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Trip Info
Date: September 19th – 21st, 2025
Route: Kawawaymog Lake > North Tea Lake x2 > Kawawaymog Lake
Total Number of Portages: 4
Avg. Number of Portages Per Travel Day: 2
Total Length of Portages: 2,100m
Avg. Length of Portages Per Travel Day: 1,050m
Total Travel Time: 6hrs
Avg. Travel Time Per Travel Day: 3hrs
Total Distance Covered: 10km
Avg. Distance Covered Per Travel Day: 5km
*The numbers above are based on double-carrying portages, since this is how I travelled. If you plan on single-carrying portages, you’ll want to divide the Portage Length numbers by 3, and subtract the estimated time saved from the Travel Time numbers.
Background
My first time visiting North Tea Lake was in 2023, and I fell in love. I stayed at a beautiful island campsite, and the few adjacent campsites were vacant, so I basically had an “Island MEGA-Site”. It was pretty epic. I went back to North Tea Lake again in 2024, but I didn’t camp on that same island. Now it was mid-September in 2025, I had two nights to work with, the weather was looking decent, and I was in the mood for an easy, relaxing trip. I think you can guess where this is going… or should I say, you can guess where I’m going.
It was time to go back. (Picture me screaming “we have to go back!” like the famous scene from the show Lost)
Day 1 — Kawawaymog Lake to North Tea Lake
With only two nights to work with, I wanted to spend as much time as possible in the backcountry. I got an early start, hitting the road at 5:45 AM, and launching onto the water at 9:45 AM. Elo was SO excited to get on the water. I was excited too, but I was also very tired, so I wasn’t running in circles like she was.
The sky was completely overcast as I paddled across Kawawaymog Lake. It was single-digit temperatures with a gentle breeze on the lake. It was chilly, but tolerable. I crossed the lake and went into the Amable du Fond River. Water levels were super low on the river. There were two beaver dams that I was able to paddle right over. Bottoming out the canoe wasn’t a concern, but the long grass was causing lots of drag. Each time I dipped my paddle into the water it would get covered with grass and required lots of force to finish the stroke. It was like trying to drag a comb through really curly hair.
The first portage on the Amable Du Fond River is short and easy, though it does have tough terrain. The short stretch of river between the two portages was the worst section, with the tall grass and curly-hair-drag. The second portage on the river is slightly longer than the first, but it’s also quite easy. There was a large group at the North Tea Lake end of the portage with their canoes blocking the exit, as they double-backed for the rest of their gear. Luckily, I caught them in time and made them move their canoe out of the way so I could launch.
The wind started getting stronger on North Tea Lake. If this is your introduction to North Tea Lake, it’s infamous for getting choppy. And if you’re already familiar with North Tea Lake, then you probably rolled your eyes and thought “well yeah, duh Cody!” when I said the wind started to pick up.
My ideal campsite for this trip would need to fit three criteria.
• Criteria #1 – Good stargazing. The sun would be going down early and the moon wasn’t going to be in the sky, so I wanted to watch the stars from my campsite.
• Criteria #2 – Flat tent spots. This one is pretty self-explanatory, but I was going to be spending a few nights at this campsite, and I wanted to prioritize getting a good sleep.
• Criteria #3 – West-facing campsite. With the limited sunlight hours and the early sunset, I wanted a campsite that would catch sunlight as late as possible.
With those three criteria in mind, I went searching for a campsite. My first stop was the Island MEGA-Site. I had a feeling it was going to fit all of my criteria, but it had been a few years since I last camped here, so I didn’t want to commit just yet. If you want to read the original Island MEGA-Site trip report, here’s the link.
I have a love-hate relationship with the primary campsite from the Island MEGA-Site (Campsite #27). I hate the big incline from the canoe landing. The thunder box sucks. The wetlands surrounding the site make it super buggy. The burr bushes behind the fire pit are an accident waiting to happen with Elo. But on the other hand, it’s a beautiful site with gorgeous views. And if the adjacent campsites stay empty, well, then I get the MEGA-Site.
The real question was, did it pass my criteria test? It had spectacular stargazing, directly from the fire pit and from the shoreline. Check. It had perfectly flat tent spots. Check. And it was an exposed, west-facing campsite, meaning it would get every minute of sunlight available. Check. The love-hate relationship was quickly leaning towards the love side.
To be clear, I would only be camping at one site. I would not be occupying multiple sites. That’s against the rules, and very disrespectful to other campers. But IF the other campsites were vacant, I would take advantage of them for brief moments. For example, walking through Campsite #28 to the north of my site would allow me to go deeper into the island to collect firewood (I would never walk through the campsite if it was occupied). And Campsite #26 to the east of my site would allow me to watch the sunrise in the morning from its east-facing beach.
I snagged Campsite #27 and started setting up camp. I pitched my tent and then spent way too long doing a food hang—there are no good branches at the campsite, and walking in either direction away from the site would take me into the adjacent campsites—but eventually I found a spot to make it work.
While I was doing my food hang, a helicopter passed by overhead. It hovered in the distance, then it passed by again. I thought it might have been a search and rescue. Then, 30 minutes later, I heard an extremely loud bang that echoed over the lake. It definitely sounded like a rifle, or some type of gunshot. Was it related to the helicopter?
I pondered the situation while dozing off for a midday nap in the tent with Elo. I was awoken to some very unfortunate news… my Island MEGA-Site was no longer the Island MEGA-Site! The adjacent Campsite #26 had a group occupying the site. Thankfully, they were quiet. But it was still disappointing; I really love watching the sunrise from that campsite. I like their thunder box better too; that was the real letdown of the situation.
I went for an evening paddle to the nearby portage on the south shore to collect some firewood. I made it back to my campsite just in time to watch the sunset from the pebble beach shoreline. “Criteria #3 – West-facing campsite” came in handy here. Then I needed to get all that firewood up the massive incline into the main area of the campsite. This was the “hate” part of the love-hate relationship.
It was a chilly evening with single-digit temperatures, so I started the fire immediately after the sun went down, at 7:45 PM. I watched the stars fill the sky overhead while sitting beside a warm fire. “Criteria #1 – Stargazing”, was definitely a huge perk of choosing this campsite. It also happened to be one of the starriest nights of my camping season so far. I sat by the fire and watched the stars for almost three hours, before going to bed at 10:45 PM.
Day 2 — A Rest Day on North Tea Lake
This trip was my first time of the season where overnight temperatures hovered around zero degrees. It may have even gone a degree or two sub-zero. I didn’t mind though; I came prepared for both me and Elo.
I had a slow morning at camp, having breakfast and going back inside my comfy sleeping bag for a little while longer. I decided I would go on an adventure for the day. But first, I wanted to get firewood collection out of the way. I went past Campsite #28 and deep into the island’s forest. I was expecting to find firewood (which I did), but I wasn’t expecting to find such a beautiful forest landscape. The light was shining through the trees in all the right places, highlighting the fall colours and some of the leaf fall already on the forest floor.
I kept walking further into the forest, creating mini piles of firewood along the way. They were acting like breadcrumbs to find my way back, while also making firewood collection easier. I thought I was so smart! But then I did something not-so-smart. On my way back, I collected each mini pile, snowballing the amount of firewood in my arms. I didn’t realize just how much firewood there was, and the “not-so-smart” thing was carrying all of it in one go. It was a long walk back to my campsite, and carrying that much weight was extremely tiring. It was also one heck of a forearm workout!
After my firewood workout, I finally got ready for my day trip. My plan was to visit the East Arm of North Tea Lake and visit some of the campsites that I hadn’t yet documented for my website. I left my campsite at 11:00 AM and started paddling east across North Tea Lake. There were huge white caps on the water, with waves occasionally breaking into the front of the boat. I debated turning around and cancelling the day trip. Getting deep into the East Arm would take a ton of energy against these headwinds.
I already finished one workout today (the firewood) so I figured why not go for a second!?
It was a cold morning with the frigid wind constantly smashing against my face. I paddled nonstop for almost two hours. Finally, I reached Campsite #12 on the East Arm. The paddle totally drained all my energy.
I slowly campsite-hopped and visited Campsite #12, Campsite #11, Campsite #10, Campsite #9, and then Campsite #8. None of them were campsites I’d particularly want to camp at, but a few of them are campsites I’d be ok camping at. One of them was a tiny beach campsite with a memorial plaque for someone that died at the site. Two of them had bad landings, big inclines, and were heavily sheltered. One of them was on a big point, with steep terrain and slopes throughout. And one of them had a tent spot with a piece of wood on the ground with the words “Do Not Sleep Here” written on it. The person was even courteous enough to write it in both English and French!
If you want to read the full campsite reports and see all of the photos, they’re linked at the bottom of this page.
I was excited for the brutal headwind to become a tailwind during my return journey, but the Algonquin weather gods were being cruel to me. Instead, the water was perfectly calm and the sun was shining hot in the sky. The return journey was supposed to be the reward after the headwind battle, but it ended up being yet another energy-drainer. But this is what I love about canoe tripping. You deal with the hand you’re dealt. I needed to get back to my campsite and there was only one way to get there. I wasn’t calling an Uber. I wasn’t getting a ride in a helicopter. I needed to paddle, whether I liked it or not. Whether the weather cooperated or not. To be clear, I’m not saying I was dealt a bad hand; it was actually a gorgeous sunny day. It was just the irony of having a huge headwind in the morning and then a no-wind-scorcher on the way back.
Elo tired herself out with the campsite tour, so she lay down on the floor of the canoe and slept for basically the entire return journey. We left the East Arm at 2:00 PM and arrived back to our campsite shortly after 3:00 PM. Without any wind, the return journey took only half as long as the way there. The entire day trip was around 4 hours.
When I got back, the group at Campsite #26 had left. I had every campsite to myself. The Island MEGA-Site was mine!
But first, I needed to take a nap with Elo. “Criteria #2 – Flat tent spots”… I was making sure I took full advantage of that. The nap only lasted 10 minutes though. Remember the helicopter and gunshot from the previous day? The exact same thing happened today, at the exact same time too. I was so curious what the heck was going on.
Afterwards, I made myself dinner and went for another short firewood run deep into the forest of the island, before setting out for my evening paddle. I watched the sun cross the shoreline while sitting in the middle of North Tea Lake, and then headed back to my campsite. Similar to the previous night, I got a fire started early in the evening, while there was still a few minutes of light remaining. It was going to be a cold evening so I planned on putting my copious amounts of firewood to good use.
I set up my camera to do an astrophotography timelapse, and then sat by the fire and started writing campsite reports for the sites I visited earlier that day. At 11:00 PM, as the fire burned to coals, I sat and stared at the starry skies for 30 minutes. That “Criteria #1 – Stargazing” might just be the part thing about this campsite. As I sat there, staring at the incredible night sky from my beautiful campsite in the backcountry, I thought to myself everyone should experience this at least once in their lifetime, even if they’re the “I’ll never go camping” type of person.
Day 3 — North Tea Lake to Kawawaymog Lake
Now that I had the Island MEGA-Site, of course, I woke up early enough to watch the sunrise from the east-facing beach of Campsite #26. It was a very pretty sunrise, both from the east-facing beach, but also from my own campsite. Despite facing west, there were beautiful pink colours in the sky in front of my campsite.
I slowly packed up camp and got on the water at 9:30 AM. Even though I was heading home today, I wasn’t in a rush. There was definitely time for another campsite tour. But there definitely wasn’t time to visit more campsites in the East Arm. There was also no way that I was going to drain all of my energy going in the opposite direction, to the East Arm, before heading west back to my car. So, I toured the West Arm. There were a handful of campsites that I still didn’t have documented on the West Arm, and I was able to visit all of them except for one.
I visited Campsite #1 through Campsite #8. I skipped Campsite #6 since it was already documented, and I skipped Campsite #3 since it doesn’t exist. The non-existent Campsite #3 was only recently added to the newer version of Maps By Jeff; I’m not sure why the campsite was added, but it definitely didn’t exist when I paddled by.
I visited the remaining six campsites in that stretch. Most of the campsites had nice beach shorelines. Some of the campsites had a big incline from the beach into the campsite, with a wooden staircase to traverse the steep incline. With the low water levels, the beach shoreline was wide enough that walking between some of the campsites was doable.
One of the campsites still had a fire smoking, which was very disappointing to see. I genuinely don’t understand why I see this so often. It’s really not that hard to properly put out a campfire. This campsite also happened to have the worst incline from the landing to the main campsite. I drank what I had left of my clean water, then used my Nalgene to put out the fire, going back-and-forth across the terrible incline until I dumped enough water to make sure the fire was “dead out”.
The last two campsites I visited were the two sites nearby the portage. They couldn’t have been more opposite from one another. The northern of the two was a huge, exposed campsite with an impressive rocky shoreline. The southern of the two was heavily sheltered and enclosed, with no good shoreline.
As usual, the full campsite reports are linked at the bottom of this page.
Now it was time to head home. I made my way through the two portages and across the Amable Du Fond River. The curly-hair-drag was even worse on the return journey, since I was going against the current. But at least it was a stunning day outside, with the shorelines beautifully reflecting onto the narrow waterway of the Amable Du Fond River.
It was an exceptionally pretty paddle and a great way to end the trip.
Well, it wasn’t the end quite yet. The real end of the trip was paddling across Kawawaymog Lake. The forecast called for a tailwind, but those sneaky Algonquin weather gods pulled a fast one on me and switched the wind direction. Battling the headwind was one final effort to finish the trip.
The Aftermath
I’ll be honest. This was one of the most uneventful trips I’ve ever done. That’s not a bad thing though. I went to a lake that I love and I snagged a campsite that I love. The weather was great, with hot sunny days and cool near-zero nighttime temperatures. There were no loud groups on the lake. No exciting wildlife. No crazy experiences. Just a good, relaxing three days in the backcountry. And lots of quality time spent with Elo. Not every trip needs to be packed with adventure. Sometimes calm and relaxing is the perfect trip. That’s what this trip was. Plus, I was able to document a bunch of campsites (see below), and the fall colours were really starting to pop. This trip may have been uneventful, but I was totally ok with that.
