The long portage (1200m, 240 rods, 0.75 miles) to McAlpine was as easy as we'd heard. The trail was smooth, there was little elevation change and only a down tree or two to get over. Once on McAlpine Lake we decided to camp. The exit from the lake was via McAlpine Creek. I had been worried about this section of the route. Would there be enough water to paddle the creek or would we have to wade or line long sections of the creek? We decided to camp near the west end of the lake and find out what the creek would be like in the morning.

We eventually pulled up to the last campsite I'd marked on my map and found that it was more suited to be a spot to make a shore lunch than a campsite. There was a fire ring on a rock outcrop and no obvious tent pads. On closer inspection there was a spot for one tent. It was on a rock slope that was inclined a fair bit for a tent pad. I actually prefer a tent site with a slight elevation gain so there is a clear head and foot end to the tent. This one was inclined more than I like. It was also so rocky that there was no way to put in tent pegs. However, it was clear that people had camped there in the past as rocks had been positioned to aid in securing tents to the ground. I did a quick (too quick) survey to see that there were no widow makers near the site and set up the tent. (Non-campers: A widow maker is a dead tree that might fall on your tent as you sleep.) After we got the tent set up, I happened to look up and noticed one of those growths at the top trees that form when a tree is hit by lightning (I think). Once in a bad storm, I had one of those fall about 150 feet (50 m) from my tent. So, that wasn't too encouraging. Looking around there was one other flat spot in the area. It had grasses growing on it that were almost 3 feet (1m) high. Our tent is free standing, so I was able to carry the setup tent to the other spot. The day before we had wished for a more secluded site. Well, we found it. If the wind had been howling it certainly would have been very exposed. However, the weather cooperated, and it proved to be a very nice spot.

When I'm in civilization I tend to be a night owl. However, on canoe trips we are usually in the tent pretty early. This sometimes cause us to miss some of the wonders of the night sky. On this particular night we noticed a bright object in the sky. It wasn't bright enough to be the moon which was nearing being a full moon. Having spent too much of my life in civilized places, the idea that it was some man made object popped into my head. We were near the northern boundary of the park, but the nearest town, Atikokan, was nearly ten miles (16 km) away. As the night progressed, it very slowly moved across the sky. We figured it had to be a planet. Once back in civilization I did some checking, and I believe what we were seeing was Jupiter. Jupiter was at opposition (on the opposite side of the earth from the sun) in late September. Most of the month it appeared as the second brightest object in the night sky after only the moon. At any rate, it was a special experience.