Killarney Day 5

July 5, 2012 - High Lake - 11 km paddle - 5 portages

Yet another gorgeous morning. This journal is sounding like a broken record. Maybe it is a record number of days in a row that Kat and Mike can be in the woods without getting soaked. After a long pancake breakfast (with dried blueberries) this time, we paddled off down the lake. Near the portage we saw several humans, including their cubs forraging for berries on the rocks. The portage was short, as all proved to be this day, and brought us to a small pond from which another short portage soon followed. Crossing a nice little lake, we then entered a swampy area and followed a creek system for a while. Some fresh beaver activity along here made us portage what we were supposed to paddle, and paddle what we were supposed to walk, but with some cursing and a bit of bushwacking we arrived at a large swampy lake where two canoes had been left in the way of the put in. One of them even had a poster with paddling instructions pasted to the bow deck. With difficulty we launched, and then picked our way through the floating muck islands, lily pads, and other swampish things until we got to the other side. Two more boats had been cached here and we quickly made the carry to Bear Lake. Yet another motorboat was parked at the portage entrance. As it was all gassed up and ready to go we considered upgrading our transport, but then considering the 2 km portage we had to do tomorrow, decided that a kevlar canoe was probably the better option anyway. The wind was fairly calm so Bear Lake was easily travelled. Occasionally a motorboat would pass and wave, and there were many cottages among the islands. We stopped at a nice campsite for a hot lunch and a swim, then paddled the final few kilometers down to the end and our final portage of the day. Another short carry brought us to High Lake and a cluster fuck of three abandonned boats clogging up the entry. Two were completely in the water and un-usable. I really think this park should have a no caching policy. Especially for boats being abandonned in the way. A short paddle brought us to a very primitive campsite which looks like it has not been used in a long time. After setting up camp I took a snooze on the ground by the water and awoke to see two large moose swimming across the lake. I forgot to mention that we also spied a small bear while paddling right after our lunch (fittingly on Bear Lake). Today has been a good day for wildlife sitings.

Paddling the creeks.