Let New Adventures Begin

It thunder stormed during the night. But our tent stayed dry , so that was ok. You can smell the wet from the rain in the air, however, everything should be dry again in about an hour or so. 

We woke up at about 9 and set to packing up right away. Today is going to be the hottest day of our trek. It's expected to be in the range of about 30 degrees. That's not good when you are starting the first day of your backpacking trip because the first day is when you are carrying the most weight.  But at least the first day is a short one. Only about 2 km. 

We got to the office to check in for the back country at about 11 a.m. or so. We double checked with the girl at the desk to make sure that we had the right sites booked. It was a good thing we did because I was right in thinking that they had Upper Brush Lake and Lower Brush Lake labeled backwards on their maps. If we hadn't caught the discrepancy we would have been expected to go forwards and then backwards and then forwards again to get to the sites we had booked. 

Our first night we were booked to stay at the Semiwite number 2 campsite.  We had wanted number one because the comments left on the internet said that it was one of the nicest sites, but someone had already booked it. But that's ok because we booked it for the end of our trip instead. 

We asked where the parking was for back country hikers because we didn't see it on the map. She seemed a bit unsure of herself when she said "I think you can park right near the trail". But we took her word for it anyways. 

Once we had registered, our plan was to find a comfort station so that Carsten could change into some better hiking clothes and so that we could get our hiking boots on before heading out. 

We drove to every single bathroom in the park. That is how we found out that there is not a single comfort station in the whole park. So, instead we opted to park in an empty campsite close to the nearest bathrooms to the trail so we could use the picnic table to sit at to put our boots on. . 

I decided that since the bathrooms were right there I would go and use them one last time before heading out. I went into the first stall and there was no toilet paper. Completely empty. So I went to the next stall and there was one roll sitting on the floor of the bathroom and not in the dispenser. I am guessing it is because the previous visitors had been sharing the roll by passing it under the wall between the two stalls.  I wasn't impressed. It was almost noon and the parks usually have the bathrooms cleaned and the toilet paper refilled by now.  And this was the second park I had been to this month where they hadn't been filling the toilet paper properly. What's up with that? 

Also, there was another old box on the wall with a button and no power connected to it anymore. I pressed the button anyways just to see what would happen. Nothing happened. At least not that I could see.

As I walked back to where Carsten was I noticed a campsite that had a trampoline set up in it. I guess that's one way to keep the kids entertained but it seems a bit excessive for camping if you ask me. But to each their own I guess.

So we are pretty much ready to go and we get to the trail head only to find out there is no parking anywhere even remotely near the trail. 

This meant that Carsten had to drive the car to a parking lot at the complete opposite end of the park and then walk all the way back to the trail head while I sat and waited with our backpacks. 

So, off Carsten went and I sat and waited. While I waited I looked at the map on the billboard and I took a look at the comments in the Registration Box.  I had to laugh at the sign on the box though. It said to write your zero comments in the box. I know it was just a typo but it was funny because it seemed like they didn't actually want any of your comments. 

Carsten was just about back, I could even see him up the road, when I realized that I think I had forgotten the camp stove in the car. I quickly checked all the pockets in my pack and I couldn't find it. Oh no! This meant I would have to walk all the way to the car and back to get it!  

So, I left Carsten with the packs and off I went. And it was a long walk!  To top it off when I got to the car I still couldn't find it. But I wasn't going back empty handed so I grabbed Carsten's camp stove instead. To  top it all off, I found the missing stove later on and ended up having to carry 2 stoves for the whole trip instead of just one. Better than carrying fuel for one and not having any though I guess. 
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By the time I got to the car and back I had walked an extra 2 km and we hadn't even started our hike yet!
It was vey hot and humid like a sauna and I was already on the verge of getting cranky. I was beginning to worry that this trip was not going to go well if this was how it was beginning already.

It was about 1 pm when we finally got started on our hike. As we walked along my mood lightened as I saw how nice the trail was. It was decently wide, clear and fairly flat. 

There was some dead fall but nothing that you couldn't step over. It could do with some clearing out though. 

The bugs were not bad at all and there were some nice views of Semiwite Lake since much of this section of the trail runs right along side it. 

In one spot I found a really interesting maple leaf that was in the process of changing colour. It was weird because it looked as though someone had painted it using a ruler or straight edge to make the red stay only at the top of the leaf. It was like God had used some painters tape to colour this one! 

From time to time we would come across some laminated cards that were attached to a tree. They were to help people learn about the different types of trees. 

You just lifted the flap and the answer was underneath. There were a few that were missing the top cover so the answer was a dead giveaway, but I think it was still a nice little educational tool all the same. 

In what seemed like no time we had made it to The Beach. It is one of the three beaches in the park and is only accessible by hiking the trail or by boat. It is also where the portage is to Helenbar Lake. This is what we figured to be about the half way point according to the park map to where we were headed. We had planned to take a nice long rest here and enjoy the scenery for awhile. 

I followed Carsten through some trees and out into the open sandy beach. 

The beach looked nice enough and there was a picnic table down at the other end. However, there were more people here than we had expected. I suppose we shouldn't have been too surprised given that it was such a hot day.

The picnic table had people and there were people in the water and people on the beach. We couldn't even really find a shady place to sit. We found a small spot that was uncomfortably close to where some swimmers left their clothes and towels and we took our packs off and rested for a short bit. We didn't stay long though. We figured that we may as well just get to our campsite and enjoy our own piece of shoreline over there instead. 

So we put our packs back on and continued on our way. After The Beach, the trail started to get a little more messy with fallen branches and trees. But nothing to terrible. 

We knew we were getting closer when we passed a large information sign that told of the story of the plane crash that MacKenzie survived and for whom the trail was named after.  This sign is the junction where two trails meet. 

The deadfall was becoming more frequent now. I took notice of one that was covered in fungi. 

This one caught my eye because the fungi were in the shapes of sea shells and some were green from being in the weather for so long.  It looked almost like this should be in an underwater seascape instead of on dry land. 

After awhile we passed a sign that indicated a side trail leading down to what we thought was site number one (we found out after our trip was over that this was actually site number 2 and was the site we were actually supposed to be on, but it all worked out ok). 

Carsten asked me if I wanted to go down and see it but I said no because not only did I not want to walk the extra distance in this heat but also because I didn't want to impose on anyone if they were still there. Besides, it would ruin the surprise for later because we were booked for site number one for the final night of our trip. 

So, we continued on. That's when thigs started to get quite over grown and it became apparent that not as many people come this far down the trail as they do on the first section. The ferns here were thick and were growing all the way up to about the height of Carsten's shoulders. 

We were walking in a field of green and it reminded me of the scene in the Wizard Of Oz where they come to the poppy field. Were we going to wake up in the middle of this and wonder where we were? 

On the other side of the fern field, we came to an intersection. In front of Carsten is the side trail to our campsite and behind him was the sign and trail leading to Upper Bush Lake. Not far now! 

We headed down the side trail. Some of the trail had been cleared in previous years but we still had a little sapling arch that we had to go under. 

The closer we got, the nicer trail became. There were now old pine needles under our feet instead of roots and rocks and dead fall. The trail was no longer overgrown and the path seemed to widen a bit more. 

Finally saw the official campsite sign that let us know that we had reached our destination.  It was about 3:15 p.m. so it had taken us just over 2 hours to get here (not including the time it took to go to the car and back). 

The site was lovely!  There was a picnic table, a firepit and a sandy beach. We promptly took our packs off and set them on the picnic table. It was good to be free of them. 

One of the first things we noticed was that someone had built a structure out of some old logs. They used grasses as twine to lash them together and had used some moss and sticks to make a floor. We were not sure if this was done for fun or for an exercise or out of need. It looked like you could throw a tarp over it and you would have a pretty good shelter. Or you could continue to build it using nearby materials. Carsten suggested maybe for leaning a canoe on which would also give you shelter.  At any rate, we re-purposed it as a clothes line. 

Right next to the shelter frame was a pine tree that was growing crooked, which made it the perfect chair.  It was a shady and relatively comfortable place to sit. 

The beach was sandy and lovely to look at but it was pretty shallow and you had to go a really long way out to get anywhere near deep enough to swim. 

However, it was deep enough for this young gull to swim. 

Getting water here was a bit challenging because it was so shallow. There were sandbars where you could walk out on, however even by walking out on those you couldn't get to deep enough water without filling your water filter up with sand.

At the end of one sand bar we noticed that someone had dug a hole in the mud under the water. Ah ha!  That is how to get water!  Dig a hole in the mud so that there is a place deep enough to fill your container. Brilliant!  Their hole was a bit too far out of reach for us so we widened theirs and made it closer to where we could reach it. Water problem solved! 

The next thing we did was to scout around for the Thunder Box. It was pretty easy to find and was in good condition. 

Although the sandy beach is beautiful here, it is mostly all just that. Beach. Which meant you didn't have a whole lot of room to put up a tent unless you wanted to put it up in the wet sand.  We managed to find a few flat and dry spots to set up. Carsten put his tent up at the entrance to the trail. 

I put mine up next to the pine tree that made a great chair. Mine was on the path to the Thunder Box but it was no big deal since there was just us here anyway. 

After we got all set up and had a bite to eat, we went and explored a little bit.  Carsten noticed that there seemed to be a trail that lead along the shoreline back towards the other campsite that we had passed on our way here. It even had a trail marker on the trees that was the same colour as the ones we had been following. And yet this trail was not marked anywhere on any of the maps.  We wondered if this may be an old trail that they no longer use anymore. If it is then it is still in really good condition so it couldn't have been abandoned all that long ago. 
​

 It ran parallel to the shore and  was much closer to the water than the one we had traveled on earlier that day.  If I am being honest, it seemed like a nicer hike than the one we were on. We followed it for a bit but did not go far enough to see if it joined up with any other campsite. We were too tired for that. If we had been staying on this site for a few days then that would be a different story. But we knew that tomorrow we had to hike about 7 or 8 km through an area with zero water, so we decided to just stick around camp and not tire ourselves out. 

Instead we enjoyed looking at the various plants growing near by, such as the velvet red colours of the berries on the Mountain Holly bushes. 

And the hopping of a little toad all covered in sand as it made its way to someplace safer than the wide open beach.  ​Actually, there were a fair number of toads in the area. 

There were some Mason wasps busy harvesting food from nearby flowers. 

The leaves on the maples were just starting to turn colour in dappled hues of reds and yellows.

And mushrooms were dotting the landscape like little miniature trees.

As afternoon turned to evening, the sunshine turned to grey skies. There was no rain though so that was a blessing. 

We built a fire and got some hot water so that we could make our dinner.  First campfire of the trip. It was a wonderful feeling. 

As we sat around the fire, we saw a bunch of Merganser ducks swim by. It was a group of 6 or 7 of them again. 

Considering this is the same lake that we were on last night, I believe that this is the same flock of ducks. 

During the course of the evening we also saw a loon and a humming bird. 

After supper I went and stood down by the waters edge for awhile. I noticed that the mud in the bottom of the lake in some places looked a bit different than what we are used to seeing. There are little valleys and erosion patterns in the mud. 

The texture was different too. The mud was hard along the edges of the eroded areas as though there was clay or something other than beach sand mixed in with it. It was interesting and made me curious as to what was going on there. 

As I stood at the end of a sandbar I saw a little leech swim by.  It swam right up onto the sandbar and I thought to myself "Well I guess he is stranded now". But then to my surprise it began to disappear right before my eyes within seconds as it buried itself in the mud. Now, I knew that these guys live in muddy areas of the lake but I didn't know just how fast they could bury themselves. It came as quite a surprise to me. 

We didn't get a vibrant sunset. There were too many clouds for that. However, the sun did manage to peek out between the clouds for a brief moment to say goodnight. 

Then it was as though the sun squinted its fiery eyes and glared at us with a look that said "Go to bed now!"
​It was a bit ominous really.  

We didn't go to bed right away though. We weren't going to let the sun chase us inside. Nope, that was a job for the mosquitoes. At about 9 o'clock the mosquitoes came out in full force. We doused the fire and headed for our tents.  We could hear them swarming outside the screens of our tents. So many of them.  But there were none inside, so we were able to go to sleep peacefully on the first night of our backpacking trip.