Aug 5. Weather: heavy fog. We woke up at 6:00 A.M. and broke camp. As soon as the fog lifted we headed for the portage. It was long but fairly level, with a steep incline at the beginning and leveling out to a very gradual downhill until we reached the logging road after which there is a sharp rise and downhill to the water of Louisa Lake. This portage is well maintained and quite wide and dry. At Louisa Lake we ate lunch and loaded up for the trip to the next campsite. We found a large campsite just around the nd point. We set up and prepared to stay for a couple of days. That evening we were visited by a young whitetail deer which swam across the lake and came ashore at our campsite. The next day was threatening rain so we explored the lake a little and stayed close to the campsite in case a storm came up.

Aug 7. Weather: sunny and cool. We got up and prepared to move up to the west end of Louisa Lake. We set off and proceeded West along the south shore of Louisa Lake. Just as we arrived at the campsite at the point where we planned to stay, the wind came up. The wind was gusting to about 45 km/h. and it began to cloud over. White caps began to form on the lake and the swells were about ½ m. About 5:00P.M. The rain started. We could see it moving across the lake and within a few minutes visibility dropped to about 100 m. The rain only lasted about ½ hour and then stopped but it remained overcast.

Aug. 8 Weather: Overcast and very windy. We broke camp and headed for the 175 m. portage to Florence Lake. The portage was not too bad mostly downhill and had a few muddy patches. During the portage the sky cleared. We paddled across Florence Lake and into Frank Lake. We got to the Island at the south end of Frank ( the only campsite on the lake) and set up camp. That evening was uneventful and we crashed about 9:30. About 1130 P.M., We were awakened by one hell of a bang of thunder. The lightning was severe and there was lots of rain. The storm lasted about 1 hour and then the sky cleared and the moon came out. The next morning while preparing breakfast Al got stung by a wasp on the wrist and a minute later on the ankle by a ground bee. The wrist swelled up and became very stiff and remained so for the next couple of days.

Aug 9 Under sunny skies we headed for the 320 m. portage to Rense Lake. This portage was not so easy there were a couple of deadfalls and there were some muddy patches. Near the end there was a rather large rock garden which opened into a grass covered path which was under about 3 " of water. When we got to Rense lake the wind was horrendous. We got to a campsite and were not impressed so we moved on to the other only campsite on the lake. It was not much better so we decided that we would have a look at Harry Lake. Since it was mid week and we had only seen one other canoe in two days we figured that it wouldn't hurt if we stayed on Harry since there were 5 campsites on the lake, none of them occupied except for one at the far end of the lake. We found a campsite and set up just as the rain hit. It came down in torrents and lasted about 15 minutes. We ate under canvas and retired for the night.

Aug 10. Weather: Sunny and cool We awoke to a beautiful sunny day. We explored the lake, had a swim and washed some clothes which were getting pretty grubby. That evening we made dinner and then the rain came again. Again it really came down and then a thunder storm blew in. It didn't last long and then the sky cleared to reveal a beautiful bright moon.

Aug 11. Weather: Clear and Sunny We woke up to another beautiful sunny day and prepared to move on to Welcome Lake. This lake is incredible, with beautiful sand beaches at most of the campsites. there was not a soul on the lake so we found what I believe is the best campsite I've ever stayed at. It had a beautiful sand beach and was in a stand of white birch trees with a few bushes along the shore line which provided privacy. It was almost flat and the ground was covered with grass. We made camp and went for a swim.The water was warm and the air temperature was about 22°. Later we made dinner and just relaxed.

Aug 12 Weather: Sunny and warm We got up and after breakfast we explored the lake and found a Heron rookery and got some excellent pictures of the Herons. In the afternoon we decided to walk the 2175m. portage to Pen Lake. The portage was very muddy and after a few hundred meters, came to a place that was all but impassible (no wonder we had the whole lake to ourselves). We tried some fishing but no luck. During our explore we found an old deer jaw and came upon some 2 day old wolf sign.

Aug 13 Weather Sunny and warm After a morning swim, Al went for a walk on the beach in front of our campsite and came across fresh deer, bear, and wolf tracks in the wet sand (didn't see any wildlife though). That afternoon we explored the lake some more and finally saw a group of canoes coming from the portage (we weren't alone any more) there was a group of 5 girls in 2 canoes and a little while later there were 8 guys in 4 canoes. They stayed on the lake that night and moved on the next day. We stayed on Welcome lake for one more day and the next morning the weather looked threatening so we decided we had better move on as the portage, with a couple of days rain would become impassible.

Aug 15. Weather: Heavy overcast We broke camp and headed for the 2175m. portage. Fortunately most of the mud patches had partially dried up and the portage was not too bad. we had a short paddle down the Galipo R. and the came to another 325m. portage. This has to be one of the worst in the park very steep downhill and very nasty with lots of rocks and if wet would be very treacherous. We arrived on Pen Lake, the wind was strong and from the north. We found a very nice campsite about half way up Pen Lake with a nice sand beach. There was a very high ridge and the campsite is located on the back side of the ridge in a small bay, which proved to be quite well protected from the weather. We then made camp and decided to stay there for a couple of days. Late in the afternoon we had a thunderstorm and the wind kept up. The next day we planned to explore the lake but the wind had changed direction and was now coming from the South and gusting to about 45 km. Other groups were having a hard time navigating the large swells and high wind so we stayed put.

Aug 17. Weather: Overcast and high winds We got up and the wind was very high. We decided to break camp and try to get to Rock Lake. It was very tough going it took 4 hours to paddle the 3km. to the Pen Lake Dam. There was a 375m portage to Rock Lake and it wasn't too bad, we got some nice photos of the falls. Once again on Rock Lake the wind was very high so we decided to head back to the car and car camp for the remaining three days.

At rock Lake the campground was full so we moved on to Pog Lake Campground. We found a very nice campsite (the sites there are quite secluded) and used this as a base camp while we explored some of the trails and sites along the 60 corridor.

In all we were a little disappointed that we saw very little wildlife. Several people told us that we did this loop the hard way, that we should have gone to Pen, Welcome etc. However, I disagree. We found the portages mainly downhill for us and the current in the streams was with us.