Killarney Backcountry Paddling

Join Rob and friends as they embark on an eight day trip in Killarney backcountry paddling! This is in Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park. This is Episode 1 of a video diary day paddle trip!

The trip started at the Bell lake put in. Typical of an Ontario summer, and especially more so during COVID, lots of people are looking to get out and about. The put in for the lake is super busy, with cars lined down the parking lot.

Luckily, the first campsite is 150m out and so despite the crowds it’s an easy enough paddle into the site. The is a very rocky tent set ups with guying out and staking to be creative. This tends to be reflective of the shorelines of Ontario for the most part. You have rocky shores of the boreal shield that years of growth of flora has decomposed over the ground to create an uneven ground of dirty over rock.

The one about this particular site is that there is a terribly placed thunder box; everyone can see it from campsite. Hope you’re close with your friends! Regardless, it’s a super beautiful site on the lake.

Over the next couple of days, Rob makes the portages through Balsam lake and David lake, with more in the coming episodes! Encountering also very typical weather patterns of Ontario and micro-climates. Loving the weather, with threats of rain and then no rain. That has been largely the feeling of weather these days in Ontario, when it has been forecasted to be raining all week and then it doesn’t. However, have no fear, you can still make fire when it’s wet!

With the threat of rain, it’s usually accompanied by some wind. While out paddling, it’s so helpful to have the wind at your back and running the wind in a canoe. Makes for easy paddling!

Finally when the rain comes, Rob realizes there’s a leaking fly. At least the floor is fine with the help of a foot print, and the hydrostatic pressure of the tent floor has held up over the years. Admittedly the tent is 8 years old, so it’s holding up considering the usage!

All this and more in the video diary, below! Enjoy!