Fall Colors in Algonquin

Last weekend 6 of us, Horace, Brian, Ryan, Yassir, Ed, and myself embarked on a 2 day canoe trip in Algonquin Park. It was a trip with a lot of ‘firsts’ and ‘mosts’, more on that to follow.

Yassir and Ed were pumped cause they could fish and prepare it for dinner (we even had salt and pepper packets from Timmy’s). We rented 3 Kevlar canoes and were off to Big Porcupine Lake.

We had 3 portages each day and the longest one being 600m consisting mostly uphill. It was challenging and satisfying when we carried everything in one go and made it alive with the canoes on our backs.

Peaceful morning.

We decided to have a silly little competition and see who can catch a minnow – anything goes. We must have looked ridiculus to other groups! Below are some of the ideas we had and the biggest fish Ed have ever caught, we didn’t even have the proper size hook for it!





0 for 3 tries for Yassir, I think he should settle for a fish farm.

Our last leg was crossing Smoke Lake and we had to battle for 2hrs against a head wind. It was very tiring but rewarding to get back onto the dock.

After returning our equipment and grabbing a quick lunch, we decided to be ambitious and tackle another 10km hike. The sunset from the top was amazing but the bad news is that we had to hike the last 2km in the dark. We had to worry about wandering off the trail as well as drops or rocks in the way.


I haven’t been on a canoe trip for over 3 years and it reminded me how good it feels to get away from the city and enjoy the nature and the fall colors.