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		GEORGIAN BAY ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK (Beausoleil Island) This is a trip I went on with the CASS Canoe Club, and through Camp Queen Elizabeth. The trip started at Camp Queen Elizabeth, on the northern tip of Beausoliel Island. Click here to see a map of this trip. (very large) Journal: Here's an edited version of the trip journal I kept. It's mostly just point form babbling that I scribble down at night in the tent. I may miss some important points, so certainly don't use this as your only route description! It's probably not of much help to anyone, but here it is anyway. :-) May 23 Left school at 3:00 pm. Mark from CQE drove the van to camp. Wendy's on the way north, I had a Big Bacon Combo and 2 Junior burgers (hey, it is the last meal with real food you know). Got to Honey Harbour and caught a ride in the camp boat to camp, on the Northern tip of Beausoleil Island. Arrived at camp and took a tour. Watched sunset on the rocks. Weather was warm all day. White caps on the water. May 23 6:21 am Got to sleep in a "boxed in" bunk. Fell asleep at about 2 am, woke up at quarter to six. Hot night, sweaty yet cool in the morning. 2:00 pm Paddled to McCrae Lake. Left at approx. 10 am arrived at McCrae campsite at 11:30 for lunch. At McCrae Rapids, (high water, fast current), one canoe from our group dumped. Everyone was thankful for the warm weather (14oC), since the water was quite cold. There was a memorial at this set of rapids, with a bunch of crosses and flowers. The story goes that there was a man that lived on McCrae Lake with his family. He got injured by a bear, so his wife, who was pregnant and sick, and his small child, had to take their injured father to safety, on the other side of the rapids. (the rapids were apparently much bigger then). The man got medical attention, and survived. He later erected the memorial to thank God and his wife. There are also many other versions of this story around. Lunch of hamburg buns, salami, ham, lettuce, onion, green pepper, cucumber, mustard. Went climbing cliffs behind camp - cool view of the tents down below. There was another memorial across from our campsite. A man had fell to his death on August 22, 1993. The cliff we had been climbing earlier was the one he had fallen from. We took a paddling "test". Paddled 200m to a point in a straight line, 215m to another point, then 120m to the memorial, then 120m back to camp. Cookies for snack at 4:30. Went fishing behind our tent site. Didn't catch anything. Others say there is a good fishing spot at the top of the cliff, but I didn't go. Supper of chicken and vegetable stirfry over rice. S'mores for dessert. Early to bed, 7:45 pm. May 24 4:30 pm Got to bed last night at 11:30 after talking for hours. Slept very well. Woke up at 7:00 am. Breakfast of frozen yogurt (that's what happens when it's cold out you know), eggs, sausage, fruit, toast, tea. Went from McCrae Lake to Hungry Bay in Six Mile Lake, and camped on Hungry Creek. Lunch of pitas, cucumber, onion, green pepper, cheese, salami, ham, mustard. The campsite was very buggy, blackflies everywhere. Supper of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and raw oatmeal cookie dough for dessert. May 25 10:30 pm This morning I slept soundly until 7:30 am. Breakfast of pancakes, fruit, sausage. Late start, on the water at 10:30 am. Windy, Cold, Cloudy. Carry over into Hungry Creek over a beaver dam. Later we went through a small culvert under road into Gibson Lake, that was fun. The culvert wasn't more than 4 feet in diameter! Played canoe tag. Windy. Lunch on Gibson River was sunny and warm, consisting of Stoners (our name for stoned wheat crackers), buns, salami, onion, cheese, cream cheese, cucumber, green pepper. Big portage around 3 Rock Chute. Blackflies ate us. We left on pack at the start of the portage, and had to go all the way to the beginning to get it! We paddled to the dam where the water from Go Home Lake meets the Gibson River, where we got broadsided by a very fast current. There was a cool set of rapids at the start of Gibson River, which we "lined" the canoes down, by passing them down the line. We camped beside a cool set of class 2 rapids. We went body surfing in them. It was very cold! I went down three times. Supper of nasty, disgusting macaroni with mushroom soup mix. (bad combo) and stir fried veggies. Dessert of fried brownies (still don't know how those were made, but they were great!), Rice Krispie "blobs". To bed at 11:00 pm. Exhausted. May 26 Woke up at 6:30 am. Breakfast of fried oatmeal (also great) and toast. On the water by 8:00 am. Paddled Gibson/Musquash River to Georgian Bay. Sailed to camp. Lunch at camp of chicken burgers. Left camp and arrived at Honey Harbour via camp motor boat. Drove home in the camp can with Jason and Dee from camp. Lunch at Wendy's (yes again). 1/4 lb. single combo and 2 Junior burgers (hey, it was the first taste of real food!) Drove to school and unpacked. Arrived home at approx. 8:30 pm. For more information on this area, and how to protect it, contact Friends of McCrae Lake
		This page was last updated on June 17, 2003 at 02:10 AM
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