The Not so Silent Lake

Sometimes we don’t have a lot of time between trips – this was true of my trip to Kawartha with Hayden and this trip to Silent Lake. I had a day to wash and dry gear, then fully repack for this one.

When we head out on overnight adventures we may end up spending the night in a backpacking tent in the backcountry, a huge tent car camping, glamping in a yurt, or even in a hotel! The main goal for us has always been to get outside, do new things and enjoy what is around us. In recent years we’ve been spending more and more time in the backcountry so this trip to Silent Lake was a nice change of pace and a great way to rekindled our relationship with this great park.

Friday Night

Since Dan still has to work during the week, we didn’t leave until late in the afternoon to make our familiar drive north. Since we live on Lake Ontario, pretty much every trip we take heads north so we’ve become very well acquainted with these roads!

The weather prediction included heat warnings accompanied by the possibility of thunderstorms. No worries as we have a new tent to hide out and take protection from the rain. A nice big tent that even my 6′ 3″ hubby can stand up in! He can’t believe we spent so many years car camping in a backpacking tent (including with a portable crib when Hayden was a baby).

Upon arrival we registered, I picked up my Silent Lake patch, then we headed to the site to set up. We got lucky as the weather was stalled and it gave us plenty of time to get situated. Once set up I started preparing and cooking supper consisting of burgers accompanied by broccoli and chips. Can you guess who had what side dish? LOL. We find that going car camping we can take food items we wouldn’t normally bring in the backcountry, so I was so happy to have a huge side of broccoli with my meal.

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The Not so Silent Lake

Soon after our supper the skies started to get dark, not just from the sun setting, but from the large thunderclouds approaching. We were planning on an evening swim, but with thunder in the distance we knew it was not safe to be in the water. As the skies opened up and the storm came rolling through, Hayden and I took shelter in our tent as Dan decided to “shower” in the showers. LOL. Yes, he stood outside in the rain in his Speedo (AKA underwear). I mean we were all really hot and sweaty and I might have joined in for a few minutes as well ☺.

The storm eventually went away and Dan started our campfire where we sat around until it was time for some sleep.

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Saturday Morning Paddle

The sun was shining and it was going to be another beautiful, yet hot, day in the park. Since we wanted to save the beach visit for the afternoon when it would be the hottest part of the day, we headed onto the lake for a paddle. You would be surprised to know that Silent Lake is actually pretty big considering how little it looks from the beach and dock area. Once you go around the bend at the far end of the lake, there is a narrow section which opens into a whole other area to explore. However, just as we reached this point, the wind picked up and the skies got a little angry with us. It started to rain and with the possibility of thunderstorms in our heads we turned around and headed back toward the dock.

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Beach Time!

By the time we got back to camp to fuel up for the afternoon it was once again incredibly hot. Hayden wasted no time getting everything ready for the beach, so as soon as we had some food that was where we headed. Once at the beach we set up our sun shelter and quickly made our way into the water with our flippers and goggles. I was usually not a fan on goggles as I could never really see, but since having eye surgery in the fall the freedom I now have with using goggles is fantastic. Off we went back and forth in the water trying to see what we were swimming over. Unfortunately this lake is not the clearest and I know for some people they do not wish to see what they are swimming with, however I enjoyed a great workout going back and forth with the flippers.

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I had spent enough time in the water and headed to shore to dry off in the sun but Hayden kept playing around until he got hungry and needed snacks.

Impromptu Adventure Time

While sitting a drying off in the sun, we decided to make an impromptu visit to Apsley, just to see what was there. Well, not much. So we headed further down the highway to Burleigh Falls. We visited these falls in the spring a few years ago but it was something else to see them in the summer. The fast river and turbulent waters were replaced by tons of people swimming and jumping into the rushing water, boats, sunbathers, and picnickers.

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Hayden was upset that we didn’t bring our swim gear as it looked like so much fun. This is something we are going to have to revisit this summer as even Dan and I would love playing in the rapids. While watching the swimmers, there were a couple of kayakers in play boats running the rapids. It was a good educational chat with Hayden as to what it means to be in an eddy, what the terms ‘eddy in’ and ‘eddy out’ meant. Maybe it’s time to take him on a whitewater paddling course!?

Silent Evening

As evening was approaching the weather started to cool and we had a lovely peaceful and quiet night. After supper we relaxed in our hammocks and I read a little more of my book while Dan started the campfire. I could honestly sit by the fire for a long time, but my bed was calling and I was ready for sleep.

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Morning came too quickly and as we packed up our gear my thoughts were already thinking about our next trip. For now we head back home to rest for a couple weeks before heading to Killarney. Keep watching as I am super happy to be heading back to this lovely park and blog posts will follow shortly after!

Have you started your patch collection? Let us know in the comments below as we love to hear what patches you have collected so far.