Day 5 - Owl's Head Rock to Loon's Landing - 10 kms

Map provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Day 5 - Owl's Head Rock to Loon's Landing - 10 kms

We were up, canoes loaded, and on the water before 9 am. We only had less than two hours to get back to our vehicle, so we were in no rush. As we paddled away from the site, I turned around to take my customary shot of it.

We paddled under the power lines once again and past Dalton's Point. We hit the jackpot on this trip in terms of paddling conditions; luckily, we had very little wind to contend with. 

We passed Lost Child Bend on the Cantin Island Reserve to our south, named after a legend about an indigenous child that went missing in the water there.  He appeared to be pulled under and as his parents and others dived for him, they could not find him. The legend says that the boy's cries were heard for six days, including from under the ground that the group was camped on. He was never found despite the many days of searching for him. 

As we moved through the channel north of Fourmile Island, the river narrowed and some pretty islands were dotting the river there. 

We decided to stop on one of these islands and have a mid-morning swim and a snack. Unfortunately, the tranquility of the moment was interrupted by a man and his son flying through the area, rather close to our beached boats, on a jet ski. Sigh. 

A short paddle downriver from this, we were moving through the narrow opening that leads into Dry Pine Bay known as Canoe Pass.  Again, we had to move aside for the motorboat there. On a river trip in cottage country, it is certainly difficult to avoid them at times. 

The paddle across Dry Pine Bay was easy. The wind was staying down and we beached our canoe at Loon's Landing just before 11:30 am.  

After loading up the car, we had another swim at the beach and were heading out on the road soon after. We stopped in at the French River visitor's center and learned a little more about the anthropological and natural history of the area, albeit from a Eurocentric viewpoint. Brule was certainly not the first to "discover" Lake Huron. 

After that, it was burgers and ice cream at the Trading Post, where we discussed what a great trip it had been over our treats.