June 4, 2023, was 15 days after my serious car accident on the Queensway and 14 days from M&D’s wedding. I was fortunate to be at the wedding in good shape! I was scheduled to go camping with J&Z at Crotch Lake on June 3. I did not think my body was ready for a whole camping/fishing trip, but I was keen to get out to Crotch Lake since I had never visited that big lake on the Mississippi.
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| Track, Crotch Lake (24 km) |
So, on the morning of June 4, I drove out to the north launch point for Crotch Lake on South Bush Road (about 75 km from Almonte). I had to make a reasonably quick launch and get away – mosquitoes! I followed the eastern shore towards the Crotch Lake dam, where I knew J&Z were camping on an island (about 4.5 km). The first thing I noticed on the lake was all the rock cliffs. Most Mississippi River sections downstream from Crotch Lake are more wetlands than rocky. While at the island campsite, I paddled to the dam to look for a portage into the next downstream lake (Kings Lake). There’s a landing at the dam and a private road that could work as a portage route to Kings Lake (TBI).
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 | | Rocky shoreline of Crotch Lake |
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 | | Dam (Crotch L.into Kings L.) |
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After a chat over coffee with J&Z, it was decided that we would head south on Crotch Lake for some fishing and exploring. It was warm, so I switched to my summer splash skirt on the Widgeon – not the best choice. It was pretty rough once we got to the main part of the lake – a strong breeze had come up from the SW. About halfway to the narrows, I pulled ashore in a protected bay and returned to the full skirt. The best part of the paddle was the section going through the narrows/crotch. We ended our southerly paddle at the south end of the narrows on a rock outcrop. After a good break, we reversed our route and headed north towards the campsite – again following the eastern shore.
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 | | J&Z fishing |
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 | | J&Z cruising & trolling the rocky shore |
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On the way back, our route separated after the Big Island. J&Z headed down the east bay towards their campsite, and I veered northwest towards the Bush Rd access. I followed the shore reasonably closely for the 4 km to the access. I took my time – enjoying the views and looking for nature sightings (birds, turtles, etc). The most exciting wildlife I saw was a small group of Turkey Vultures – all hanging around in one old tree. Besides the Vultures, I posted C. Loon and E. Kingbird to iNaturalist for the outing.
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 | | A "committee" of Turkey Vulture |
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 | | Turkey Vulture |
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 | | Common Loon |
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 | | Eastern Kingbird |
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Crotch Lake is a big lake with many bays and inlets. Exploring
this large Mississippi River lake will take a few more visits. I’m already looking
forward to spring 2024 for a second visit.
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 | | More rocky cliffs |
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 | | Great paddling view! |
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| Denis (author) and his 14ft Widgeon kayak |
