We waited 3 years for this! - Algonquin Park Spring Canoe Trip

We are Alex and Jess from @tents.and.timber and this is our trip log video of our spring canoe trip to Algonquin Provincial Park.
Find our pizza bagel recipe near the bottom.
As the title says, we planned this adventure over 3 years ago. However, one year Covid-19 restrictions prevented us from accessing the backcountry and the next year a late winter thaw prevented us from going on this trip. That all changed this year when everything seemed to cooperate for us, including the weather.
In this video we wake up ridiculously early to drive up to Algonquin and beat any slow moving traffic. We parked at access 8 on Cache Lake and launched our Swift canoe filled with food and gear for the next 4 days. The first portage was a short paddle down the lake that would take us into Head Lake. This would be the longest portage of our trip at 1640 meters, but it was a gorgeous walk. The terrain was relatively flat for all three portages today, which was nice after a long winter of not tripping.
Once across the first portage we stopped for our delicious homemade pizza bagels that we made the night before. We then set into Head Lake where we paddled towards Harness Lake. Before reaching the next portage we paddled through a gorgeous little creek that required us to hop over 2 beaver dams. The take out before the 1035 meter portage into Harness was quite rocky and shallow, but was followed by another easy going portage. Head Lake was beautiful, but we didn't visit long as we really wanted to make our way down into Pardee Lake where we would be staying for the night.
The 145 meter portage into Pardee was a breeze, but by this time we were both feeling the heat of the day. It's difficult to see in the video, but it was a very hot day, especially for very early May in Algonquin Park. A few years prior we visited the park on the exact same day in May and there was still snow on the ground. This year however, the temperatures soared to the 30 degree Celsius mark. Once on Pardee we set up camp for the night and enjoyed a campfire from a distance as it was so hot out. We roasted hot dogs, dipped our feet into the lake to cool off and then headed to bed after a long day.
Pizza Bagel Recipe:
1) Open any flavor of bagel, set both sides face up on a cookie sheet.
2) Place one pepperoni over the hole in the middle of the bagel.
3) Spread pizza sauce or BBQ sauce over the bagel and the pepperoni.
4) Add any pizza toppings of your choice. (We enjoy mozzarella cheese, green pepper, red onion, pepperoni, parmesan cheese and bacon bits, but get creative)
5) Place the cookie sheet in the oven set to 425 F
6) Cook for 10 to 20 minutes or until cooked to your liking
7) Enjoy or let cool and pack up for the first lunch of your adventure like we do.
If you have any questions about our trip leave them in the comments section below and don't forget to check us out on Instagram to find out what we are up to in between videos
tents.and.timber
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Important:
Please remember to wear your life jackets and practice leave no trace, while also following all the park rules so we all can continue to enjoy this gorgeous park.