Camelot Island Kayak Camping

 Camelot Island

1000 Islands Kayak Camping

Note: click on images to see larger.

June 21 - June 23

My friend Pat and I decided a good way to celebrate my birthday was to do a two night camping trip to my favourite campsite of the 1000 Islands, namely site 1 on Camelot Island.   So we meet at Clark's Marina in Willowdale about 2 km west of Gananoque off Hwy 2.   I have used this marina many times over the years as a good place to leave our vehicles, parking is reasonable.  We unload the kayaks and set them at the outer edges of the ramp so hopefully not interfering with any power boat launches and begin the loading of gear.

Boat loading at ramp

 Boats loaded and our cars parked in the transient parking area we set off to follow the channel from Clark's down to the Bateau Channel which will lead us out to the Admiralty Island group SW of Gananoque.  Weather is hot with almost no wind so flat calm.   Before exiting the Bateau channel you cross the path of the Howe Island ferry which this day seemed quite busy.  After passing the ferry you are in the Admiralty Islands and we swing by Beau-Rivage a park island then the south tip of Lindsay island then around the north tip of Bostwick island home to Half Moon Bay where church services are held for island boaters.  Somewhere around here we pass a tour boat from Kingston in the design of a paddle steamer which is fake.

Kingston tour boat

From here we aim for Huckleberry Island then set our sights on the Navigation light at Barge island at which point we can see Camelot to the ENE of us at approx 1.25 kms distance.   On arrival at Camelot we pull the yaks ashore and begin the unloading then hauling the gear uphill to site 1 where we set up the tents and get our bedding organised.  I have a cot (Helinox Cot 1) which has made all the difference to the quality of sleep I get, in fact I think if I didn't have it I probably wouldn't be camping as I had found just sleeping on an air mat was way too uncomfortable and gave me a sore back.  Our camp set-up can be seen below.

Kayak landing at Camelot

Camp set-up site 1

First thing we do after set-up is have our lunch as we had been running a bit late we opted to wait until arriving on site before having lunch.  Then we purchase a bag of firewood and pay for 2 days of beaching permits which is over and above the cost of site rental.  Beaching permits allow you access to any of the park islands and is paid for on site.    No more paddling for today so we spend some time gathering twigs and prepping the fire for this evening and then it is time to make dinner, my responsibility for the first night and it is my old staple spaghetti with meat sauce and a ceasar side salad.  After dinner we light our campfire and sit around and just enjoy the evening.

Campfire

Then it is off to bed after a very pleasant day.  Before retiring I dump a pot of water on the embers just to be on the safe side, we certainly don't need any more wildfires there has been quite enough of them around this year!

A little tardy getting up, 7:40 but what the heck it's my birthday I'm allowed to sleep in!   Another lovely day and I'm making today's breakfast; pancakes with bacon and syrup plus O.J. and coffee.   After breakfast we will head out for a paddle.   With breakfast over it is down to the landing to stow some gear in the yaks before heading off for today's paddle.  Just before we leave our camp we have some surprise visitors, a gaggle of Canada geese with this year's young have come up to wander around the grass looking for something to eat.

Today's visitor

We decide to head NE towards the Fleet Islands and along the way we spot yet another of the many Osprey nests to be seen in the 1000 islands.

Osprey nest

Today's paddle

Our course takes us NE following the line of the Fleet islands passing to the east of Prince Regent Island before turning left through the Gananoque Narrows to go NW towards Gordon island which is a park island so we can land there and have our lunch.   I have never camped on Gordon as I'm not crazy about the layout there and the kayak landing at the SW corner is pretty crappy, not great for unloading a kayak.  We paddle around and check it out but decide we will land at the main dock on the east side.   This is quite high and requires a bit of effort to climb up, I then use my bow rope to tether my yak to the bridge to shore so I can't be charged for mooring.

Gordon Is. dock

Having found a suitable picnic table we sit and have a relaxing lunch.  After awhile we hear a boat approach and it turns out to be the parks boat checking the faciities on the island.  Of course the ask if we have beaching permits and we explain we are camped at Camelot and purchased the permits there.  As they had already been to Camelot they would have found our payment in the box so no problem.   With lunch over we head back to Camelot aiming for Sugar island then turning SW but keeping to the opposite side of the islands we passed on our way up to Prince Regent.   Arriving back at camp we prep the fire for the evening and then generally laze around and read for the rest of our afternoon.   There are a fair number of insects to be found on these islands including wood roaches and millipedes that can usually be found under groundsheets and bags but today we see an interesting one making its way up a tree.   Turns out it is called an eastern eyed click beetle and is about 2 inches long, see below.

Eastern eyed click beetle

Now today is Pat's turn to make dinner and she is making me a pizza for my birthday.

Ta da!

Not only that but I get carrot cake with cream cheese icing for dessert complete with candle!

Birthday dessert

Just room for 1

Chef boyardee at work!

So all in all a pretty good way to celebrate a birthday and we enjoy the rest of our evening sitting around the fire.  Weather for tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy warm and humid but no precipation until evening so just fine for our paddle back to Clark marina.  Morning comes and it is not too bad at all, cloudy as forecast but nice and warm with almost no wind. On waking we both begin to break camp, I start with packing up what's inside, sleeping bag cot and clothing then move to dismantle tent. So Pat makes breakfast with her version of egg McMuffin, fried egg and bacon on a muffin, juice and some strawberry/rhubarb fruit dish all very tasty.  The site is supposed to be vacated by 11:00 and I know it is booked for the weekend so after our hearty breakfast we haul gear down to the landing to start packing the kayaks.

Packing up the kayak

By about 10:30 we are ready to roll and our heading will be SW just outside of American waters to begin with, passing Netley island then Deathdealer island and no it's not in the U.S. but who knows maybe they had some inflence on it's naming😉.  We continue this heading to Jolly island where we do pass through some U.S. water but luckily no one shot at us!  At Jolly we turn right to aim for the top of Thwartway island (or Leek island) which is also a park island.

Pat in her Atlantic kayak

From the top of Thwartway if you look NW you can make out the sign for Half Moon Bay, a white crescent moon.  This is where a religous service is held for boaters/cottagers of the 1000 islands and has a pulpit and a wire around the inside of the cove where boaters can tether their boats while they listen to the sermon.  We use this landmark and head for it.

Heading to Half Moon Bay

Pat in Half Moon Bay

From here we retrace our course round tip of Bostwick island then skim past Beau-Rivage to head into the Bateau Channel and the turn off to Clark Marina and home.  Arriving at Clark we find a grassy area where we can drag out the yaks without using the main ramp as the owner was complaining about the time we spent on the ramp so this worked out fine.

Happy paddling!

from

KayakJock

St. Lawrence kayak paddle

Brockville to Prescott

Note: click on images for larger view.

Friday June 5th and it is a lovely sunny day with a bit of a breeze from the SW so ideal conditions for a paddle I have been meaning to do for sometime as it will complete my paddling experience of the St. Lawrence from Kingston to Prescott.  It is not the most interesting section of the river as the 1000 Islands with their beautiful settings and properties really begin and extend westward from Brockville, whereas this section is devoid of islands.

As this trip is almost 20 km I am getting dropped off at the Henry St. ramp in Brockville and will phone for pick up on arrival in Prescott.

Henry St. ramp

Just one young lady with her rec kayak and when she pushes off I have the ramp to myself, no pushy boaters to contend with;great!  By about 11:10 i'm off and paddling along the Brockville waterfront, past the Tall Ships condo then a nice panorama of the Brockville skyline and downtown.

Tall Ships

Downtown Brockville

There actually are three small islands mid-stream called the 3 Sisters, not that you would want to visit them as they are home to roosting Cormorants which leaves them stinking and desolate.   The Canadian shoreline is quite built up with many waterfront properties so it does not offer much in places to land, its either private or not suitable due to topography and when scanning google aerial photography I was unable to determine anything suitable for a lunch stop.  So I will be keeping a sharp lookout for something suitable as I get near my mid-way point.

Nice property

Of course one thing you are likely to see here is the seaway traffic, which although not close enough to be a bother does provide some photo ops.

I thought I might find somewhere to stop at Maitland a small community about 7 km east of Brockville but no luck.  Being hungry I was getting a bit anxious as I didn't feel like going the whole distance without eating but just after the 10k mark I spot what appears to be a road coming downhill through the trees to the water.  Not knowing if this be private I head over to investigate and lo and behold it seems to be a ramp but with traffic cones at the top barring entrance.

Ramp closed

Perfect for lunch

Up the hill to check out the signs; closed for construction and Covid 19 warnings so just perfect, nobody going to be driving down while I have lunch. If I didn't want to go further this would also be perfect for my pick up as it is just off highway 2.   Lunch over and a pit stop, I am much refreshed and ready to continue my route to Prescott.   Turning back into the river I can now see the bridge to the U.S. in the distance.

Social distancing at its best?

Still a good breeze but perhaps veered a bit to the south and I am making good time.  I can see Ogdensburg on the U.S. shore and now can make out a ship parked at the Canadian Coast Guard station in Prescott.

Ogdensburg N.Y.

Prescott Coast Guard

If you look closely at the pic above midway between the ship and the bridge you can just discern the red roof of the windmill of "Battle of the Windmill" fame, the last attempt by the U.S. to invade Canada November 1838.  Prescott is also known as the fort town home to Fort Wellington built 1813-14 and around 1830 garrisoned by a detachment of the 79th reg. of foot my GG-grandfather's outfit when he was stationed at Fort Henry in Kingston.  So clear sailing for me into Prescott and I arrive at 15:00.   There is a decent ramp and parking area right at the west end of Prescott but I plan to use the small beach a little farther east as I can easily slide the kayak onto the sand and unload.  The beach being closed due to the current pandemic restrictions I wont be disrupting any bathers.

Prescott boat ramp

Prescott beach

After a quick call to home to set my ride in motion I start packing up.  A fellow comes down the beach and asks if he can give me a hand bring the boat up.  He was a one time kayaker but now with a young family he has let it slide.   I take him up on the offer and we get the yak up onto the grass verge where the wife can park and she will be happy being spared the additional carry.  So ends another nice day on the water.

Happy paddling

from

KayakJock

Thousand Islands Kayaking Gananoque To Kingston

HOWE ISLAND CIRCUMNAVIGATION

Another kayak camping trip, this time to complete the remaining western portion of the islands between Gananoque and Kingston by circumnavigation of Howe Island.  In a previous blog entry I covered east from Gananoque to Mallorytown Landing.    That encompassed  the Admiralty and Fleet Islands and included Grenadier Island at the eastern end of the archipelago .

Howe Island

Once again our put-in is at Clark Marina just west of Gananoque; a late start as my paddling companion had to work Friday and our timing coincides with the storm predicted for late afternoon.   Black clouds, and the rain starts just as we launch but as yet no thunder or lightning so as we only have a few kilometres to cover this day, we take the risk.

Clark Marina

Bateau Channel

Paddling SW down Brown's Creek leads us to Bateau Channel then turning SE past the eastern Howe Island ferry we head toward the Admiralty Islands. Here we will find Aubrey Island, the furthest southwest which is to be our camp for the night.   A distance of just over 4 km in a steady rain.   We paddle around its shores checking for possible landings that might be closer to our site than the designated kayak landing.   The designated landing turns out to be best and is right by the shelter. After discussion with the American couple, the islands only other occupants, we decide to set up our tents within the shelter (A no no) so nothing gets wet and as we are leaving early next day it is unlikely that anyone  will be inconvenienced.

Stormy arrival

We awaken to a beautiful sunny day with a stiff NE wind as predicted, which is much to our benefit as we travel roughly SW along the outer shore of Howe Island towards Kingston and will have all that wind at our backs.

A beautiful morning

After breakfast we pack up the boats and are off fairly clipping along with the wind at our starboard quarter; almost our back.  We hold fairly close to Howe Island shores as there is not much to look at on our port side, just an expanse of open water.   Like most of the 1000 islands there is lots of pricey real estate, much of it very attractive, this of course means private property so landings may be few and far between.  No more Park property until Milton Island which is today's destination.  Quinn Bay lies about half way down the island and should at least offer some sheltered water so we will look there for a possible lunch stop.   We luck in, just east of Quinn Bay I espy a picnic table on shore, a small shallow sheltered bay likely private but not signed, with a ratty shed and even rattier picnic table and that seldom used look.   A metal duck (?) boat lies on shore and it looks as if this is someones boat launch.   Ideal for a quick lunch and stretch and it will be as if we were never there!

toward Quinn Bay

lunch stop

Lunch over we continue towards Milton Island where we plan to camp tonight. After a 4 km open water crossing which again exposes us to the 20+ km winds we are in sight of Milton and Cedar islands the last two western islands of the Thousand Island Park.

Milton has just the one anchorage a small horseshoe bay at it's eastern end with 3 or 4 mooring docks but no kayak/canoe jetty or beaching area.  This makes for rather tedious disembarking.  After clambering up onto the dock one has to pull the kayak up bow first over the end of the dock, then unload on the dock.   Luckily no power boats were moored at this dock when we occupied it almost entirely with both kayaks and gear, once empty we hauled up to grass area close to camp.

Milton anchorage at sunset

I had a reserved campsite on Milton but on arrival we find others have taken it and then have taken off for parts unknown forcing me to stifle my invective till later.  So we set up on another site rather than waste time awaiting their return.  As it turns out we don't have to carry our gear as far now, although much less private, this site is closer to our launch dock.

Site 1

From the walking trail which encompasses most of the island we can see Wolfe Island to the south with its dozens of wind turbines, and to the southwest is Cedar Island the western extent of Thousand Islands Park easily identified by the red roof of Cathcart Tower.   This fortified  tower was built in 1848 to guard the eastern approaches to Kingston harbour and Fort Henry a bit less than a kilometre NW of the island.   

Cedar Island

Late afternoon and the wayward claim jumpers return and suitably chastened from my little spiel decide to move tent and gear to the other side of the island. I hadn't suggested they do this as we had no intention of re-locating at this stage but it is  all for the best as they play rock music in the evening but are at enough remove to be no real bother. And all quiets down at a reasonable hour so we pass an enjoyable evening sitting by the water on the site thus vacated.

Site 2 (reserve only)

After breakfast Sunday we leave Milton and head toward Bateau Channel to return by Howe Island's inside passage.  Again the weather is as was predicted, give the weather man a prize!  SW, then switching to southerly 20 k by noon, ideal for our return paddle.  Shortly after entering Bateau Channel we cross paths with the western Howe Island ferry on our way to Grassy Creek park where we can stop for a lunch break.

Howe Is. ferry

On cue around noon the winds really pick up and just before Grassy Creek I spot a large raptor flying toward and then landing on Howe island.  I think it likely an eagle so hurry over to get a better look.    Sure enough it turns out to be an immature Bald eagle and I catch him in flight.

Bald eagle (immature)

From here we head across to the beach at Grassy Creek with the stiff south wind at our back it is almost a surf landing.  We find a table away from shore to get out of the wind which is feeling a little cool off the water.   Then it is off on our last leg back to Brown's Creek and Clark marina.   About 3 km east we find an adult Bald eagle atop it's aerie and I am able to get an image of this one too.

Bald eagle

Nav light Bateau Channel

We are back at Clark by about 3:30 then it is pack up and head for home!

Happy paddling!

from

Doug