Day 1 – Farm Lake – Kitty Lake – Booth Lake – Tattler Lake
We stopped in at Algonquin Bound, Madawaka store to pay for our canoes and pick up the paddles. From there it is around half hour drive to Shall Lake Access Point 17. The ride in was filled with beautiful foliage and around half of it was a dirt road with many bumps in it. When we got to the Access Point I stepped out of the truck and enjoyed that fresh Algonquin air, it felt good to be back. I went to go pick up the camping permit has my friends started to unload the truck with our gear.
By ten thirty am, we had our canoes packed and was on Farm Lake to begin our adventure. The water was so calm and easy to paddle. In no time, we saw Kitty Lake Cabin, which is just before the first portage to Kitty Lake. There was some small water rapids heading towards Farm Lake, we thought about canoeing through it, but with it being only a 90m portage, we decided to play it safe and take the portage. The entrance was quite large and had room for four canoes to pull up. The portage was very short and flat.
The water on Kitty Lake was so peaceful and in a few paddles, we were at the 645m portage to Booth Lake. This portage has a few small hills, rocks and tree roots throughout it. While walking the portage there were planks of wood at locations where it was muddy and would be quite bad if it had rained a lot. Around three quarters in there is a short steep hill, once you get up it your almost to Booth Lake. Shortly before the lake, you can hear the dam in the distance and you can see a path that leads you there. Finally getting to the other side we placed our gear down, drank some water, and headed back to get the canoes.
While canoeing Booth Lake and passing the many campsite on the North side I noticed that a lot of them had beautiful beaches where you would land the canoe. The water was relatively calm for the most part up until we pass the first island and it became a little wavier. It took around an hour until we passed the last campsite on Booth Lake and was heading towards Tattler Lake.
Finally arrived at the Tattler Lake island campsite. It has very thick marshy waters on the North part of the island, making it not even look like an island. The landing to the site is not that big, one canoe at a time to pull in and unload. There was one large section for a tent near the fire pit, and around two other spots a little farther away to set up smaller tents. The ‘bathroom’ is located a short walk north of the fire pit, the lid has broken. The east side of the campsite is a little more open, while the rest of the island is quite thick bush to walk through.
After we got our tents set up, and started to filter the water, it was time to eat some lunch. When we were done, we went out to explore the lake and fish. My friends caught quite a few good-sized Pike and bass. It was than getting late and time to start dinner, unfortunately there was a fire-ban in affect so we had to use the camp stove to cook our meals. We also brought up some battery power lanterns, which we hung up over the fire-pit to have some light.
