Friday

We start at 1:00am and drive up north with our Minivan. We means Randy, Sabine, Sylvia and me. To Sudbury - where we pick up Robert, Vroni and Ann - it is about 450 km, but now in the night there is no traffic at all and so we reach the city at 6:00am. We take a break for sleeping somewhere beside the road.

At 7:00am we get to Robs apartment and after loading everything we head 40 km back until we reach the intersection to Killarney Provincial Park. 60 km later there is George Lake and the Park Office, where we register and book our campsites. For the first night we choose the very next site (H1) located directly at Lumsden Lake.

To this point we are planning to hike, camp there and walk on without our backpacks. The trail (it is the western end of the La Cloche Silhouette Trail), that starts directly at the George lake campground, runs through green, mixed forest in the beginning, from time to time it is pave with wooden bars, helping to get across those huge mud holes.

After about 3 km a small path branches off, leading to Lumsden lake and our campsite, which we reach at 10am.

After pitching up the tents we enjoy having breakfast on the sunlight-covered rocks.

Not much later we start again with only small backpacks containing food. We follow the main trail further on northwards. After 2 km we reach a clearing totally covered with grass and old, grey tree stumps.

Some hundred meters forward we discover the beaver dam that cause the flooding of the clearing some time ago. Gradually this new lake the water disappeared, mud accumulated in it and so it form this clearing with the dead trees that died of the flooding. We cross the little river, that has formed a gully, to get on our way to Acid lake.

The name gives an idea of what is wrong with the lake. Many lake up here have the problem of hyperacidity, primarily caused by acid rain. Since the 60s either 70s this is documented and lately the most lakes seem to regenerate themselves. Nevertheless, the pH in many lakes is still below 5.5, a critical limit for the reproduction of trout.

We hike on for some more kilometers until we decide to have our lunch break on top of a nearby hill. We fill our stomachs with sandwiches, followed by a nut mix as a desert.

Finally we can't eat anymore and - as I would say in German - an immediate feast anaesthesia starts off, from which we wake up an hour later. After half an hour of walk we return to get some sun a t our camp at Lumsden lake. As we reach the lake, we can watch an otter swimming and diving, paddling around.

We decide to emulate the otter and so we jump into the water. After we have improved our blood circulation enough we prepare our dinner. Once more we have pasta with tomato sauce.

As the day dawns the sunshine dips our campsite into an unreal light. Shortly later it is dark already and so we sit around the campfire, roast marshmallows and drink wine and Kahlua to Rob's health, who has his birthday today. we talk on until late into the starry night, which is too nice to sleep in a tent and so Randy, Sabine and me, we sleep outside on the rocks. Sometime in the night it I get waked up, Randy and Sabine rush into the tent, it starts to rain. I am much too tired and my bivy sack has to be good for something.

Saturday

Next Morning we get up early and after some shots of oatmeal with apples and bananas and a hot chocolate we head back to the car.

Today a paddling trip is planned using the kayaks we rented from the Outers club. We just have 6 of them so we have to pick up one more at the nearby outfitter store. As we are on the water, we have to fight against to wind and Randy has to fight against his kayak. I think he is paddling about 3 to 4 times the distance we do, going around in circles. But he keeps on trying hard and so we reach a small island on George Lake where we have our lunch.

We are sitting in the sun for ages, eating our sandwiches, talking about this that and the other. It is getting cool and windy and so we crawl back into the canoes.

Sylvia, Ann, Rob and Vroni paddle back, Randy, Sabine and me, we go further to explore the next lake, too. As we arrive at the portage I struggle while trying to get out of the kayak and fall into the water.

Dripping wet, I can't go on, because it is getting cold very fast due to the steady wind blowing over the water. Unfortunately the others took my bag with them, so I don't have any cloth to change.

On the way back we take a little but cold detour (Sabine just can't get enough) to the Sheguiandah Lake, at which - as we find out later on - our next camp will be.

Late in the afternoon - the light of the setting sun is reflected from the water - we get to the car again, mount the kayaks back on the top and hike to campsite H53 at Sheguiandah Lake.

The trail to this campsite is the other end of the La Cloche Silhouette Trail that runs 100 km around George Lake (and dozens of others). This part differs from the western end where we were hiking in the morning. Here huge rocks have to be conquered, steep climbing tours on slippery rock give us the feeling of adventure. We come to the campsite when it is already dawning, and immediately start to cook rice with vegetable sauce.

It is getting dark very fast and so we gather around the fire pit, once more the star-lit sky above us.

We are all really tires and so we go to sleep soon afterwards. The starry sky ...... you know what is coming now... Randy, Sabine and me, we sleep outside once more, this undisturbed until the next morning.

Sunday

We get up and discover, that we are not the only ones at this lake. A family of otters is having a bath.

After our delicious breakfast we hike back to our car.

This day we want to conquer Ontario's highest "mountain", the Silver Peak with its 539 m.

(* meanwhile we found out, that there are higher hills than the Silver Peak, but not much higher, though ;-))

For this purpose one has to paddle to a Portage, from where a trail runs up to the top. Vroni, Ann and rob have enough of paddling with the kayaks and so we rent a canoe for them. Fortunately it is already where we need it, namely at the Bell Lake Access Point, which is accessible only over a long gravel road. After some dusty kilometers we start off from there. We have some difficulties to find the right way, nobody had a look at the map.

But - as I would put it in German - it isn't important where you are going, it's just important that you are going. Finally we reach the portage.

We walk some hundred meters, then we have our lunch break at a sun-drenched spot at Clearsilver Lake.

Ann decides to let us take the strenuous part without her and to stay in the sun for longer. We hike on, full of energy. For some time the trail runs along the La Cloche Silhouette Trail until we have to take a different way on a turning. from here the way runs steep up the hill, sometimes crossed by small brooks, the wet rock is slippery once more. But after 90 minutes we succeed. We are standing on the peak or better we are trying to stand, because a enormous wind is blowing up here.

We brought some hot tea along, which warms us up deservedly. The view across the lakes far below is magnificent, even if blurred by haze.

Nevertheless - it is absolutely worth it!

We head back and meet Ann where we left the kayaks. The way to Bell Lake Access Point is mainly still touched by some rays of the sun, which is about to set.

As we get back to the car it s getting dark already. We load our stuff and have a serving of cream of wheat with cherries and apple sauce. Exhausted, but deeply satisfied we drive back to Sudbury, where we drop off Ann, Vroni and Rob. We spent some time in Robs apartment, until we finally head southwards, to Waterloo.