Saturday, September 28, 2013

Tuscarora, Owl, Crooked, Tarry, Mora, Little Saganaga. 8.9 miles.

Despite the rainy and windy night, we slept like babies and awoke to a sunny morning. According to the weather forecast, rain was due to hit by mid afternoon, so we made haste to have breakfast and break down camp. Our goal today was to reach Little Saganaga Lake.

The paddle across Tuscarora Lake was most enjoyable. The leaves here were not quite at peak. We didn't see anyone else camped on the lake, so we had it to ourselves.

We made quick work of the 70 rod portage into Owl Lake. Just a gentle up and down portage. We thought Owl Lake was most beautiful and it was one of Lisa's favorites from the trip.

The 51 rod portage from Owl to Crooked was pretty easy also with a cool submerged creek under the boulders on the Crooked Lake end. The clouds had set in by the time we paddled away on Crooked Lake and the winds began to pick up from the southwest. Good thing we were on small lakes.

On Crooked Lake, one can start to see the effects of the Cavity Lake fire from 2007. The rest of our route would take us in and out of the burn areas from this massive fire. The portage landing for the trail from Crooked to Tarry is tucked between several cedar trees. It is amazing how the roots run everywhere like something from Fangorn forest. We didn't pack a water bowl for Molly this trip and as you can see from the pictures we didn't need to. Nor, would we need to bathe her.

After a quick paddle across Tarry Lake, we reached the short 8 rod portage to Mora. In higher water, one could probably paddle through this spot. Mora Lake is also pretty cool. Here, the fire damage is less evident than on Crooked. We reached our final portage for the day at the west end of Mora. This 48 rod portage into Little Saganaga Lake is probably one of the most scenic portages I've seen before. As you can see from the pictures and video, it follows a stream / falls flowing into Little Saganaga. The portage is very easy and slightly downhill. The remainder of our route would follow this flowage downhill all the way to Seagull Lake.

As we loaded up the canoe on Little Saganaga, it quickly became apparent that the rain and wind that was forecasted was about to hit. We tossed on our rain gear and headed across the lake in search of a camp. We planned to camp near the islands in the north end of the lake to make our trek the next day easier, so that's where we headed. About halfway across the lake the rain started and then the wind picked up and soon enough it was a sideways downpour. Yay!

We though about stopping early, but the nicer camps along the way were taken by others, so we ended up taking a great site on the north side of an island. It was well protected from the wind and has plenty of tent pads. Once camp was erected, we hunkered down under the tarp for some hot chocolate. The wind howled for the rest of the day as the rain showers came and went. Thankfully, the rain let up long enough for us to get a nice fire going to cook steaks for dinner! I always bring an axe on canoe trips, because freshly split wood means fire!