Blog in Polish/po polsku: http://ontario-nature-polish.blogspot.ca/2013/12/park-killarney-ontario-jezioro-carlyle.html
More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jack_1962/sets/72157638619568915/
Canoeing on Carlyle Lake |
In August, 2009,
Catherine and I spent almost a week camping on Johnnie
Lake in Killarney Provincial
Park , on a very lovely
campsite. During our stay we did several
days trips and one day we paddled to the adjoining lake, Carlyle Lake . Some of the campsites we saw were so nice
that we decided to visit that lake again.
And four years later Deja vu!
During our last visit
we had seen two campsites that we liked: the first one, between Terry Lake
and Carlyle Lake , just near a small rapid, was our
first choice. The second campsite, just
across from th first campsite, appeared to be very nice as well (yet we hoped
to get the other campsite). Since we were
departing on a Tuesday, we did not expect anybody else to occupy that site at
that time.
Our tent at Carlyle Lake campsite |
Of course, getting a
campsite in Killarney
Park , especially over a
long weekend (after all, we were going to stay during the Canada Day long
weekend) is not an simple thing: you cannot just show up and get a permit! In fact, we had made the reservation some
time in March, meaning that we could stay on any vacant campsite on Carlyle Lake .
Since each campsite can legally accommodate up to 6 people, we also
invited several friends who were going to join us later.
As always, the drive
to the park, although long (over 400 km), was quite pleasant. We stopped in Parry Sound, where we did some
additional shopping (there is always something you need!) and arrived at the
park before 3:00 pm. First, we had to go
to the main office (Lake George ), get our
parking & camping permits and then drive back to the Carlyle Lake Access
Point, just off road 637. Near the park
office we saw a group of several young people who had just arrived, but we did
not really think much about them. Then,
while we were slowly unloading our van at the lake parking ramp, a truck
arrived, dropping off three canoes... and soon the group we had seen at the
park office showed up! They did not have
much stuff (unlike us, but it is a different story!) and in less than 30
minutes they were on the water. It took
us probably another 30 minutes or so to finally commence our trip. There was a nice campsite just across from
the parking lot (well, if somebody were determined to camp in Killarney without
a canoe, it would probably be possible to swim there), but of course, we kept
paddling towards a channel on the left leading to a bay with two campsites. There was another vacant site in the channel,
but not as nice as the other two. In
about 30 minutes we entered the channel... and soon saw that the campsite we
were aiming at had already been occupied... by the very group of people that we
had just seen! Honetly, what were the
chances of that happening? It was like
somethting from a Benny Hill Show. Well,
since we still wanted to stay on that lake, we took the other available
campsite. It seemed to be very lovely:
located on a hilly rock, faced the west (meaning wonderful sunsets!) and gave
us a breathtaking view of the lake. It
was a little difficult to unload the canoe, as there was not any natural bay,
but we managed. Dragging all our stuff
up the hill was not something I enjoyed, but once I reached the top, I agreed
that the site was awesome (and when we finally were able to examine the other
campsite, we realized that ours was much better).
Having a great time around the fire! |
As I was setting up
the tent, Catherine brought all the other bags and set up a kitchen area. Soon, we were sitting on the rocky top of the
hill, drinking cold beer and enjoying a sunset.
I suggested that we hang our food for the night, but Catherine being Catherine,
did not want to bother, hoping that no bear or other animal would be interested
in our food (and fortunately, this time she was right). Even though it was the end of June, we got
bitten by black flies that were still active; fortunately, after two days the
very warm weather killed them off. There
were mosquitoes, but well, it was something we had to accept! We also set up a cheap picnic shelter which
was supposed to protect us from bugs and rain, but when it was windy, it would
twist and turn so much that even being near it was probably much more risky
than being getting a few bug bites. I
also attached a big, Canadian flag to it to celebrate the Canada Day.
View from our campsite on Carlyle Lake and setting sun |
On June 27, 2013, we
paddled back to the parking lot, chained the canoe to a tree and drove to the lovely
town of Killarney
where we traditionally had Fish & Chips at the Herbert Fisheries and bought
cold beer at the nearby LCBO store. We
also drove to the Chikanishing parking lot where we did part of the
Chikanishing hiking trail: we had visited this place so many times in the past,
as it was our departure point for our trips to and around Philip Edward
Island , but she never had
the time to do it. We also sent text
messages to our friends, letting them know the campsite number we were staying
on (no cell coverage at our campsite!). It
was about 8:00 pm when we drove back to the parking lot, put our canoe on the
water (it was still where we had left it) and on the way to our campsite, we
explored the lake, paddling around the big island near the entrance to the
channel.
Canoeing on Carlyle & Johnnie Lakes-plenty of beaver lodges, some occupied by otters |
On Friday our British
friends, Ian and Sue, arrived, along with their dog called Miro, named after
the Spanish painter. In the evening we
enjoyed the famous Polish soup, zurek
(white borsch) that I made. The next day
Joe and Andrea came. Since the weather
was very nice, all of us paddled through a narrow part of the lake to Johnnie Lake and back. We saw a few beaver lodges — I remember that
in 2009 one of them was actually occupied by a family of otters, who got quite
agitated when we were paddling by and made various sounds, presumably trying to
scare us off. Another day, after Ian and
Sue had departed, Catherine, Andrea and Joe decided to paddle on Kakakise Lake ; since a portage of about 900
meters was required, I passed on this opportunity. Apparently the portage was quite rough, they
got bitten by mosquitoes and while paddling on Kakakise Lake
back to the campsite, they had some problems finding the portage! Of course, they did not bring a GPS unit with
them — and I never leave home (or a campsite) without it or a map!
Ian and Sue near the small Waterfall between Terry Lake and Carlyle Lake |
Andrea and Joe had departed
on July 1, Canada Day and again we were alone on our campsite. Every day we paddled on the lake, as well as
again left the canoe at the parking lot and drove to the town of Killarney . This small town has certain charm, especially
in the evening, when the sun is setting, all businesses close and streets
become empty. We walked to the town’s
only General Store, Pitfield’s, and then to the Killarney Mountain Lodge. While standing on the shores of the channel
(between the town of Killarney and George Island), far away I saw an outline of
the Foxes, a group of islands in Georgian Bay, just south of Philip Edward
Island. In 2011 we stayed on West Fox
Island and I was pretty
sure it was the island I was looking at.
In fact, some canoeists (especially kayakers) depart for the Foxes from
the town of Killarney , yet this route requires
paddling on totally unprotected waters of Georgian Bay... as well as is much
more boring than paddling from the Chikanishing
River access point. After sunset, we drove past the airport, to
the very picturesque lighthouse. On the
way back we also stopped at the local garbage dump, but it was locked and no
bears were in sight.
Town of Killarney, Herbert Fisheries |
When we arrived at
the Carlyle parking lot, it was dark. We
put on the headlights and soon were paddling on Carlyle Lake
in total darkness, eventually getting to our campsite after 10:00 pm.
On the last day of
our trip we decided to paddle to our ‘desired’ campsite and take a look at
it. Its ‘original’ occupants had already
left, but there were three other guys who let us take a peek. Catherine said that our campsite was much
better, as that campsite did not get sunsets and they did not really see the
rapids located nearby — on the other hand, we could see and hear the rapids, as
well as get a glimpse of Terry
Lake , a small lake near
the rapids.
On our way back to Toronto we took a shower at Killarney
Park , then stopped at the Hungry Bear
Restaurant and several hours later safely arrived in Toronto .
Blog in Polish/po polsku: http://ontario-nature-polish.blogspot.ca/2013/12/park-killarney-ontario-jezioro-carlyle.html
Very nice report. How has "żurek" tasted? Best Regards
ReplyDeleteŻurek always tastes great! It's a pity it is not more popular among Canadians.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the information, we are planning our first Killarney park camping in this June.
ReplyDeleteHi Moragoda,
ReplyDeleteWe just came back from Killarney, we stayed again on a campsite on Carlyle Lake, it was great!
Great post! Very informative as I'm planning a trip to Carlyle this summer. Would you be able to point out the camp site you stayed at? According to this map there are three sites: 55, 56, 62. Thanks! Greatly appreciated
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thekillarneymap.com/
Hi Julius,
DeletePlease contact me via email, jack.from.ontario@gmail.com
Regards,
Jack