F F FRONTENAC

Where do I start in describing what a great time this turned out to be. Let me start out by saying our spring trips usually start out at a more northern latitude but due to record-breaking ice levels we could not book Algonquin, Killarney or Kawartha Parks as ice out had not happened here. That’s two years in a row after 20 years of not having an issue at this time of year! Frontenac park saved our trip two years in a row!

This year we had 5 paddlers in 3 canoes. I did it solo. By turning the canoe around and sitting in what was the forward seat at the rear, I place my packs at the front, optimum stability and wind fighting momentum can be achieved with this solo set up. I left a few minutes ahead of the other two boats but we all arrived at our final destination down a river and across a lake at the same time.

Besides some of the video and pics I took for the first 30 hrs, about how long my phone lasted, the day and a half not capture was as good if not better! Before I describe any more of our adventure I need to tell you of some new rules going forward. Some of these rules can be witnessed in the below video.

1  Jesse is absolutely never ever allowed to wield an axe again.(3 strikes-ask him)

2  Falling asleep in your chair automatically  invites a game of Jenga.

3 Finding wild plants to mix into our meals is a must if abundant as they were here.

4 Don’t go chasing waterfalls.

Now that that’s out-of-the-way,  you don’t get to see the campsite at the top of the hill where Jesse and I each pitched our tents. Great view and a great party was held around that site on the 2nd night! The solo trip I made back to Clearwater where I witnessed a tree fall in the forest and yes it made noise. While I was fishing Clearwater Lake the other four guys did a trip over to Strawberry Island and into the far bay on Birch Lake. It was somewhere in this bay they stumbled upon a 10 point buck that had apparently fallen through the ice a week or so  ago and drowned 🙁

After the guys returned from their canoe trip, two of them Andy and Jesse decided to go on a hike to find the Gorge on our camp map. I was subsequently on my way back from Clearwater Lake and was almost back to camp when we bumped into each other on the trail. Actually they tried to hide and ambush me but I spotted them a second before they jumped out of the bush. Good thing as non of carry a defibrillator!

After a brief chat I decided to join them on their quest. We soon found ourselves peering into a vast gorge with a stream snaking through the bottom of the gorge. We continued down past the gorge and found two streams connected to the one that snaked through the gorge and with it a treasure not shown on our map or video. postcard type waterfall fell over a 100″ cliff cascading down into a stream We crossed two wooden bridges that crossed two of the streams and then decided we would head back to camp. it is at this point where we had to convince Jesse of  rule 4.

All in all it was another great trip and I am now looking forward to our next fall adventure!