[Home]
[Main]
[Next]
Rob drove over around 06:00 to finish packing and then we hit the road. Drove to PJ's which was closed so we continued
to Cobden and found a decent breakfast there. We realized that we had forgotten the pump part of the stove. I had
agreed to bring fuel, Rob had agreed to bring the stove. Each of us thought the other would be bringing the pump to
connect the two. We stopped in Deep River at a hunting store where the friendly man behind the counter said that
he unfortunately could not help us. We drove on to the park and got our permit. After a 40 km drive down a gravel
road we reached Brent where we parked at the outfitters to pick up the canoe. Fortunately they also had stoves for
rental. We dug through a box of beaten up stoves until we found a naptha burning one. It tested out Ok, so we rented
it at a cost of $5 a day. We launched onto Cedar Lake in brilliant sunshine and calm winds, which was nice because we
could safely paddle across. After about an hour, we reached the mouth of the Petawawa and our first portage. Rob
tried to rig up a tumpline he had made out of an old belt and some rope, but after a few attempts of trying to get this
working we gave up and just ran the portage the normal way with the canoe on our shoulders. At the end of the portage
we ate a lunch of bagels, hommous, and cheese. Then loaded back into the canoe to ride the swift current down to the
second portage. Rob carried the canoe again but we switched a couple hundred meters from the end. Another kilometer
paddle down the river brought us to an old railway bridge and the final portage at the bottom. We both hauled the
canoe up the steep hill to get up onto the railbed and then explored the old bridge a bit. It was my turn to carry the
canoe down the railbed and we encountered three people pushing a canoe full of gear on a home built trailler. They
even had a small motor. A little further brought the end of the portage and our final launch for the day. The river
was now much wider and a breeze at our backs along with the current made progress swift. We arrived on Radiant lake and
took the first campsite along the western shore. Ate a tasty supper of spaghetti and then played cards as the sun
was setting.
[Home]
[Main]
[Next]