Stump Lake on the Mississippi River

 
I wrote a Stump Lake post in 2020, but it’s worth another posting from this year’s beautiful fall paddle. Stump Lake’s shoreline is mostly private but the lake is not much developed due to the wetlands and all those stumps in the water. The lake was created/flooded in the past by a small hydro dam (High Falls).

 

Stump Lake and track (12.8 km)

I had more time on this year’s paddle and it was a beautiful calm day! I paddled pretty much the whole perimeter of the lake in a clockwise direction (12 km). The shoreline gets quieter and more interesting once you reach the wetlands in the NW area. The lake in this area is filled with stumps and vegetation (i.e. cattails, etc.). Some of the wetlands and islands in this NW area are crown land. It was in the north corner of this western shore that I noticed that I was being checked out. A small group (3) of River Otters were swimming around and poking their heads above the water. After a few minutes, they got bored with me (or my kayak) and moved on.

 

North American River Otters

The north shore heading towards Thompson’s Bay is rockier and involves paddling through a narrow channel to reach the NE bay. On the north shore, I did check the small channel & bay that had to be dammed to keep Stump Lake’s water level at a sufficiently high level. Once in Thompson’s Bay, I went over to the SE corner of the bay to check out a small wetland.

Calm and beautiful scenery

The NW wetland/stump area

On the way out of Thompson’s Bay, I made a stop in the narrows for my lunch. After lunch, I continued my zig-zag perimeter paddle around more bays and islands. On the last paddling stretch towards the boat ramp, I got a bit of extra exercise due to a stronger SW breeze.

I didn’t expect to see an abundance of wildlife in late October. The River Otters were the highlights, but I also spotted a Bald Eagle – who was nice enough to perch for a few photos.

 

Bald Eagle

Crown Land map

White Lake, including Hayes Bay

 

In October 2022, I did two kayak paddles on White Lake. The first one (Oct 6^th) started from Lacourse Lane. The Lacourse paddle route went around a series of islands in the western part of White Lake (west of Pickerel Bay). The second outing on Oct 24^th was from the White Lake marina and I went there specifically to explore the wetlands of Hayes Bay, etc (ANSI candidate area). There isn’t very many nature pics from the Oct 24^th trip, since I had left the memory card for my Lumix camera at home and my spare SD card was nowhere to be found.  Luckily, smartphones have cameras but mostly useful for scenery photos.

White Lake, Lanark & Renfrew County

The Wabalac Side Road launch (off CR511) is the usual public access to the western part of White Lake. But a few years ago, I discovered that Lanark Highlands has a second public access on Lacourse Lane. It’s not well publicized and there’s no signage leading to the access. The address is 276 Lacourse Lane (45.253506°, -76.565371°). If you are looking at exploring the islands east of Hardwood Island, 3 Mile Bay, or Pickerel Bay – then Lacourse Lane can save you some paddling and time.

Lacourse paddle, Oct 4th, 12km

Crown Land areas

On this outing, I did a counterclockwise paddle around a series of islands (Hardwood, Bogs, Birch, Curleys, and Barrys. I was the only paddler out there, but there were a few fishermen out in impressive sleek motorboats. It was interesting to discover that the White Lake association has a campsite setup on some of the islands (3 on Hardwood Island and 1 on Barrys Islands). Both Hardwood and Barry's islands are crown land. My paddle going east was easy and such a beautiful fall day to be out on the water. I paddled by Hardwood, Bogs, Birch, and Curleys islands before making a stop at the campsite on Barrys Island. The campsite is on the NE corner of the island and overlooks a significant wetland/marsh. Barry's marsh completely fills the 250m space between the island and the northern shoreline. After my lunch on Barrys Island, I continued my paddling towards the NE tip of Hardwood Island. The north side of Hardwood Island is fairly rocky and you get to paddle near some nice vertical granite rock ledges. 

After rounding the west end of Hardwood Island, I started to head back toward the Lacourse launch point. But before going ashore, I paddled the wetland channel that leads to Darling Round Lake  -  for more nature sightings. Nothing showed up, so I returned to the Lacourse boat ramp.

On this trip, I did record some fauna and flora, including a nice juvenile Bald Eagle (see iNaturalist postings of the day HERE).

Bald Eagle (juvenile)

E. White Pine

The Hayes Bay paddle was also on a beautiful warm fall day for late October. After paying the $10 marina fee for parking, I launched and headed for Hayes Bay via The Canal. The north shore of The Canal is fully developed but there’s nothing on the south shore. 

Hayes Bay trip, Oct 26, 14km

Crown Land areas (HAyes Bay, etc.)

Once in Hayes Bay, I headed towards the NE corner to a possible creek outlet from the wetland. Hayes Bay is not a place you would want to capsize in a kayak or canoe, the bottom is shallow but it’s a deep soft bottom (i.e. mud lake). I found the creek and was able to paddle in about 0.5 km. It would be a better spot to explore in the spring when the water levels are higher. In following the south shore towards Barber Island, I marked (GPS)  a number of shore access for future trips. I did observe some Black Spruce trees in a few location on the south shore (inland, a few 100 metres).  For lunch, I found a nice landing spot at the entrance to Bane Bay.

After a quick lunch, it was time to start heading back to the marina. Exploring Bane Bay will be for next year. On the return paddle, I follow the north shore of Hayes Bay which has a couple of residential developments. Hopefully, the development doesn’t grow much more since this area is considered a Provincially Significant Wetland area and possible ANSI.

White Lake is more interesting than I had thought over the years, so I’ll have to make more visits in future years to fully explore all the bays, islands, crown lands, and wetlands.

Hayes Bay

Black Spruce (WL bog/fen)