Sunday, May 13^th – Norm was up early at 6:30 am to start a campfire and cook breakfast. After eating, we decamped and stored our equipment near the shoreline to be picked up later in the day following our trek to the rapids again.

It didn’t take long to reach the wetlands and our fishing spot. We had agreed to leave our canoes there and walk the steep 785 m portage to another marsh where we had hoped that larger fish would be caught. It was at this time that we encountered the first horde of black flies that required ample bug repellant to our clothing and exposed skin. Jean gave an extra dosage of spray around his boots and pants as a precaution to ward off any ticks - we all had a fear of contacting Lyme disease and soon followed his lead. Denis and Marc walked along the banks resembling aliens in their bug-proof jackets and headgear, much to the envy of Jean and Norm. Norm spotted what suspiciously resembled poison ivy growing along the embankment where we were fishing and everyone stayed clear of it. After returning home and cleaning his raingear, Norm developed a rash on his lower arms – this may have been the result of poison ivy residue left on his raingear. A lesson to be learnt in how to clean one’s raingear and equipment!

While trekking the portage, picturesque waterfalls and rapids could be heard and seen and, at one spot on the trail, Denis and Norm noticed a pile of unidentified animal droppings - Denis would do some research later at home. Reaching the end of the portage earlier, Jean and Marc had been fishing for a while, but only one ‘keeper’ had been caught. During our return portage, we occasionally stopped to fish some pools and to take photos of the scenic waterway. As it turned out, luck was on Jean’s side on this day, as he was the only one who managed to catch any trout, five of them in all, worthy of being a "keeper", at least one pound each.

We returned to the beaver pond on the other side of the marsh, but this time, without much success. Our conclusion was that the warm sun and clear skies were the cause for the fish not biting, so we returned to camp. While Jean was cleaning his catch, the rest of us loaded up the first canoe. As Denis and Jean departed, Marc and Norm finalized the loading of the equipment in their canoe. With a southerly wind to our advantage and the lightness of Norm’s Kevlar canoe, it didn’t take very long to catch up to Denis and Jean. Paddling slowly towards the takeout, we took the last opportunity to take in the view of the lake and surrounding hillside - we all agreed that we had a truly enjoyable fishing and canoeing trip to this area of Algonquin Park. The rough and bouncing ride out of the park only added "spice" to the ending of a memorable trip and to a great secret fishing hole - a great time had by all!

Norm Hooper