Canada
Big Trout Lake

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 30

      Big Trout Lake

      August 24, 2016 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Best dinner last night - especially given the ease of preparation! After sitting around the campfire, drinking hot chocolate and playing crib, we retired to bed after we lost the sun (and a beautiful sunset).

      A brilliantly warm night at Otterslide - considerably warmer than the night before. All of this area of the park is inaccessible by road and therefore there is no noise and few people. As we went to sleep, the chipmunks and loons were calling; at least they were the only ones we recognised.

      A difficult start this morning...up earlier today and a promise of pancakes for breakfast but all went astray as our frying pan is so terrible I think even the oil would stick to it. Sadly abandoning the pancakes, we had porridge for breakfast and made our way to the Otter Slide. The frying pan is, surprisingly, still with us and not at the bottom of a lake...close call though.

      The day was spent paddling and portaging through the Otter Slide, a narrow marshy channel connecting two lakes, with a vastly different environment from the day before. Frogs and flowers the order of the day, sadly no moose. One little frog happily sat on the end of my paddle catching a free ride!

      Our longest portage yet at nearly 800m was an interesting challenge...We have a 2k portage to come on our last day. Hopefully our food bag will be lighter by then making it easier.

      Once again we bumped into very few people, and paddling through the marshland was incredibly serene, as we kept quiet hoping for some wildlife. The wildlife causing the most chaos was beavers - not seen but building bloody dams that needed negotiating somehow. Most common here are the loons, apparently territorially nesting in pairs on the lakes (and also on the back of the one dollar coin - a 'loonie'). Compared to the number of people we set out with, it is astounding how few people you see in a day here.

      We left Otter Slide at a very gentle paddle, and entered Big Trout Lake - wind whipped across here buffeting the canoe and raising waves on the water, needing much greater effort than the day had so far taken. With a bit of grit and determination we found a campsite on a tiny island in the middle of the lake. After a quick, freezing dip to wash off, the ants got the better of Ben and we decamped to the site at the other end of the island. Despite the wind, the weather has been stunning and the trip all the better for it. While the clouds have come over in late afternoon, they disappear at night to reveal a myriad of stars.

      We plan on staying here two nights, so with coffee in hand and dinner all ready to go, we sit now and plan tomorrow's route out and back. Dinner holds the promise of smores, which Ben is very excited about and has cut a huge pile of firewood for!
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Big Trout Lake

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android