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May 14 - Day 7 - Return to Raven Creek
Paddling Raven Creek
It was an overcast 'blah' looking day outside, all the more reason to make the most of it, we loaded up and headed out, deciding to go up Raven Creek again, seeing how far we could get. By 10:15 am we had reached the 645m portage after paddling through the alder infested section from the 215m portage. Yes, I know earlier I had said it looked at the time to be free of alders, from the 215m portage. Once we paddled up the creek a little ways though, the alders started to creep in, seemingly from out of nowhere. We also tried to spot any remnants of clearing or beams from a cabin that was last seen in the area around 1925. The alder bush was very thick in the area, and looking across the creek from the portage was very difficult, not a place to camp, but then again a cabin would certainly do a good job of keeping the flies out. The creek was narrow but deep when we paddled the short stretch between the last two portages, and wondered what the next section would hold.
Taking a break at a take-out after
paddling through alder infested Raven Creek
Along the 685m portage on Raven Creek:
The terrain becomes more rocky & mossy
Well it didn't get any better, and as a matter of fact we got fooled going down one channel and had to back out and go another way to continue on. As before the alders closed in, the creek narrowed, and there were a few tight turns. It was nothing we couldn't handle, and thinking back, we found this creek to be easier to navigate than Birchcliffe Creek; the current was not as strong, and there was very little in the way of obstructions. By 10:50 am we had reached the trailhead of the 685m portage. The portage itself was rough at the beginning, passing over what looked to be a rockfall, a mass of small round rocks covered with moss littered the side of the trail, looking south there was a rocky ridge that paralleled the portage, and thought it interesting. For the most part the whole area from Biggar to Birchcliffe to Gibson to Raven Creek seemed to be swamp like in nature. There was lots of pine and bush covered shorelines, and many creeks in the area, but there was no rocky cliffs, rock lined shorelines(Gibson lake is the exception here), and most of the lakes appeared to be shallow. Most of the area had a scruffy look to it. Here though at the 645m portage, things seemed to be changing, it appeared the land was becoming more rocky the further north we went. As we progressed down the trail it joined what looked to be an old logging road, the trail continued to be somewhat rough but the old road did make the going a little easier. By 11:06 am we had arrived at the end of the trail and came upon a vastly different looking Raven Creek.
The way to Coral-root Lake: Open creek awaits us
The creek was much wider, passing through an open bog, and there were many beams of timber along the shoreline at the portage. There was also more rock lining the shoreline, and in some spots the creek was shallow and we had to be careful navigating from the portage landing as there were a few scrapes along the hull from submerged rocks. Getting into the canoe was tricky too, as the land was boggy and muddy, we had to scout around for a bit to find a suitable put-in, the one where the portage ended was no good. The upcoming paddle though looked promising. Finally we were in the creek proper and paddled towards Coral-root Lake.
From the back of this campsite on Coral-root Lake,
you can see Raven Creek and barely visible,
the signage for the 685m portage
North Raven Lake
At 11:25 am we were on Coral-root Lake, passing by the Westernmost campsite. The land was certainly becoming more rocky, the campsite was loaded with rock, a few boulders too. We paddled on reaching the 375m portage landing at 11:29 am. I don't remember much about this trail except that near the end of it we had to climb a short hill, and it also crossed an old skid trail that led to a logging road that runs along behind North Raven Lake's east shore. By 11:40 am we were at N. Raven Lake, and we were both in awe of the lake, it was unexpectedly different from all the other lakes we had seen so far. The lake bottom was loaded with rock, the shoreline was also lined with rocks too. The topography of the area was vastly different than what we had seen the last 6 days. The water was amazingly clear and had a greenish-blue tint to it. The water looked exactly like the water of Ralph Bice Lake. The small size and shape of the lake, the trees, rocks, etc, just made this lake a gem of a place to paddle and fish. We headed out and began a troll down the lake. As we got about halfway down the lake, the winds exploded onto the water and suddenly it became quite difficult to paddle and troll, then Mike became hung up on a shoal. I also became hung up and soon we were busy pulling double duties, trying to back paddle to get enough slack to work our lines free and also avoiding grounding our canoe upon some of the rocky shoals that we kept getting blown onto. After a while I freed my line, however a curse escaped Mike's lips as I saw his line suddenly go slack, fluttering in the wind, his line had snapped. We reeled in and decided to get off the water, it was too windy to fish. We even tried to retrieve Mike's lure, but it was down too deep, but wow, the water so was clear!
We stopped for a quick lunch on a campsite on North Raven Lake
At 12:15 pm we landed on one of the Northwest shore campsites. The site itself was a real charmer, loaded with Hemlock & Balsam fir trees, it had an open air feeling to it, one could see and walk quite a distance through to the back of the campsite. The campsite was open to the lake, with a fire-pit and crude log bench system that faced the water. I would love to camp there some day. After visiting the campsite for about 30 minutes, we got back in the canoe paddled on, eventually coming within sight of the 230m portage to Tillie Lake. Mike asked if I wanted to check it out. It was getting close to 1:00 pm, we had time, but for some reason I didn't want to go any further, and I expressed my desire to stay on N. Raven a bit longer. Mike didn't seem to mind. In one way I wanted to see Maple Creek again, in another way, I just wanted to relax and fish a little, so we stayed on North Raven for another two hours, trolling both down the middle of the lake and near the Southeast shoreline, stopping to check out the other campsites as well. In later times I have learned that North Raven Lake is a lake trout lake, but we didn't catch a thing, not even a nibble. It might have been the weather as it was windy and cool. By 3:10 pm we left North Raven Lake and started our trek back to our Cabin.
The take-out to Tillie Lake
The under-used campsite on Coral-root Lake
We stopped to inspect both campsites on Coral-root Lake. The Southeast campsite was the most pathetic campsite I have ever seen in Algonquin Park. The terrain was very crunchy and uneven to walk on, the fire-pit was more of a jumble of rocks than a hole to burn a fire in, the bench(if that is what you can call it) was a improvised affair, a chopped log resting between a sawed-off tree limb and on a rock. It was truly a dismal campsite. The other campsite further up the shoreline was much nicer. Although it was on a slope, it was well protected from North & West winds, with a huge boulder at the back of the site that one could climb up on and actually get a good view of Raven Creek. Up there upon the boulder you can actually see looking down the creek, the portage signage of the 685m trail. It was a decent campsite, one that I would consider staying on, if I had the time though, I'd make for North Raven instead, as the fire-pit and bench system again was a pathetic sight. It would take a lot of work to get the fire-pit area comfy.
Among the raindrops we searched
for a better landing to the 685m portage
Just before 4:00 pm we left the last campsite on Coral-root lake, and headed back down Raven Creek, even before we got to the 685m portage(signed as 620m), it started to rain. Enough sightseeing, time to get back. What was great about our situation though was that even if we got drenched, we had a nice dry cabin to look forward to, and with a workable stove, the cabin would soon be heated to satisfy any rain soaked person in Algonquin, and so we relaxed and even enjoyed the rainy paddle. As we passed the last portage and headed to the confluence of Birchcliffe and Raven Creeks, we spotted a deer near the creek's edge feeding on some bush. As soon as it heard us, it took off, disappearing into the forest. On our first foray up the creek Mike also spotted a cow moose, I never did see it. It makes me wonder though how many times there was been wildlife out there that I have completely missed never knowing that I was being watched. I imagine this happens quite often. Just after 6pm we reached the safety of our cabin, the rain had turned to a drizzle and we were damp and chilled but not soaked through. At 8:30 pm the sun broke through the cloud cover just as it was about to set. It made for some nice hues.
