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Ottawa River - Aug 2021

. 10 days

We set off for the trip we had planned the previous year, which had been cut short by my broken wrist.

We kicked it off by moochdocking in a friend's driveway on Lake Joseph in Muskoka. Then we stayed at Bonnechere Provincial Park for three days, followed by a couple days at Driftwood Provincial Park, boondocking close by for the night.

Continuing to circumnavigate Algonquin Park, we stayed at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.

To save a bit of time, we tried transporting the kayaks in the van from our campsite to the launch point.

Following directions (we thought) to a good launching spot, we stopped cautiously at the top of a steep hill to the launch area. We walked down and spoke to a park employee and asked if it was OK to come down and drop off the kayaks with our van; we also inquired about the steepness. He said it was no problem, but after we took out the kayaks and attempted to get back up the hill, the rarely used road, covered in moss and wet from rain, did not give us enough traction, and Winnie's wheels spun uselessly. We were good and stuck. It doesn't look like much of an incline in the photo, but it was fairly steep. After a nail-biting back up down the hill, with the van just inches from wooden posts, I took a run at the down ramp and just barely made it out. Apparently, the gate was normally locked, and we just happened on the place when the park ranger was there. After a (great!) paddle, we returned to our campsite to find the mats and axes we had left there were gone. Not all stays are perfect, I guess.

We continued our journey and looped back home enjoying some nice day spots near North Bay.