Fall 2008 Trip Log (5 days) (Sept. 20th - 24th) North River - North River Lake (with side trip to Merganzer) Above you will find an extrapolated section of the Algonquin Park Canoe Routes Map©, blown up to easily show you where we camped. This would be my third trip into the Park this year and I was hoping that it wouldn't be as disappointing as the first two.  My first trip in May with the kids to Revenau and Lantern Lakes was soaked in rain all weekend.  My second trip in with Kevin to meet up with my friends Markus and Swede, had to be cut short due to Kevin's tooth.  This trip also had its disappointments.  I was supposed to link up with an old school friend of mine that I haven't seen in 23 years, but his wife fell sick at the last momment and they had to cancel the trip in.  But other than that, this trip was by far, the best trip into the {ark I've had in a long time. I had a previous engagement in Napanee, Ontario the day I entered the park, so I didn't get to the Brent permit office until 4:15 P.M.  By the time I got to the put-in and onto the water, it was almost 4:45 P.M. and I had no idea how long it was going to take me to paddle into the lake.  I put the boat in the water and began paddling down this really narrow creek.  Both sides of the srteam were overpopulated with alders that had been growing all summer and I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to get down it without having to step out and get my feet wet.          Here are just some pics of the North River from the put-in to the lake. Seed pods on one of the Alder bushes It took me about half an hour of paddling tight winding curves and pushing my way through encroaching alders and small beaver dams, before the alders finally pulled back from the creek and allowed me to take a look around.  About one third of the way down the creek, the area opens up into a bog like area.  I risked a couple of seconds standing up in the canoe to see if I could see anything lingering around the area, but it was empty of wildlife (at least none I could see).  The creek (North River), actually continues along like this for another half an hour before opening into a bay of lilly pads at the west end of North River Lake.  I played tag with a heron for several hundred yards down the creek until it entered North River Lake and then the bird flew off to another area of the Park.  As I entered the lake itself I could see several boats on the water.  When I say boats, I mean boats.  There was one canoe on the lake and three ROWBOATS.  How these people managed to pilot a rowboat down that stream and into this lake was beyond me.  Must have been fun!    My first view of North River Lake I paddled up the north shore of the lake and through the narrows looking for the campsite I had intended to stay at.  I have circled the campsite on the map above  to show you where I was planning on going, but when I paddled up to the site, I couldn't find it.  I paddled up the shore a bit, but still no sign of the campsite sign.  It was beginning to get darker and I still needed to set up camp and cook myself something to eat, so I paddled up the river some more and hoped that the site a little further down the lake was still available.  As it turned out, the site was empty, so I landed the canoe and unloaded the gear. The site I finally ended up camping at    Some shots of the set-up I had on my site.  The joys of no portages. By the time I set up my sleeping arrangements and got a fire started, it had already turned dark.  I fired up the stove and cooked myself some chicken and rice for supper and then made myself a nice hot coffee and put my feet up around the fire for the rest of the evening.  It drizzled a bit later in the evening, but no rain of any consequence fell.  I crashed about 11:00 P.M. and slept like a rock. The next morning I awoke to a chilly morning.  I started up the my Primus portablel stove and made myself a nice hot coffee.  I decided to head out on the lake and see what I could see, so I hopped in the canoe and headed out to check out some of the bays in the south end of the lake.  I entered South Bay on North River to a dance of mist on the water.  Wisps of morning mist was moving back and forth on the bay due to a slight breeze on the water, parting as I paddled through it.         As I entered the bay I took a few shots of the cliffs on the far shore.  I didn't see anything whern I took the shot, but when I got home I noticed something strange in the picture.  Maybe I am seeing things, but can anybody else see the face of the voyaguer in the cliff rock?      The face in the cliff rocks on South Bay I paddled around the bay exploring the shore line and the island at the entrance and then headed down to check out the portage to Merganzer Lake. The Island in South Bay As I was paddling around the lake I finally found the site sign for the campsite I was looking for the night before.  The camp was located on the south side of the pennisula, as opposed to the north side, as is shown on the Park Map.  I have emailed Jeff McMurtrie (creator of the map), and let him know about the change and he has assured me he would fix it as soon as possible.  Merganer was a quiet little lake with no extroidinary features.  I paddled around the shoreline once and then headed back to down the portage and North Depot.      Both ends of Merganzer Lake Along the portage I took some shots of the stream that emptied into North River as well as some of the mushrooms I spotted along the way.  I'm no good with mushrooms and I have no idea which ones are poisonous or not, so I will give no advice or identification here.  NOTE:  If you are not absolutely sure about mushrooms, it is better not to eat them.  A mistake with one of these fungi can be fatal!          The assortment of mushrooms along the portage trail The stream from Merganzer into North River Lake I paddled back to camp and made myself some bacon and eggs for breakfast and  put my feet up to relax for awhile.  After breakfast I gathered some firewood for the day and explored the area around the camp for about an hour.  I made my way around the woods in the area, listening to the lack of songbirds at this time of the year.  As I was examining a flower, I heard a high pitched grunting up in the pine tree to my left.  When I loked up I noticed a Pine Marten checking me out.  I tried to get a shot of him with the camera, but he danced up and down the tree with such agility I couldn't get the camera to lock focus on him.  Here are some of the shots I did manage to get.          Pine Marten I also took a snapshot of this little plant, located behind the site. Indian Cucumber Root I returned to camp and enjoyed the warm September weather for the rest of the morning, when it occured to me that I needed something to leave behind as a sign that I was there.  So I gathered up a few of the stones I found laying around the site and constructed an  inukshuk on the large eratic located on my site.   The inukshuk I was seeing faces this entire trip.  As you can see from the close-up shot, another face appeared in front of me as I sat back and inspected my work. Another face For the rest of the day I relaxed at camp and did some writing.  I also threw out the rods to see if I could catch some fish for supper, but all I got from leaving the rods out was a small little chum.  Not much of a meal.  He got to live another day, as I tossed him back. I warmed up some of my Mom's macaronni and cheese in the frying pan for supper and spent the evening in front the fire enjoying the nice temps and marvelling at the stars. Sunday night's sunset Fall 2009 Trip Log - Part Two