HIGH FALLS AND THE CASCADES - August 2023, Part 1 of 4

 

The Honda Pilot loaded up with the canoes...  H20 Boundary 17-6 in red and white, H20 Bob Special 15 in yellow.

The canoes and packs at the Brigham Lake parking lot.

Just leaving the Brigham Lot put in, heading downstream on the Barron River.

Nathan and Alexander paddling the Boundary.

Another view down the Barron, Brigham Lake is just up ahead about three hundred meters.

Nathan and Alexander in the Boundary, just about to enter Brigham Lake.

Fixing coffee the next morning on Opalescent Lake.

TRIP PLANNING FOR THE BARRON CANYON, THE CASCADES, HIGH FALLS

BARRON CANYON DAY TRIP:

A fairly easy and spectacular day trip into the Barron Canyon can be done by driving to the small Brigham Lake parking lot, putting in, and following the Barron River downstream into the Barron Canyon.  If you paddle just the length of the canyon and then return, it is about four hours. If you make it to Cache Rapids (worth seeing) the round trip can be six or seven hours. Add in a hike of the Barron Canyon trail, and you have a solid day.

THE CASCADES / HIGH FALLS DAY TRIP:
A nice one day up the cascades to high falls starts by parking at the Brigham Lake lot, and putting in but going upstream along 'The Cascades'. Four portages will get you to High Falls lake, which is beautiful, and after paddling the length of the lake, you can explore the main portage along the river to St. Andrews Lake, or the side trail to check out High Falls.  If you hit the water by nine in the morning, you can lunch at the take out at High Falls, and get back to your car by three or four in the afternoon.

SINGLE NIGHT TRIP:

Book a campsite on Opalescent Lake, put in at Brigham Lake, paddling to your campsite and setting up camp,  return to the Barron River light, and spend the rest of the day exploring the canyon, at least to Cache Rapids, then return to Opalescent for the night.

The next morning, leave opalescent lake light, and head for High Falls via Ooze Lake and High Falls Lake. once you have checked out the falls, return to Opalescent via the cascades and Brigham lake, break your camp, and then head back to your car at the Brigham Lake lot

MARIE LAKE OVERNIGHT TRIP - AUTUMN 2019, PART 1 OF 3

Late summer I was itching to get into the park for at least a day trip, and possibly even an overnighter. A trip to Canadian Tire clinched the deal, as I noticed a decent looking three person tent on sale half price, weighing in at about eight pounds. Three weeks away Alexander had a PD day on a Friday, and a week later the two week forecast appeared to promise at least a good bit of decent weather for the weekend.

The forecast held, and we had everything packed and ready to go for leaving Tavistock and heading for the cottage on Thursday Afternoon. The plan was to drive to Barrie via Arther, pick up the last couple of supplies at MEC in Barrie, then drive to the cottage to spend the night. Friday we would leave for the park and make it in to our booked campsite on Marie Lake, and then Saturday head back out for a night at the cottage, driving back to Tavistock Sunday.

Leaving Tavistock at 4:30, we pulled into the MEC in Barrie exactly two hours later, and began looking for a few items... bear spray, a pot, a small dry bag, and an Led tent light Alexander wanted.  Assistance was provided by a gregarious and passionate young man named Brenan, who helped us choose the dry sac for sealing up and hanging the small quantity of food we were taking in, and selecting a nice pot. 

We got back on the road, and had a trouble free drive up highway 11 to Huntsville, and then across highway 60 to the cottage.

The next morning I attached the crossbars to the Honda roof rack, Alexander and I loaded up the canoe and our gear, and we headed off to the Sand Lake access, from Barry's Bay to Round Lake, across the Bonnechere on the one lane bridge and up Red Rock Road, then the Pembroke road to Alice, and across country via Station Hill Road and then Barron Canyon Road to the gate. We checked in, got our tickets, and then headed to the Brigham Lake parking lot and our put in.

Parked at the small lot at the Brigham Lake put in, the canoe is an unmarked H20 Composites 'Bob Special 15'.

About 200 yards from the parking lot is the upstream put in, for our trip up 'The Cascades', a series of small lakes and sections of river, peppered with a half dozen portages to get up to St. Andrews Lake.

A small lake on the first section of water, heading for the first portage. My bowman Alex impressed me greatly, this is one of very few shots of him with his paddle out of the water!

Setting out on our first portage, Alexander took  his pack and the paddles, and I took my pack and the canoe.

The take out for the second portage, approximately 245 meters, long, after a half kilometer of paddling on the Barron River.

Just between the portage trail and the river was an ancient timber shed probably used in the days they ran logs down the Barron River.

A view inside the timber shed, it looks like it only had three sides, so may have been a place for storing equipment, as the open side was to the east, away from the weather.

Approaching the take out for the third portage, which is very short, about 45 meters, after not even 150 meters or so of paddling.

Alexander coined this the valet parking at the third take out, two logs you can paddle your canoe between, the much can be deep, so step on logs and rocks.

Setting out on High Falls lake after portage number four, a mostly level but very bouldery 450 meter portage. High Falls lake is approximately a mile (1.5 kilometers) long, so a nice paddle but watch for submerged rocks at the north part of the lake.

Halfway up High Falls Lake the lake narrows considerably, with lots of rocks and small islets to negotiate, many rocks we passed had paint marks up to a foot above water from canoes passing when the water is higher.

Reaching the south end of High Falls Lake, the outlet of one arm of the Barron River is reduced to a trickle over the boulder pile, the take out for the portage to St. Andrew's Lake is just to the right.

HIGH FALLS, ALGONQUIN PARK - AUGUST 2017

The last of our two visits to the cottage this summer was without Rudi, who had a one week session at Camp Oochageas near Huntsville.  We left Tavistock before lunch on Sunday, driving across country via Arthur and Creemore to arrive at the camp for the three pm drop off time, then drove to the cottage via Highway 60, the West and East gates of the park Park, and Whitney and Madawaska, arriving in time for dinner with John and Susan.

I had decided sometime during our week at the cottage to take Alexander on a day trip into Algonquin, and rather than the Barron Canyon, which is always spectacular, I felt that finding High Falls would be a great in and out trip for an enjoyable day.  Two summers earlier, Rudi and I along with uncle John and his friend Chris did an overnight into Achray and Barron, and on the second day we went upstream on the Barron river, eventually seeing a series of waterfalls draining into High Falls lake, but only on returning home and checking maps did I determine we did not find High Falls themselves, but an imposter on an adjacent arm of the river.

So later in the week, with the canoe already topped on the van the night before, Alexander and I left the cottage bright and early at 7:30, arrived at Sand Lake Access at 8:45, and after buying out permit, driving to the small lot at Brigham Lake, were on the water before 9:30 AM.

Canoeing up "The Cascades", a series of small lakes separated by short stretches of the Barron River with low cascades and rapids and small waterfalls... There are four portages from the Brigham Lake put in to High Falls Lake

Looking west along the north shore of High Falls Lake, it appears a small swath of the forest ahead of the bow is suffering from disease, likely a bark borer.

The river inlet into High Falls Lake.  This is the easiest to locate, as it is very open and plain to see, and near the take out for the portage to St. Andrews Lake.  About three hundred metres to the right of the canoe, however, is a second inlet, that drains Stratton Lake via High Falls.

After leaving the canoe near the put in, we located the unmarked and unofficial trail that leads along this second river (that drains Stratton Lake) and to High Falls, pictured above... Well it probably is one of three decent waterfalls that could be called High Falls.

Another view of what is likely High Falls, the lower of three waterfalls on the Barron River draining Stratton Lake into High Falls Lake.

A small water slide that drains a small amount of the flow of the one arm of the Barron River from St. Andrews Lake into the other arm from Stratton Lake. Alexander jumped in to provide some scale, the slide was about twenty feet in height.

These are not High Falls, but are one of the falls on the Barron River draining St. Andrews Lake into High Falls lake. My bowman Alex for scale, this step of the staircase is about fifteen feet tall.

BARRON CANYON - JULY 2013 (Part 1)

After a season generally away from canoeing for a number of reasons, including cataract surgery on my left eye last summer, Rudi, Alexander and I got back into it in grand style shortly after leaving for our first visit to the cottage over the summer holidays.

This year, we invited AJ, a friend of Rudi's from cubs, up for four days or so of paddling, and possibly an overnight trip in some fantastic country in Eastern Ontario. The canoes this year were a Swift Kipawa kevlar, and an older plastic on aluminum frame Coleman, borrowed from two of Katherine's friends. I am hoping to acquire one or two H20 Composites by the end of the summer, of course...

My bowman, Alexander this time, as we head downstrem on the Barron River from Brigham Lake

Rudi and AJ learning the finer points of steering a canoe down the channel.

The Barron Canyon opens up.

A view of the scale of the size of the Canyon. AJ and Rudi are in the red canoe in the distance, looking from our boat back upstream.

THE BARRON CANYON (PART 1)

On Tuesday, Rudi and I headed for the Barron Canyon in Algonquin Park. I was thinking of a not too difficult or long day trip, maybe four hours or so of canoeing including portages, and this trip fit the bill perfectly. We were also able to get in a short hike to the top of the Canyon for a simply spectacular view.

We started early, dropping Alexander off at my Sister's house in Barry's Bay just after 8 in the morning, and drove to the Sand Lake Access gate, using Station Hill Road out of Alice as a shortcut. We arrived at the gate to buy our Day Pass ($13) just after 10am, and talking with the Park Employee, determined that putting in at the Brigham lake access provided a shorter paddle (8km round trip, versus 14km) than going upstream from Squirrel Rapids. It also enabled us to check out the short hiking loop that takes one to the lookout at the top of the Canyon.

The loop is a short, fairly easy 1.5km trail that takes you from the parking lot just off the access road, up a steep hillside to the clifftop over the canyon, giving a spectacular view in both directions. The canyon here is roughly 350' deep, and has nothing to stop one from falling over the edge... Apparently, this does happen occasionally, as a person fell and died just a few years ago.