Algonquin 2016 Solo Canoe Trip Day 4: Catfish to Burntroot

Description

Catfish Lake to Burntroot Lake - HIgh winds, beautiful campsites, great fishing, primitive cooking. http://myselfreliance.com/algonquin-park-solo-canoe-trip-spring-2016-magnetawan-lake-radiant-lake-3/

I woke up cold – again! It was 3 below zero Celsius, and the wind was still a problem. I spent some time photographing a nice sunrise before lighting a fire to make breakfast. I fried bannock on the open fire and ate it with peanut butter while considering my options for today. Overnight, I had decided to push on with my intended route, adding an 8th day on the end to make up for the lost time. Now that the wind had not subsided, I wasn’t sure if that was going to be possible, but I postponed the decision until I got out on the water, paddling north to the tip of the next island to see what the conditions were like. If the wind was more from the west and not north like yesterday, I may be able to safely navigate Catfish Lake, Cedar Lake and Radiant Lake. Reaching the northwest tip of the next island with the campsite on it, I was not surprised to see whitecaps breaking on the shallow point. It was no better than yesterday and in fact may have been worse, and it was still coming out of the north. That’s it, plans changed. I consulted my map one more time and made a decision – go back up the Petawawa River to Burntroot and then cut over to Lake La Muir, back on schedule (La Muir was my reserved lake for the 4th night).

Tags: algonquin park,camping,canoeing,canoe trip,fishing,my self reliance,self reliance,bushcraft,survival

Video Transcription