Killarney Provincial Park - July 29th to August 3rd 1999
     by Cheryl Stoltz

We started calling Ontario Parks to book this trip April 1/99. Finally got off of hold April 4!

Thurs July 29: Had supper at "Marks", on west side of hwy 69, just south of Parry Sound. Great food at a good price, and they try to speed up service if you ask. Saw 3 deer and a coyote on the drive in to George Lake Campground (Killarney). Hot muggy weather, and even the normally cold George Lake was very warm.

Fri July 30: Up at 5:45 to meet shuttle at Bell Lake at 8 a.m. Rick Wise of YMCA Horizons showed up to drive the 7 of us (6 adults, and Iain (age 8) around to the put in at Willisville (just north of Manitoulin Island). He came with hot coffee and freshly baked cranberry chocolate chip loaf. Used the call box to check in at Charlton Lake Camp, and then paddle across to get our permits at the lodge. Headed off at 11:30 in HOT weather! The beauty of the quartz Blue Ridge Mountains amazed everyone.

Paddled down Frood Bay to Cranberry Bay with a tail wind, and then portaged into Grace L. With the humidity, this first portage of 1745m felt like a killer, but it was nothing compared to the second one we would do that day . Grace Lake was the most beautiful lake of the trip, with islands made of nothing but smooth, flat white quarts and pines, and surrounded by mountains. No wonder this was one of the lakes that the Group of Seven favoured with their paintings! Iain thought he was going to die on the second portage, but then so did the rest of us! With the length (2085m) and humidity, even Mountain Goat Paul McCormick rated it as a "grunt of 8, with The Pig (the hardest portage trail in Killarney) rated a 10".

Arrived at Nellie L. campsite at 7:30 pm., and camped at the very base of 250m rose and white quartz cliffs. Wayne Lintack tells us a bear has been ripping the logs up on the site recently. Nellie is the clearest lake in the park, and you can see down 28m of crystal clear water. It even gives some vertigo. We could not agree on the colour - Malauki, royal, indigo, aqua, or Toilet Duck blue!

Storm hit at 4 a.m. Sat, and it was still raining as we hit the first portage of the day. Only 1470m long, it is rated as the 2nd hardest portage in the park. Iain had his second wind, and skipped through the muddy, slippery, dark trail, oohing and awing over the waterfalls. (he drove the rest of us crazy the rest of the trip with his constant good cheer, even though he had 2 - 20lb packs to carry, which is 30% of his body weight). We all agreed that going east to west on this trip was the way to go, as we were headed in the right direction on every portage (ie more downhill than up!).

Made it through weedy Murray L. and the little 250m into Howry all right. Found the Cramer's cabin that Celine had recommended. This cabin has been around since 1928, and open for use when the owners are not there to travellers who use it respectfully. No thunderbox, and just an empty room with a fireplace, but a great view and place to dry out, and good jumping rocks.

Sun. Aug. 1: Headed to Howry Creek, Fish and Gem Lakes. In low water it would be hell. With the rain we only had to get out and go over 2 huge (4-5' high) beaver dams. Easy 470m to Great Mountain Lake,, but the mud is very aromatic. In low water, you would be walking past the put-in and into a swamp with waist deep mud! We all agreed that this lake was clearly aquamarine, and the 100m white cliffs are fantastic. The next portage up into Gail Lake is not only 170m across, it is 170m up too! But this small mountain lake is worth it. 2 hrs after we arrive we have a surprise visit from guys who also say they are booked onto this 1 site lake. We offer to let them share, but they used a closed site on the island.

Mon Aug. 2: We go "over the cliff" back down to Great Mnt. L. and head to the dreaded 3km portage. Loons dance off of our bows against the beautiful white cliffs. The portage to David L. did not turn out to be as bad as we thought. Everyone coming against us thought it was awful, but maybe we were going in the right direction or in better shape. Also, water was high enough that we could paddle the middle section through a swamp, with 2 lift-overs. If you try this, look for the put in just 25m BEFORE the first lift over marked on the map, and about 200m PAST the trail that looks like it should lead to a put in, but only leads to a pond.

In high winds we travel around the fully booked David L. looking for a site. Finally have to head back to the first site past the portage in. This did help us to eliminate (for the future) several awful sites on the lake. We settled in and watched it rain on the OTHER side of the lake. Rains heavily all night, splashing lots of GREEBLIES (those little bits of pine needles and muck that you pick up) everywhere.

Tues. Aug. 3: Knowing that it doesn't matter which way you choose to paddle Bell L., you will end up with a head wind, we head out of David to the 475m into Balsam. A baby loon and mom circle our boats. Iain, Carol, Kim and Wayne are all amazed by the little 30m railway portage from Balsam into Bell, making for the shortest and easiest portage. Despite head winds and white caps, with no place to stop for a break on Bell, the group still manages to be cheerful and friendly to folks heading in the other direction. We meet 2 set of paddlers 15 min apart heading to another 1 site lake. The Bell Lake ranger tells us that it is a fault in the new booking system! Leaving the cars at Bell was a great idea, as having to do a shuttle at this point would add another whole day to the trip for a very tired group. We wrapped up a very successful trip by stopping for a well deserved dinner at the Hungry Bear, just north of the French River.

If you choose to do this trip, we recommend doing thorough research and work out route options based on different water levels, and then commit to a route just before you leave. This trip is a total distance of 53 km with 12km of portages. If you double walk each portage as we did, then you will walk 36 km. Head west to east for easier portaging, and add in an extra day to give yourself a break. You must have the Bell Lake office call Charleton Lake Camp in order to check in and close your permit.