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 2 OF 3

We reached the south end of High Falls Lake shortly before two in the afternoon, and made the half kilometer portage to St. Andrews Lake in one trip. The portage follows the Barron River as it drains St. Andrews Lake to High Falls Lake, but High Falls themselves are not on this course of the river, but on the course that drains Stratton Lake to High Falls Lake.

  

Nevertheless, this course of the river has a spectacular lower fall, numerous rapids, and a large bouldery fall near the top.  The portage rises about twenty meters, but is a nice easy walk.  We took a second break at the put in at St. Andrews Lake, then made our way down a short way to the portage to Marie Lake.

The Portage from St. Andrews Lake to Marie Lake was particularly brutal, as it was the longest at about 750 meters, and had a roughly eighty meter rise followed by a forty meter drop.  The first fifty meters was a very steep slope.  We did this in two trips, one with packs, and second with the canoe.

Marie Lake was small, and just a hundred yards or so from the put-in was one of only two campsites on the lake.  It looked good from a distance, and better from up close, so we started a fire, set up the tent, and relaxed before dinner.

Looking north over High Falls Lake, the Bob Special 15 is at the take out for the portage to St. Andrews Lake, directly behind me.

The put in at St. Andrews Lake, looking south.

Alexander showing off his scout knife, purchased in San Diego, at two points on the portage.

Alexander recharging himself before we set off for the Marie Lake portage.

The only seemingly flat section of the portage to Marie Lake, Alexander with his pack and the paddles.

Approaching the camp site we chose at Marie Lake. Tall white pines, a carpet of pine needles, and quite level - perfect.

The tent that got us into this adventure... it was simple to set up, roomy, light, and kept us dry.

We found enough dried or rotted dead wood for a fire for a few hours, and cooked dinner on an MSR whisperlite stove, in front of Alexander.

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.