Killarney is world famous as a Wilderness Hiking destination. The millennia old mountain range provides a beautiful backdrop for camping and canoeing, as well as offering excellent trails for "Ridge Walking". We provide transportation from Finch Subway station (easy to get to), all food, and all equipment (except personal items like sleeping bags, flashlights, etc. - a packing check list is provided).
We meet at Finch Station at 8:30 am and begin our drive up through Muskoka. We will make some stops along the way to break up the 5 hour drive, including a lunch stop (not included in the price). We arrive at Killarney about 2 pm. After receiving some instruction in the proper techniques of loading and paddling a canoe we will start off for our camp site on Bell Lake. At the camp site everyone will help with our "chores" - putting up the tents, collecting fire wood, and preparing our "gourmet" dinner. Since the first day is only a short paddle, there will be plenty of opportunity to swim, relax in the sun, read a book, or go back out in the canoes.
This is another travel day - but by canoe! We pack up our gear and start our journey into the interior of Killarney. We will traverse several lakes and tackle a couple of portages (1 of them doesn't really count since there is a trolley!). About 5 hours later we will set up our camp site on David Lake, where we will make our home for the next 2 nights. The scenery here is spectacular - clear turquoise waters nestled up to the La Cloche mountain range, and in the distance can be seen Silver Peak - the highest point in the area.
Today is our hiking day. We make the short paddle over to a portage that crosses the Silhouette Backpacking Trail. This trail leads us across the peaks of the ancient La Cloche mountain range. Two billion years ago these hill spines were mountains as tall and majestic as the Rockies are today! From our vantage point on the tops of these wind swept ridges we can see the surrounding lakes and forests. Since these ridges are all rock they make the hiking a little tricky, so good boots or walking shoes are a necessity. The climax of our hike is the summit of Silver Peak, where we take a well deserved lunch break (the climb takes about an hour and is equivalent to a 90 storey building!). The view is breath taking - on a clear day you can see Sudbury to the north and Manitoulin Island to the south. We return to camp via the same trail, getting back with time enough for a swim.
After a tasty breakfast we pack up camp and start the journey home. We
paddle through several small lakes and do a few short portages. The La Cloche
mountains provide an incredibly scenic backdrop along the way. We end up back
at our vehicle about 2 pm, and should arrive at Finch subway station in Toronto
about 7 pm.
Contact:
Tel: 905-471-Wild (Wild = 9453)
Toll Free: 1-800-776-Wild (Canada/USA
wide)
Fax: 905-472-Wild
E-Mail:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|
