Lavérendrye Park Weekend Canoe Trip
Reservoir Cabonga Loop

August 18,19 2012

There were just Barbara and Bill on this one. It was a chance to go tripping with our new kevlar canoe. This trip was suggested by Annie Chamberland. Below is the annotated GPS tracklog.

We slept at the cottage on Friday night, as it is half way there. On Saturday morning, we had trouble getting off of our own road as we spotted a mixed flock of migrating warblers - Black-throated Blue, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula and Ovenbird. We also heard a Pileated Woodpecker very close by.

We went via the reserve, and Barbara spotted an Eastern Bluebird on the Farley Road. We also saw an Eastern Phoebe and a White-breasted Nuthatch, Turkey Vultures, Mourning Doves and a Blue Jay.

After Grand Remous, we saw a Great Blue Heron, Common Grackle and a couple of Northern Flickers.

We finally arrived at Le Domaine, picked up our permit and drove the 5 km to Cabonga 5 where we would begin our trip. We unloaded the canoe and packed it up with all our gear. Then we sat and had our lunch. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird zoomed in to check out Barbara's red jacket.

We moved the van over to the parking lot and Barbara spotted a hawk in the sky. It went to a perch and Bill ran for his binoculars. Just as he was focussing, it took off again. It looked like an accipiter, but something was not quite right. Cooper's Hawk? No. We were puzzled. It seemed too large for a Broad-winged Hawk. It was hours later that the realization set in that it was a Northern Goshawk.

Soon after we were underway, we saw our first loon, a mother with two small young. It would be the first of 49 adult loons that we saw along with 6 small young. At one point we saw 13 all together.

We saw a number of Belted Kingfishers and two Bald Eagles, an adult and a young bird together. At the campsite that Annie had put an X on her map, a couple were sitting enjoying the view. They had no gear in the canoe, but could have been set up farther back out of sight. The sign did indicate that it was an active site. These were the only people we saw on the trip except for a couple of distant fishers.

We saw a group of a dozen or more Common Mergansers running along the surface making lots of splashes.

We came to the 5 m lift over, and found it more like 25 m. The water would have to be a couple of metres higher to be able to paddle through; not a chance on this dry year! A couple of Semi-palmated Sandpipers zoomed in and left just as quickly.

We paddled along side some rather high cliffs and soon came to Annie's recommended campsite. It was cute and had a great view, but was really tiny, even for two persons. There was a slightly larger flat area up the hill. but we did not think it was worth the bother.

We cooked up our fajitas and enjoyed the sunset. We had a fairly good night's sleep. Barbara was up early and declared that rain was coming - the weatherman had goofed yet again.

We cooked our breakfast and packed up just before the rain started. A Common Raven croaked goodbye to us. It rained all day with occasional short breaks. On the way out, we saw a Double-crested Cormorant, many more loons and a rock with a Herring Gull and a Ring-billed Gull sharing space.

At the portage, we checked out the impassable creek, and saw three American Black Ducks explode into the air. Both ends of the portage had very muddy landings. We had no option but to get dirty.

On the final leg, we noticed some attractive campsites that one could access without a portage - good for a young family. We loaded up without incident and drove to Maniwaki, where we treated ourselves to a milkshake. Then we went on to the cottage to drop off some gear. We only stayed a few minutes, and headed home around Blue Sea Lake, where we spotted a flock of Wild Turkeys in the pouring rain. It continued to rain all the way to Wakefield, and seemed dry after that.

Our new canoe now had some scratches - tripping badges of honour.