Sunbeam Lake lives up to its name

On Saturday, we set off for Algonquin Park early with the rain still pouring down. When it did not get any better by the time we got to Tim Hortons at Renfrew, we were all prepared to get to Algonquin Park but not put our canoes into the water and maybe do something else instead.

We arrived at Canoe Lake at about noon. The rain had stopped, but the persistently overcast sky suggested that more might be to come. The wind had also subsided a little but it was still going to be a tough paddle upwind all the way to Sunbeam Lake. We decided to make a go of it. After all, the weather forecast was for sunshine on Monday.

The paddle up Canoe Lake was not easy (read: extremely difficult for novice paddlers) with the gusty North-westerly bearing down our way. Despite the bad weather, I was pretty confident about getting to the campsite by six. Exactly one year ago, we did a trip up to Littledoe Lake without much difficulty and Sunbeam Lake looks just a little further with two more portages through Vanishing Pond. Hopefully the pond will not vanish on us, but we were told that at this time of the year, water levels should be high enough for it to be navigable.

It wasn't much fun paddling in this weather, no fun at all. Overcast, gloomy, windy. Well, we got to the eastern end of Littledoe Lake and paddled into the creek leading up towards Sunbeam Lake. After the first portage, the route becomes interesting. Marshes everywhere and it was unclear which way to go. You really have to look for the slow flow of the water to eke out an idea as to where upstream is. Be prepared for some turns around marshes and deciding between ramming through narrow/shallow sections or carrying across. It's a maze of sorts. If the weather wasn't so miserable and if we weren't pressed for time to get to camp before light fades, this should actually have been quite fun.

Our second portage took us to Sunbeam Lake, and just as we were appearing at the end of the portage trail, the sun came through the clouds for the first time that day. Sunbeam Lake lives up to its name. There are 2 campsites on islands on Sunbeam Lake. The more easterly one appears to be superior but it was already occupied when we arrived. We were kind of not in the mood of looking around anymore, so we settled for a site on high ground on the south shore with a west-facing view off a cliff. The other island campsite (which we visited the next day) faced east. Depending on the wind direction, bugs and temperature, one could be better than the other. The island one had more space. As it turned out, it got rather cold for two evenings in a row and we probably made the wrong choice of campsite. Fortunately I had lots of warm clothing with me. I could hear the ice and snow falling on my tent fly Saturday night and snow squalls were a regular feature for most of Sunday morning.

Sunday night seemed like an endless echo of strong winds blowing from the west. When we woke up Monday to a chilly morning, we were worried that we would have another difficult day ahead of us. Fortunately, the sky cleared up by about 11, and we had an excellent paddle out with the wind behind out backs and what seemed in contrast to the two days before, wonderful partly cloudy weather. We even had ample time to take pity on those paddling our way upwind. Stopping at Wilno Tavern for delightful polish food on the way back capped a trip I would not want to have missed, despite the almost wintry weather in May.