Adventure #7: Getting Lost with Michelle on the Nunikani Lake Loop
After many months of trying to find a time that would work for the two of us to get out together, Michelle and I finally found a weekend we were both available for a quick overnight trip to the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails. We decided on completing the Nunikani Lake Loop from October 5th-6th, 2019 as it seemed do-able considering how few trips we had done this year and how poor of shape we were in haha (canoe tripping is tiring, but so worth it!).
We made it to the Big Hawk Lake access point and unloaded our gear, ready to set out by 10am. We were doing the loop counter-clockwise, as recommended by Kevin Callan, "The Happy Camper," meaning we were heading up the right arm of the lake, towards Clear Lake. Surprisingly, Big Hawk Lake was a relatively easy paddle with only a little bit of wind and waves. Although the morning started out with frost on the vehicle and canoe, the sun warmed us up, forcing us to lose some of our layers of clothing by the time we made it to the first portage. As we had skipped breakfast that morning in an attempt to get on the water sooner, Michelle and I opted to take a break at the first portage to have some snacks to give us the energy we would need for the rest of our route. After finishing our snacks, Michelle and I loaded ourselves up with gear to carry across the 225m portage into Clear Lake.
We double-carried all of our portages for this trip as it was the fall season which meant more gear to keep us warm in the cooler temperatures. We passed by one campsite on an island that was occupied on our short paddle through Clear Lake. The lake was calm and so beautiful with extremely clear water, as the name suggests. We made it to the next portage within 15 minutes from when we put into the lake. After some quick pictures, Michelle and I set out on the 250m portage. The portage into Red Pine Lake was my favourite type of portage, lined with boardwalks to keep your feet out of the muck when the trail is wet. After our two trips over the portage, we set out onto Red Pine Lake, following the direction of Jeff's Maps which directed us straight up the lake, past Avery island, to where the portage, supposedly, should be. This is where the hour delay and confusion in our trip begins!
Michelle and I followed the direction of the map, but still couldn't find the portage and so we started paddling, following the shore to the right of where we thought the portage should have been. We assumed that we just weren't straight from the island, as it is hard to tell when you are in a canoe. In doing this, Michelle and I ended up in a little sandy cove because we thought we saw a portage sign, but it turns out it was just a random yellow sign with a black "x" on it (does anyone know what this sign is for???). At this point, Michelle and I decided to follow the shoreline back to where we had thought the portage should've been, and continue in the opposite direction from the way we went, to see if we could find it. Once we were almost straight across from Avery island, we found the portage. So, rather than going straight past Avery island, the portage is actually to the left of Avery island.
The confusion didn't end after the hour delay trying to find the portage into Nunikani Lake either. The first portage that was labelled was 60m to a split where the portage separated to go to Nunikani Lake or to East Paint Lake. We took the 440m route towards Nunikani Lake, following the trail to where it crossed over a dam, continuing down the left shoreline until the trail disappeared into the bush just after a set of rapids. Michelle and I looked for a sign that would signify this as the end of the portage, but could not find one. We decided to put in here anyways, hoping that we wouldn't come across any more rapids. Just as we made it out in the canoe a little way, we noticed a portage sign on the opposite side of the shore. At this point, Michelle and I were extremely confused as the trail specifically lead us across the dam, signifying that the trail continued from that side with another labelled portage sign, yet then the sign appears on the other side of the shore again. It was a very strange trail, to say the least, but we were just happy to have finally made it into Nunkiani Lake.
It didn't take us very long before we made it to our site for the night on Nunikani Lake. We were staying on site 112. Since it was getting later in the day (around 4pm) the wind had picked up, making our site chilly. We explored the site to try and find a spot to set up our hammocks that would protect us more from the wind. We decided on a spot up the hill towards where the thunderbox (well thunderboxes in the case of this site as there were two) were. There ended up being a bit of a sunken area at the top of the hill with trees for us to hang our hammocks while still keeping a good distance away from the thunderboxes. We decided on making some soup for a late lunch first before we got to work setting up our gear. After we were all set up, we relaxed for a while before boiling water for a late dinner. I tried Backpacker's Pantry's mashed potatoes and roast beef with gravy meal and it was delicious - definitely one of my new favourites! After dinner we snuggled into our hammocks, relaxing until we fell asleep.
The next morning we got up and got to work boiling water for our breakfast of oatmeal. After breakfast, we packed up all of our gear so that we would be ready to head back out on the water. By the time we were done packing up, we decided to have a quick snack before we left the site. The day was definitely windier than the day prior and we were happy to only have a short distance to paddle. Once loaded into the canoe, Michelle and I set out on our way towards the portage back into Big Hawk Lake.
As we approached the dam that the portage would take us around, all you could hear was the sound of water pouring over the other side. Turns out, this dam held back a good amount of water! We weren't too surprised by this though as all of our other portages had been slightly uphill and we were wondering when we'd be going back downhill to meet up with the water level of Big Hawk Lake. Luckily this time the portage was nice, wide, and well-marked, taking us along the right side of the dam. There were two options to the portage, one that was 225m and one that was 650m. The 650 m one was noted as taking you around a set of rapids later on before you'd put back in, whereas the 225m one would take you over the rapids. We opted to take the 225m portage with the idea of taking out again just to bypass the rapids later on. The views alongside the portage were beautiful, with them becoming even more remarkable as we loaded into the canoe at the end of it!
Michelle and I were able to paddle down very calm, slow-moving water for a fair way before we approached the rapids. There was plenty of shoreline space for us to take the canoe out and carry it past the rapids before we put in again. The view of the rapids was gorgeous and one I'm glad we got to see by taking the shorter portage. I would recommend doing what Michelle and I did, rather than take the 650m portage as we probably only had to do an extra 45m of portaging around the rapids after doing the 225m portage initially.
Once we put back in, Michelle and I paddled our way down the left arm of Big Hawk Lake, making our way towards the access point. Big Hawk Lake was a lot windier this day making our paddle take longer than the day prior. Eventually, we made it back to the access point, signalling the end of another great trip! Overall, the trip was one of my favourites so far, despite getting lost briefly in Red Pine Lake haha. The fall colours were nearing their peak and the waterfalls were so beautiful! I hope to come back to visit Nunikani again soon, although probably not in peak summer season as there are a lot of cottages to pass by on the surrounding other lakes, but not Nunikani Lake. What's your favourite place to go to experience the amazing fall foliage that Ontario has to offer?
Until the next adventure,
- Megan
*Check out my YouTube video of this trip!
We made it to the Big Hawk Lake access point and unloaded our gear, ready to set out by 10am. We were doing the loop counter-clockwise, as recommended by Kevin Callan, "The Happy Camper," meaning we were heading up the right arm of the lake, towards Clear Lake. Surprisingly, Big Hawk Lake was a relatively easy paddle with only a little bit of wind and waves. Although the morning started out with frost on the vehicle and canoe, the sun warmed us up, forcing us to lose some of our layers of clothing by the time we made it to the first portage. As we had skipped breakfast that morning in an attempt to get on the water sooner, Michelle and I opted to take a break at the first portage to have some snacks to give us the energy we would need for the rest of our route. After finishing our snacks, Michelle and I loaded ourselves up with gear to carry across the 225m portage into Clear Lake.
We double-carried all of our portages for this trip as it was the fall season which meant more gear to keep us warm in the cooler temperatures. We passed by one campsite on an island that was occupied on our short paddle through Clear Lake. The lake was calm and so beautiful with extremely clear water, as the name suggests. We made it to the next portage within 15 minutes from when we put into the lake. After some quick pictures, Michelle and I set out on the 250m portage. The portage into Red Pine Lake was my favourite type of portage, lined with boardwalks to keep your feet out of the muck when the trail is wet. After our two trips over the portage, we set out onto Red Pine Lake, following the direction of Jeff's Maps which directed us straight up the lake, past Avery island, to where the portage, supposedly, should be. This is where the hour delay and confusion in our trip begins!
Michelle and I followed the direction of the map, but still couldn't find the portage and so we started paddling, following the shore to the right of where we thought the portage should have been. We assumed that we just weren't straight from the island, as it is hard to tell when you are in a canoe. In doing this, Michelle and I ended up in a little sandy cove because we thought we saw a portage sign, but it turns out it was just a random yellow sign with a black "x" on it (does anyone know what this sign is for???). At this point, Michelle and I decided to follow the shoreline back to where we had thought the portage should've been, and continue in the opposite direction from the way we went, to see if we could find it. Once we were almost straight across from Avery island, we found the portage. So, rather than going straight past Avery island, the portage is actually to the left of Avery island.
The confusion didn't end after the hour delay trying to find the portage into Nunikani Lake either. The first portage that was labelled was 60m to a split where the portage separated to go to Nunikani Lake or to East Paint Lake. We took the 440m route towards Nunikani Lake, following the trail to where it crossed over a dam, continuing down the left shoreline until the trail disappeared into the bush just after a set of rapids. Michelle and I looked for a sign that would signify this as the end of the portage, but could not find one. We decided to put in here anyways, hoping that we wouldn't come across any more rapids. Just as we made it out in the canoe a little way, we noticed a portage sign on the opposite side of the shore. At this point, Michelle and I were extremely confused as the trail specifically lead us across the dam, signifying that the trail continued from that side with another labelled portage sign, yet then the sign appears on the other side of the shore again. It was a very strange trail, to say the least, but we were just happy to have finally made it into Nunkiani Lake.
It didn't take us very long before we made it to our site for the night on Nunikani Lake. We were staying on site 112. Since it was getting later in the day (around 4pm) the wind had picked up, making our site chilly. We explored the site to try and find a spot to set up our hammocks that would protect us more from the wind. We decided on a spot up the hill towards where the thunderbox (well thunderboxes in the case of this site as there were two) were. There ended up being a bit of a sunken area at the top of the hill with trees for us to hang our hammocks while still keeping a good distance away from the thunderboxes. We decided on making some soup for a late lunch first before we got to work setting up our gear. After we were all set up, we relaxed for a while before boiling water for a late dinner. I tried Backpacker's Pantry's mashed potatoes and roast beef with gravy meal and it was delicious - definitely one of my new favourites! After dinner we snuggled into our hammocks, relaxing until we fell asleep.
The next morning we got up and got to work boiling water for our breakfast of oatmeal. After breakfast, we packed up all of our gear so that we would be ready to head back out on the water. By the time we were done packing up, we decided to have a quick snack before we left the site. The day was definitely windier than the day prior and we were happy to only have a short distance to paddle. Once loaded into the canoe, Michelle and I set out on our way towards the portage back into Big Hawk Lake.
As we approached the dam that the portage would take us around, all you could hear was the sound of water pouring over the other side. Turns out, this dam held back a good amount of water! We weren't too surprised by this though as all of our other portages had been slightly uphill and we were wondering when we'd be going back downhill to meet up with the water level of Big Hawk Lake. Luckily this time the portage was nice, wide, and well-marked, taking us along the right side of the dam. There were two options to the portage, one that was 225m and one that was 650m. The 650 m one was noted as taking you around a set of rapids later on before you'd put back in, whereas the 225m one would take you over the rapids. We opted to take the 225m portage with the idea of taking out again just to bypass the rapids later on. The views alongside the portage were beautiful, with them becoming even more remarkable as we loaded into the canoe at the end of it!
Michelle and I were able to paddle down very calm, slow-moving water for a fair way before we approached the rapids. There was plenty of shoreline space for us to take the canoe out and carry it past the rapids before we put in again. The view of the rapids was gorgeous and one I'm glad we got to see by taking the shorter portage. I would recommend doing what Michelle and I did, rather than take the 650m portage as we probably only had to do an extra 45m of portaging around the rapids after doing the 225m portage initially.
Once we put back in, Michelle and I paddled our way down the left arm of Big Hawk Lake, making our way towards the access point. Big Hawk Lake was a lot windier this day making our paddle take longer than the day prior. Eventually, we made it back to the access point, signalling the end of another great trip! Overall, the trip was one of my favourites so far, despite getting lost briefly in Red Pine Lake haha. The fall colours were nearing their peak and the waterfalls were so beautiful! I hope to come back to visit Nunikani again soon, although probably not in peak summer season as there are a lot of cottages to pass by on the surrounding other lakes, but not Nunikani Lake. What's your favourite place to go to experience the amazing fall foliage that Ontario has to offer?
Until the next adventure,- Megan
*Check out my YouTube video of this trip!
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