July 2025
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Thursday
Morning started at 6 am when the kids started to yell again.
“HENRY! HENRY! HENNNNNNRRRYYYYY! We’re HUNGRY!”
“Go back to bed! It isn’t time to eat yet”
“OK!”
It was time to head back towards our starting point. There was no good “loop” that we could do without taking on an extremely long portage, so we reconciled ourselves to an “out and back” trip. I’m good with this kind of traveling anyway, as you always see something different when retracing steps, and the weather would add a fresh sheen on the views.
Good morning, Tom Thompson Lake! (and Henry, and Jacob)
Leaving our campsite behind – it was a good one
I was overwhelmed by the clouds and the water this morning
Heading towards the beaver dam
Successfully crossing the dam – it was MUCH easier in this direction
A light breeze breaks up the water surface
We had left Tom Thompson Lake behind and were back on Teepee Lake. The plan was to paddle all the way to Joe Lake, thereby making our last day a short one. It would be a really short one, but better than trying to push it to make it back to the Portage Store on time on our last day!
We passed Camp Arowhon on our way out – looks like sailing lessons again
What can I say? I like clouds
Dan and I had discussed the campsite options on Joe Lake. Many reviews suggested eastern shore sites, as that would give you a chance to see fantastic sunsets. But we had learned that having a site on the western shore was better for the morning, as the Flying Monsters were quicker to be driven off into the forests when the sun hit them. So we paddled our way into Joe Lake and back down the Western Gap, taking the last site before the portage point. It was a really nice setting: we were on a narrow channel (hence the name “gap”) and could sit on our comfy chairs and watch others paddle by. There was the cottage on the island across the channel with some activity to catch our attention periodically, and at the far end of the island were some well-used cliffs that many people stopped at to jump off, splashing into the water. Oh, and speaking of the water: it was a very comfortable temperature: not really warm, but just warm enough to not shock you when you stepped in it. We had talked about swimming on this trip, and while it hadn’t happened, it was nothing to do with the water temperature.
Joe Lake campsite
Cute tiny toad!
Very large Dock Spider (harmless, despite how big it is)
It was funny to sit at this site and listen to people’s conversations as they paddled by. One guy was telling his friends how “no one camps here unless there is bad weather” – we waved at them from our camp chairs as they went by. Sure, we could have made it back to Canoe Lake today, but why rush?
I didn’t mention much about our meals on this trip, mostly because I couldn’t remember what we ate and when. But the camping pizzas were common, simply because we had all of these fresh ingredients we didn’t want to waste. We also tried some dehydrated backpacker’s “meal in a bag – just add hot water!” and they were surprisingly good. Instant oatmeal was a favorite for breakfast, with some hot chocolate and marshmallows. For snacks we had crackers and chips and nuts. We drank lake water (purified, although some people will drink water if they get it from the middle of the lake). It would have been nice to have some flavor packs for the water – the water tasted fine, but something “different” is always nice.
It was the last night of camping – would I finally get that good night’s sleep? No. In fact, this was the worse night of them all. I felt a little guilty because Dan was having the time of his life on this trip and in the back of my mind I was always thinking “Just X more nights and I can finally get some sleep in a real bed!” But any time I wasn’t in the tent, I was having a great time.
No, I don’t have issues (prepping for the evening’s fire)
