Our Family's Last Canoe Trip of 2020

You waste weekends in the summer accomplishing obligatory chores. You think to yourself, "It's summer, I can camp and paddle anytime." Then suddenly, night begins to come earlier. The leaves shine brilliant gold, orange, red, and then poof - they're gone. It sneaks up on you, the last canoe trip of the season. Now you wish you had spent more days on the water, in camp, off the grid.

 

October is best time of year for low bugs, gorgeous scenery, and cold but not deep-freeze weather. It is a time for campfires on early dark nights, red and gold maples, snuggling deep into sleeping bags while winds rustle trees. Our mid-October leaf peeping canoe trip to the Sylvania Wilderness provided a beautiful last look at the season coming to a close.

With Ams on holiday from school, my husband and I took some vacation time. On Thursday morning we stuffed the car. The minute school dismissed, we headed north. With darkness already coming, we set up camp at the North Trout Lake Campground, site 1034. No other campers occupied sites within sight of ours. Although others did occupy the campground, we felt alone. The wind whistled and leaves fell in intricate dances. We had a wonderful campfire and made baked potatoes in the coals, topping them with butter, salt, cheese and bacon bits. With breakfast in mind, I prepared a few extra potatoes. 

Trip Video

We slept soundly, as one does breathing frosty air from the inside of a warm sleeping bag. We woke to an even windier morning and wondered how our canoe trip would go. Picnic table items blew across our campsite, camp chairs blew over the moment we stood. Would we be able to get our daughter Ams to paddle in this wind? I cooked a hearty egg, bacon and fried potato breakfast to warm the family and give us plenty of calories to burn. Now Friday morning, campers began to show up and fill the campground. We packed up and headed to the Sylvania Wilderness.

Gorgeous gold leaves in the Sylvania Wilderness

Due to our concern for our daughter's morale paddling in the intense wind, when we arrived at the Sylvania Wilderness we checked the register for open sites within a couple miles of the put-in. We found Clark Lake so windy, the wind blew our canoe uphill at the put-in flipping it over many times. We felt lucky to find no damage beyond scratches. As it goes, we paddled off into a headwind. My husband and I have tandem paddled enough windy days to manage. However, our daughter struggled to keep the kayak on course and moving forward, complaining of "noodle arms".

Lunch on Maple 1

As we set up camp other paddlers and several groups of backpackers came by the site. Some of them looking for a place to camp. We felt lucky to have arrived when we had, to get Ams off the lake and out of the wind. After setting up camp, Ams chose one of her favorite camp meals, dehydrated sweet and sour chicken with peas, for lunch. With some cold weather in the forecast and in anticipation of early nights, we gathered kindling and firewood and took turns paddling around the lake in the kayak. I made a pancake and bacon breakfast for dinner. Night came quickly. We warmed ourselves by the fire until our eyes grew heavy.

The wind is not as bad in the protected area around camp

The wind slowed down around sunset

Ams loves a good campfire

Saturday we woke to a very windy morning and decided quickly we didn't want to paddle. The wind out of the North pierced our layered clothing. Even with my rain suit as an exterior I felt the piercing wind. I tried to keep moving and cooked hashbrowns and bacon for our family. 

Waiting for sunrise on Clark Lake

After breakfast we decided to hike over to Whitefish Lake to check out the trails and warm ourselves. The trail turned away from the lake, we began to meander through the trees. The stillness in the low lying areas among the trees and away from Clark Lake made the sun feel 10 degrees warmer. Fresh wind gusts no longer penetrated our jackets. We hiked to Whitefish Lake and took a break, reminiscing about past trips camped on Whitefish.

A gorgeous day for a hike

Time for a rest break at Whitefish Lake

Whitefish Lake

Eventually our grumbling stomachs sent us back to camp on Clark Lake. For a late lunch, I prepared dehydrated beef stroganoff with dehydrated peas and dehydrated egg noodles. With warm food in our stomachs, we began to gather more firewood to stave off the cold. We snacked and made Ams a loaded fire baked potato, enjoying the fire for hours, before finally turning in for a good night's sleeps.

Another cold evening on its way on Clark Lake

A beautiful campfire

I woke to a very cold morning and put on every layer of clothing I had packed. I nibbled granola. I felt the air and looked at the sky wondering if it might snow. When the family tore themselves from their warm sleeping bags, I prepared Idahoan Loaded Baked Potato Soup with bacon bits and cheese garnishes to warm them. I served this is small Thermoses to protect the food from the icy air.

Our last morning in camp

My new trick for trying to keep camp food warm - small Thermoses

Eventually the sun dried up the clouds and energized our family. We tore down camp, then put Ams on the water while we finished loading the canoe. She did a great job paddling across Clark Lake and finding the put-in on her own. Another great confidence building experience complete! We caught up to her near the landing and helped her ashore. It felt so good to see Ams blossoming and enjoying a little more independence.

The landing at Clark Lake

Our farewell phone on our campsite on the last trip of the season

That's all for now, let's get outdoors and keep our wild places wild!