Like Canisbay Lake, we’d been to Restoule Provincial Park for car camping. And we knew that the interior sites were accessible from easy access point parking lots that would not require distance carrying. And we knew we would be close to comfort if need be.
Cut short
So the interior sites on Stormy Lake, above Restoule Lake were appealing to us. We were quick to select the closest one and were not disappointed with the location. Other factors came into play though. We needed to go home early for a Friday wedding, the weather was not great, and the threat of rain prompted us to go home still earlier by one day.
A Sunday to Wednesday trip is too short for all the work that goes into it.
We were attracted to site 03 because of its proximity to the boat launch and to Hazel lake and to the cliff close by.
It’s an easy paddle form the boat launch to site 3, if the weather on Stormy Lake is not stormy.
We got a late start to this canoe trip. We’d been to church that Sunday morning, leaving Jovita with Laura in Kitchener, and then drove up to Restoule. By 5:30 we were ready to launch with our second load to campsite 3.
We arrived finally to be greeted by rain, which forced us to a supper of sandwiches inside our tent.
Fortunately, there are picnic tables on the sites, so setting up kitchen and place settings is easy. But the weather was still breezy and cool Monday morning as we prepared breakfast.
Over the Monday lunch hour Wendy had to be back in civilization for a zoom call. So she set up beside the Restoule MNR office with its limited internet. A Covid phenomenon that now seems but a distant memory.
While Wendy zoomed, Henry explored the campground shoreline, coming here upon a large stand of pickerel weed.
You can see here that we did not have beach weather.
A stew of some sort warmed our innards for this late lunch back at the campsite.
Supper was also on the late side. Wendy’s strongest memory of this trip is the constant wind coming off of Stormy Lake.
We don’t usually bother with campfires in early July, but with the cool weather and the shortening days (now July 25) and the lumber we’d brought, it was worth our while.
Jackets for warmth and against the mosquitos, but legs bare.
The evening sun against the shore across from us. This shore had a beach and also served as a portage point into Hazel Lake, which intrigued us when we picked the site.
The next morning (Tuesday) we went for a paddle even before coffee. The skies had cleared, but it was still cool.
We weren’t gone long and had our coffees before nine, bringing our chairs with us the short distance to Hazel Lake, where the beavers roam.
From our site, the canoe put out and swimming walk out into Stormy Lake were nice and sandy for a change.
Henry attends to the breakfast pancakes as the sun gathers strength.
From our little beach, the sand goes still further under water, but eventually reverts to rocks. So it’s still a bit awkward to get in. We did not swim much this trip.
By now everything is organized to Wendy’s satisfaction.
There’s not much height to this site, like Wolf Lake or Big East, but it is lovely enough.
A lovely wife also adds to the charm. Kayaks in the near distance show that this was not the most private of sites.
After lunch, we carried our canoe the short distance to Hazel Lake, where we’d had our morning coffee, and set out to explore this smallish ecosystem.
Some kind of water grass was streaming beneath the water.
Next to a beaver lodge, a stand of Meadowsweet
This is not the way I would build a lodge, but I guess it works.
We went ashore near a good sized rock to see what we could see.
There were a number of beaver lodges spread out judiciously around the lake. You have to wonder how the beavers resolve their territorial disputes. Perhaps with a lot of tail slapping.
From here you can just see the well known Restoule Fire Tower that we hiked to years ago.
Stormy Lake lies just over the bit of land that separates it from Hazel.
Back at the campsite, Henry works at extending the pier that people use for washing their feet or collecting water.
One of this site’s luxuries is a state of the art thunderbox.
The other luxury (besides the picnic table) was the bear box. This is a welcome respite from rope art and heavy hoisting.
Supper is served with wine in wine glasses.
Just around the corner, but out of sight of our site, is this magnificent cliff, here basking in the evening sun.
I imagine the water is deep at the base of this cliff. We did not test this.
We had another fire that evening and burned the last of the Sikkema tread cutoffs.
We were back to Hazel Lake for coffee the next morning.
A lovely cushion of moss catches the morning sun.
We enjoyed a leisurely Wednesday morning before beginning our return trip, progressively returning to civilization over Stormy Lake, Restoule Park, 534, 524, 522, 11, 400, 401, 403 and QEW.
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