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

After waking up, we didn't waste a lot of time with breakfast and breaking camp. We had a couple of coffees and bowls of oatmeal and got on the water by 9 AM. It was fine; we didn't mind getting up and going. As far as canoe tripping goes, it had been quite a leisurely trip thus far with a lot of downtime at the campsites. We had over a 5-hour drive home that day, so we didn't want to dillydally too much. Besides, we had plans to have lunch at the "world-famous" Herbert Fisheries in the town of Killarney before hitting the highway proper. 

Once again, we were blessed with gorgeous weather. I  snapped a few departing shots of the site after we had packed up and loaded the boat. It was a great campsite. 

We paddled south through the wetlands area. 

Our route then turned to the east and quietly moved past an occupied campsite there. 

Within a half hour, we reached the eastern end of Balsam Lake. Just before the portage to Three Mile Lake, we passed another campsite occupied by a family. they were packing up and also getting ready to depart. 

Arriving at the portage location, we saw the remnants of a marine railway that once transported boats between the two lakes. 

The slipway area was clear. It made me wonder if it was still in use.

The portage was immediately next to the slipway, so we took that; however, one could easily portage on the slipway for a new experience if one wanted to. 

That reminds me, have you ever heard the upbeat rave song "Clear Slipway" by the techno electronic band Translucent Frequency from Manchester? 

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

The paddle south through Three Mile Lake and through the narrow to reach Bell Lake again was uneventful. We were thankful for the lack of wind on the large open parts of the lakes. We had the route to ourselves for the most part and before long we were back in Bell Lake and seeing the Lacloche mountains again in the distance. 

By 10:30 AM, we were approaching the take-out next to Killarney Kanoes. 

It didn't take us long at all to complete the 100-meter portage back to our vehicle, load the car, and get back on the narrow and winding gravel road out to Highway 637. The journey to the highway took more than twenty minutes.  Nearing the highway turnoff, I was forced to slam on the brakes after going over a rise around a bend. A lone wolf darted across the gravel track less than 6 feet in front of us! Whew! That was a close call. 

Not long after that and after we had dropped into the George Lake Park Office to report the bush crafting on the Balsam Lake site, we continued on to the town of Killarney and had yet another wildlife encounter.  A bear was hanging about on the side of Highway 637. We saw it from quite a distance away and were able to slow to a snail's pace as we approached it. We were afraid it might want to dart across the road, so we passed it ever so slowly for fear of hitting it. 

It's ironic that after spending 4 days in the wilderness, we experienced the best wildlife viewing from our car after coming out of the bush. 

The town of Killarney was quaint and attractive. The harbour was busy with boats coming and going. 

The fish and chips at Herbert's was as delicious as we expected it to be. We enjoyed it on the docks on that beautiful August day just for the halibut. Life was good! We thanked cod for that moment in time. It was so nice to sit on the dock with a cold beverage, resting our mussels after the hike we completed two days earlier. Was it the best fish and chips in the world? Well, that's de-bait-able, but it just might have been. After all any fin is possible.