Kawartha Lakes Signature Area

This past Simcoe Day (August 1st long weekend) I went camping.  Finally!

I could not get anyone to join me, so I went solo.  The trip almost didn't happen.  You have to be in a certian frame of mind to go camping by yourself.  I definitely was in a want-to-have-someone-with-me mindset.  So Thursday I dug out my gear and started packing, hoping that I could think of someone to take with me, and to top it off, I couldn't find my camping hat.  Friday, still nobody, still no hat.  I was toying with the idea of calling off the trip.   (I wound up calling off a Canada Day trip for lack of company).

So, Saturday rolled around and I decided, hat or no hat, to go for it.  I rented a car, and borrowed Rachel's canoe, and headed out.  I decided to go to Frontenac Provincial Park, which is north of Kingston.  On my way, I pulled into a small town for some groceries and a coffee.  On my way back to the 401, I got a signal from the car that one of the tires had low pressure.  I pulled into a gas station and found that one of the tires was almost completely flat.  I pumped it up, and got back on the road.  About fifteen minutes later, the low pressure light came back on.  I pulled off the 401 again at the Fifth  Wheel truck stop in Bowmanville.  The tire was flat.  I pulled out my organizer (a Handspring Visor)  in order to take down some information.  I heard the stylus fall out of the organizer.  I searched the seat, and under the seat, and between the seats and under the seats and beside the seats and I could not find the stylus.  I called the rental company and found out that they would charge $100 to have somebody come and put the spare on.  They suggested that I get the tire fixed and they would reimburse me.  I decided to put on the spare myself, drive home, and take the car back to the rental place.

So, Sunday rolls around, and I'm still at home.  Do I call off the trip? It's quite disappointing; a second long weekend  with no camping.  I've got the car rented (having switched cars at the rental place), and the canoe.  I decided to go to Serpent Mounds.  It's car camping, but there basically isn't time to go into the Interior.  The Serpent Mounds website says they're closed, but they were closed last year. So I headed to Serpent Mounds, stopping at the Fifth Wheel in Bowmanville.  At the Fifth Wheel, I searched the ground where I changed the tire, and I found the stylus for my Handspring Visor!  After this I went to Serpent Mounds, and the were closed.  I spoke to a waitress at the coffee shop next to Serpent Mounds.  Apparently, they are re-working the sewage and water lines, and need government inspection before they can start closing up.

So I went into Peterborough and talked to the people at the Peterborough area information kiosk.  They directed me to The Kawartha Lakes Signature Area.  This area is crown land that is being converted into a provincial park.  I got to go interior camping after all.  I camped on Buzzard lake, a 500m portage off of Long Lake.  It was about 9:30 by the time I found an empty site.  The site had a lot of trees, but I couldn't see a fire pit.  It was starting to get dark, so I slung my hammock and cooked my supper.  Afterwards, I built a small fire on the rock.  (Kawartha Lakes is on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield.  The landscape is dominated by exposed bedrock.)

The next day I was able to explore the site a bit better.  It seems that the site is split in two.  There's the lower part, where you land your canoe, and there is an upper part which has a tent pad, a fire pit, a picnic table, and a thunder box made out of a plastic drum with a proper toilet seat attached.  You always miss out when setting up camp at night.  I had to make do with no fire pit, a wooden thunder box, and I had to sit on uncomfortable rocks to cook and eat.

I'll definitely have to go back to this place.  It is fairly close, only about two and a half hours away, as opposed to Algonquin, which is four hours.  Although it is crown land, the entry point at Long Lake is private property, so you have to pay for parking and for launching.  There may be other entry points that are free.

Now... If I could only remember where I left my camping hat.