Crossing the Western Entrance

Blueberry trail
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We left Toronto at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday to begin our 4.5 hour drive to Killarney Provincial Park. We had one kayak strapped to Andrea's roof racks and had called in advance to make sure others were available from Killarney Outfitters.

We decided to eat lunch in the town of Killarney, and after a lengthy 45-minute wait, we finally got our fish and chips from Herbert's. With a reputation of fish and chips "to die for", you might think I'd say it was worth it. But I won't. Yes, the chips were very good, and the fish was fabulous and incredibly fresh.  (There's even a fish-cleaning and vacu-seal service right next door for successful fisherfolk).  However, once you factor in the time it actually takes to get into town, it was just too much effort for fried food. Next time, my vote would be to grab anything from any store, and be on the water 90 minutes earlier.

Whipped Full of Wind and Waves

The Chickanishing Trail
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Next stop was the Killarney Park office to get a parking permit, and from there, the Chikanishing River Access Point to drop off the kayak. Naidan elected to stay with it, while Andrea and I continued on to Killarney Outfitters to pick up the rentals.

As usual, the outfitters were staffed by capable, helpful and generally great people.  Although we had called in to check on kayak availability, we didn't reserve. Bad call. All that was left were the more expensive fibreglass boats. The staff generously gave us one day free, so we ended up paying the same as we would for the less expensive kayaks.  Once he learned that we were kayaking newbies, he offered a 10-minute demo lesson to show us how everything worked:  float paddles, spray skirt, rudder, and stroke tips. Perfect!

Orienteering for Dummies - Chikanishing River
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Even better, he looked over a map with us and highlighted some of his favourite spots along the route: Winakaching is a nice, easy trip with good campsites.... there's a great beach in Desjardins Bay... if the weather's good, you'll be able to make it as far as the Chickens, they're really interesting etc.

We  mentioned our plan to go head South-East along the islands and come back the same way (different route/different islands, of course). However, if weather didn't co-operate, we would return via the sheltered Collins Inlet. The outfitter guy agreed with the plan (Collins Inlet is full of cottages and is less interesting). He also pointed out that, if necessary, we could make the Collins trip in one (very long) day. Surprising, because it's at least 25 km, but good to know.

Cooking dinner
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It's only about  15 minutes from the Outfitters to the Chikanishing River, but it took two trips (one for each boat) and another hour and a half before we were sorted out, loaded up and ready to go.

Kayaking in the Chikanishing River is easy. It's a lazy, winding canal.  Sure, compared to a canoe, I found that a kayak is a beast to turn, but easy enough to manage by paddling a few times on one side, or using various canoe tricks.  A little frustrating, but no problem. I'd get the hang of it.

I love my MSR stove
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Except that our 1 km river paddle didn't give us nearly enough time to get the hang of it. And all changed suddenly when we reached the Western Entrance. It's only a short crossing, but it was whipped full of wind and waves directly in from Georgian Bay. We charged on, but it began to look like an unpleasant battle was ahead of us.

Didn't help matters that the rope used to raise and lower my rudder snapped and my canoe tricks no longer helped make the boat behave. I was exerting tremendous energy just keeping the waves at 45 degrees (or thereabouts) while I zig-zagged marginally forward.  Naidan was in potentially worse shape: He started powering through the channel as fast as he could once he discovered that his spray skirt would not stay attached while the waves sloshed over his low-riding bow.

Bear-proofing
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It was Andrea who called it off. A very experienced canoeist, she was not happy with the maneouverings of her kayak, either. Also the voice of reason. Some degree of mastery was needed before we ventured into the channel in rough weather, or there was a fair chance that one of us would dump. Most likely, this would not have been dangerous -  sea kayaks are designed for this sort of thing, after all.  However, it would have been quite a trick for an inexperienced person to figure out how to actually use a paddle float (at least we had that demo!), get back in and get the deck pumped out. Harder still in all of those waves.

Storm-sheltered tents
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As it was, I could barely turn my kayak around as we headed back to a landing point on the sheltered side of a nearby island at the mouth of the Chikanishing River. A great island for a campsite, as luck would have it.

We spent the next morning playing in the water around the island: starting on the sheltered side, then gradually venturing into the waves in the open bay, eventually coasting on the mild surf as it rushed in through a narrow channel between islands. Our paddling skills were definitely improving, but the weather chose not to cooperate.

Moody Georgian Bay crossing
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Islanders (Prince Edward Islanders, that is) have a great expression: storm-stayed.  If a sudden squall hits, visting friends, relatives and even neighbours may end up staying on for a day or two until it's safe to travel again. This is sort of what happened to us, though of course, there wasn't anyone on our little island to offer up a friendly bit of shelter.

Shorebound is what we were then, due to a thundering sort of summer storm. We crouched for hours under the slick, silicone tarp, watching the rain pour down while lightning crashed directly overhead. So close and crackling that Andrea advised us to perch on top of our lifejackets and avoid touching rock or tree roots until the worst had past.