I had intended to camp this weekend, but on Saturday morning, kayak on my car, camping gear packed and fully ready to go, I woke up feeling horrible.  I had a sinus infection by the familiar feeling of it and felt nauseous and headachy.  Going on a solo camping trip feeling like this, for me, wasn’t a smart move and I knew I had to stay home.

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I spent the whole day resting and making myself better and when I woke up on Sunday, I felt good enough to spend the day paddling. It was a gorgeous Sunday in November, and I would deeply regret missing the time on the water in a few weeks when the snow was here.  The only problem was, I had no idea where to go?

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I got up around 6:30 (the clocks had just gone back and it would’ve been 7:30 otherwise).  I turned on my computer and started searching places to go.

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Suddenly, I had a flashback. My very first trip to Algonquin had been a memorable one. I have yet to write a post on it but it will definitely be written one day soon!

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I did a loop in 2001 including Lake of Two Rivers to Pog and Whitefish, but in reverse.  It was a very long time ago, 15 years actually, but I still remember so many of the wonderful areas I explored that trip.

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So that is where I settled on going.  I grabbed my backpack and jumped in the car and off I went.

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It took me about an hour and forty minutes to get to East Beach, one of my favorite places in Algonquin Park.  I had come here so many times over the last few years to swim and enjoy the area.

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We would sit on the beach and watch the paddlers pass by us and enter the small waterway beyond sight.

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I desperately wanted to paddle myself beyond that corner once again and see what I would remember.

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And today, I finally got to do that.

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The sky was so blue and the water was so calm.

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And I was in absolute heaven here.

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I have no idea why I had not thought of coming here sooner?

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I saw no one the entire day, except for 2 people when I arrived at the damn.  I took Tangii over the short portage and stopped to take a few photos and get a quick video.

Then I got back into my kayak and continued on my journey.

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Every corner I went around, every new area I arrived in, was more stunning than the last.

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And even though the sun, came and went, it didn’t matter in the least, sometimes it made it even prettier.

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About an hour into my journey, mind you, I was barely paddling as I couldn’t stop taking photos, I came across a beautiful heron.

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We played hide and seek for most of my paddle to Whitefish Lake and he was a source of great amusement. He even let me get a heron selfie with him. LOL… or her?  Not sure how you tell that?

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I would paddle a ways, and then see it.  I would get close enough to take a photo, try and get closer, and it would take off and land a bit futher up the waterway. It would sit and wait for me to come along and find it again.

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I loved this pose he did for me, but sadly, I had been paddling a bit fast before I came upon him and had a hard time getting a good shot before he took off on me again.

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I came up to the entry into Whitefish Lake and the area where I was in, looked like somewhere I would see a moose.  I investigated the land and found a huge pile of poop and some tracks.

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Sadly, Mr. Moose was not waiting for me, but just a bit further along, at the beaver dam, the heron was.

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I believe it was snacking on some fish?  I did my best to get some good photos but sometimes a zoom lens would really help me out.  I got quite close this time and then

Off he flew again!

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I did not see him again after that but I continued looking for him while I explored Whitefish Lake for the second time in my life.

I paddled out to the middle of the area of the lake I was in and took the video above.  There is nothing like paddling in November.  If it was a few months earlier, this lake would be full of campers, paddlers, explorers and it wouldn’t look anywhere near the same.

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But because I was here at this time of year, I literally had the place all to myself and I was ecstatic about this fact and was loving every second of the tranquility it gave me.

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I docked my kayak at the end of Whitefish Lake to get out and stretch my legs, have a snack and do a bit of fishing.

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I came across some tracks that I thought were moose and also various birds and other small creatures, but couldn’t get many good photographs of them.

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My fishing attempt came up without a nibble, although to be fair, I only cast a few times, then got stuck on a log on the bottom of the lake.  Ready to head back the way I came, I jumped back in my kayak to get the fishing lure unstuck by paddling over the log, and then started my way back down to LOTR again.

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On my way through earlier, I had heard rushing water but didn’t really investigate where it was coming from.  This was due to me seeing a beaver nearby and trying to follow it and get some video of it, which didn’t really work out, but in my pursuit, I missed these cute little waterfalls.

After I took a bunch of photos including a cool shadow pic… hahaha, well, I thought it was cool?

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I continued slowly back to where I’d come from, not enjoying the views any less and actually seeing different things as the sun was highlighting different areas than it did when I came through earlier.

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If it was possible, the water seemed even calmer on my return.

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I stopped at a few campsites at Pog Campground to check them out and noted their site numbers for future reference.  Always good to have a few perfectly fabulous sites to be able to book for a relaxing car camping trip, although I can imagine how different this area would be in the peak of summer.

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Eventually, I returned back to East Beach, sad that my time here had ended once again.

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I docked my boat and unpacked my gear and put my kayak back on my car to take it home. But, as I still had a few hours of daylight left, I decided to take on another adventure before leaving the park.

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Hope you come back next week to check it out and enjoy some more time in nature with me.

Thanks so much for coming along on this adventure with me. I hope you received a bit of the tranquility I attempted to share with you on my peaceful paddle here.  If you have any comments, questions or just want to say hi, please leave a comment.

Happy Paddling!

Camper Christina