Lac Kipawa - Circle Route

July 20, 2002 - Saturday
Left Hamilton at 2 am and arrived at Stop 102 in Temiscaming at 6:50 to buy fishing licenses. We had to wait 10 minutes until the store opened. Scott drove all the way with coffee stops along the 400 and at 11 in Callendar.
Arrived at Dorval bay at 7:30, met John Wroe, had a coffee at his cabin, reviewed maps, discussed our intended route and set out around 9 am.
Paddled out of Dorval Bay, turned southeast, did a short liftover and paddled toward Baie Jawbone. It’s a hot sunny and fairly still day so we take our time and paddle along the shore and finally head east. We’d like to camp along here somewhere so that we can leave tomorrow for our planned trip up Canal Bay and the portage into Baie Campbell. John says that there used to be a portage there but he can’t remember exactly where it was.
Found a campsite on an island along the south shore that put us within about 4 km of Canal Bay. The campsite has been well used. There’s a folding metal table as well as the typical plywood table attached to some trees. Someone has left three fry pans here, hung up at the back of the table. They’ve all seen better days. The chainsaw crew has been here and left some nice benches as well as logs for seats. There’s a huge fire pit.
We arrived here at 1 pm and we’re pretty tired after the drive and paddle so we’re not going to pass this site up. Besides, its in an out of the way spot and offers a nice drop off for swimming.
Setup completed we explore the island a bit, go for a swim and nap for a while. Later we swim, bathe and try our luck at fishing. The pickerel fishing in Kipawa is supposed to be quite good but you can’t prove it by our success today.
Distance today 12 km with a 30 m lift over

July 21- Sunday
The day started sunny and then clouded over. The breeze was up and it looked like rain. It’ll be the first test of our new spray cover.
Its 10:30 by the time we leave camp what with sleeping in a bit and rigging the spray cover for the first time on a loaded canoe. At this point Kathy is not impressed with the cover.
The wind is out of the southeast and we’ve got an open stretch of lake to paddle so we’re prepared to test the spray cover.
The waves were approaching 2 feet as we crossed toward Ile Clermont. Kathy was suddenly more impressed with the cover; not so much for it’s ability to shed water but for the fact that it made us so much more streamlined. The wind didn’t seem to bother us as much as in an open canoe - but then again our Dagger Venture tracks pretty well anyway.
We have to get almost out to Ile Clermont before turning toward Canal Bay to avoid getting broadside to the waves.
Once in Canal Bay the wind was now at our backs. This is a very picturesque spot and shouldn’t be missed if you come here.
Now to find and negotiate the portage.
A search of the east side of the bay proved fruitless. There are several places where the map shows that Baie Campbell is not far away but we can’t find anything resembling a portage even though we get out and look at a couple of likely places.
Continuing to the end of the bay we landed on the left shore. There’s a lot of driftwood here and a bit of a marsh. Scott went off to see what he could find. He got back in the bush and found a piece of flagging tape around a small tree. From there he located several others and the portage became obvious. It looked like it hadn’t been used in quite a while as it was overgrown and the path was not well trodden.
Naturally the portage started across the bay so we had to move the canoe. First we had lunch and a long drink because by now it was hot and humid. On our first trip over we just took light packs and it’s a good thing we did. The portage comes to a logging road so it’s up a steep gravel bank to the road and then we spent 15 minutes looking for the trail again. Kathy finally found it about 40 meters to the right of where we came up the bank. Now it’s a steep descent and it ends in a swampy area that we’ll have to drag the canoe through to reach open water.
Two trips later we’ve got all our gear and the canoe across. We’re soaked from the exertion and a shower that passed while we were portaging.
The canoe is loaded and manhandled to some open water - then through some downed logs to Baie Campbell.
The paddle up Baie Campbell was pleasant but we needed to find a campsite soon since it was now 4 pm.
After checking out a couple of islands we found a spot that hadn’t seen much use but it did have a fireplace. It was near the top of an island and a struggle to get our gear up but possessed a great view.
By the time we got situated we barely had time for a swim and dinner before the bugs arrived. The warm humid evening offered an abundance of mosquitoes.
Distance today16 km with 400 meters of portaging (not an easy one)

July 22 - Monday
Up at 7 am, a leisurely breakfast and off to explore Baie Profonde and Plongeurs. The wind was at our backs initially so Kathy fished while Scott paddled. A nice pike was caught and then broke the line as Scott attempted to use the pliers to release it.
The wind was picking up from the southwest so we tried a couple of drifts for pickerel before deciding that we’d better head for home.
It had been showering off and on all day but now the wind was up and it looked threatening.
We pulled into a sheltered spot and affixed the spray cover. The trip back to the campsite was windy and wavy but did not offer any great challenge.
This time we left enough time for dinner, a bath and some tea before the bugs arrived.
At about 11 pm Scott awoke and smelled smoke. The wind was now blowing strongly from the north and had fanned the embers of our dinner fire enough to start them smoldering and sparking. We got up, doused the embers and stirred it up well. That’s the last time we’ll ever leave a fire without dousing it well.
The wind blew hard all night long.

July 23 - Tuesday
The stove was placed in a protected area this morning so that we could cook breakfast. The wind is too strong to attempt to leave the island. We read and write in the journal.
Had an early dinner hoping that the wind would die so that we could get out for some fishing. It didn’t and we didn’t.
Wind died off at about 8:30 and the mosquitoes started to appear.
We cooked both breakfast and dinner on the stove today. It’s amazing how the stove draws mosquitoes it must be the heat and carbon dioxide.
Our tent and tarp are in a nice protected area below the crest of the island – but the mosquitoes like it here too.
Distance today zero.

July 24 - Wednesday
Kathy has been looking at the map and found Blueberry Island Ile Bluets) and it puts us on a mission. We had expected to find lots of berries but they’ve been pretty scarce up to now.
The day dawns bright and sunny with hardly a breath of wind. We head up to the northeast end of the lake to explore and check out Blueberry Island.
A couple of the Islands offer nice campsites and were checked out for the future. Blueberry Island was reached at about 1 pm and our initial scouting was proving fruitless. We did stop at a couple of spots on the circumnavigation and picked a few berries. As we were about to complete the great circle route we came to an open sloping place that looked like it had been used foe shore lunches. Finally; lots of blueberries. Kathy picked while Scott carved the salami and cheese for lunch.
A different route was chosen for our trip back. That’s one of the nice things about this lake – lots of islands and little spots to explore.
Stopped for a swim – it’s really hot now – and had a flotilla of 23 loons pass in review.
Tried fishing for an hour with no luck – or should I say our usual luck.
It was too hot for a fire and a complete dinner so we had soup and pudding. The pudding didn’t jell so we had potato soup and chocolate soup (lovingly called Poup – a combination of pudding and soup).
It’s been a long day; the bugs are coming out and tomorrow we head for the south end of the lake. It’s about a three day paddle so we’ll break it up as we see fit – maybe a layover on the way.
Distance today 25 km.

July 25 - Thursday
Again it’s a bright cool morning as we arise at 6:30 am. Breakfast, packing and getting off seems to take forever. There’s not a good place to pull up the canoe so we’ve been dragging it up a steep slope to where we store it – but that means the loading process can’t be accomplished unless we’re both there to manhandle the canoe down to the water and then get each pack down to the canoe, which has to be held in place.
Anyway, we’re off at 9:30 for about a 20 km paddle to Baie de L’ours Mort. The morning is a nice paddle – the sun comes out and a light breeze comes up from the south.
By noon the breeze is freshening and we’re looking for islands to duck behind. The channel here is narrow, about 300 meters across, and affords the south wind a natural funnel. The hunt for a campsite begins after our 2:30 lunch break. The search is proving a little frustrating until we hit the mouth of Baie de L’ours Mort where we decide to check out a string of islands. At first we seem to disturb a loon. It acts very protective of a small island – puts up quite a show – so we decide to move on. A beautiful site appears at 4:30 – looks like it’s been used by hunters or fishermen in the past. It’s flat, has a real picnic table and some rough tables – just no usable fireplace. There is an old Hibachi here though that is soon turned into a firebox by supporting it on rocks and building a windbreak. It really works quite well and we’re leaving no fire scar.
This is a really nice place with a big expanse of water in front of us (Lac Sunnyside) so Kathy votes to spend two nights here to explore around the local islands and to try to have that fish dinner. I don’t protest; after all, we still have another week.
Bugs are out in force at 9:15 and drive us into the tent with our tea.
Distance today 22 km.

July 26 - Friday
Well, it’s cloudy and overcast as we survey the sky at 6:30 am. The wind is still strong from the southwest and there’s the feeling that rain is due at any minute.
A leisurely day is in store so we start with pancakes and blueberry sauce. The rain starts as breakfast is being prepared so we scamper under the tarp to eat and brew another pot of coffee.
The rain breaks at 11:30 but it looks like a short respite. I’m journal writing and Kathy is taking some pictures. We discuss getting out for some fishing, as the wind seems to be dying.
There is joy in Kipawa!!!!! The mighty Kathy did not strike out. We got out fishing in the wind and rain. “Perfect pickerel fishing weather” she said. About 10 pickerel were caught. We kept three for dinner – two of Kathy’s – the biggest two, which were about 16 inches each. The size limit here is 35 cm so we’re well above the size limit.
Scott did the filet thing and we had pickerel with fresh lemon, tomatoes and spinach couscous for dinner.
We’re now sipping coffee under the tarp and planning an early get away. It’s still raining off and on and the south end of the lake is shrouded in mist.
All’s well – hope our next week goes as well.
Distance today zero.

July 27 - Saturday
The second week begins with a planned paddle south for a couple of days to see Lac Grindstone before returning north through Lac Hunter.
We set out with a slight headwind today from the southwest as we paddled along Ile au Corbeau. Turning east to head toward Turtle Point the wind began to favour us. A juice, gorp and swim break was taken on a point across from Ile Thompson. Next stop Turtle portage and Lac Audion.
The passage to Lac Audion looked to be about 100 meters according to out map but Turtle portage was about 500 meters. We wanted to see if we could find Turtle Portage for history sake but we intended to cross at the narrow point.
We stopped at two locations to look for Turtle Portage with no success so we headed for the spot that appeared to be the narrowest. To our surprise a boat passed us and went into where the narrow spot was at quite a clip. We heard no crashing or rending of metal on rock so the Ah-ha syndrome set in. Upon rounding the bend we found that an area had been blasted out between the lakes. There was a current flowing out of Lac Audion that we had no trouble paddling up.
Continuing on Lac Audoin we had lunch on the east end of an island.
Our goal was to camp on Lac Audoin so we began the search for a suitable site. We passé two sites on the way out into the main lake but neither met Kathy’s high standards.
It’s a hot afternoon as we circumnavigate Lac Audoin looking for a campsite. One island must house a heron rookery because we flushed a flock of 15 herons as we approached.
Heading south out of the lake we come to a sandy island that has a marginal campsite – but off in the distance, about a km away, a rock outcropping called out to Kathy. Fortunately, we were not disappointed. The site itself was very spacious and housed an L shaped table. It’s home for a night so we unload, have a swim and get set up. Another swim and then we sit with the maps over a cup of coffee and plan dinner.
We decide to move on tomorrow to try to get to Lac Grindstone and possibly to Lac McLachlin.
At 9:15 we race the bugs into the tent with our tea still in our hands. We’ve made some bannock for breakfast so we won’t have any cooking to do other than boiling water for coffee and toasting the bannock. It’s a starry night and I awake a couple of times of times noticing that the stars are still out.
Distance today 20 km.

July 28 - Sunday
Well, I’m sitting here under our tarp at 5:00 pm – we’ve had a couple of thunderstorm and the wind is quite strong from the south.
We awoke at 6 am to a cloudy, threatening morning. Before we even got out of bed we had our first shower. There was a clear spell so Scott started a fire, made some coffee and toasted the bannock.
As we began to break camp it started raining. The tent got soaked since the fly was off at that point. Everything else was under the tarp and well protected.
The spray cover rigged for foul weather, the rain stopped long enough for us to get loaded and under way. It looked like showers were to be today’s theme. We traveled south through Passe Grant and across to the narrows leading to Lac Bedout. Stopping on a small rock island to have a juice break we found some blueberries and so had them in place of gorp. There is a current here headed for Lac Bedout. We found that odd since we came up an outflow to get into Lac Audoin.
Still heading south toward Ile Hurricane – it’s now very still and very humid. As we approach Ile Hurricane we see two other canoes coming from the west and obviously headed in the same direction we’re intending to go. They precede us through Passe Butney and turn south into Baie Halfway. I remark to Kathy that they have either made a wrong turn or they must know of a campsite there. They turn to head back out of the bay but are passing out of sight behind a large island. Besides, our attention is now on the weather as the wind comes up strongly from the south as we head out onto Lac Grindstone and the waves are soon approaching two feet.
It’s about 12:30 so we quarter our way across heading for Ile Mungo and hoping to get behind some small islands to a calm spot for lunch. As we reach the small islands thunder begins from the south. There’s a clear spot on the north side of an island so we swing around to the east side to see if there’s a landing spot. Sure enough, there’s a sand beach with a path to the cleared spot.
The thunder seems to be getting closer so we decide that this looks like home for today. The gear is quickly unloaded and the tarp is up. Kathy tries to dry out the tent as Scott moves the remainder of the gear under the tarp. There’s a table here that we move under the tarp. Everything is up and the fire pit is arranged to Scott’s liking as the thunder nears and the whitecaps dance past from the south.
A quick swim and a bath then we start some coffee as the storm hits. It’s pretty intense for about 15 minutes as we sit under the tarp.
The storm is past us now but everything in the bush is wet – but at least it’s now a little cooler and the oppressive humidity seems to be gone.
It’s now 5:45 – still gusty wind and continuing showers – guess it’s time to figure out what’s for dinner.
The current feeling is that we’ll stay here and use tomorrow as a day to go and explore Lac McLachlin before we begin the trek back to Dorval Bay. It’s a three day paddle to get back and we’d like to have a layover day so we need to start back on the 30th.
I also want to stop at White Lake on the way home on Saturday so that I can show Kathy where Don and I went moose hunting last fall. That will take most of Saturday so we need to be close to Dorval on Friday night.
Distance today 15 km.

July 29 - Monday
It’s 7:30 pm and we’re under the tarp in a rainstorm. It began raining at 6:30 pm as dinner was being prepared and tea water boiled. The pot is still out on the fire but we’re too hot to care.
The weather cleared last night so we awoke to a blue sky with hardly a cloud. The morning was warm and still as we had a relaxed breakfast and departed at 10 am to see Lac Desquerac, McLachlin and back to camp via a circular route.
As you head north out of Lac Grindstone there are a couple of places where Lac Desquerac comes to within about 100 meters so we’ll see if there’s a liftover available.
Sure enough – we arrive at the first likely spot and there is the path we seek. We pick up the canoe with the days gear in it and carry over to a swampy area. Paddling out into Lac Desquerac we find a really nice campsite that we would have been on last night if it weren’t for the thunderstorms.
Continuing north we see Chute du pin rouge off to the east as we enter Lac McLachlin. We stop on a shady point for lunch to get a break from the sun – it’s now 2:30 pm. The breeze comes up a little as we complete the northbound section of today’s paddle. Rounding Pointe Indian we now back south toward camp. The breeze is up a little more from the southwest but it doesn’t seem to hinder our progress.
We stop for a swim and a drink in the narrows before Lac Grindstone and decide not to look for that second possible liftover since the wind is up another notch and we’d rather hug the western shore on the way back.
Arriving back at camp at 4:30 I start pumping water for a drink – we’re really thirsty and sun blasted and for tomorrows journey. We make some hummus and have it with pitas. Kathy selects dinner and Scott starts a fire.
Distance today 23 km.

July 30 - Tuesday
A day to be remembered. A real test of the Venture’s seaworthiness and our endurance.
We want to head back north to what we think is better scenery and nicer campsites.
The couple of times we awaken during the night tell us that the wind will be up before we are. The question is – what direction? We need to travel west and then northwest as we leave Lac Grindstone for Lac Hunter and on to Sunnyside.
Up at 6 – and so’s the wind – and – you guessed it – the canoer’s lament – it’s from the west.
It takes us a while to get started as we rig the spray cover and load up. We’re off at 8:30 am. A fairly strong west wind is pushing up some moderate waves as we make our way across Lac Grindstone to Butney Narrows. A stop here for a drink at 10:15. The south shore of Bedout Lake looks to be the best alternative. It’s longer but it’ll afford some protection. We know that Hunter Lake will be bad because it runs east west.
Another stop at Edwards Passe for gorp and water and we paddle on. Lac Hunter is everything we expected it to be – and more. If we thought we were crawling before this is almost a dead stop.
Hunters Passe – our exit from this maelstrom – is in a NNW direction from here. We begin ferrying across the waves but care is needed to account for the odd larger wave. The limit of our ability and that of the Venture was put to the test as the waves continued to roll by a full foot above our gunwales. As it was, Kathy still got a couple of lapfuls of water. Our angle was maintained as we levered our way toward Pointe du Bouleau.
Nearing the Pointe we noticed a shoal extending out from shore that the waves were breaking over on several spots. Closer inspection revealed that the place was a big rock garden.
To pass around the shoal would have taken us out into the lake more than we wanted to be so we searched for a path through the jumble of boulders and breaking waves. We could side slip the wind and waves to get behind the first section and there was enough open water there to allow us to hold our position to scout the next section so we ferried over.
At this point people came out of the cottages on the Pointe to watch us. They must have thought that we were nuts – out bobbing in their shoal in what surely must have looked like a disaster waiting to happen – and when I say bobbing I mean just that – we were up and down way more than we were moving forward or back.
We managed to sideslip to avoid the next bad spot and then move forward a few meters and sideslip again to clear the shoal. We were cool while we were maneuvering through the shoal but having water breaking over rocks within two meters of your stern causes some consternation.
Once we clear the shoal we need to find a calmer section of waves so that we can execute a quick turn and run with the waves into Passe Hunter – sure, we could have backed in but we’re pretty sure of our ability. Some patience was required but we got our calmer stretch between gusts and we surfed into Passe Hunter. There were two boats there in a sheltered spot and the fishermen watched us surf in and do an eddy turn at a likely looking lunch spot.
We congratulated ourselves on our crossing and I commented that we’d not seen any boats out on Lac Hunter.
A martin came by to watch us for a second before scampering off – only to return for another look.
Our direction was now northwest toward Lac Sunnyside and hopefully we’ll find a campsite along the west shore since the wind seems to be veering to the northwest and we hope to find some protection there.
The wind is now funneling down the narrows fully in our faces as we search for a campsite. The west shore is not yielding any sites and we know that there are none on the west above Thompson Island as we’d been along that shore a few days ago.
We crossed over at an island just below Turtle Point but found no campsite here and continued up the east shore. Once again we’re barely moving as we hug the shore to try to get any relief we can.
Upon passing Thompson Island conditions get worse as the wind now has all of Lac Sunnyside to traverse before reaching us so we stop behind a small point to reapply our life jackets. We’re within a canoe length of shore but feel that the life jackets make sense here.
After another kilometer we come to a sand beach that offers some protection and Kathy says we gotta stop – she’s exhausted and the wind shows no sign of letting up.
There’s an old campsite here just in back of the beach on more sand but Kathy opts for trying to fix a place up in the woods on an elevated spot. We have a drink and begin the moss moving necessary to level a spot big enough for out tent.
We arrived here at about 4 pm and it’s now 4:30 so we stop for a swim and have some water and gorp. In my opinion the wind is dying so I ask Kathy if we can wait until 5 before we begin to set up camp since we know that there’s a beautiful campsite only six kilometers away.
The gods favour us; we push off at 5:15, check out another campsite first and then arrive our intended spot at 6:45. Now we’re both bushed so we get the tent and tarp up – I make some coffee – we go for a swim and decide on a hummus and pita dinner – nobody’s got the energy to cook a meal.
After cookies and tea we’re ready for bed – there are almost no bugs tonight but we’re in bed as the sun is setting. What a day!!!
Distance today 27 hard earned kilometers.

July 31 - Wednesday
We’ll stick it out here for another day and use up our last layover day. Kathy was up at 1 am taking aspirin and complaining about sore muscles.
After breakfast we decided to explore some of the local islands and visit an old log structure we saw on our way south.
It turned out to be two log cabins that had collapsed long ago – there were 15 cm diameter trees growing in the center of the cabin. There’s also evidence of a clearing that was now overgrown. Took lots of pictures
Now we headed north to explore some of the islands we hadn’t seen. It’s a warm beautiful morning so we were just taking it easy and following the shoreline of the islands. Turning south and exploring the west side of Petite Ile au Corbeau yields nothing resembling a campsite. We’ll explore the west shore of this passage when we leave here tomorrow.
The stable flies – “bush flies” – whatever you call them, are driving us nuts. The little ankle biters have been out for a couple of days now and whenever we get close to shore we seem to pick up a new batch. Today would definitely be a shirtless day except for the little backbiting buggers.
The exploratory trip completed, we decide to head back to the campsite for a late lunch and a swim. A motorboat is coming up the passage and doesn’t appear to see us. We move so that the pilot can get a clear view of us and he pulls up to inquire as to whether we are the occupants of the island campsite. We relate that indeed we are and he asks when we’re leaving because they’d like to use it. Seems that he and his wife have a group coming to meet them for the Civic Holiday weekend. We chat for a bit and agree to continue the discussion back at the island.
Turns out that these are the folks that have built the campsite and maintained it for about 30 years. They have a family gathering here every year.
We share one of their cold beers and agree to share the space with them. It seems like the right thing to do given that we’re leaving in the morning anyway.
They unload the boat and begin to get set up. They’ve even got a porta-pottie – we wondered why we hadn’t found a latrine here.
A quick swim and we decide to see if we can catch another pickerel dinner while they set up. Scott catches one fish right away but another hour and a half and several spots later we still have but one fish – not enough for a fish dinner so we release it.
Arriving back at the campsite we find our guests having steak and fried potatoes – and does it ever smell good!
Scott makes some camp coffee – which gets shared and we begin to cook our dinner on their Coleman stove. They’ve got a box of wine, you know – the really good stuff – but it goes down like a vintage as we get better acquainted.
We’re up until after 10 swatting bugs and having a really good chat, which leads to the exchange of addresses and phone numbers before departing the next morning.
Distance today 10 km.

August1 - Thursday
We’re up at 6:30 but departure takes a while as we say our goodbyes and share a cup of their perked coffee.
Today’s plan is to head north and then west to try to get within striking distance of Dorval Bay so that it’ll be a short paddle out. We’d like to stay at John’s cabin on Friday night if possible in order to facilitate our visit to White Lake on Saturday.
The wind is out of the west so the first part of our journey – the northward leg – is in relative comfort. However, when we turn west and head for Clermont Island it’s a different story. The wind is up and we’re facing two foot waves as the wind gets to sweep in from Baie McLaren – about seven kilometers of open water.
Does this seem like a familiar pattern for this trip? Paddling on windy days and resting on still days? Have we somehow offended the wind god? The questions get asked but no answer is forthcoming as we struggle along to the south side of Clermont Island where we stop at 12:30 for lunch. There’s a great set of campsites here on the north side of the island – docks and all – but there’s also a herd of power boaters here and it looks like they’re here for the weekend.
Lunch completed we duck behind the island and pass by the docks as we begin to work our way across the waves to find the entrance to Baie Belleperche.
I’m not paying much attention to the map so I’m pretty surprised when a channel opens up to the north. I can see by the lay of the land that this must be the channel we’re looking for but I just can’t seem to get rid of the feeling that we need to be further west. We pull up to an island, I consult the map and compass and make a prediction as to our location – then we consult with the GPS – and sure enough – we’re sitting on the spot I predicted. I still can’t believe we’re here though. Maybe after the long episode on Lac Hunter this seems too short – all I know is that – I love this canoe!!!
The site we choose is the same one we stayed on our first night out. The wind is gusting from the west and blowing into our site. We’re not concerned about our tent; the Astraldome is a four season tent and designed to handle these conditions.
We went out fishing – on the semi protected back side of our island – no luck, but Kathy noticed that there were a profusion of blueberry bushes so the quest for berries was on again. She trekked overland and returned with tales of the mother lode and pockets full to prove it.
After dinner we take the tarp down since we hear thunder in the west and the wind is showing no signs of abating. The gear is moved back into the bush and wrapped in the tarp. After retiring the rain begins, just showers at first and then a hard thunderstorm but the wind doesn’t seem to be any better or worse.
Distance today 18 km.

August 2 - Friday
Departure was delayed today so that we could both leave our tent and tarp up so that they would have a chance to dry out and get a chance to visit the berry patch.
Blueberry picking is a slow process so by the time we gathered three liters, disassembled our camp, had lunch, went for a swim and loaded the canoe it was 3 pm. We weren’t in a particular hurry since the paddle out should only take about three hours.
The wind was up and from the west but seemed to abate as our paddle proceeded. We were also able to use the many islands here for protection as we traveled. Several good looking campsites were discovered and checked out for future reference as we paddled around Ile de Frais and Ile du Sandy Portage.
The entrance to Dorval Bay is very narrow and a blind corner. As we approached we could hear a boat coming out of the bay so we slowed down and pulled closer to shore. Good thing we did as a good sized inboard roared around the corner and passes within twenty meters. We were prepared so we rode out the wake in good fashion but the boat occupants looked back with what I hope was some dismay as they sped off. (There are signs here warning of potential collisions.)
We arrived at John’s camp, let ourselves in and made ourselves at home. John said that they might come down for the weekend but he never appeared.
Distance today 12 km.

August 3 - Saturday
As planned, we paddled and portaged into White Lake and now plan to spend some time there next spring.
We’re back in Hamilton as the sun is setting.