Algonquin: The Next Generation
In my mind it had been only short while since I was a regular visitor to the Canadian backcountry. Glancing through these pages I was surprised to see that with the exception of short hikes in Banff in 2007 and 2011, my most recent excursions were way back in 2006: the Wapta Traverse, Tricouni, and Cerise Creek. Seven years later, Reid and I tried to keep up as the younger generation, Zoe and Sophie, led us on a wonderful exploration of the northwestern corner of Algonquin Park.

Our route was the very same I followed with Sophie's mother Andrea exactly ten years earlier. After spending a night in the overnight cabin at Voyageur Outfitting to allow an early start the next day, we spent three nights in the park at sites on North Tea, Manitou, and (once again on the return) North Tea lakes.

The weather gods were on our side for the entire duration of our trip: warm temperatures but not too hot, sunny with just a few small clouds to prevent us from getting sunburned, few mosquitoes or flies, and more tailwinds than headwinds. The girls had an amazing time for every minute of the trip. We hope to be back in 2014!

Here is Reid's trip report (including much better photos)!

map: The northeast corner of Algonquin Park. The outfitter where we rented our canoe is at access point #1.
photo: This sandy beach campsite is at the northeast end of Manitou Lake where we spent our second night in the park. This was our halfway point; we reversed our route from here back across Manitou, North Tea, and K-mog lakes.
photo: The gang (minus dada Steph) enjoy a campfire at the beach on Manitou Lake. A familiar experience throughout his life, Reid struggles to maintain the attention of the ladies; in this case, he has been deemed less captivating than freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches.
photo: The girls enjoy a snack before getting back on the water at the western end of the portage from Manitou Lake to North Tea Lake during our third day. That afternoon we set camp on the large island in North Tea Lake.
photo: Reid takes over paddling duties as the young folk enjoy a break.
photo: The girls sip hot apple cider before heading out on the water on our last morning of paddling west out North Tea, onto K-mog Lake, and back to civilization (i.e., for a burger and a beer in Huntsville).
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