Escaping to Kawartha Highlands

As our time for summer trips was coming to an end, I continued my search for backcountry canoe trips that we could complete before I had to head back to work. I once again got lucky and managed to snag a two night booking at Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. It was in the middle of the week, but with sites hard to come by this summer Dan booked the time off from work and off we went.

Tuesday

For this trip we had a new piece of gear that we were trying: a Eureka Canoe Dry Bag. I had recently been able to find and purchase a 115L and 75L version of these dry bags and we decided to put the 115L bag to the test this trip. The idea is to replace our backpacks with these dry bags, and depending on the trip, to have most (if not all) of our gear in one of or both of these two dry bags plus our food barrel. On this trip, we took the bigger dry bag, food barrel and had a small backpack with some extras. Not quite the minimal set up, but we are slowly preparing for those possible one carry portages.

• 

• 

• 

As we entered into Crab Lake we stopped along the shore to pick up some firewood. This is a very popular park and most sites have very little deadfall, so when we found this big piece on the shore, we decided to pull over to harvest as much as we could for our fire.

Once at camp we completed all the chores and even set up our tarp as a precaution as there was rain in the forecast for our second night. Hayden spent most of the afternoon in his hammock, while Dan and I went for a swim. We were both happy that the water was not too cool yet and with no one occupying the site across from us we were able to have a swim with no spectators.

For supper I decided that it was time we had steak cooked on the fire. We have not yet cooked steak and sausages (for Hayden) on our trips, even though I have had it many times on trips with friends. Along with the meat I cooked up some baby potatoes and asparagus. This meal was a big hit. I just love the char and smoke taste on a steak, and the potatoes and asparagus were cooked to perfection and even the boys enjoyed their meal.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Tuesday Evening

After supper we decided to repeat a dessert that I was introduced to on my Temagami trip with Christina: the tortilla filled with marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanut butter and strawberries. It was a major hit! Everyone loved this dessert and agreed that we would be having it on more of our adventures. Of course Hayden had to show off his carving skills, which makes me think that we should look at purchasing a small Swiss Army knife for him as a gift. We watched the sun go down and really took in the summer night and enjoyed the fire well into the evening.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Wednesday Morning

Dan was up early as usual and took some beautiful pictures of our canoe and the site (click the images to see the full size). When I eventually pulled myself out of bed I cooked up some bacon and pancakes. We save this meal for mornings we have time, as cooking one pancake at a time in our little frying pan does take patience.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After breakfast I decided to head out on the lake for a little bit of solo paddling. I am always looking to practice and with the water being as calm as it was, I knew I had some time to do so. Most of the morning and into the afternoon we spent our time soaking up the sun, going for a swim or two, and gathering more fire wood for our night. We both mentioned to each other that it was really nice to have a day where we didn’t have anywhere to travel. Most of our trips we have moved sites each night, so this was a real treat.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Wednesday Evening

Sometimes plans can change of a trip. We had been watching the weather very carefully and there was a storm system moving in overnight into the next morning. The rainfall was going to be up to 50mm, which would also bring with it some thunderstorms. We are not afraid of camping in the rain, but paddling out the next day in major storms was not something we wanted to do. There was also the high chance of getting stuck and not being able to leave until much later that day or the following day. So we decided that we would pack up and head out after we had supper.

For supper I tried the Thai Green Curry meal from Backcountry Wok. This is a company based out of Ottawa and they make meals that are vegan. As I cannot have dairy, I am always happy to find meals like this. Plus their bag is compostable!! My only advice would be to use less water. I was wanting more of the veggies in this meal, but that’s just my thoughts on it.

With the decision to leave, we had a fire into the evening and once again cooked up the same dessert at the previous night for an evening snack. We figured we should stay for as long as we could on the site before leaving.

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was about 5:30 pm that night when we left our site and made our way back to the portage between Crab and Wolf. The paddle back was nice, but as usual, the kid didn’t help very much (although he’s never been so quiet in the boat).

• 

• 

• 

As we loaded the canoe on the car and headed home, we had no regrets of ending our trip early and paddling home that night. The weather did rush in like crazy that night and we knew we made the decision that was best for us.

If you have enjoyed reading please leave a comment below as we love to hear what you have to say.

Affiliate Information

I am currently in an affiliate for companies where I purchase my gear. I do receive some compensation for products purchased through my link. If you are interested in products that I use, click on the appropriate links below to access each company.

Keen Canada please click here.

Mountain Equipment Co-op click here.

Back Road Mapbooks click here.

LARQ click here.