A Ride on the River

Whenever we have first time guests, one of the things we love to do is take them for a ride around the whole lake, often starting with a trip up the Madawaska. Here the weather co-operated as we took our friends Eric and Pascale for a late afternoon cruise up the river and into White's Lake.

Jack Pine

This Jack Pine towers above the other trees right across the channel from our cottage. It's a beautiful tree that creates a very distinctive skyline. You can see lots of good size trees to the right of it, but when I was little that whole area was a meadow and my sister and I used to go down to the dock after dinner to watch the deer feed there. It is amazing how little time it actually takes for a landscape to change.

On the Way to the Trestle

These are some of the rocks on the way to the first trestle. Carolyn liked the light and the compostion of the standing and fallen logs. The Park is in deep summer now, with lots of dark green in all the trees everywhere - but in a short time we should start to see color appearing as the nights are certainly starting to feel cooler. Carolyn and I start vacation this Friday and so my next posting won't be until after Labor Day. Look for lots of new pictures then!

Barron Canyon Canoe Trip - First Night

On Thursday afternoon, Carolyn and I left on the first leg of the Rigby, Kingsley et al Barron River Canoe Trip. We left Montreal and met up with Barb and Rick in Pembroke, Ontario where we set up our “campsite” at the Best Western Hotel. After a little trail mix in Barb and Rick's room, we set out to catch some fish for our dinner. We hauled in a very good catch at the Saffron Bistro.

The Trippers

Friday morning we met up with Heather and friends Erin and Melissa, who had canoe tripped for real (and over 27km of storm damaged portages) from Opeongo Lake in order to meet us at the top of the Barron River. After leaving a car at the bottom of the river and unloading our lunchbags, we 7 intrepid paddlers set off on our journey.

On Water

We set off in two canoes, Heather and friends in one; Barb, Rick, Carolyn and I in the other. We dined on lobster sandwiches floating through the canyon while a dragonfly hitched a free ride on Barb’s hat.

And on Land

There were a few portages along the way – here I carry the first portage, Heather and Rick set off on the second – and Carolyn carries the paddles and the grub in between taking many of the photos of this trip.

The Canyon

Sheer cliffs towered on either side as we paddled through the highest part of the canyon. Both lichen and tiny little fish that date from prehistoric times have survived here and the trees have found ways to cling precariously to bare rock faces.

The Journey Continues

After completing the river part of our trip, Rick and Heather loaded up the canoes and we all drove off to see the river from a new angle. We walked the Barron Canyon trail that took us up to the highest point and allowed us to view the river from a different perspective. After everyone had signed the visitor’s book at the end of the trail, Barb,Rick and Carolyn and I continued on to Grand Lake where we gazed at the exact same landscape that Tom Thompson painted in “The Jack Pine”. Finally we headed for home, stopping for an authentic Polish dinner of cabbage rolls, perogi and sausages at the Wilno Tavern outside of Barry’s Bay. If you want to see a slideshow of all the pictures from our trip, click here.

Cache Lake Leaseholders

The leaseholders association met in front of what’s left of the Rec Hall to discuss the many things that concern us as a group. There was a good turnout of members, several with good suggestions for the future of this Rec Hall site.

Family and Friends

More than anything, the cottage is a wonderful place to spend quality time with family and friends. We shared this weekend with my parents and their Austrian friends Heiner and Lisa.

Cache Lake Regatta

And of course Civic Holiday weekend means it’s time for the the annual Cache Lake Regatta. There is swimming in the morning and canoeing in the afternoon and the Guide’s Race during lunch. It was a warm and sunny day with just enough breeze to make managing the start lines for the canoeing interesting! Lots of leaseholders turned up to race, judge and/or cheer their family and friends across the finish line.