Cribbage and Canoes

23 minutes ago
3 min read

TALES FROM THE TRAIL

May long weekend of 2026 called, and Olivia and I answered - food barrels packed, loppers in hand.

THE ROUTE

We put in at Arrow Lake Provincial Park with our sights set on the Omimi Trail section of Path of Paddle, which we would access at Rose Lake. No portages in the way, just two Outdoor Recreation grads from Lakehead University full of paddling prowess. Our plan was to base camp 3 nights on Rose Lake, clear the 3,210m portage between Rose and Watap Lake, play lots of cribbage, eat lots of TVP and hope that my 20 year old tent would keep us dry. Almost everything but our base camping dreams came true! Because nature had some plans of her own.

DAY ONE: WINDBOUND

As we gazed out at the whitecaps on Arrow Lake, we launched our canoe. No matter how much we hugged the shore, we paddled into 30km/h headwinds. Olivia's sailing experience braced us for the gusts of 50km/h winds. Needless to say, Arrow Lake was not letting us go anywhere fast. So after 3 intrepid kilometers, we abandoned ship, and let the cribbage lessons begin!

Olivia - "Are all cribbage boards this small?"

DAY TWO: THE TAILWIND GODS DELIVER

Day two greeted us with a glorious 20km/h tailwind. As we approached the southwest end of Arrow Lake, we gazed upon a hundred rock faces in the cliffs.

Our intense headwind paddling practice came in handy as we muscled our way upstream to enter Rose Lake. Passing a small but sweet campsite.

Fixing up the fire pit entering Rose Lake

What was a tailwind on Arrow Lake, became a headwind on Rose Lake as we headed East. Thankfully we got to a campsite that offered incredible protection from the wind, letting us soak up the sun as we set up camp and eat some lunch.

The long portage between Rose Lake and Watap Lake - almost 3.5km long - was waiting for us, not just because it needed a lot of work, but because it also had so much beauty to share. Magical cedar lined creeks, wetland habitat and a lot of beaver activity! It was as charming and wet as it sounds.

Equipped with handsaws and a pair of loppers, Olivia and I set to work. We thought we were the only ones on the trail. Eventually I passed a canoe on the side of the trail, and quickly met the two people coming to retrieve it. "Hello!" I exclaimed as they approached me, thinking they were heading the way I had come. "Are you heading to Rose Lake?" I asked. But they were not. In fact, I was only 10 minutes from the end of the portage at this point, and with the worst timing ever, these fellow paddlers had done this epic portage, not just over beaver dams, but over all the fallen logs and brush we had cleared behind them. They had not benefited from a single branch we lopped. Such is the life sometimes. The good news, it's all ready for you!

DAY THREE: GLASS

Zero wind. Completely flat water. As a result, we couldn't stop paddling, and paddled from our campsite on Rose Lake back to Arrow Lake Provincial Park. Round trip we paddled 40km.

With service in this area, we reserved a campsite online for the night and finished our trip in style. Which was really helpful given we could just throw my soggy 20 year old tent into the back of the car the next morning after a night of rain. By 8:30am we were on the road heading straight to the Early Refill in Kakabeka Falls for a coffee.

TRAIL CONDITIONS

The Rose Lake-Watap Lake portage was passable but needed significant clearing. A lot of blow down kept our saws and muscles warm. There was evidence of recent chainsaw activity, as the Boundary Waters also cares for these boarder trails. We were impressed by the beautiful board walks that spanned sections of the portage.

Other places, not even rubber boots would keep your feet dry, fording a small but deep incoming stream.

The Rose Lake end of the portage would allow for a campsite, but there are two incredibly beautiful sights a short distance from the trail on some outcrops.

Before and after trail photos below!