From Kenora, ON to Pukaskwa National Park on Lake Superior.
It was a long 8 hour drive so I planned to spend 2 days in the park. I rented an oTentik for a little glamping. Pugs loved it and don’t want the other tent again.
I combined the activities of 2 days into one post so it is longer than the others.
It was a beautiful, intense blue sky on both days.
Got to see a starry night sky with no moon.
Driving music. I made a playlist last year of all female artists. Hadn’t heard it in a long time. It provided a variety of genres to keep the drive interesting and enjoyable.
Pukaskwa National Park is located on the north shore of Lake Superior. If you are on a Western Road trip, it makes an ideal spot to camp for the night. It was a long drive from Kenora to here and I knew I would not want to setup a campsite. I treated everyone to a oTentik – like a small cabin that sleeps 6. However, it cannot be rented for just 1 night – minimum of 2 nights are required.
Spacious interior. The pugs did a square footage comparison between the oTentik and our regular tent.
Beds were comfy if a little hard. But the blankets made up with coziness. Good thing because the temperature dropped during the night. Eve woke me up and dove under the covers. I pulled Raisin closer and covered her with another blanket.
The cabin sleeps 6. I was tired from the drive so we just ate and went to bed.
Woke up at dawn. After breakfast we took to the trails. Here we are on the Beach trail. We were headed to the Southlern Headland Trail – that is where the lookout was.
The first part was the Boardwalk Trail. It protects the ecosystem.
No one on the beach at this time of the morning.
After the Beach trail Raisin was still okay to go further. It was a cool morning, sun was not hot yet. While I was setting up the shot, Eve got a little ahead of herself.
We came to this narrow gap. It led to the lookout so I decided to continue. I had to carry Raisin up because it was to steep for her. Eve could have hiked to Wawa with all her energy.
The lookout was a little more difficult to get to but the forest trail was worth it. We were the only ones around. We took stillness breaks to rest and listen to the sounds of the forest. The (unprotected, no guard rail) lookout. Good thing I had held Eve’s leash after we got through the gap. That is Horseshoe Bay and Lake Superior in the back.
There is a day long hike called the Coastal Trail It leads to a suspension bridge. However, it was 60 km round trip so we had other plans.
We headed back the way we had come. Spent some more time on the beach. The sun was up now over the hill.
Raisin channeled her inner Lauren Harris.
Pukaskwa has a visitor centre that offers information on the Indigenous Anishinaabe culture, souvenirs, WiFi and air conditioning for the pugs. However, the staff seemed reluctant to let the dogs stay. I explained I was cooling them down and I would leave shortly.
We went around and sat on the deck to rest and enjoy the view.
There are also school programs on both the park and Anishinaabe culture. There is an area setup for that purpose.
We celebrated Canada Day with a canoe paddle in Hattie Cove. It is too dangerous to go on to Lake Superior. The cove gave us an excellent afternoon paddle after our morning hike. The cost was $20 for 5 hours – best deal of the trip. Another paddler was just coming and I asked him to take a photo.
The cove is elongated so provided a leisurely paddle from end to end. The umbrella served 2 purposes – it shaded the sun off of the pugs. It also kept them dry as I moved the dripping paddle from side to side. Below is a view of Lake Superior from the cove.
We stopped in a shady spot on the bank to listen to birds. Raisin just could not contain her enthusiasm.
We stayed within Hattie Cove. It was a wonderful paddle. The Parks Canada person came to open the Visitor Centre and she took some pics of us on the water.
I recognized the great country we live in that has such great parks and natural resources to enjoy.
Here we are at the end of the lake looking back. We had some fun paddling the marshes and listening to the bull frogs.
The best part was, by staying near the Visitor’s Centre, I was able to use their WiFi to do a live, Facebook stream from the canoe. I had to be careful not to drop either the phone or the paddle. At one point I put the phone in my PFD but the angle was wrong.
We were tired after the walk and paddle (well, I paddled – the pugs sat in the canoe). Looking up at the sky from our campfire. There has only been 1 day of rain in the 22 days I’ve been on this trip.
Made a campfire and cooked dinner on it. Watched the fire into the evening before heading to bed for a well deserved sleep.
For more information on Pukaskwa National Park visit:
,https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/pukaskwa