest of the day. I am so glad I was in my solo.
As we approached the Booth Lake portage the current kept getting stronger ... to the point that it became a struggle to get any forward headway .... did I mention there was a LOT of water, finally after playing hug the trees at the shoreline for 20 minutes we got to the portage sign .....
I took this pic at the start of the portage, you can see the current farther out past the trees and of course the trees that have walked out into the water.
We made it onto Booth Lake and settled on a campsite around 4 in the afternoon, the cold tends to drain energy, so we felt we needed to get off the water and settled on a site we weren't thrilled with, but it gave us a chance to get warm and recharge.
This sort of morning just never seems to get old for me ....
and again, those small trees are back from where the shoreline is supposed to be ... I have never seen the water soooo high in the park.
First thing in the morning we went in search of a better site, which we found on a nearby island. The high water made for a somewhat tricky shoreline and upon exiting the canoe here I slipped and was introduced to just how cold the water is at this time of year. The sun had come out earlier and it was a simply glorious day ... the temp had soared, so a quick change and a few minutes lying in the sun and life was good again.
The new site was sheltered, well appointed and as near perfect as a site gets, we were setup and settled by 1 o'clock.
Mosquitoes also made an appearance on that warm second day, but they didn't bite ... we were glad but confused. Any one know why that would be? There were at least 3 varieties of the critters and although they did land ... they just didn't partake. Fortunately, we did beat any blackflies, at least we didn't see any which was fine with me.
This was a new area for us, so the remainder of the time was spent just looking around the area. Friday came all to soon, we were packed and on the water by 9 and retraced our footsteps back to the Shall Lake access by 12, with no further missteps.
It was a great early season trip and to a part of the park we had overlooked ..... I can another one here next year.
Brian
