Laura Lake Loop

Maps provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have marked my route in blue and portages in red. 

In the middle of August of 2022, a longtime friend,  Jason, and his lovely wife, Lois, caught the Red Eye out of Victoria. B.C. where they live. They were coming to Ontario to meet my lovely wife, Da Hee, and yours truly for a "couples'" canoe trip. Yes, fun stuff! It would be a week away from our domestic lives and a chance for old friends to catch up. And what better place to do that than in the Chiniguchi area of the Temagami wilderness?! 

They arrived at Pearson Airport in Toronto just after 7 AM. Da Hee and I were there to pick them up with two canoes strapped to the roof of our vehicle. From there, we headed north on Highway 400, excited to start our adventure. 

Our original plan was to spend 6 nights doing the Laura Lake Loop. We would take our time on the loop, explore the area and do some day hikes in the Wolf Lake Old Growth Forest and again up the Elephant on the west shore of Chiniguchi Lake. Unfortunately, "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry". We paddled into Matagamasi Lake for about an hour and immediately set up camp on a nice rocky point for our first night. The following morning, one of us had a bit of an unexpected emergency that had to get dealt with. 

So, we broke camp and paddled back out to the car. It would require a long day in Sudbury to sort out the issue.  That night, with the crisis averted, we returned to Kukagami Lake Road well after 10 PM and set up camp at a roadside site next to Bassfin Lake about a kilometer from our put-in on Matagamasi. The next day, we returned to Matagamasi Lake, once again, and restarted our trip, only on this go round, we would have to complete the loop in 4 days rather than 6. Never mind! We could still stick to our originally planned route but we would have to forgo the day hikes and go a little further each day. We were simply grateful the trip was still possible. 

Day 1 - Matagamasi Lake to Wolf Lake (14 km)

It had been a late night, so we certainly weren't the early birds getting our worms that morning. We got our first real look at the site in daylight. It actually wasn't bad considering it was a roadside site; it had nice views over the lake. It even came complete with a gas bbq, which we did not take the luxury of using. 

We drove to the put-in, unloaded the vehicle, got the canoes ready, and posed for a quick shot to (re)christen our departure for the second time in two days. 

Matagamasi Lake is big, but there was only a light breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Despite the high temperatures, we couldn't have asked for better paddling conditions as we moved into Matagamasi's North Arm.  

After two hours on Matagamasi, we arrived at the 350m portage out of the North Arm at the same time as another group of paddlers heading in the same direction. Moreover, another group of paddlers was coming in the opposite direction heading downriver. It was a busy walk. I knew this was a very popular route, but now I was worried that we would have trouble finding a vacant site on Wolf Lake, our intended destination for the day. It felt like the Joe Lake portage in Algonquin. 

We didn't let the crowds throw us off, though. We were marvelling at being back in the crystal clear waters of the Chiniguchi region. 

It was a quick paddle through a pretty pond before we were taking out once again for the famous 360-meter-long Toenail Portage - presumably named as such due to the fact that one is hanging onto the trail by one's toenails as one climbs to the right of a steep canyon. 

There was a small armada of kayaks, canoes, and other watercraft at the take-out. The quantity of boats might have been greater than the Swiss Navy. Ahh, yes, this was the portage to Paradise Lagoon, the worst-kept secret in the Canadian wilderness. It is an incredibly scenic place, but normally very busy, and according to a very interesting local that we met at the parking area on Matagamasi, it is feeling the pressure of all its visitors. 

The portage was challenging, but not too long. Looking down into the Chiniguchi River carving its way through the canyon certainly took one's mind off of the steep climb. 

After carrying all of our gear to the put-in on the far side of the portage, we got our towels and swimsuits on and headed back to take a dip in the fabled Paradise Lagoon. It wasn't quite the dystopian nightmare that our new acquaintance from the parking lot made it out to be; he had described a scene with broken glass and hypodermic needles. Thankfully, we experienced an area that was busy, but clean for the most part. All of the visitors on that particular day seemed to be respectful of the environment in which they were enjoying. 

Though the water levels were apparently low, we spent the better part of an hour swimming in the pool at the base of the falls and walking about the area. We even got a great vantage point from the top of the falls. It really was paradisiacal. 

We made our way back to the put-in at the edge of Silvester Lake and made some wraps for lunch. 

By this time it was 2 PM, so we didn't stay long. We were still hoping to get to a site on Wolf Lake before they had all been occupied. The paddle up the east side of Silvester Lake was nice. The forest looked lush and thick; it was apparent that we were entering the old-growth area. There were some dramatic cliffs along the shore as well. 

We were happy that there wasn't a portage to get to Wolf Lake from Silvester Lake, but we did have to wade up a shallow swift between the lakes.

Upstream from those swifts, the beauty of Wolf Lake appeared before us. It was like we had been transported to a lake in Killarney. The rocks and cliffs around Wolf Lake are part of the Lacloche Mountains at their northern range, the very same ridge of quartzite rocks that give Killarney its beautiful white cliffs and bluffs.  This was like Killarney Plus, only with gorgeous old-growth red pine dominating the shores. And like Killarney, the water was blue, clear, and inviting. 

We paddled into Wolf Lake in search of a site that would allow us to enjoy the wonderful scenery on the main part of the lake. Though we weren't able to obtain the much sought-after site on its eastern shore, we snagged the first one on the western shore that looked over the main bay. It was high on a rocky point and had fantastic views of the white ridge poking above the old-growth red pine forest on the opposite eastern shore. 

Apparently, there is a trail up to the high point that you see in the picture above, and though we didn't have the time to ascend it for the wonderful views on that trip, it would give us an excellent excuse to return to the area to do it another time. 

We set up camp, gathered some firewood, and spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading, and swimming in the cool, crystal-clear water on a very hot August day.  

I sincerely hope that future generations will be able to have the kind of day that we were able to enjoy on Wolf Lake. Just behind our site, we personally witnessed a lot of evidence of ground testing for the proposed mine on the lake. We spotted some minor patches of clear-cutting, drilled holes, tubes thrust into ground, hoses running from the lake which were most likely used to pump water to cool the drills, etc. It was disconcerting and a harbinger of what is to come.  

To allow any kind of mining operation on this lake is an absolute disaster. In order to install the mine, large amounts of the forest will need to be cut. It has already started. We only have 1% of the old-growth pine remaining and the Wolf Lake area is the largest stand of old-growth red pine in all of North America, if not the world. Yet, mining is being allowed; plans are in the works. It is already leaving its indelible mark on the area. 

If you have the time, watch the following short documentary to get a better understanding of how imperative it is that we protect this area.  

If you are interested in doing your part to help protect Wolf Lake, write a letter to the people in charge, our elected officials, to ask for change. The following link can assist you in doing that:

https://earthroots.good.do/save-wolf-lake/Save-Wolf-Lake/

The rest of the evening was spent cooking our meals, engaging in fun conversation next to a roaring fire, and watching the nighttime shadows descend over the lake. Just when we were about to retire to our tents shortly after 10 PM, an incredibly bright moon ascended in the east over the quartzite ridge, casting a bright glow over the entire lake.  

Day 2 - Wolf Lake to McConnell Bay (18 km)

We awoke to another gorgeous day with nary a speck of white in the sky. It looked to be another scorcher. We rehydrated some powdered eggs, cooked up some bacon, and had a nice breakfast looking over the lake. We weren't in a huge hurry to leave that view; eventually, we broke camp and had our gear packed up and ready to load by 10 AM.

After loading the canoes and paddling past the point that was our home for the evening, I snapped a departing shot of the site. 

Wolf Lake isn't that large and it didn't take us long to paddle into the northern bay. There were some lovely white cliffs on the northeastern shore. 

A few others camped on Wolf Lake also had similar departure times from their sites making the portage into Dewdney Lake busy. On top of that, there were others who had just arrived on the logging road that crosses the portage, and were carrying their canoes in the opposite direction to Wolf Lake. If it hadn't felt like Shinjuku Station at morning rush hour, it would have been pleasant; the rocky staircase that followed a small chute was very pretty. 

We put in on Dewdney Lake and began padding north. The rocky channel with its pine-studded shores that led into the lake was sublime. 

Even though we had been experiencing beautiful, jaw-dropping scenery up to that point, it didn't really feel like we were in the wilderness due to the sheer number of canoeists and kayakers everywhere. That changed on Dewdney Lake; for the first time on the trip, we had a lake to ourselves. In fact, for the rest of the loop until we were back on Matagamasi, we would only see one other party of canoeists the entire way. 

Dewdney Lake is really two lakes separated by a shallow narrows that had barely enough water for us to paddle through. In the northern section on the eastern shore, we spotted the "haunted" cabin and paddled over to it.  The story goes that the cabin was the domicile of the caretaker of the McConnell Fire Tower,  a structure that still stands on a ridge 1.5 kilometers to the east. Apparently, there is no discernible trail to the tower but is accessible with a bushwhack hike. The caretaker, Bob, allegedly died under mysterious circumstances in the cabin; however, his ghost decided to never leave and tends to take offense to trespassers. 

We did not let this legend deter us from entering the cabin, nor did we have any ghost-like experiences. Upon entering the cabin, we quickly noticed that it hadn't deterred many others from visiting the site either since the cabin walls were absolutely plastered in very silly and inane graffiti. No wonder Bob is p!$$ed off. 

I tried to find online anecdotal evidence of how this ghost story came to be, but I came up empty. If any readers have any first-hand accounts of "odd" experiences while visiting the cabin or lake, or more on Bob's story, kindly contact me through the forum at the bottom of this page. Out of interest, I will anonymously share your information by adding it to this trip report.