I have only had the chance to do one solo canoe trip this year so I was looking forward to doing another one before the hard water set in. Good campsites have been hard to come by this year, so I was really lucky to to find an opening at Kawartha Highlands.
After work I packed my car and headed towards Kawarth Highlands Long Lake access point. My site was on Long Lake and required NO portages which has advantages and disadvantages, but seeing how busy this season was during the summer I was willing to take what I could get.
In just over an hour I had paddled to my site and started my camp chores. There was a nice little pile of wood on my site, but knowing that I would be cooking my supper on the fire I needed to collect more. I headed up the hill behind my site where I found some rock statues and also took in the amazing views of the colors.
When all the wood was collected I went for a quick swim to cool down, yes it was cold, but refreshing. Shortly after my swim, two sets of paddlers went by and they created a perfect picture, which I had to take. My only issue was that neither group was wearing their PFDs – please remember that this is an important piece of gear to wear, always!
Off I go 
Just look at the color! 
I am in awe 
Paddlers going by (sans PFDs though)
Darkness was setting in fast and my fire was roaring. I had cooked supper and was enjoying the evening. I was amazed at just how quiet it was that night. Normally Kawartha is a little bit noisy with animals and humans, but this was abnormally quiet. But I am not complaining as I quite enjoyed it.
Love making steak on the fire 
I had a great sleep and only had to get up once during the night. It wasn’t until close to sunrise that I was woken up by numerous gunshots. Yup. It was waterfowl season and the hunters were out in full force. I decided to get up and enjoy the morning sunrise, something I do not normally do as I like to sleep in, and it was just amazing that morning.
It was time for me to get myself back to my vehicle as I had an appointment later that afternoon. The paddle back to the put in was also just as a amazing as the paddle to my site. The sun was lighting up the fall colors and I was greeted with very calm conditions on a normally windy lake. I decided to use my canoe paddle, instead of my kayak paddle, on the journey home to really work on my solo paddling skills as I had the perfect conditions to do so.
Even though I had only been out for one night, it really did refuel my body and mind. I think that next summer I will have to plan a much longer solo trip…
Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment below as I love to hear what my readers are thinking.
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Gorgeous pictures and there is nothing like a steak over an open fire! Glad you enjoyed another safe trip. <3
Gorgeous sunrise and that steak looks like it was amazing. What a perfect way to recharge.
Thanks! I love having steak on the fire like that. Just so yummy.
These piles of rocks or inukshuks have many disadvantages and should be discouraged and kicked over. Here is why: Loss of habitat for species that use these rocks such as salamanders and five lined skinks. They are environmental graffiti- when you go into the wild you don’t want to see that others have been to that area. They are an insult to the native community in the area-they are a Inuit structure and not a local native structure (Cree, Ojibway, or any other tribe). If you want to leave your mark in the area then pick up garbage and other things that shouldn’t be there.
I am aware of this for sure and have taken down such structures in the past. I was in a hurry to gather my wood for my fire before the sun went down for the night and didn’t have time to distribute the rocks to a more natural location.