Join Rob and friends as they embark on an eight day trip in Killarney backcountry paddling! This Episode 2 showcases Killarney Silver Peak in Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park.
In the first episode, 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. We left it off the episode at the increasingly dire situation of rain pooling under the tent and draining through, where it was possible to make ripples on the tent floor.
We begin this second episode on Day 4, which is looking to be a nice day, clouds passed, and good day to dry out gear. Hanging everything up, it resembles the enchanted forest of wet items, clothes, foot print of tent, all billowing in the wind.
Exploring the lake and the park, and quintessentially Canadian shorelines, you’ll encounter loon calls, muskegs old dock, beaver dams or even some old foundation of what used to be the lumber industry.
Portaging 600m with food barrels 3 times because of gear. Keep number of back and forth in planning trips. The goal is always one trip, but that is hardly the case. Especially with kids. Rob here gives a brief gear run down, but check out our video here for more in depth gear packing!
Finally, on day 6 we reach Killarney Silver Peak. This is the highest point in Killarney Provincial Park, which is a 5 km hike up and down. At the peak, you can see all the way to Sudbury in the East, and in the West the body of water of Georgian Bay.
Silver peak is part of the La Cloche range, mountain/hill range. La Cloche is made of quartzite, which gives it the iconic white look. If you ever wondered why the rocks have been so bright, it’s because of the high quantities of quartzite. According to Wikipedia, Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. And over Canada, and specifically in Ontario and the Killarney region, there was 2km thick of ice, creating this pressure, during the ice age.
Along the way, you’ll find wild black, blue and rasp-berries! Be sure you’re confident with your plant identification, before picking!
All this and more, with the episode, below!
If you enjoyed Killarney Backcountry Paddling, check out these videos!
Backcountry Camping at McCrae Lake