The Magnetawan River Loop - South Branch: Part 1

• Posted on October 1, 2009 at 3:42 PM
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Catching Breakfast at Trout Lake

Recently, my wife Sara and I had the pleasure of going on a canoe trip down the Magnetawan River from Wah-Wash-Kesh Lake. I felt it would be fitting to share with you an account of our adventure as some of you may be interested in doing a similar trip sometime. We followed the general route outlined in Kevin Callans account of the “Magnetawan River Loop – South Branch”.

Our trip took place over 4 days and 3 nights, which we found to be an ideal amount of time to take in the natural beauty, take photos, fish etc., and not over-exert ourselves. The trip began at Deep Bay on Wah-Wash-Kesh and followed a rough circle to re-enter Wah-Wash-Kesh at the Hogsback.

DAY 1: Deep Bay to Trout Lake

This was by far the easiest day, from Deep Bay we took the first, and longest, portage (approx 2km) via the ATV. Aside from having to muscle through some of the well worn mud ruts, this portage went well. At Trout Lake we began the trip in earnest. Trout Lake was a great paddle. I had my fishing line in the water right away and got some good bites but soon gave up as the initial portion of the lake was shallow and weedy (late season, low water). We continued roughly west to a widening populated by islands. Here we found the campsite I had been looking for, it was on an island and looked to be well used and well maintained. There was plenty of firewood, a table and chair made of pine logs lashed together with binder-twine, an excellent fire pit, and a rock table on the east side of the island that was ideal for viewing our surroundings. We had our camp set up by about 12:30pm, enjoyed a nice lunch and set about fishing, taking pictures, swimming, and relaxing. It was a beautiful, clear, peaceful day and one of the highlights of the trip.

In the late afternoon, after getting used to the tranquility and having the lake all to ourselves, our reverie was broken by the jarringly familiar sound of, god forbid, people conversing. A group of four in two canoes hove into view and were chatting happily, completely unaware that Sara and I could hear every word. We know they were unaware because when they finally saw what campsite we had claimed, one of them said "Get off that Island!" amongst themselves. They were polite enough when they got close to our site but we could tell they were disappointed in not getting their favourite spot. One gentleman said they were from Harris Lake and had camped on this site every Labour Day weekend for the last 20 years. Oh well, early bird gets the worm right?

After dinner I decided to throw my line in one more time and was rewared with a perfect sized Pickerel (I used an orange and black Mepps lure), about a foot and a half long. After cleaning the fish and setting it aside for breakfast, Sara and I went to the viewing rock and were further rewarded with one of the most star-filled skies we'd seen in a while, being city folk and all.

To Be Continued....