Spring 2010 Trip Log - Part Two    I was up early this morning…hell, I’m always up early.  I love to sit by the side of the lake as the light grows and watch the mists dance over the lake.  I had my little Primus camp stove going strong and working on boiling some water for coffee.  Connie was awake, but relaxing in the tent.  She had a hard night, with coughing fits that woke her up every couple of hours.  It seemed that her laryngitis had returned and was playing havoc with her throat.  Once the water was boiled, I let Connie know her coffee was ready and I headed down to the water’s edge to take in the morning.       The Primus Classic Trail Stove (with 100 g Primus Powergas® tank) this is the stove that I use.  I have had it for 5 years now and it gas never let me down.  It folds up to almost nothing and can fit in my jacket pocket comfortably.  It runs on Primus’ 4 Season Propane/Isobutane/Butane Blend.  I usually bring two 100g bottles with me, but to this day I have only gone through one bottle…even on a ten day loop.      Connie came down to join me and sighed at the wonderful taste of her coffee.  We sat there enjoying the sounds of the morning and discussed what was on the agenda for the day.  We decided to head east, to the other end of Daisy and explore the Petawawa a bit.  It was only 6AM by the time we finished our java and we grabbed what gear we needed (camera especially) and jumped in the boat.  The water was like glass (which is why I like this time of the morning) as we paddled up the lake towards the headwaters of the Petawawa. As we paddled, I noticed that all the other campsites were empty.  We had the whole lake to ourselves the night before.  Near the eastern end of the lake it swallowed out considerably.  Once we passed the last campsite, the water was only a few feet deep and the lake opened up into a large flat plain of sand.  We could see the bottom clearly as we paddled over it and it wasn’t long until I noticed something sitting on the bottom.  The canoe had passed almost directly over it.  There, lying casually on the bottom was a huge snapping turtle.  I told Connie to stop paddling and we backed the boat up over the turtle.  I probed the turtle with my paddle to make him move and to my surprise the large amphibian turned to face toe paddle, gaping maw waiting to strike.  Wow was he ever aggressive.  Instead of turning tail and swimming to deeper water, he was determined to defend his little area.  We watched him for several minutes before continuing along to the end of the lake.  The take out for the portage was muddy and a little difficult to keep our feet from getting wet, but we managed to negotiate it without much trouble.  I hauled the boat up onto my head and we made the short five minute walk without much trouble.  At the end of the portage is the beginning of the Petawawa.  A narrow rapid funnelled water from Daisy down into a small pool before it meandered away into the park. The headwaters of the Petawawa      The Petawawa as it begins its journey across the park   We took a couple of pictures and then put the boat in the water again and headed down the river to see what we could see.               Nature always finds a way   Again, we ran into no moose.  It was disappointing….I had really hoped to show Connie her first moose.  It took about half an hour of easy paddling until we arrived at the next portage on the river.  Connie still wasn’t feeling up to par with her sore throat and all, so I decided not to push her too much.  We left the boat at the portage and headed down the trail on foot to see the other end.  The 450m portage only took ten minutes or so to travel and we soon found ourselves at another small rapid.      Connie on the 450m portage     Fellow Algonquinites    Spring 2010 - Part Three