What Luck!
A few months ago we looked on the Ontario parks reservation site and got extremely lucky. We were able to book a 4 day, 3 night trip in Killarney Provincial Park. Best thing was that we had a great site, near the rocks that campers use to jump into the water.
I had been talking to Marian from The Camping Family, and she gave me some advice on Killarney as they travel there many times with their own family. She even said that the campsite we had was next to these famous jumping rocks. I was excited to have scored such a great location! There were further conversations about the different hikes and how long each one would take. I know there are lots of maps and information out there, but when you can get advice from someone who has done it personally, and with kids, you can gauge your own times on that.
Our plan was to hike “the Crack” and also “Silver Peaks”. Both hikes are difficult, and Silver Peaks require you to paddle roughly 40 mins to the trail head. This blog is going to focus on our first two days where we set up, explore and hike “the Crack”.
Getting There (Friday)…
Killarney is located on the coast of Georgian Bay, and it is about a 5 hour drive from where we live. That meant the first day was a lot of driving, with some pit stops along the way. We have a canoe on order from Swift, and we got the offer to borrow a canoe for this weekend since ours would not be ready. We had to stop at the Swift Canoe and Kayak store on Oxtongue Lake to pick up the loaner. I wish I had a picture of the canoe, but I had totally forgotten to take one! Once the canoe was loaded off we went. It was after 5 that night when we arrived at the park office, signed in to get our permit and headed to our site to set up.
Our site is amazing! We have to park just off the site, there are only a couple of rocks and two trees preventing us from actually parking on the site. We quickly set up, and assess our surroundings. We have cliffs right next to us where everyone jumps. Off we go with getting our suits on, and let the jumping fun begin! It was quite the rush. We had supper, then watched the sunset from those same rocks.
Then some silliness happened. We had joked about a song “Christmas in Killarney”, played it on our Sonos a number of times before our trip, and then this happened. Dan had actually brought our Santa hat with him. He sat next to the campfire, with the hat on, and we had quite the laugh. Had to get pictures of this!! We each took our turn with the Santa hat, but he did it best 🙂
Saturday…
I took advantage of the morning light to get a picture out of our tent looking towards George Lake. There are trees, but still beautiful. I also spotted some local wildlife making his/her rounds around the campground. I guess the raccoon was looking for any left over crumbs from the night before.
Today our plan is to hike the Crack and then go canoeing around George Lake, and obviously swim more (according to my son). So up we were early, had a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, made our lunch for the day (with homemade strawberry jam from my friends wedding), and off to the the trail head.
I had mentioned to my son that there was a Geocache hidden at the top of the Crack. This, along with his love for climbing rocks was a good motivator to get him to the top. He definitely outdid both of us. Young legs and lungs! As you climb, there are places to stop and enjoy the view, and get a little snack of wild blueberries. Just like Home!
This was one of the most beautiful hikes I have been on, next to ones on the East Coast of Newfoundland. At the top, we found the geocache, had lunch and took in the views.
During the hike up, Dan has realized that he was missing his tripod. We had someone behind us say that there was one in the middle of the trail quite a way back. The entire trip down, we kept asking people “Have you seen the tripod in the trail?” Every response was affirming it was still there. Glad to know there are people out there who won’t just take a free tripod. It really was waaaaaaay down the trail. Phew… (although, someone was secretly hoping to get new gear).
We decided to drive into the town of Killarney to see what it was all about. There was a local fish n chips place with a long line. I wanted fries! I love fries, and after that hike I didn’t care how long I would have to wait. When I inquired, they said 30 minutes. Whatever, I’m waiting. However, as soon as I paid, they called my name. Guess everyone else waiting was getting fish and chips, where I just wanted the fries. YUMMY!!
Back at the site, we went swimming again, had supper, then headed out for a canoe around George Lake. On one side of the lake is pink granite, and on the other side is white quartzite. This geography teacher was in geology heaven all day. 🙂
With another beautiful night, we sat and watched the sunset again. I could get used to this.
Stay tuned for Part 2 – the Hike to Silver Peaks (where we tempt the weather Gods!) Click here for part 2.