Plan B… that’s where we left off right? Well as you read in part 1, plan A was to paddle and portage to the falls, but after realizing that it would take about 6 hours to complete the round trip we made a plan B. Hayden was very pleased to know there was a plan B which would mean us paddling back to the car – load it for the drive – and drive to the falls access trail. To be honest, I was happy that was the decision we went with for a couple of reasons…
Wednesday Morning
We both slept in this morning as the night was long with heat and the little tent pad we were on was a bowl shaped, meaning Hayden kept sliding around and waking me up while adjusting his sleeping bag. Remember that crashing sound in the woods, well when I went to the privy I had a chance to check out the carnage from a branch that fell the day before on our site. WOW. I was happy I had not been in the woods at that time. For breakfast we had egg and Gouda cheese burritos and breakfast sausage as well as a hot drink. Hayden loves having his hot chocolate while camping and I thoroughly enjoyed my tea that morning. I walked the shores of the site and then sat on the rocks to take in the morning views.
Morning! 
No picnic table goop on our gear 
NOM 
Forest walk 
I wanted to crawl out on this tree 
Major wind damage 
We then prepared our lunch and packed our gear for our afternoon adventure of paddling to the car, hiking and swimming at High Falls. Reason 1 for change of plans: with the winds predicted to be high that day, I was happy we opted for this plan rather than battling the multiple lakes and portages. Reason 2: Make sure you have your car keys before getting on the water! We had paddled for about 15 mins before I realized I had forgotten them and we had to turn around and go back to our site to get my keys. OOPS!!!
Other than the key mishap, we made it to the trail and started our hike to the falls. This is when the deer flies decided to pay us a visit. On the water they were not too bad and we were able to deal with them, however, this trail which is void of all wind meant they were out in full force.
Wednesday Afternoon
The falls came into view and we headed to the top and found a way to cross the river and set up our lunch on the rocks. Hayden really enjoyed the rocks and falls as he found places to slide into the water and pretend the waterfalls was a water slide. The pool at the bottom of the falls was a perfect place to swim around and cool off in the afternoon sun. I was quite happy here and wish we had more time.
On the paddle back to the site I had filled up a 10L dry bag with water to help add some weight in the canoe which helps to keep the boat trim making it easier for me to paddle and steer. We stopped to check out the one bigger site that was now unoccupied and was pleased to see that it would be a possible choice for future trips.
I had decided to go swimming again back at camp to cool off from paddling so hard against the wind, which had switched directions of course! Mother Nature then decided to product a bit of an afternoon sprinkle, so Hayden helped me set up our tarp over the fire pit and picnic table so we would have a dry place to eat as well as a dry fire pit to cook supper.
Wednesday Evening
We had pizza cooked over the fire (no fire ban) for supper and spent most of the evening chilling around the site, moving from hammock to chair to picnic table. I had forgotten to bring a deck of cards so Hayden decided to carve a stick into a snake shape to help keep himself entertained.
Tarp all set up! 
This is the best 
Always a great meal 
Keeping those deer flies away! 
My kid surprised me that evening asking to go to bed early. He was pooped from lack of sleep and being on the go all day. I love it, but he asked at 8:00 I had to tell him we need to at least wait for the sun to go down. The plan was to get up early the next day as there were high winds coming and I wanted to get on the water when it was calmer. So when the sun went down we headed to bed and set the alarm for 6 am.
Thursday Morning
When the alarm went off that morning I couldn’t believe that the time was here to get up. Hayden and I packed up the tent gear before heading out to get our barrel hung in the woods and prepping breakfast – oatmeal and a hot drink. I then packed up all the gear and loaded the canoe to start our paddle back to the car. Hayden was very little help with the gear that morning. I guess he was more tired than I thought.
One very important thing while back country camping is to leave your site better than when you arrived. Unfortunately there have been many reports of garbage being left on sites and damage from people camping. We did have some garbage in the fire pit, but burned what we would and packed out anything we couldn’t making sure to leave the site nice for the next set of campers. I even made sure to leave some firewood by the fire pit.
Once we said goodbye to the site we paddled back down the lake to the put in. While we turned the last little bay and spotted the beach, a pair of loons graced our company. Hayden called to them and they answered for a good few minutes. Their calls echoed in the surrounding trees and it was just amazing!
I am so happy that we were able to get out for these couple of nights and I know Hayden really enjoyed it as well. Next time I will remember that deck of cards!
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That was a lovely adventure for you both. Memories made forever.
Thanks for the story of your adventure in Algonquin Park in Ontario! It’s been a very long time since I’ve been there..we camped at mew lake, and canisbay lake for many years
Thank you for reading!