For the 2025 spring Algonquin trip, we did something a bit different this year. We tried a different area of the park instead of always going to North River Lake or Allen/Depot Lake. The campsite destination was Little Cauchon Lake from Brent (15 km). The route involved two short portages, so it was not so bad for three old guys!
On the paddle in, it was a beautiful day, and things were going well until we reached the old rail bridge underpass above Little Cedar Lake. There was a logjam against the concrete underpass, so we had quite a challenge getting through. We had no choice, the rail bed banks were too high & overgrown to go over. We managed to cross the beautiful Aura Lee Lake and the 275m portage towards Laurel Lake. After Laurel Lake, we had one more short portage (175m) into Little Cauchon Lake. I found these two short portages somewhat difficult with my 55 lbs PHC stripped canoe. In the future, I’ll need a lighter canoe for trips with any significant portages (e.g. rough terrain, elevation, etc).
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Once in Little Cauchon, we found a nice campsite on the north shore at about one kilometre down the lake from the portage area. Little Cauchon Lake is not so small. It’s approximately 5.8 km long, and the width varies from 300m to 1000m.
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For day 2, the focus was on fishing and exploring in lower Little Cauchon and Laurel Lakes. We had considered going into Hurdman Lake, but after walking the portage, we didn’t bother. That’s too bad; it looks like a great lake to explore (at least for nature).
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On day 3, John and Zlatko were heading to Carl Wilson Lake (1 km portage). I didn’t want to make that long portage with the PHC, so I opted to stay and explore on Little Cauchon Lake. I went with J&Z to the portage and enjoyed a nature walk up/down the portage trail. After the Carl Wilson portage walk, I explored the little bay on the SE corner of Little Cauchon, and found a few Painted Turtles and Merganser ducks. In the afternoon, I paddled 2 km to the west and went ashore for a walk on the old rail bed towards Daventry. The hike was about 1km to the Daventry area. Daventry was a train stop/station, so it still has some cabins and bush camps, including a dock for small powerboats. There is road access from the north (Highway 17, Trans-Canada). On the way back, I paddled the south shore of the lake. On the south side, close to where the lake gets narrower, there’s a great campsite and fairly dramatic rock cliffs.
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Lucky us, day 4, and we still hadn’t put up the rain tarp! After a slow morning (breakfast, coffee, and packing up), we started the 15 km paddle back to Brent. We did well and managed to get through the two portages and the log-jammed underpass without too much trouble/pain. For a rest before tackling Cedar Lake, we stopped at the west end of Little Cedar Lake for lunch. From our lunch spot, we still had 8km of paddling to Brent, and the wind had picked up from the SE. Once we got on Cedar Lake, the first 2 to 3 km were pretty tough. Luckily, the wind eventually subsided, and we were able to finish the paddle to Brent in calmer conditions.
The fishing report from JV:
“Two Lake Trout + 1 Brook Trout in Petit Lac Cauchon - + 2 BT on day trip in Carl Wilson Lake...
Denis Lake trout ~ 22 in, caught 2 bass and 1 very large (3 lb) fallfish in rapids just at head of Laurel Lake (no trout tho’ in those rapids or the one flowing out of Laurel lake), plus 2 tiny brook trout in a pool on the outflow into Cedar Lake.”
All in all, this was another great spring trip – great weather (i.e. no rain), fresh trout for all our dinners, and good friends for company!
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