Paddlesport

[MikeK]

Fat guy and a couple loons (Turtle Pond):



Mama and baby (Turtle Pond):



Long Pond Mtn (Long Pond):



Campsite on Long Pond:



Beaver pond north of Long Pond:



Messy little rodents:



Bessie Pond:

[MikeK]

Nellie Pond:



It's not always fun and games (Lake Lila):



But it's always worth it (Lake Lila):



Soggy day on Follensby Clear Pond:



A good tarp makes up for many of Mother Nature's sins (Follensby Clear Pond):



Backcountry beach (Lake Lila):



Days like this keep me coming back (Mt Fredrica over Lake Lila):



It's good to bring a friend (Lake Lila):

[connyro]

Thanks for sharing those pics Mike! That looks fun albeit mosquitoy. I like how there's nobody in sight: it looks like you've got that area to yourselves. Up here, we've got quite a bit of wilderness in the Ottawa National Forest including the Sylvania Wilderness (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvania_Wilderness) where you can REALLY get away from people and portage your boat to lakes that nobody has been camping on for years, providing you want to carry your boat that far (no wheels)...

[MikeK]

Yeah I'd LOVE to get up to the Superior area. That is lake country like no other.

I used to talk with some guys from Northern Ontario on webz and they did trips with chainsaws... yeah... talk about remote - they were literally blazing the trails!

You see people out in the Adirondack Backcountry, but they are doing the same thing you are, so they don't bother you... usually just a wave as you pass by their boat, once in a while you might meet someone on a portage trail. The farther back you get, the less frequently you see other people camping.

Someday we'll start doing trips in Canada and maybe venture over towards Boundary Waters. I'd love to go to Killarney PP but it's so damn popular you have to make reservations years in advance. Where we go there are no reservations - it's free, you just go when you feel like... sometimes it's a little busy, but I try to start on Sundays and avoid Friday and Saturday for longer trips. For weekend stuff I'll do it and expect there to be people to contend with, but early week it's usually real quiet.

Also the maps don't do justice. It looks so small on a map, then you get out there and realize how small you are - even the small towns in the park seem to fade away into nothingness. It's not Alaska/Norther Canada remote, but it's a nice balance. No big commitment you are going to get lost, die and be eaten by a Grizzly bear, but also rugged and remote enough to feel like you are away from it all.

[MikeK]

That avatar picture still makes me laugh see-rho...

Mosquitoes usually aren't that bad - never once bothered me out on the water. And I just smoke them out when I'm at camp.

I bet this year is gonna be rough - very, very wet June = many, many mosquitoes in July. Even at home they are bad already.

I've noticed this though - they won't bite you when you are riding your bike, deer flies: yes, horse flies: yes, mosquitoes: nope. As soon as you stop they will eat you alive, but as long as you keep moving you are good.

Deer flies and horse flies don't actually bite that much - they are just kind of annoying dive bombers - the deer flies like to get tangled in my hair and freak out... I just ignore that shit. I dunno, it beats being at work.

[connyro]

Yeah, I hope 1eyeJ won't get pissed I'm using that classic photo. That was the best laugh, bar none, that I've had on the Internet.

I read that deerflies can do up to 16 MPH! Those things can drive a man crazy. And they are near-impossible to outrun on a bike, unless you helibike;)

[MikeK]

Floodplain (Oswegatchie River):



Storm carnage (Oswegatchie River):





This is all you see on a wild river at dusk (Oswegatchie River):



Old growth White Pines - more impressive in person (Oswegatchie River):



Wild rivers are fun places:

[MikeK]

Too bony for me - doing some trip recon on foot (Constable Creek):







Castle spires in the distance (Bog River):



Overlooking the Bog River (Lows Ridge):





Faint Super Moon (Hitchens Pond):

[MikeK]

Beach as dusk (Lows Lake):



Super Moon over Lows:



Autumn morning in Black Duck Hole (Dead Creek Flow):



Eagle Landing (Dead Creek Flow):



Glasby Pond:

[MikeK]

Autumn landing (Cranberry Lake):



Autumn morning (Cranberry Lake):



Napping (Cranberry Lake):



Exploring (Cranberry Lake):