On of my favorite Algonquin Park memories was when a group of my friends and their dads tackled the wilds of a portion of the Nippissing River. The river was full of speckled trout and we had a week to enjoy the bounty.
I was recently scanning a map of Algonquin and saw the locations of some of the spots we visited on our journey. It was one of those times where the map goes blurry and for a moment your mind drifts back to that time and place.
I remember the end of particular portage that lead to a creek called Latour Creek. An official looking creek on the map, but in reality it was a tiny stretch of water that at times was narrower than our canoes. It was tough to get enough speed at times to paddle through the numerous beaver dams we came across. We didn’t really mind traveling this ‘ditch’ like creek because it led to the promised land called the Nippissing. As I am writing this post, I just remembered the portage from Rosebary Lake to Latour Creek was a hefty 2+ km’s. The Nippissing itself is not that wide. Parts of it were no wider than the length of an average canoe.
The first camp site we stopped at was on a beautiful bend in the river. A partial beaver dam made a convenient dock and fishing platform. I quickly casted a small silver mepps into the pristine waters and found out fairly quickly that I could catch a speck on virtually every cast.
Another portage we took on the journey down river had puddles along the way that were only a couple of inches deep. As I stepped in one that was unavoidable, I noticed that small minnows scattered from the interruption of my foot. I think they were little chubs. During the snow melt, the water must have been so high that the river overflowed along the path of the portage and the tiny minnows got trapped as the waters receded.
I don’t imagine it has changed that much since I was there as a kid. That is the beauty of Algonquin. The more the world changes around it’s borders – Algonquin stays the same.
If you have ever been down the Nippissing I would love to hear about it by commenting below. Follow this link for some other people who documented their adventure down this river much better than I did.
Bill Anderson
Muskoka Outdoors
