#2: [23-Aug-12]

06-Jul-2002 -- Our first successful visit!

After spending a night on the inhospitable rocky banks of the French River in a vain attempt at 46N/81W, we decided to try a confluence located in an area more welcoming to campers, although even further from the nearest public road.

46N/79W is located in the northwest corner of Algonquin Provincial Park, on Manitou Lake, about 20 km and 3 portages from the nearest Interior camping access point. We picked a hot sunny weekend in July to make our attempt, and the sunny weather was marred only by the thick smoke drifting down from the forest fires of northern Quebec.

Our course took us from Kawawaymog Lake, through the beautiful headwaters of the Amable du Fond River, which provided two of the portages, and into North Tea Lake. From North Tea, the third portage led to Manitou Lake.

The first two portages were well travelled, and provided no great difficulties. We set up camp on North Tea, then set out after lunch for the confluence. The third portage proved to be much more difficult - it included a large, boulder-strewn hill, and left us (one of us, at least) with more mosquito bites than I cared to count.

After a 1.5 km paddle to the confluence, we chilled out for a bit, waiting for the zeroes to appear on the GPS, and enjoying the musical talents of a camper on the beach to the north of us. We then made our way back to our campsite, exhausted after 26 km of paddling and 4 portages, and looking forward to a mere 14 km of paddling the next day.

In the Algonquin Provincial Park, about 300 m from land in Manitou Lake.