April 7, 2012 - Day trip to Brule Lake, Potter Creek waterfall
I’d had a good sleep and was pretty comfortable in my -7 Celsius sleeping bag, maybe a little chilly but manageable. By 8 AM everyone was up and figuring out their breakfasts. First task for me, as always, was to get the coffee percolator going. I seemed to be in the minority however, everyone else was doing instant. It takes a bit of waiting but nothing beats perc coffee and Baileys while gazing out on a beautiful Algonquin Lake.
Waiting for the coffee to perc.
The stillness of Potter Lake in the morning.
There was a skim of ice on the shore of the still lake, the sun was out and other than a bit of wind it was a great day. I was served a delicious breakfast of fried egg sandwiches with mayo and tomato. More than a fair trade for a couple of cups of good coffee, eh Markus? We even had a visitor to the camp site, a seagull looking for a hand out. None was offered.
Ice rimming the shoreline after a chilly night.
Count them. Five tents in the Algonquin morning sun.
Seagull looking for a handout.
With the breakfast routine done it was decided to paddle to Brule Lake and then on to a set of waterfalls to the west of there. We all said our good-byes to Glenn who had to head out today and wasn’t making the trip.
By 10:30 we were off, first paddling to the point camp site just north of us. It was nice site, a bit hilly, but good for a few campers.
Potter Lake camp site, mid-lake, east shore.
We continued up the lake and reached the 725m portage to Brule Lake, this one again was along the road on the west side of Potter Lake. An easy walk with some nice hardwood hills and icicles on the embankments.
Portage, easy 725m from Potter Lake to Brule Lake.
Open spring hardwood hill.
Easy going on the road to Brule Lake.
Ice and snow was still to be found in shadier places.
The wind was in our faces but manageable as we paddled the narrows that lead to Brule Lake proper. We could see the cleared area of Pringrove and Doc’s cabin on the north shore. But we went up the west shore and ducked under the bridge so we could continue up Potter Creek and get to the set of falls near the portage to Furrow Lake.
Brule Lake narrows.
North shore of Brule Lake and cottages.
Of course there was a beaver dam under the bridge. Markus and I powered through the current at a low spot before turning to watch Stainless, Bonnie and Jeffrey. It’s amazing how Stainless can go an entire canoe trip without getting his shoes wet. We’re always watching though, waiting for that day when he finally slips and gets a soaker! It wasn’t going to be this weekend however.
Keeping his feet dry, Stainless makes it over the dam.
The creek was twisty and full of alder, grass hummocks, logs and rocks. With what had to be low water levels it made for some tough going in spots. Luckily there were lots of beaver dams and we usually lucked out with deeper water once we got over them. We pushed on and were rewarded when the waterfalls finally came into view.
Underwater logs clogging Potter Creek.
Paddling up narrow Potter Creek.
Cliff near the portage to Furrow Lake.
Markus taking a picture of the waterfalls.
A nice waterfall to explore.
Markus and I were quite a way ahead of the rest of them, we didn’t need to worry about wet feet. So we had the chance to crawl around the falls getting some pictures before the arrival of the others. Eventually Markus started a small fire and cooked up a lunch of sausages on a bun for everyone. The usual glass of fireball juice helped wash them down. In all we were probably at the falls for about an hour and a half. But as the day was wearing on we tidied up and headed back down the creek to Brule.
Upper portion of the waterfall.
More of the top of the waterfall.
Chef Markus whipping up some lunch.
The return trip wasn’t too much trouble and we were soon crossing Brule Lake to check out the camp site on the eastern point. Jeffrey said he was fond of this site, and it offered nice views of Pringrove and the lake from a high cliff face. But it was a few minutes’ walk down to the lake and wouldn’t be suitable for everyone, especially anyone with smaller children. It would have been nice to get a closer look at Pringrove but it was mid-afternoon and we still had to make the trip back to camp.
Birch growing on a pine stump. (I always take photos of these.)
Camp site view.
Pringrove and clearings across the lake.
It was easy tracing our steps back to Potter Lake and we were back to the site about 4:30.
Returning along the portage/road.
On arrival we found Paul and his two sons, Brandon and Cameron, waiting for us. More introductions and we began the cocktail hour. Markus, still playing the host of the day, whipped up a special tequila drink for Jeffrey.
Markus making a special drink for JeffreyM.
Tastes great!
Jeff and I went out with the help of the boys and got another load of wood for the evening. I’m thinking I should get more kids to go camping, they seem to love getting wood. With a nice fire going we got some coals for cooking dinner. I had to chip in and make dinner for Markus and me tonight, hopefully he found it to his liking. I was trying to match some of these gourmet meals I see people eating while camping in Algonquin Park. But I was put to shame when Paul pulled out enough steaks to feed a soccer team! No wonder they had such a hard time heading up Potter Creek, they had half a steer in the canoe.
My simple dinner of steak and rice.
Paul thought he had to cook for all of us?
Dinner time around the camp fire.
After supper we lounged around the fire, discussing all things Algonquin and many more topics. It was a nice group of people and the weather wasn’t too bad for spring camping. The wind had dropped and the temperature wasn’t much past freezing. I’d had a friend give me a bottle of Port recently and as a special treat for the weekend I had brought it along. It was dark with the moon just beginning to rise above the tree tops as I passed out plastic cups of Port and offered some Stilton and walnuts to nibble along with it. With the civilities out of the way I headed off to bed about 10:30 PM.
Overview:
Easter weekend trip with great spring weather and a visit to Brule Lake. This was the earliest spring trip ever taken, male mergansers were seen.
©2011 SmedleyCo