Triplogs / Triplog#1 / Day 3
Access#29 Kiosk(IN) - Maple L - Ratrap L(2) - Maple L(2) - Kiosk(OUT)
Day 3 - Ratrap Lake - Hanging around
Waking up...I laid in the tent for a while, thinking it was still raining. It wasn't raining at all, the trees were still raining, but the sun was out. After breakfast, we became bored. Bored of hanging around on this 'trap' island. We decide to go for a short day-trip to the portage to boggy lake. We paddled west to Dahinda lake and onto the 1135m portage.
At one point the portage crosses an AFA road, actually following it for a few meters, before diving back into the forest. It was cool and damp here...not your typical August afternoon weather, but then again maybe it's typical for the Algonquin Highlands.
With no pack to carry, just water, I was enjoying the trek and so was my back. We pushed on thru the portage. It was pretty flat with a few up and down hills, and we passed an American family on their way westward to Maple Lake. The kids were hauling those uncomfortable looking huge square packs that scouts favour. Why do they insist on killing themselves? Long portages are one thing, but punishing backpack design, is torture.
Narrows, crossing into Dahinda Lake
We arrived at Boggy Lake and hung around for about 30 min. before heading back. Boggy lake is small and you could probably cross it in a about 10 min. It was beautiful though, not a campsite at all or a soul around. Just a transitional lake.
After a nite of rain: waking up on Ratrap Lake
Upon returning to Ratrap Lake JP wanted to go for a tour around the island. As we did this, rain approached. I became apprehensive, The clouds were really black looking, and being a novice paddler, I didn't like the idea of being out here, thinking perhaps the winds might suddenly pick up. Luckily my fears were un-founded this time, the rain came as drizzle, and that's all there was. No wind, waves, thunder, or lightning. Looking at the clouds however, they seemed to tell a different story. But that's all it did, just gentle rain and nothing else. We arrived back at our site, pretty damp and stoked up a good fire to warm up.
Black clouds approached us, as we paddled around the Isle
The rest of the trip my back held up pretty well, and was not bothered by it much anymore. Still there was always that thought in the back of my mind...if i bend over to pick something up the wrong way, it'll be all over, and no painkillers either!
On the portage to Boggy Lake: Norie with full tripod - never again!
Sitting by the fire, I became a little hungry from the outing to boggy lake. I grabbed some trail mix. Chomp, chomp, CrRUNCH! OWWWWWWWWW!
A molar broke...a filling fell out of my tooth..and now i had a gaping hole in my tooth. Was I cursed or what?
Now I was worried, I'm quite the suck, when it comes to dental pain. I think it is the worst pain in the world. So you can imagine, me sitting there with a sore back and a broken tooth in the middle of Algonquin, with a tongue that just won't quit darting in and out of that new hole in my mouth to see what's going on.
As it turned out there was no real damage or pain after the tooth shattered. There was a 'buckle' plate underneath the filling, so the root was protected. The the rest of the trip i had to eat all my food on the other side of my mouth and worried constantly about it.
This was beginning to turn into a nightmare.
I love this place but for some reason, my body was rebelling against me.
Dark Skies over Ratrap, as a growing storm passes by
Ominous Clouds on Ratrap Lake
Later that night John broke out some Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls...rolled them onto sticks and baked them over the fire...dipped them in the included icing sugar...mmmmm...good!
To this day i've tried to duplicate Johnny's Pillsbury Dough trick, but it hasn't worked..either the tube of dough explodes in my pack, or the dough always falls off my stick and into the fire..how he did it, i'll never know.
Rain on the portage
As we finished our rolls, a flying Squirrel glided by all 4 of us and rose up high over the fire and did a turn and landed in a tree on the other side of camp....I was quick to follow him with my flashlight and as I shone it on the little guy as he landed in the tree he chattered his displeasure at me. I turned off the light, we were all amazed, none of us had ever seen a flying squirrel before. More than anything, it swooped, flying squirrels don't fly, but rather glide thru the air, maybe cause of the fire, it was able to catch a thermal and swoop up and over the fire and up into a tree.
JP warming herself by the fire on Ratrap Lake: notice the slope of the site?
We went to sleep...during the night it rained really hard for a long time.
I woke up a few times..getting all paranoid about water seeping into the tent.
As it was, when i woke up in the morning, I inspected our sleeping bags. They were dry, and there was a few small puddles here and there around the edges of the tent, but with JP and me huddling into the centre of the tent and sleeping on top of mats, we managed to stay dry.
Heating up some water