Kids first Canoe Trip:Booth Lake July 8-10, 2008

Well it's been decided! Booth lake will be the place where Lauren, Patrick and Mark will have their first Algonquin experience. You know, I am more excited about this one then any other....and trust me, even I didn't think that was possible! But we both love the park so much that the idea of sharing that with the kids has a level of appeal that is difficult to measure. Let's just say it's off the chart exciting!

Now I looked at a bunch of different routes, but after considering all the factors that go into canoe tripping with kids, Booth Lake offered a unique balance. It allows the kids to experience what true interior camping is all about, but shouldn't be too much for them to handle....after all, this will be the start of what we hope will be another annual tradition and we don't want to push them to hard and extinguish the hope of further trips in the years to come.

THE ROUTE:

Day 1, Wednesday July 8, 2008:

Leave the house by 4 am and make our way North to Access point 17, Shall Lake. Gerry will rent his canoe from Algonquin Bound Outfitters located before the cut off to Shall Lake road and then we will make our way up the winding road that leads to Access Point 17. Lauren and I will be in our new/used canoe ( will be purchased in the spring). Our goal for today is to make our way from Shall Lake to an island site on Booth Lake. We will have 2 portages today. The first, a P 90 from Farm to Kitty Lake...a good warm up for the young ones. The second is a P 550 from Kitty to Booth. It's hard to estimate how long this will take, but I would guess about 2-3 hours tops. Once we find a suitable site, the rest of the day will be spend fishing and exploring the highlands that all dotted all over Booth lake that provide an amazing view.

Day 2, Thursday July 9, 2008:

Today we pull up camp and venture out to the low maint portage trails. Out goal for today is the lone low maint campsite on Godda Lake. To get there we will do more portaging then canoeing, but I have been told it's worth the hike. The portages are 380,590 and 1365 which at first might seem a bit much for a group as young as ours, but we are in no rush and plan to double all the portages. This site will be the first time any of us (Gerry and Me included) that we have camped on a low maint site and the fact that it is the ONLY site on the lake made it all the more interesting. Once we arrive we plan on doing some fishing by day and the fire by night...again, being the only ones on the lake should be very cool. What a great way to spend our last night.

Day 3, Friday July 10, 2008:

Today we go home and much of the day will be spent making out way back to Shall lake. Only two portages today 550, 90 and the kids should be pro's by now!


WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT THIS TRIP?

• The kids will be there for one!
• More food then before, the Outback oven will even make a brownie or two
• This will be the first time Gerry and I have had to each carry a canoe...I won't forget the Lakota!
• We plan to bring chairs and other luxury items
• The trip is small distance wise, but Gerry and I still get to check out more of the low maint routes/sites we enjoyed on CC2007

Things I still have to do:

• Meal plan (need to talk to Gerry first)
• Confirm dates with G