Triplogs / Triplog#57/ Day 2
May 9 - Day 2 - Paddling up Birchcliffe Creek
6:26 am: Bathed in warm sunshine,
we ate breakfast then broke camp
It was just after 6:00 am when I got up and out of my tent. Mike of course the early riser, had already been up and had a warm fire going by the time I emerged. It was one of those gorgeous spring mornings in Algonquin Park, warm beautiful sunshine, with barely a drop of wind. It promised to be a great day. After breakfast of what I cannot remember we had, we packed up and headed out onto the water, with Mike in the bow and me in the stern. It was just after 8:30am. In the two hours that I'd gotten up and we had broken camp, it had begun to cloud over and the winds had started to pick up, so with some caution, we paddled up along the south shoreline to where Birchcliffe Creek empties into Biggar Lake. By 9:05 am we had arrived at the flooded looking creek, and stopped to take a picture, then began our ascent. Neither Mike nor I had been to this area of The Park before, so for both of us it was an adventure of exploration. The creek was fast in places and tested both our paddling skills and strength. There is lots of alders lining the creek, which in many places is wide enough for a canoe, but not much else, the alders making the ascent nearly a constant 'slap in the face' affair at times. After nearly 35 minutes of hard paddling though tangled alders and twisting fast-flowing creek and a huge fallen tree, we reached the lone low-maintenance campsite along Birchcliffe Creek.
Arrival at Birchcliffe Creek:
Mike pauses to take a picture before our ascent
The fire-pit and surrounding area,
at the lone campsite on Birchcliffe Creek
The campsite is a charmer, set among pines with a nice clearing set upon mosses and lichens. There are a few choices for setting down a tent, either in the open area or among the coverage of pine. There is also a small bench and a small fire-pit, both of which were in excellent condition. It was quite obvious that this campsite received very little traffic. There is also a path leading away from the campsite to a nearby logging road and sandpit(used for the construction of logging roads). Here there were many ATV tracks, both Mike & I were not pleased to see, but received a feeling of satisfaction as we noticed they terminated at the creek, where the bridge for the logging road had been removed, there were no ATV tracks on the other side. The current of the creek was quite strong as the creek funnelled it's way through the bridge abutments. Surely any such attempt would've seen one get swept away.
The removed bridge on Birchcliffe Creek.
Note: Canoe in distance, proximity of campsite to the old logging road.
Paddling up Birchcliffe Creek
We found many examples of turtle eggs that had been dug up and eaten. We explored the area for about 20 minutes then launched, heading towards the removed bridge. It took about 3 or 4 tries to make it past the bridge abutments, the current was very strong, and finally with furious paddling, we made it through, but just barely. We paddled on and on, the creek widening only slightly, with the alders creeping in closer and closer. Again, there were many instances where we had to struggle against the current. It is important to note here that according to "Al" (at the permit office), it is impossible to ascend Birchcliffe creek in the spring while paddling solo (I agree!).
It is recommended that you try and reach the cabin via Loughrin Creek, heading into Lawren Harris, J E H Macdonald, and Calm Lakes, paddling & portaging this route to eventually hit Birchcliffe Lake. Again, if you go the route we have done, take a partner and paddle tandem, else you'll never make it alone during spring flood. Good thing Swede backed out when he did. I think going up the creek might've been a nightmare for him. We continued to struggle against the current in a few places, especially where there were fallen trees that obstructed the creek. After nearly 3 hours since we had launched from the campsite on the creek, we reached the 580m portage. The trail is rough to say the least and it seemed to go mostly downhill, which I thought was odd, as we were going up a creek. Most of the trail was flooded from spring seepage, a few places were quite muddy and had to be circumvented. Overall though, the trail didn't seem as long as it supposedly was; a rare treat in Algonquin Park. By 1:45 pm we were sitting under a partly sunny sky enjoying a lunch break of water, cheese, sausage, with some nuts and chocolate too. Here after the portage the creek widens and deepens, and the current becomes much calmer, no more alders to deal with either, just beaver dams now.
At the end of the 580m portage:
Mike & I stop to have lunch and enjoy the solitude
After launching from the portage,
Birchcliffe Creek becomes easier to navigate
Within 30 minutes of crossing several beaver dams, one of which we tried countless times to paddle up and over(the current was too strong and we gave up), we came upon the joining of Raven Creek with Birchcliffe Creek. Here we turned right and headed up the ever widening creek, and by 2:45 pm we emerged onto Birchcliffe Lake. We had made it! The feeling of elation was enhanced by the view of the cabin ahead of us. It was ours for seven nights, as we had planned to fish, paddle and portage the area, exploring as much as we could in the week that we had. The view of the cabin was magnificent, the lake itself is nice, not overly special in any way, the size was large enough to satisfy just about anyone, easy to paddle whether tandem or solo, an hour or perhaps two to circumnavigate the lake at a leisurely pace is all that is needed.
Nearing our arrival on Birchcliffe Lake
We made it! Birchcliffe Lake and the cabin
We landed at the cabin at 3:00 pm. Landing on the wrong side(We later discovered), we ascended a steep climb to the cabin. The cabin itself sits atop a round hill that is a steep climb from the water no matter where you land.
The next few hours were spent making the cabin habitable. Mike hauled up water from the lake(The water pipe up from the lake to the hand-cranked water pump had been severed). There was an ample supply of firewood behind but knowing we would need more I elected to collect and chop some of this up. Mike discovered to our dismay that the previous occupants were complete slobs, they had buried a significant amount of food in the fire-pit. What looked to be dog food combined with potatoes, carrots and rice…whole dishes of food had been stuffed in there. With a bucket, Mike cleaned out the fire-pit and dug a hole behind the cabin, burying the food waste. The degradation didn't stop there. To my astonishment I discovered a full plastic bottle of 'Miracle Whip'(A sandwich spread) that had been tossed inside the cabin's stove. It was nearly intact, but what really annoyed us was that something else that was obviously plastic has been burned in the stove(A big 'no-no'), and some of that plastic had melted and adhered to the asbestos seal of the stove door. When we first opened the stove to first check it out, the seal tore off from the stove door, from there on in, it was a tricky affair, as when we used the stove what few times we did, we did not get an air tight seal. Sigh…Algonquin Park is beautiful, I just wish irresponsible idiots would stop coming to it, as they make it less so (Beautiful that is).
Birchcliffe Cabin
Mike cooking on the fire-pit with Birchcliffe Lake pictured beyond
By 7:00 pm, we had a nice meal ready to cook on the fire-pit outside. Steak, potatoes with onions. Again with Swede's absence, we had too much food and had to eat food for three among the two of us. What we did not have enough of though was beer in plastic bottles. I had brought only one, two litre bottle in, and it went down very well, so much so, that I was cursed for bringing only one. Ooops!
Close-up of Birchcliffe Cabin
We had a muted sunset that night, as the sky continued to be partly overcast, however the winds died down. After the sun went down, so did the temperature and we elected to stay outside and enjoy a campfire. The view from the hilltop cabin is a nice one, and with no one else on the lake and the silence of the forest, it made for a most peaceful evening. There were a few loons on the lake, and their calls that evening topped off what was a active and memorable day in Algonquin Park.
