Canoeing, Algonquin Park, Tom Thomson Lake

Canadian artists Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven became Canadian icons for painting scenes of Canadian wilderness in locations including Algonquin Provincial Park. Thomson lived, worked as a fire ranger and fishing guide, and painted in Algonquin before his mysterious death on Canoe Lake in July of 1917. This meetup will take us to the lake named after Thomson.

Itinerary

Friday: Drive approximately 4 hours to Tea Lake campground, 12 km from the Algonquin Park west gate. Camp in Tea Lake campground for the night.

Saturday: 8:30 a.m., after breakfast in camp, proceed to Algonquin Canoe Lake access point (#5), 14 km from the west gate, and pick up backcountry permits and rental canoes along the way as necessary. Start paddling 9:30 a.m. Paddle through Canoe Lake and stop to hike up to the cairn dedicated to Thomson. Portage 295 m into Joe Lake, then paddle through Tepee Lake, Little Oxtongue River, Fawn Lake and Littledoe Lake to Tom Thomson Lake. Lunch may be en route or at camp on Tom Thomson Lake, depending on how easy the paddling is. Spend the rest of the day relaxing, swimming, fishing, exploring, etc. I will try to find out if any sites of Thomson and Group of Seven paintings are in the area for us to see.

Sunday: Reverse Saturday's route, arriving at access point #5 around lunch time, give or take an hour or so, depending on how early we get started and how easy the paddling is. Lunch may be en route or at a restaurant after we are off the water. Arrival time at KW will be approximately early-to-mid evening.

Difficulty: Novice

First-time and solo canoeists welcome. The route is approximately 13.3 km (approximately 3-4 hours) of flatwater paddling each day, plus one easy portage of 295 m each day.

Cost Estimate

The $2 RSVP fee goes to support the KW Backcountry Travel Meetup. This fee will be refunded if you drop out at least 2 days ahead or if the trip is cancelled.

Cost of campsites: $8.62 (Friday night car camping) + $12.43 (Saturday night backcountry camping) = $21

Additional cars $13 each (1 car parks free per campsite at the campground), to be shared by all campers.

Actual cost of campsites will be determined by how many people come on this trip.

Add 2 day canoe rental if required (half of 2 x $42) = $42

Shared gas is extra, arrange with your carpool.

Gear

See Tim's Backpackers' Bootcamp Packing List (v2) (http://files.meetup.com/1606190/Backpackers%20Bootcamp%20Packing%20listv2.pdf) for a list of what to pack. Although this route involves only one easy portage, practise packing light. If you don't have something, ask your host if you can borrow the item.

Note that cans and glass bottles are banned in the backcountry.

Rentals

The Portage Store (http://www.portagestore.com/partial_outfitting.html) (705-633-5622) and Algonquin Outfitters (http://algonquinoutfitters.com/rentals/canoes-kayaks/) - Oxtongue Lake (800-469-4948) are located near the Canoe Lake access point. The Portage Store is closer and more convenient but is also more expensive. Use the links above to get each outfitter's up-to-date rental rates and policies. Be sure you know whether paddles, PDFs, and foam blocks and straps (if needed to carry canoe on car from Algonquin Outfitters) are included in the canoe rental.

Ride, Tent and Canoe Sharing

Carpooling is encouraged. Feel free to use the comment space below to organize carpooling and sharing canoes and tents. When RSVPing "yes", please add yourself to the linked shared document (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av_P0uL39agvdE9nZlpUUnljelRrTUpfUnZ5QjA3OHc&usp=sharing#gid=0) and include the following information:

• whether you can offer or need a ride, which city you live in and when you can leave

• whether you are bringing a canoe or will need to rent one

• whether you need a paddling partner or a spot in someone's canoe

• whether you have a tent to share or need a spot in someone's tent

Tent sharing is also encouraged. In the campground, we are limited to 3 tents per site. In the backcountry, more tents means more potential damage to the campsite. Let's practise "no trace" camping!

Please record arrangements in the shared document. The event host will assist in matching drivers and passengers during the week leading up to the trip after registration is closed. Participants are welcome to discuss arrangements and modify them.

Waiting List

Because we are charging members a fee to RSVP for this event, there is no waiting list. This is a feature of the Meetup.com system.

If the trip fills up, members who have not RSVPed will see, in the top right corner of the page for this Meetup, text saying "This Meetup is full. Want to know if a spot opens up?" and a button saying "Notify Me". If you click this button, you (along with everyone else who has clicked the "Notify Me" button) will receive an email if a spot in the trip opens up. The first person to RSVP gets the open spot. No consideration is given to the order in which people requested notification. This is how the system handles Meetups where an event fee is charged. To ensure your spot in a Meetup, RSVP early.