Tim River – Looking for mooses!!

I have been trying to get to the Tim River for a few months now, but time and other plans just wouldn’t allow it.  Well, to be completely honest, I attempted to go to the Tim the Sunday before, but after driving an hour to get there, I realized I had left my money at home, so I had to drive back home as I wouldn’t have had enough gas to return all the way back.

At that point I gave up which turned out to be a big mistake because it was an incredibly gorgeous warm sunny fall day…. unlike today.

The day started out pretty nice. It was really cold, below zero, but the sun was shining on and off, and it was forecast to be out till about 2pm.

I had made pretty good time arriving to the road that would take me to the Tim River Access Point.  Along the way I had to stop and take a few photos and videos of a small waterfall I caught a glimpse of driving past.

I hoped the rest of the day would be as pretty.

Sign after sign led me to the Tim, until I got to the last one below.

The sign sat in between two roads, one going right, one going left.  There wasn’t really a straight ahead as per the arrow and I was confused.  At first I went left but after a very short drive, I backed up to the sign and went right. Right was right! LOL

Not even a minute later, I was at the access and happy as a clam.

The access was nice. There was an outhouse and a parking lot over the bridge. As there were only 2 vehicles though, I opted to not drive over the bridge and just park in the open area where I’d pulled in.

I unloaded my kayak and my backpack and loaded up my boat.

I checked out my map, surveyed the area and got paddling. I was so excited. It had been a few weeks since I’d been kayaking and I was fiending for it!

Once I began my journey, the weather started to turn grey and the sky clouded over.

Some of the fall colors remained, but most of the leaves had fallen off the trees here.

I was paddling along when I noticed something in the water. I was totally amazed!

Anyone have any idea where that all came from? Is it from people washing dishes in the water?  Geez I hope not! So awful! 🙁

I continued on my way, enjoying the views.

The first section from the access point is narrow and mostly shallow. There are alot of trees and plants and things that you need to navigate around, nothing seriously difficult, more interesting, I thought.

I saw a few beaver dams but sadly no beavers.

I paddled along taking my time, looking all over for the elusive moose, but so far, they didn’t want to show themselves to me.

I had read a bunch of posts online about people coming here and seeing ridiculous amounts of moose here and that was my main reason for coming to the Tim today.

With the sun gone, the temperature went down a bit as well.  I was fairly warm as I was dressed for a winter day.  I paddled most of the day with just my OR Texting gloves on, but at the beginning of the paddle, I had my Kombi mitts on overtop.

I paddled across a large open area where the wind was very strong.  I had to paddle really hard and non stop to get to the opening that took me to the portage, but eventually, I made it.

I saw something red in the water from way back and knew it was where I had to go to get to the river.  There was a dam and the portage ran beside it.

I was happy to get off the water.  The wind was really strong and very cold and I was anxious to follow the trail into the forest and get some shelter.

The portage was very short, although it had a few challenges. One, was a log that laid directly across the trail, the other was at the end of the portage where the trail was very steep going down to the river.

As I walked down the steep hill, I saw a yellow canoe in the distance and I knew right away  it was my friend Kyra from Kyra On the Go! I had mentioned to her that I was heading here today and she told me she was doing a fall canoe trip and might pass by me on the way out. I was ecstatic to see her and her friend Cheryl! I hollered out “YAHOO!!!”

I put my kayak down in the water and for the second time, my iPhone snuck in. I scrambled to get it out smashing my knee on the rocks. For the second time now, my phone, worked without issue after being completely immersed in an Algonquin body of water. I was amazed!!!

I waited for Kyra and Cheryl to paddle up and greeted them taking a few photos of them as they did of me.

We had a great chat, they told me about the river ahead and how cold their weekend had been and I told her how strong the wind was on the other side of the portage.   If you’d like to read more about Kyra’s adventure, check out her post here.  Kyra has an incredible blog and it is actually how we met.

I took a selfie of Kyra and I in the water together, before her and Cheryl got out and headed over the portage.  I, in turn, headed down the river? Or would it be up?  And Kyra got a few shots of me heading out on my way! Thanks for the great photos my friend!

I was so excited to be on this part of my paddle.  I loved paddling small water and this was pretty calm and narrow and I was in heaven.

I was sad at the same time. Kyra said in the days she’d been here, they had not seen one moose.  I was determined though, so I kept my eyes peeled, hoping I’d get lucky.

It was then that I discovered my chapstick floats, as it fell out of my bag right into the river. I know… exciting stuff!!! Guess that’s what happens when you don’t find a moose?

This part of the river is mostly a giant winding S and I was literally paddling a few strokes in one direction, then going around a bend, and paddling a few more strokes in the opposite direction.

Even though the photos aren’t very bright or colourful, I really enjoyed being in this stretch of water. The wind had died right down here and I felt totally disconnected from the rest of the world. I also knew I was totally alone here.

There were only 2 cars in the lot when I arrived and one was Kyra’s. When I was in the larger area of water, I saw a campsite with people on it, packing their things up to head out, so I was pretty sure, I was the only people around.

Just then, I came up to the beaver dam that Kyra told me about. It was a huge drop and she had had to get her feet wet to get over it.  She also told me the water was pretty deep.  I had my rubber boots on, but I had also been here for 2 hours and I needed to turn back soon.

I still had to paddle 2 hours back and with the wind against me, that I was now starting to  feel here in this small body of water, it would probably take longer to get out than it had to come in.  Then I still had to drive another 2.5 hours home.

So I turned back. I had to paddle hard to make it back to the portage. First due to the current taking me towards the beaver dam, then due to the wind being against me and trying to push me backwards.

I carried my boat back over the portage and was sad to see I’d been right about the wind. It had picked up drastically and I would have to paddle hard, until I returned to the small winding area I’d gone through when I first arrived.

I don’t have too many photos of my return to the access point.  I had to continuously paddle or I would end up literally going backwards, so I just paddled hard with my head down and got it done!

The water was pretty rough and there were a few whitecaps showing themselves, so I just continued on until I arrived back in the sheltered narrow calm area again.

The sky had gotten alot darker and I was happy to be almost back to my car.  I had made it back in far less time than it had taken me to get out, but on the way out, I was doddling along looking for moose, taking tonnes of photos, and I didn’t make any effort to hurry.

I got back to the parking lot shortly after and was happily surprised to see Kyra and Cheryl finishing up tying the canoe onto their vehicle.  We chatted briefly and they headed out, ready for a good meal and the warm car.  I had only been out for the day, and I was ready for the same!

I put my kayak back on my car and jumped in anxious to start the drive back home.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a very far one, and I was looking forward to a hot bath when I got back home.  The rain slowly started to fall as I headed out of the lot.  Just in time!

I really enjoyed my time on the Tim, but was very disappointed I’d not gotten to see a moose, a beaver, or anything otherwise.  I was happy I got out on the water and got to paddle in such a pretty place and that I finally made it here.  I was also delighted I finally got to meet Kyra, so fittingly on a portage no less.  Thanks again for the great photos!

I hope you enjoyed paddling with me today and if you head out to the Tim, you have better luck than I did with the wildlife!  Thanks for checking out my post. If you have any questions, comments or just want to say hello, please leave a message.

Happy Paddling!

Camper Christina