Map provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have made additional markings to show route information. 

We both slept well through the night and felt refreshed when we awoke. The sun was out, the skies were blue, and we couldn't have been happier about that.

Normally on my canoe trips, especially on the longer ones, I wake up with that feeling of having to get my day started immediately in order to get on the water and make distance on the route. On this particular day, we had none of that. We would be hiking to Silver Peak and returning to stay at the site for a second night; we had all day to do that! There would be no dismantling of tents, stuffing of sleeping bags, or packing of bags. As a result, we could be leisurely with our breakfast preparation, relax a bit, and enjoy our morning coffee next to the lake -- a rare luxury on most of my canoe trips. 

That reminds me, have you ever heard the easy-listening classic "Leisurely with our Breakfast" by the 70s soft rock group Metropolitan Marmalade? 

Well, neither have I, but just for a second there, I thought it might exist. 

We packed our lunch, water filter, and some extra clothes in case it was cool at the top. Just as we were about to leave, I walked down to the lake one last time to take a peek at the skies for weather analysis and realized that Killarney must be under a number of flight paths. There were a few vapour trails lining the horizon. It was as if there were some giant Ghostbusters in the sky crossing their streams. 

I had earlier noticed that there was a trail leading from the thunderbox up the ridge behind the site. We followed it knowing that the Silhouette Trail was somewhere at the top of that rise. The trail ascended the hill and then for some reason disappeared, so we started bushwhacking. 

Dahee began to have some doubts. Perhaps, it had something to do with my navigational brain fart the previous day in the first five minutes of the trip, but this time I was confident. 

"Trust me!" I asserted.  

Now, when a husband says those two words to his wife, it can only end in one of two ways. The husband is correct and is the hero (at least in his mind) or the husband is incorrect and is the idiot (most likely in her mind already). In this particular instance, I was pretty sure I would end up being the hero, but part of me was a tad bit concerned that the bushwhack trajectory we were on would meet a sheer cliff face and become impassable. 

Well, that nearly happened because the ridge got very steep at one point and we had to bushwhack at a diagonal angle to make it up the ridge. Thankfully, we were able to reach a sloping bedrock face and could easily climb up that. Arriving at the crest of the rock, I was able to spot a rock cairn, a commonly used trailmaker left by previous hikers to show the way.  

"See, those rock cairns are marking the path. We've found the trail." I mansplained to Dahee. She gave me the side-eye while smiling. I smiled back, but my mind was saying, "Whew!"

Here's a shot of the cairns on the rock face with David Lake behind us. 

We followed the cairns but the way disappeared into some trees with no apparent trail whatsoever ahead of us. What the...? Although I dared not look at Dahee, I could definitely feel that side-eye burning into my soul. 

Alas, at that moment, the Killarney wilderness gods sent me a saviour. Through the trees, I spotted movement. It was a person moving through the forest about 50 meters ahead of us. He had a large backpack on. It was a Silhouette Trail hiker! Yes!

"See the hiker there, honey? Like I said, the trail is just ahead," I said matter-of-factly, and perhaps slightly too knowingly. More side-eye glances ensued. 

After bushwhacking through the trees, we met up with the Silhouette Trail proper. It was a wide and clear path with intermittent blue trail markers on trees along the way. It was impossible to lose it. In my mind, David Bowie's Heroes was playing loud and clear:

I, I will be king

And you, you will be queen

Though nothing will drive them away

We can be Heroes, just for one day

We can be us, just for one day

The trail emerged from the trees and climbed up to yet another great mound of white rock. We walked to the south edge of that rock which was a cliff overlooking Boundary Lake. We could see Silver Peak directly to the south. 

We made our way east, following the trail markers, when suddenly there was a flutter of movement accompanied by a jungle-like cacophony of noise above us. Neither of us had spotted them, but a pair of sandhill cranes were hiding out in a tall tree near the top of the rock. We had heard them the previous evening from our site, but surely did not expect to run into them (literally!) on the trail the following day. We passed right underneath them and when we were directly below the tree, they burst into flight. Both Dahee and I had a minor cardiac event as they launched into the air directly above us while simultaneously making that unmistakable Sandhill Crane noise. For a split second, I thought we somehow had transported ourselves into Jurassic Park and the pterodactyls had found us. I would have laughed if I had any breath to laugh with. 

A few minutes past the pterodactyl encounter, we caught up to the hiker who was sitting down and taking a break. He had walked further to the north on the rock, so he managed to avoid spooking the cranes into a spastic frenzy like we had. He was a young man in his twenties from Germany and he was completing the entire Silhouette Trail on his own. Fantastic! 

I love to see young people travelling and exploring the world, particularly the natural one. Having lived in Asia for two decades, I have done my fair share of travelling to other countries. The best memories and experiences that I have for the most part from my travels are the outdoor experiences; hill tribe treks in Thailand, mountain ascents in China and Korea, diving the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, trekking amongst the giants of the Himalayas, climbing Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo, investigating volcanic craters in Indonesia, jungle walks in Cambodia and Vietnam, and river rafting in the French Alps are just some of the experiences that I have been fortunate enough to have had on my travels. Most of those experiences were done in my twenties. Sure, the cities, museums, and historical places were interesting, but looking back from my mid-fifties, it was the exposure and connection to the outdoor world that I remember with the most fondness.  I hope the young man from Germany will look back on his week of hiking the Silhouette Trail of Killarney, Ontario in the same way when he becomes an ageing, old fart like me. 

Young people...revel in your youth. Experience the world. Put those phones away, and see the beauty around you while you can! But, I digress...

We chatted with the nice, young man for a bit and departed each other's company by descending the steep face of the ridge. We made our way to the east of Boundary Lake. There was a large beaver dam there that doubled as a bridge and allowed us to cross a narrow creek. The young German man, who had departed the ridge just ahead of us, was chatting with a couple of other hikers there. We said our hellos as we breezed past them, not wanting to disturb their conversation. 

South of Boundary Lake, the trail slowly ascended through a thick forest and within ten minutes, we were skirting the eastern edge of a shallow pond. 

That reminds me, have you ever heard that old Bluegrass ballad, "Skirting the Eastern Edge of a Shallow Pond" by the traditional American mountain folk music ensemble, The Banjo Ripples? 

Well, neither have I, but just for a second there, I thought it might exist. 

Less than ten minutes past the pond, we arrived at the point where the Silver Peak Trail departed from the Silhouette Trail under a thick canopy of deciduous trees. A trail marker on a gnarly old tree pointed the way.  

From the trail junction, our walk became steep, and steep it would be until the top. It wasn't the most difficult climb that I have ever done, but it was relentless in the sense that there were very few flat sections between the Silhouette Trail and Silver Peak. A slow and steady pace would win the day. 

The first part of the ascent consisted of winding switchbacks in a southward trajectory as the trail made its way above the forest floor at the base of the peak. We came to a rocky ridge and the trail veered to the east again as it went through a very interesting fissure in the rock. Once in it, the air felt cool. It was a nice relief from the sweat-inducing work we had been doing. I asked Dahee to give me her best action pose for posterity's sake. It took some coaxing but she begrudgingly acquiesced. 

Shortly after, we arrived at a stream that was cascading off the mountain parallel to the trail. On our right, was a sheer cliff face from which we could see spring water pouring out of the rocks. It was very cool to see. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of it. The tree cover was thick there and it would have been a fairly dark photo, anyway. 

Eventually, the trail veered from the southeasterly path it was on and worked its way southwest toward our destination. As we got closer to the peak, it was extremely steep in a few places and we had to use trees as anchors lest we tumble off the mountain. The final push to the peak was a small, vertical assault. 

That reminds me, have you ever heard that metal song, "Small, Vertical Assault" by the early eighties height-challenged thrash metal band, Short Seige? 

Well, neither have I, but just for a second there, I thought it might exist. (Why wouldn't I? As a 5'6" dude, I imagine such glories. Short guys of the world, work your magic!)

As expected (what all the fuss is really about), the view from the peak was amazing. Keep in mind that this is Ontario. We don't really have any 'mountains' to speak of in this province. Sure, we have monikers like Maple Mountain, Ishpatina Ridge, Algonquin Highlands, and Silver Peak, but let's be honest. They are hills. Anyone who has been to the Rockies, Himalayas, Alps, etc. knows exactly what I am talking about. However, the view from Silver Peak is about as far-reaching and spectacular as it gets from a natural height in Ontario. Here's the part of the report where I inundate you with photos of said view. 

The first is a panoramic picture taken when we arrived out of the trees and had our first good look to the north. That is David Lake on the left, the place from which we departed less than two hours earlier. 

Although it didn't show up on camera, with the naked eye we could barely make out the silhouetted shape of the Inco smoke stacks in Copper Cliff on the distant horizon. 

From that lookout, we made our way further to the south to get to the actual peak. It was a short climb on bald rock to get there. 

Arriving at the top, we took a gander around at the splendour of Killarney Provincial Park far below in all directions. Georgian Bay can be seen in the distance to the south...

...and in this western view. 

We hung out for a short while taking it all in and then took the short 10-minute trail to the next peak (the actual pinnacle) immediately to the west, the location of the old fire tower that once existed there.  The foundations of the tower are the only pieces of physical evidence that it existed.  

Let's get into a couple of fun 'facts' about Silver Peak. I am neither a reporter nor a researcher, so I cannot comment on the validity of the following, but a little bit of googling turned up these nuggets: 

1. Its summit is at 539 meters a.s.l., barely cracking the top 50 list for high points in Ontario. It's roughly the same height as the CN Tower. 

2. It is the highest point on the Lacloche Mountain range known for its silvery quartzite rock. The Lacloche range is nearly 2 billion years old, making it one of the oldest ranges in North America. 

3. The fire tower at the summit was deemed dangerous to hikers and was removed by helicopter. 

4. There was once a plan in place to turn Silver Peak into a ski resort in an effort to give Mount Tremblant in Quebec a run for its money.  In the end, the plan was abandoned (Thank the canoe-tripping gods!) due to the peak being too steep and remote.

5. Jeff's Maps states that the Indigenous name for the peak is Mukshkasenda Sibi. I was unable to find another source for that online, nor was I able to find the English translation for that name. Typically high points in the landscape hold some cultural significance to the First Nations people. I'd dearly love to know this peak's importance to the local Indigenous population if one exists. 

At this point on our hike, we had earned a bit of an appetite. Dahee and I had the peak to ourselves, so we found a nice ledge to lean against, sat down, and enjoyed some lunch wraps that we threw together back at the camp.  The following is a photo of our view as we ate. Not bad at all! 

I do believe that might be Norway Lake in the centre of the photo. Beautiful lake. My daughter and I spent a night there on a 2020 canoe trip. 

We lingered a bit at the top, not wanting to leave, but when the clock rounded the 2 PM mark, we thought we'd better make our way back. 

The climb down was less of a heart-pounding experience but harder on the knees and ankles, and frankly a little more frightening in terms of slipping and falling. On many points, I could feel pain in my right knee that I had injured a few weeks earlier on a 10-day solo trip in Quetico. I had a sports wrap on my knee in anticipation of this, but it slowed me down nonetheless. We made it back without mishap.

With no one at the spot on the return trip, I remembered to take a photo of the interesting beaver dam that served as a bridge crossing the creek out of Boundary Lake. 

On the north side of that dam was a granite rock ledge containing all kinds of cracks and crevices. 

As I walked by, I noticed a thick, brown snake in one deep crevice that was either a Hognose snake or a Massassagua Rattler. I called Dahee over to take a peek, but she ran for hills...literally. Dahee is not a fan of snakes. Giggling at her reaction, I moved on quickly as well. I didn't take a photo because the crevice was dark and to get a decent photo I would have had to get fairly close and use a flash. In case it was a rattler, I wasn't eager to do that. 

I nabbed one more photo of the rock cairns at the top of the Silhouette Trail leading to the departure point for our site. It's pretty hard to lose the way when the trail is marked as well as it is. 

We arrived back at our site just before 4 PM, a little tired from the hike, but extremely happy. What a fantastic day trip. We sat next to the lake on our rocky front porch for a bit with a glass of wine. Lovely. 

Lost in feelings of rapture from our gorgeous surroundings, we were unfortunately awakened from our dreamlike reverie by the sound of a loud engine. A float plane came screaming over the treeline to the east and landed in the middle of the lake not far from us. 

There aren't many cottages on David Lake but there are some. The island just to the east of our site is private land and it seemed the owners or guests were up for a stay. For those planning on camping at David Lake, know that canoes may not be the only crafts that might be encountered. 

Dahee put together a fantastic meal that evening that we cooked over the fire and thoroughly enjoyed. Although it had been slowly clouding over throughout the day, it was much less so than the previous evening and we were treated to a nicer setting sun. 

After the sun bid us adieu for the day, we sat by the fire for a bit. We called it a night shortly after Dahee took a couple of twilight photos of the lake. It had been a good day, and we retired to the tent for a good night's sleep.