Adventure #6: Round Two at McCrae Lake for my Family's First Trip Altogether!

With the success of our last trip together, my dad, my brother, and I began trying to convince my mom that she needed to join us on a canoe trip soon so that we could get the whole family out. After many months of trying to find a time that would work, we finally found September 7-8, 2019 to be a weekend that we all had free. We got to work planning the trip as soon as the date was set! As it was my mom's first time ever canoe tripping and she was a little apprehensive, we wanted to keep the trip relatively easy, so we decided on going to McCrae lake, for what would be my second trip there and everyone else's first. We got to work packing our gear a week before we were meant to leave for the trip, even packing a small dry bag of gear for our dog, Kayden, to come with us. He was very excited, to say the least when he noticed his food and leash being packed.

On Saturday morning, we all woke up fairly early, grabbing some breakfast and loading our gear into the vehicle before heading out and arriving at the parking lot before nine. The parking lot was slightly busy, but luckily we were able to find a spot to park the vehicle and trailer with our canoes. After unloading the vehicle and loading ourselves up with all our gear, we began our trip, completing the first 100-200m walk down to the lake in one trip. My dad and brother each carried their pack and a canoe and my mom and I both had our packs on our backs and a bag on our fronts -Kayden's bag and our food bag-, as well as paddles, fishing rods, and Kayden on a leash. It was a bit of an overfull load! We loaded up into our canoes with my dad and mom taking Kayden in theirs, and my brother and I in ours.

McDonald Lake was a short paddle before we arrived at the portage into McCrae Lake. As it was going to be a short portage (about 200m), we opted to double carry our gear this time, just to make it easier. Starting out our trip the weather was very comfortable, not too hot or too cold, and all of us were in pants and sweaters. By the time we finished this portage, we were all sweating, taking off our sweaters before we would head out again. Isn't fall weather the strangest, haha? Once loaded up again, we set out into McCrae lake, hugging the shore to examine all the campsites and try and find one we liked. As I had been here previously this year, my only request was that we explored a new section of the lake, closer to what many call the jumping cliffs. We ended up deciding on a site on the island from which we had no super close neighbours. We had only seen a few other campers on the lake the whole weekend as opposed to the almost full lake I saw when I went last time.

Once at our site, we got to work setting up all our gear. My brother had brought his Kelty tent which he would be sharing with my mom and Kayden, while my dad had brought his Amok hammock and I had brought my Lawson hammock. We were all testing out our new backpacking chairs that I had found for a great deal at Giant Tiger this trip, as well, which ended up being amazing! Since it was a rainy day, we also set up my tarp to give us a spot to sit in our chairs and stay dry. By the time we finished setting up, it was lunchtime. We set up my stove, using my Katadyn BeFree water filter to get some water boiling for our chicken flavoured ramen. It ended up being a yummy, warm lunch!

After lunch, as the rain subsided, we set out in our canoes to explore the rest of the lake, particularly, the other side of the island. When we made it back to our site, my dad and brother decided to do some fishing off the rock front of the site while my mom and I relaxed in the hammocks, reading. We also would throw Kayden's toy occasionally for him into the water so that he could swim. After they were done fishing, the boys decided to go and gather some fallen branches, etc. for our fire that evening. I joined them for a bit as we bushwhacked to the neighbouring site that was vacant. They struggled a bit getting the fire going due to how windy it was, but eventually got it. As it was now dinner time, we set up my stove again to boil some water for our Alpine Aire and Backpacker's Pantry meals. I was trying out Alpine Aire's Pasta Primavera which ended up being very tasty! After dinner, we retreated to the campfire out on the rock front of the site, sitting around it in our chairs, enjoying the night sky. Once we had some good coals in the fire, we decided to roast some marshmallows for s' mores. They were maple flavoured s' mores too so how much more Canadian could we get haha? Kayden was so tired at the fire that he laid down, resting his head on the rock edge of the firepit at one point, the silly dog (spot him in the photo above 😂). We enjoyed the fire for a bit longer before calling it a night and heading off to bed.

The next morning it was quite chilly and I wasn't too keen on getting out of my warm hammock. Once the rest of my family had the water on the stove from breakfast and tea, then I decided to get up. For breakfast, we had some more Backpacker's Pantry and Mountain House meals. I enjoyed Backpacker's Pantry's Blueberry, Walnut, Oats & Quinoa. After we finished breakfast, my dad and brother decided to paddle over with Kayden to the site across from us to check it out. Turns out there was a unique site way up on a bit of a rock cliff. Once they came back, we got to work packing up all of our gear. Once we were pretty much packed, we decided to stop for some lunch which consisted of either peanut butter in tortillas or pepperettes in tortillas, and snacks. Once lunch was over, we sadly finished packing and loaded up our canoes to make our way back to the vehicle. This time the portage was a lot busier! Once we made it back to the vehicle, we threw our packs in the back and loaded up the canoes. Then came the fun part of trying to turn the vehicle and trailer around in a very narrow parking lot. After a bit of strategic planning and only a couple tries, we managed to get turned around and headed on our way back home.

Despite the rainy weather, it was an excellent trip that we all enjoyed! I think my mom is even planning on coming with us again on future trips which will be fun. Have any of you ever camped with your family members? If so, how did you find it?

Until the next adventure,
- Megan