Rain Lake Day Trip

October 8 2011

Last year (2010) on the spur of the moment act (decided the night before), Bev and I ended up doing a small day trip to Rain Lake for lunch the 23^rd of October and with the amazing fall weather this year (2011), it seemed like the natural thing to do.

This year being the nice guy that I am, I invited a friend along for the day.

Picking up Bonnie on the way North, we left Barrie around 7:15AM and with coffee in hand, enjoyed a relaxed traffic free drive with a stop in Huntsville for a refill of extra large Tim Hortons. This coffee led to confirm later that yes it is possible to paddle a canoe with a half a coffee sitting upright in the bottom of the canoe without it spilling.

Everything was going well until I turned off highway 11, passed through Emsdale and started heading for Kearny.

Now I know I have only done this drive a couple of times but I was pretty sure the roads were paved all the way. But now I found myself driving down a dirt road. Oh well, the G.P.S. seemed to thing we were heading in the right direction and it was a nice drive that somehow ended with us coming into Kearny right beside the Permit Office.

The paperwork got done and we were off down the access road arriving at the launch on Rain Lake without any more scenic detours.

We were loaded and ready to leave the dock around 10AM, taking our time paddling up the lake which was made a little easier with the help of an occasional 20KM tailwind.

It was decided that to avoid much of the wind as we could returning we would stop at the site on the North side upon entering the narrows before the lake opens up into the large bay with the island.

Pulling up to a small beach landing and with everything in the food barrel, unloading was no problem. The coffee was soon perking as we settled in to just relax and do nothing for the better part of the afternoon.

Just two old friends sitting around a small camp fire, the water lapping against the shore as we caught up on each others lives and what was going on.

More coffee was made and the fire started for lunch as the conversation flowed.

As with most natural conversations there are the odd lull when I would wander off into the woods to gather a little more firewood or Bonnie wandering down to the shore and trying her luck with the fishing rod.

Lunch was my traditional first night meal of steak slow cooked over an open hardwood fire with baked potatoes and asparagus seasoned and wrapped in foil roasted in the coals.

The dishes were promptly picked up and bagged ready for the dishwasher when I got home. After all, day tripping does have some advantages.

With one more round of coffees made the conversation picked back up and the rest of the afternoon seemed to just fly by. You know, there is nothing so peaceful as sitting on the side of the lake beside a small fire with the company of a good friend and before we realized it, the sun was starting to drop and we started to think about packing up and moving on.

The fire drowned and everything packed back into the food barrel,

 we pushed off around 5:30PM heading for the opposite shore, taking our time and exploring the shoreline.

Once again Rain Lake lived up to its reputation for winds and the earlier winds had not subsided, we were treated to gusting 20 to 30KM headwinds and no matter what my bow partner may have mentioned at the time I still say we were moving forward during the gusts and I still stand by my point that had we stopped forward momentum, her fishing rod would have gone slack.

Leaving the main lake behind us and entering the small bay we were greeted with glass smooth water to end the day as the sun set, arriving back at the dock around 6PM.

Things were going wonderfully with the gear loaded and the canoe tied to the car. We pulled out of the parking lot about 6:30PM and again did not have a problem until we passed through Kearney.

It seems I may have taken a slight zig where I should have zagged somewhere. We had a very long but scenic and in some spots spirited drive though the country along lots of dirt roads. We finally arrived at a friends place in Novar promptly at 9PM. Since this trip I have been into Rain Lake a few more times without a problem and never with the G.P.S. on

On the drive home as we were joking about my navigational skills two things were pointed out to me.

1 It is a very good thing I do much better on water than I do on land or they would still be looking after us.

2 It is not against the rules to stop and ask someone who happens to be out on their front yard if they know where I am because I obviously had no idea.

Overall it was a great day with the temperature reacting 23 degrees and sunshine. The only wildlife seen was a grouse along the and and a group of loons swimming by.

Thanks for taking a look.