Gun Lake & Bugs

The beginning of June is not my favourite time to go camping since the bugs are are out in full force and tend to eat me alive. However, plans changed and it was the only time to make a trip work, so I rolled with the punches.

Saturday Morning

This trip saw myself, along with Camper Christina and Sean from Paddling Adventures Radio to the Haliburton Highland Water Trails where we would camp for the night on Gun Lake. I was the last to arrive at the parking lot and found both Christina and Sean almost ready to go with their bags and canoes down by the water. It didn’t take me long to get my gear loaded and in no time we were on the water and heading up Wren Creek.

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The first portage is 120m long and took us over a dam into Raven Lake. From there, we paddled to the Raven/Gun portage which was a fair bit longer at 345m, but we made quick work of it – getting back on the water and away from the seemingly endless onslaught of bugs was our top priority. After another short paddle, we arrived at our camp site and started our chores. First up was setting up my Eureka! NoBugZone where I hung out to eat my lunch, while Sean fixed my fishing rod (which I broke when taking my pack out of the canoe).

After our lunch we headed back out on the water to check out Brandy Falls. Accessing the falls was a bit of an adventure involving weaving around the tall grasses and getting up and over beaver dams. But they were beautiful, and I could imagine how nice they would be on a hot summer day.

On the way back to camp we gathered some firewood and enjoyed the views of our campsite from the water. It was so peaceful and calm on this lake, as no one else was brave – or stund – enough to battle the bugs like us.

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With our afternoon paddle complete, we started the fire for the evening in hopes that the smoke would ward off some of the bugs, and to get ready for cooking supper. Christina had bought honey and garlic sausages as well as herb and garlic potatoes. Sean was responsible for dessert – roasted strawberries covered in marshmallow fluff – something that we had heard of before, but neither of us have had. As we waited patiently for Sean to prep and cook our dessert, our mouths were watering! I am not a huge marshmallow fan, but these were amazing and I know I will be trying this on future trips with my boys. After supper, the bugs finally left us alone as we sat by the fire and chatted into the wee hours of the night.

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Sunday Morning

For breakfast – which was my responsibility – we enjoyed eggs on English muffins and bacon, which I decided to cook in the bug shelter to get a break from the morning flies. After breakfast we broke camp and discussed our route back to the access point. We had two options: one was back the way we came, the second was a longer paddle with less portages. We opted for the longer paddle, taking our chance with the predicted wind.

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On the first portage Christina had to double back for her yoke, luckily it was a short distance, but it may have been a sign of bad things to come that day. Still, we quickly covered the incredibly buggy portage into Raven but once we got on to bigger water the bugs seemed to go away – that might have had something to do with the crazy wind gusts. As Scooby Doo would ay “Ruh-roh!” We had to paddle hard against the wind, taking refuge where we could on the leeward side of islands while doing our best not to dump the contents of our canoes into the lake. After what seemed like forever, we finally reached the quiet winding section of Raven, the final portage and then the quiet and calm Wren Creek.

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It was time to slow down and just enjoy the sun shining on our faces as we paddled back to the access point. Along the way we saw some turtles sunning themselves on fallen logs, which was really how I was feeling at the time. The sign for the portage into the parking lot came into sight quickly and our trip was officially over. There is always a bitter sweet feeling when you load your gear and canoe back on the vehicle. We could leave the winds and bugs behind, but it was a great adventure. Until next time!!

If you enjoyed what you read, please be sure to follow up along on many more adventures. Also make sure you check out Christina’s YouTube channel and Sean’s Paddling Adventure Radio show.