July 13th to 19th, 2008
It’s hard to believe but here we are on our 3rd trip with the Cedar Creek! We spent 3 days and nights in Inverhuron, close to home, on July 7, 8 and 9. But this trip to Granite Ridge is all new and has been a great adventure. Granite Ridge is a private Campground just outside of Kearney, a very small town near Algonquin’s Interior access to the Tim River and Rain Lake. John and I decided to leave a day early and spent Sunday night at the Barrie KOA. It is has great amenities, is picturesque and a great vacation spot for families. That only gave us about a 2 hour drive to Granite Ridge the next day.
Granite Ridge campground is a bit rustic but in a marvelous setting. The buildings and facilities have seen better days, something we have noticed about other “northern” settings. The owners and staff seem to be working constantly on the grounds but some upgrading on the buildings would really help. Nevertheless, it is a great place to stay and we would go back for the wilderness access. The camp beach on Lake Himbury is beautiful and would be a great place to kayak. This is our last day here and we won’t be enjoying that Lake due to thunderstorms and heavy rain all day.
We are not disappointed about today’s rain since we have had 4 days of excellent weather and paddling. John and Linda (friends from Guelph) arrived late on Monday. Tuesday we took the kayaks down to the Magnetawan River which runs right through the campground. We paddled for an hour and a half before deciding we should stop for a picnic and then turn around and head back to camp. We thought we might get right into Kearney but didn’t want to wear ourselves out. This was John and Linda’s first big trip with their kayaks. It was sunny and hot and the scenery was beautiful. We did go through mini rapids and the guys made it back up them but Linda and I ended up walking our kayaks up. Maybe next time!
John and I have made a few trips over the years to the Interior of Northern Ontario (Algonquin, Killarney and the Spanish River) to camp and canoe but this is our first time up here with our kayaks. For John and Linda this is a totally new experience. We decided the weather was looking good and yesterday’s paddle made us feel comfortable enough to take an overnight trip into Tim Lake.
We left Wednesday morning after careful planning and packing on Tuesday. Since we have never done this with kayaks we practiced loading them at our camp to see how much they would hold. We each have 2 or 3 hatches and were able to load food, tents, clothes, thermarests and all our gear, including camp chairs. It took about 40 minutes to drive to the access point even though it is fairly close. The road in is shared with logging trucks and toward the end gets quite rough. Once in the Tim River we were quite comfortable with the kayaks loaded. They handled the weight well and were still very maneuverable. As with many Algonquin Canoe Trails the Tim River is slow and smooth.
At first glance you may not realize it is a river since it looks more like a marsh or swamp with reeds, lilies, grasses and many different kinds of vegetation in the black water. Dead trees remain and there is nothing to see beyond that except the forest, rock and more stunning scenery. The current is almost imperceptible.
I can hardly describe how good it felt to be back in this exquisite wilderness! It is so peaceful and the weather was perfect. It took us about an hour paddling at a leisurely pace to get to Tim Lake. We had a permit reserving a site but we wouldn’t know until we got there which one of the 6 sites on that Lake we would get. It turned out only 1 site was occupied on our arrival so we had our pick. We chose the site on the point of the Island which John and I had stayed on with friends on our first trip into the Interior.
It has smooth rock and is up high with amazing views all around the lake. These wilderness sites will hold several tents so no problem with space. Considerate campers had made a primitive table, left grates and a clothes line so we felt like we were in the Ritz! Sites in the Interior are very far apart so the peaceful feeling that you are alone with the “wild” is exhilarating. I guess that sounds contradictory but if you have done it you know what I mean. This trip was made even more special because we were sharing it with long time friends.
After setting up and having lunch we set out in the kayaks toward Rosebury Lake. We had barely got going along the River that joins Tim with Rosebury when John spotted a cow moose! She was only a couple of hundred yards away eating reeds and making lots of noise doing it. What a spectacular introduction to the wilderness for John and Linda. I still cherish the memory of my first moose siting in this same area. We got even closer and sat and watched for at least 15 minutes. She looked up once in a while but went back to eating as if used to seeing paddlers and I am sure that must be the case. We hadn’t gone very far when we spotted another moose further away climbing out of the reeds onto shore. Wow!
We had a 2 hour paddle and headed back to camp for happy hour and then dinner. What a gorgeous evening! The Johns had collected wood from the shores so we had a great fire. We were looking forward to the stars, something I have marveled at when in the wilderness in the past. But we were treated to a full moon and misty clouds so the stars were not as visible. No problem, the moon put on a show of its’ own!
Seeing a moose was a highlight but other wildlife sightings are exciting too. The loons and their laughing and mournful calls are fascinating. When paddling in the open water they might pop up quite close to your kayak. You are close enough to see their red eyes and distinctive black and white markings. At night their calls echo around the lake and off the hills. The bullfrogs had a chorus of their own too! A beaver swam by our campsite just before dusk. Some of the wildlife we could do without. John Bryant got a leech on his foot but we got it off quickly with salt. I would not be comfortable seeing a bear unless it was from a good distance!
It was hard on all our old bones sleeping on thin padding but it was worth it. I think John and Linda are converts and will want to do this again. And John and I will too. Some of our previous trips were quite demanding with portages and moving camp every night but you can still experience the wilderness at a more leisurely pace, as we did on this trip.
It’s hard to believe but here we are on our 3rd trip with the Cedar Creek! We spent 3 days and nights in Inverhuron, close to home, on July 7, 8 and 9. But this trip to Granite Ridge is all new and has been a great adventure. Granite Ridge is a private Campground just outside of Kearney, a very small town near Algonquin’s Interior access to the Tim River and Rain Lake. John and I decided to leave a day early and spent Sunday night at the Barrie KOA. It is has great amenities, is picturesque and a great vacation spot for families. That only gave us about a 2 hour drive to Granite Ridge the next day.
Granite Ridge campground is a bit rustic but in a marvelous setting. The buildings and facilities have seen better days, something we have noticed about other “northern” settings. The owners and staff seem to be working constantly on the grounds but some upgrading on the buildings would really help. Nevertheless, it is a great place to stay and we would go back for the wilderness access. The camp beach on Lake Himbury is beautiful and would be a great place to kayak. This is our last day here and we won’t be enjoying that Lake due to thunderstorms and heavy rain all day.
We are not disappointed about today’s rain since we have had 4 days of excellent weather and paddling. John and Linda (friends from Guelph) arrived late on Monday. Tuesday we took the kayaks down to the Magnetawan River which runs right through the campground. We paddled for an hour and a half before deciding we should stop for a picnic and then turn around and head back to camp. We thought we might get right into Kearney but didn’t want to wear ourselves out. This was John and Linda’s first big trip with their kayaks. It was sunny and hot and the scenery was beautiful. We did go through mini rapids and the guys made it back up them but Linda and I ended up walking our kayaks up. Maybe next time!
John and I have made a few trips over the years to the Interior of Northern Ontario (Algonquin, Killarney and the Spanish River) to camp and canoe but this is our first time up here with our kayaks. For John and Linda this is a totally new experience. We decided the weather was looking good and yesterday’s paddle made us feel comfortable enough to take an overnight trip into Tim Lake.
We left Wednesday morning after careful planning and packing on Tuesday. Since we have never done this with kayaks we practiced loading them at our camp to see how much they would hold. We each have 2 or 3 hatches and were able to load food, tents, clothes, thermarests and all our gear, including camp chairs. It took about 40 minutes to drive to the access point even though it is fairly close. The road in is shared with logging trucks and toward the end gets quite rough. Once in the Tim River we were quite comfortable with the kayaks loaded. They handled the weight well and were still very maneuverable. As with many Algonquin Canoe Trails the Tim River is slow and smooth.
At first glance you may not realize it is a river since it looks more like a marsh or swamp with reeds, lilies, grasses and many different kinds of vegetation in the black water. Dead trees remain and there is nothing to see beyond that except the forest, rock and more stunning scenery. The current is almost imperceptible.I can hardly describe how good it felt to be back in this exquisite wilderness! It is so peaceful and the weather was perfect. It took us about an hour paddling at a leisurely pace to get to Tim Lake. We had a permit reserving a site but we wouldn’t know until we got there which one of the 6 sites on that Lake we would get. It turned out only 1 site was occupied on our arrival so we had our pick. We chose the site on the point of the Island which John and I had stayed on with friends on our first trip into the Interior.
It has smooth rock and is up high with amazing views all around the lake. These wilderness sites will hold several tents so no problem with space. Considerate campers had made a primitive table, left grates and a clothes line so we felt like we were in the Ritz! Sites in the Interior are very far apart so the peaceful feeling that you are alone with the “wild” is exhilarating. I guess that sounds contradictory but if you have done it you know what I mean. This trip was made even more special because we were sharing it with long time friends.
After setting up and having lunch we set out in the kayaks toward Rosebury Lake. We had barely got going along the River that joins Tim with Rosebury when John spotted a cow moose! She was only a couple of hundred yards away eating reeds and making lots of noise doing it. What a spectacular introduction to the wilderness for John and Linda. I still cherish the memory of my first moose siting in this same area. We got even closer and sat and watched for at least 15 minutes. She looked up once in a while but went back to eating as if used to seeing paddlers and I am sure that must be the case. We hadn’t gone very far when we spotted another moose further away climbing out of the reeds onto shore. Wow!
We had a 2 hour paddle and headed back to camp for happy hour and then dinner. What a gorgeous evening! The Johns had collected wood from the shores so we had a great fire. We were looking forward to the stars, something I have marveled at when in the wilderness in the past. But we were treated to a full moon and misty clouds so the stars were not as visible. No problem, the moon put on a show of its’ own!
Seeing a moose was a highlight but other wildlife sightings are exciting too. The loons and their laughing and mournful calls are fascinating. When paddling in the open water they might pop up quite close to your kayak. You are close enough to see their red eyes and distinctive black and white markings. At night their calls echo around the lake and off the hills. The bullfrogs had a chorus of their own too! A beaver swam by our campsite just before dusk. Some of the wildlife we could do without. John Bryant got a leech on his foot but we got it off quickly with salt. I would not be comfortable seeing a bear unless it was from a good distance!
It was hard on all our old bones sleeping on thin padding but it was worth it. I think John and Linda are converts and will want to do this again. And John and I will too. Some of our previous trips were quite demanding with portages and moving camp every night but you can still experience the wilderness at a more leisurely pace, as we did on this trip.
