Sat, May 31 2008, Sun, Jun 1 2008 - Canoe Camping at Stoplog Lake (View Original Event Details)
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It was a dark and stormy night, for those of us who started the event early on Friday night at Emily Provincial Park. Thunder and lightening persisted throughout the night. We awoke to find the tent completely saturated. Saturday morning started with some rain but soon sunny skies were smiling over us. We packed up and made the journey to Long Lake to meet up with the Toronto carpool.
After meeting up with the rest of the TOC canoe crew we starting planning our route, and then loading up the canoes. We were lucky to have and evenly experienced team of 3 newer canoeists and 3 more experienced canoeists. After setting up canoe partnerships we headed out on Long Lake with our sights set on Buzzard Lake as our camping destination. The decision was not a hard one, Stoplog Lake had 3 portages that had to be made to get there, while Buzzard Lake only had one!
We arrived at the portage in short order, the newer canoeists picking up on the strokes fairly quickly. Upon arrival on land, Justin promptly set-up the barbecue and had burgers grilling faster than you could say "When are we going to eat, because I'm soooooo hungry? "
After a hearty lunch we continued our journey after portaging the canoes up over a hill in a Fitzcarraldo-like endeavour. We re-loaded the canoes and within a short time arrived at our base camp location. It was a perfect location overlooking the lake from a small rocky hill. It was a little windy on Saturday afternoon, but the breeze aided in drying out the damp tent and sleeping bags. We took the empty canoes out for a brief jaunt around the lake before settling in for the evening. Alex and Cory started a roaring fire with assistance from Val and Justin, who gathered some firewood. The wind kept the fire roaring until late evening.
We had a fabulous dinner with chicken and beef kabobs, supplemented with baked potatoes cooked in the fire pit. After some camp fire conversation we turned in, just before the rain started.
The next morning we started to pack it in, while cooking breakfast. The weather remained cloudy, but the rain held off. We returned to Long Lake within our return window and packed up our vehicles. The Toronto carpool left for home, while Alex barbecued some corncobs and hot dogs.
On Friday night it sure looked like it would be a wet and miserable trip, but we were pleasantly surprised with the favourable conditions we had. We would like to thank Rob H. for planning this wonderful TOC getaway. Until next time...
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