Killarney OSA Lake Solo Camping and Canoeing

Description

http://myselfreliance.com/osa-lake-killarney-provincial-park/

Canoeing, camping and primitive cooking on OSA Lake in Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario Canada.

On June 9, 2016, I did a short, one-night solo canoe trip to OSA Lake in Killarney Provincial Park, despite the possibility that black flies and mosquitoes may be at their peak. OSA Lake is very popular due to it’s beauty and easy access, so it’s almost impossible to reserve one it’s 5 campsites during peak camping season starting at the end of the month. This time, however, I had the entire lake to myself and did not see another person on OSA or Killarney Lakes during the two days I was out there.

The entry point for the trip to OSA is George Lake campground, which was relatively quiet when I launched my canoe. I saw a couple of other boats on George, but once I portaged into Freeland Lake, I didn’t see anyone until I returned the following day. This was a short, last minute trip on a Thursday, so I didn’t launch my canoe until 2:00 pm. The weather was perfect, about 18 degrees Celsius, but because it was afternoon, the wind was becoming quite strong out of the northwest.

Tags: canoeing,killarney,camping,bushcraft,self reliance,my self reliance

Video Transcription

was a beautiful beautiful day on the water it was a little windy especially coming across this lake when coming out of the west which on George Lake it was coming of the North the sort of northeast so it was bad when paddling into the wind a lot of the day today this lake when I got on to it was bad enough that some people might have stayed onshore even but starting to calm down now beautiful beautiful lake blue water fantastic background only thing only thing wrong with this whole park but especially these these beautiful lakes is that there's no fishing anyway I'm going to go check out this campsite and collect some firewood and hopefully enough free stays up to keep the bugs down they've got it got to be hatched already so I'm expected i'm gonna see bugs but a modern island so i'm not sure how easy it is beatified firewood so I better check that first case after paddle to shore probably the nicest campsite I've ever stayed on just getting here though so I've got to check it out make sure it is good everywhere might be it is an island so might be there might be a shortage of firewood a little somebody did cut some leave a little bit here nice point so the sunrise is going to be beautiful it's in that direction a spot for the canoe nice and protected I'm hoping I can go out there and capture the sunset although getting late I think it's dinner going go get camp set up really quickly get my tent set up and then get a fire going that I could create some smoke with somebody should spend some time on this site and build a chimney and back on wednes usually blonde that one nice back to reflect the heat draw the smoke up but you know regardless what size it is when you have too many rocks spread out like that is tripping on them as you try to get close to the fire to cook your food steak don't need some water boil well actually got shish kebab and pass the salad for carbohydrates at stake for the morning for breakfast I see what is collecting some twigs and pine needles and stuff off the ground there's always tons on these campsites it's a all winter especially falling off the trees and then people bring in firewood from what they collect this is an island so do go back far it's where I went to get some firewood oh pretty soon you have to go to the mainland and bring it on so I notice there's some little remnants of birch bark here too i don't see birch trees on the island so they're probably somebody probably brought it from the shore from the mainland anyway just going to get a fire lit with all this debris when it's wet even under like you under a log or something there's always something dry up I mean I found dry tinder and after five days steady heavy rain I never have an issue starting a fire in Ontario so I don't bother doing fire bow drill or other no Bush crafty ways to start your fires just it's fun little hobby but it's not really necessary this day and age fact if you don't have a lighter and a Carol rod you're not a very good outdoorsman cook that steak was for breakfast but I'll think I'll cook it tonight and then we'll just put it aside just reheat it in the morning never i'm using a stick for a skewer like to grab one out of the water and so many beavers around here there's lots of these fresh cuttings around the larges and less dams and stuff and the shoreline where they drift it up they doing me skewered and hang it over the shish kebab let's just give up hang over the fire and now this wind directions changing course okay definitely keep the flight bugs down if they come out lots of food going on here and I'm what I'm dehydrated got water there I've got water there about water there nalgene later full of water in the nalgene bottle of God half a liter in the soy or squeeze bottle got three hundred and fifty milliliters of hot chocolate here another two liters of water boiling in there and I've got steak pasta salad for shish kebab so I guess for tonight I'm going to cook the steak for breakfast now for breakfast so they don't so I can have a quikr breakfast in the morn and get it to stick picture maybe hike that Ridge up there

I'd love to be up there now to probably too dangerous on my own to what they're just before dark and then try to find my way down in the dark I don't know doesn't look like the easiest one but i would like to do that to get the sunset from up on the ridge can't see it very well but there's a beaver right there came right up on shore even though i'm standing here eating little sapling never seen a beber do that who's Barry Wolfe that's easily good good have a good meal