12.12.2015 – This Summer’s Algonquin Park Trip

I am definitely a little late getting these photos up on this blog. But, as the proverbial ‘they’ say, better late than never, right? This past August my daughter, her best friend, and her best friend’s dad, and I took our annual ‘pilgrimage’ to Algonquin Park in Ontario Canada. It’s always a highlight of the summer and I don’t think the season would feel right without getting up there at least once! For the first time we went to the very northern most part of the part and put-in on Kiosk Lake. We stayed our first night there on a really nice island site. The weather was spectacular the first day. The second day we paddled south over several portages and lakes and stayed two nights on Club Lake at the site of the abandoned Ritchie Brother’s Lumber Mill. The remnants of the camp and the equipment were to be found all over the campsite. It was very cool to explore. The weather wasn’t great the rest of the trip, so I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked, but there are a handful! Here is what we saw while we were there…

Algonquin Park Fall Trip – 2014

So, it’s been quite a while since I last posted here. Over two years to be exact. And while I really don’t have a good excuse for my absence, I do, however, have a good excuse for my return. I just returned from my latest trip to my favorite place on this tiny little pale blue dot we live on: Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. This trip represents my 7th time camping and canoeing in the back-country. I simply cannot get enough of this place. So, without further ado, let’s get into the trip.

We found out earlier in the week that for the first few days of the trip, we were going to have some just spectacular weather! And that’s exactly what we got. September 27th, in northern Ontario Canada and it felt like summer. Not only that, we were arriving at the peak time for the fall colors! And they were awesome!

Here are a few shots from our access point on Rock Lake:

As we paddled down Rock Lake we passed some ruins that we came to find out were left from an old range cabin…

Right around the corner from the ruins on Rock Lake is an impressive rock face. At the base are some pictographs remaining from the Alqonquin Indians rituals…

You can see three lines near the center and a turtle shape near the bottom left of the frame. Close up of the turtle shape in the 2nd image:

The cliffs weren’t finished with their surprises yet, though. Just around another corner and we came across a cool cave. Apparently it was overflowing with mosquitoes, so we didn’t venture in too far…

Here is a sample of the amazing colors on Rock Lake near the portages to Pen Lake and Lake Lousia:

I was so happy to see clear skies on the first day. I knew I would be able to get some photos of my favorite subject that night. Our Milky Way:

The next morning was one of the highlights of the trip for me. I woke up, as usual, with the sun. Upon stepping out of the tent and looking out onto the lake I said out-loud “Oh wow!”. There was the most amazing fog over the lake. So I took quite a few shots…

At the end of the short portage from Pen Lake over to Welcome Lake, we got another beautiful dose of the fall colors…

This stream, another portage, Welcome Lake, and another stream later, we arrive at our home for the night on Harry Lake:

The sunset over Harry Lake:

And another beautiful night for shooting the stars!

The next day, after a good bit of travel, we arrived at our home on Lake Louisa. Here are a few of the snapshots from our campsite:

The last two days were very cloudy and gray. I didn’t get the camera out much at all. However, I was able to catch a quick shot of our biggest nemesis from the trip! These little suckers robbed us of our trailmix and some other food a few times during the trip. But like our beagle at home, they are lucky they are cute!

This trip definitely ranks high on my favorites list. We covered some serious distance (for a couple of old men): 35 miles of paddling and portaging. The weather was fantastic overall. And I got to enjoy the peacefulness and solitude that is Algonquin park.

08.26.2011 – Canoeing Adventures in Canada

Last week I got to travel to one of my favorite places in the world: Algonquin Provincial Park in Northern Ontario, Canada. The place is simply amazing. This was my third trip up north and, once again, it was nothing short of spectacular. Except for a couple of thunderstorms overnight on Wednesday, the weather was absolutely beautiful: Sunny and mid 70s during the day, and cool and mid 50s in the evening. Perfect for canoeing and camping in the wilderness!

We were lucky to get to experience some fantastic sunrises…

And some incredible sunsets…

The moon was so bright most nights, that we barely needed flashlights to get around our campsites after dark…

Not to mention the stunning beauty that is Algonquin park during the day…

There was not a tremendous amount of wildlife to be found this year. Frogs, toads, and a huge variety of birds were the majority of what we found. But we did find this little guy, and we instantly liked him since he is sporting his Steeler’s Black ‘N Gold! :)…

We in this area of the world are very used to seeing white-tailed deer. However, in Algonquin they are very rare. We spotted these guys from about a mile away on the lake while we were canoeing. The babies were have an awesome time splashing around in the water and running all over. We snuck up as slowly and quietly as we could to avoid spooking them, and I was able to get a few shots off before they bounded off into the woods…

As always, the trip to Algonquin was amazing. It’s very therapeutic to get away from the craziness of every day life for a while and just soak in some of Mother Natures handiwork. Next year we are planning a trip with our daughters. It will be their first time there, and I’m super stoked to share this place with them

Oh yeah, and here’s me…soaking up some good Canadian sunshine! 🙂

*** as always, any images you see in this blog are available for purchase. email us at jamison.photo@gmail.com for pricing and information