Fri, Jul 29 2011, Sat, Jul 30 2011, Sun, Jul 31 2011, Mon, Aug 1 2011 - Massasauga Madness (View Original Event Details)
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It was a dark and cloudy Friday morning when we left, and the skies opened up and poured down on us as we drove north, but by the time we arrived at Swift Canoe in Waubashene to pick up our canoes the sun had come out and it was scorching hot! We hit the water early afternoon Friday and battled some strong headwinds across Three Legged Lake and Spider Lake. We made it to site 19 by 4:30 and enjoyed a relaxing evening of swimming and lazing around on the rocky shoreline. Falafel for dinner and then to bed when the mosquitoes made their entrance at dusk. Day 2 started out with delish blueberry pancakes smothered in maple syrup. We hit the water by noon, and made our way to the portage into Spider Bay, and out on Georgian Bay. We enjoyed a floating lunch in the shade before we hit the windy bay (which wasn't too bad!). It was odd to see all of the monster Yachts moored in protected bays, but we passed them and headed into Goose Neck Bay where we camped at site 604. It was a huge site with plenty of rocky shoreline and blueberries, but not a lot of flat spots. We also found a patch of poison ivy!!! We enjoyed another lazy evening, swimming, playing games, and feasting on pesto pasta ala Caroline and Sue, and pecan pie/lemon tarts thanks to Raj and Deepika. We decided not to hang a bear bag at this site, but instead floated a canoe with all the food out into the bay and dropped an anchor. Day 3 started out with a few light showers that cleared up quickly to reveal another beautiful, sunny day. We packed up in a leisurely fashion after eggs and bacon, and crossed another section of Georgian Bay, stopping at a lovely rock for a swim and lunch. At the portage in to Clear Lake several locals had parked their motor boats at the mouth of the portage, making unloading a serious challenge, and unfortunately there was a large patch of poison ivy along the portage, and some people succumb to the itch, despite our best efforts to thwart it! Our campsite on Clear Lake was just a short paddle from the portage, and when we got to camp a few adventurous members of the group practiced canoe over canoe rescues, made challenging by a strong wind. We then enjoyed a yummy dinner of corned beef and tomato risotto courtesy of Klara and Jakub (the cashews and pickles were an added treat!). The evening was topped off by Caroline's awesome s'mores. Klara was startled by a snake, and Raj spotted another snake in the water! We got up earlier than usual on Day 4 and had a quick breakfast. On our paddle back we found a log that was growing Sundew - a carnivorous flower, and spotted a couple of juvenile five-lined skinks at our rocky swim/lunch spot - a real treat! We lucked out with beautiful weather all weekend, and a really great group of people. Thanks to everyone for a fabulous weekend of paddling, and I hope to see you all on the water again!
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.