all images © James Tung, 2001-2008
During early June, 2002, Alan and I took a camping trip along the northern shore of Lake Superior, in Pukaskwa Nationa Park, Ontario, Canada. The "Coastal Hiking Trail" is pretty much the only trail in the park, which is a 60-km one way trail. We only managed to hike about 30 km of it.
I have never done backcountry camping before this, and I picked a tough one. The terrain is rugged: the trail is in a fairly straight line, and we pretty much had to climb over whatever is in the way.
Here is a link to the homepage of the national park.
The first third of this leg was easy, with many boardwalks over flat, marshy areas. Things get interesting as we approach the Playter Harbour camps: giant rock outcrops took place of shady forest, and the trail is only marked by these "cairns." Right before the White River suspension bridge things flatten out again. Little of this was appreciated until we were on our way back; I was too busy getting used to walking under the weight of the backpack and fighting through the mosquitos and cobwebs.
The pictures do not do justice to the spendor of the White River. For a few seconds I got dizzy in the middle of the bridge from looking down at my feet. We camped at the northermost one among the Upper White River campsites.
Alan on the trail |
bridge over White River |
bridge over White River |
view from bridge |
view from bridge |
rapid along White River |
rapid along White River |
same rapid |
same rapid |
view from our campsite |
closer view |
closer view |
This is probably the most grueling leg of the trip, because of the rocks. We walked over big boulders and fields of smaller rocks. The reward at the end of the day is a fantastic campsite at Morrison Harbour with clear, shallow water and a dazzling sunset.
campsite at Upper White River |
on top of a rock outcrop |
Lake Superior shore, finally |
view near Willow River campsite |
Lake Superior shore |
rock field |
dusk at Morrison Harbour campsite |
sunset at Morrison Harbour |
moon over Morrison Harbour |
We lost the trail near the coast due to some missing cairns. After an hour or so looking for the trailhead back inland without success, we decided to just follow along the shore. We climbed over a few small valleys, eventually found our way back on the trail, and decided to camp at the next available site.
campsite at Morrison Harbour |
en route to Cave Harbour |
view near Cave Harbour camp |
We decided to chuck our large packs in the bear locker and do a day hike to Oiseau Bay, at which was the southernmost point on the trail we would arrive. This leg is surprisingly flat and friendly, except for a fairly large, bridgeless brook that we had to cross.
After lunch at Oiseau it was time to turn back. Unfortunately it started raining soon after, and we were soaked by the time we retrieved our backpacks in Cave Harbour. The downpour slowed into a drizzle as we arrived back at Morrison Harbour, and we quickly set up camp and called it a day.
flood plane near Oiseau Bay |
flood plane |
final stop: Oiseau Bay |
en route to Morrison Harbour |
en route to Morrison Harbour |
en route to Morrison Harbour |
The motivation for me to get to the trailhead by the end of Day 5 was the (free) hot shower, courtesy of the Canadian Government. Without a doubt, this was the best shower of my life.
The downside is that we walked all day, for more than 15 kilometers, in wet shoes. My feet were in pretty sad shape by the end of the day. Nevertheless, the sky cleared out and humidity dropped as the day passed on, and it was a pleasant day for some nice recapitulation of the scenary.
en route to Willow River |
en route to Willow River |
view near Willow River campsite |
view near Willow River campsite |
view near Willow River campsite |
en route to White River |
Bear! |
almost there |
next morning, before departure |
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all images © James Tung, 2001-2008