Algonquin Park: Camping Trip Logs: 016 - Maple Lake Weekend - Access Point #29

Map

Map - Kioshkokwi Lake, Maple Creek, Maple Lake.

Day 1

June 28, 2012 - Kioshkokwi Lake to Maple Lake

I was on the road at 4:30 AM with the plan to be launching before 11 AM. But that never happened of course. First I hit some debris on the highway, luckily no damage. Then a crow decided to not get out of the way, this time there was some damage - a smashed grill.

Crow damage and blood.

After a bunch of time searching for a gas station in North Bay I was cruising down Highway 17 looking forward to reaching Access Point #29 only slightly behind schedule. Then the phone rang, not usually a good thing for me. I had to pull off and troubleshoot some problems at work, wasting almost 45 minutes of time. I was frustrated because it was getting later in the day and it's not easy working on a 3.5 inch iPhone screen!

I finally rolled into Kiosk, quickly got my permit from Carmen and loaded up the rented canoe. There were a few people around the beach and office area but it looked pretty quiet, I was lucky enough to be starting on the Thursday before the long weekend.

Ready to launch onto a quiet Kioshkokwi Lake.

After a leisurely paddle south towards Maple Creek I was in much better spirits, the day was warm and sunny and I had several hours of river paddling ahead of me. My favorite thing to do.

Start of Maple Creek and the 915m portage.

The next few hours consisted of doubling the six portages (I was being too nice and bringing in some beverages ON ICE for Markus who had already been in the park for a week) and paddling creek oxbows. As I've often stated I love paddling twisty narrow creeks and rivers and was enjoying my time on Maple Creek. The portages which climbed 75 meters along the way, not so much.

For those that enjoy having a beer or two while in the interior here's what I do. I bring a few cans that are kept on ice in a cooler during the drive up. The last thing I do before getting in the canoe is decant the beer into an allowable (plastic) container. On this trip I had a 2 litre pop bottle, I've found that nalgene's leak occasionally. I think it's from the carbonation. This trip I was way too heavy and had a backpack dedicated to beverages packed in ice. This is why I had to do each portage twice, it's not everyone's choice but I was willing to do it.

First portage done, getting on Maple Creek.

A narrow section after the 190m portage.

Start of 130m (signed 90m) portage on Maple Creek.

Paddling the channels and oxbows of Maple Creek.

Small set of falls on Maple Creek.

Finally, the last portage of the day. 130m.

Once on Maple Lake I made a bee-line for the joined pair of islands at the south end, the wind had picked up a little and I had to paddle steady into a head wind. I had been following Markus's Spot track and knew he was camped there. It had been just over six hours of travel and I was very tired! But arriving and being able to have a cold beer just about made up for it.

At camp I quickly hung my hammock and got things organized. I had a supper of steak and rice before relaxing around the fire. After such a long day I didn't stick it out long, heading off to sleep not long after the sun went down.

View from the camp site, a perfect evening.

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