Overnight in Puzzle Lake P.P./ Canoe Camping a Non-Operational Park

Puzzle Lake

To start off, Puzzle Lake Provincial Park is a non-operational park that allows recreational activities that include canoeing, camping, hiking, hunting, and others I may have missed. It is roughly located North of Napanee, Ontario between highway 401 and highway #7. There are two main access points, one being Norway Lake Rd. that basically takes you to the center of the park where you can access Noraway Lake via ATV trails. The second access point is the one we used at Gull Creek at the side of highway 15 about 15 minutes from the town of Tamworth. There was lots of parking although the lot was pretty full when we arrived which had me a bit nervous.

We left our place in Cavan Ontario a little late in the morning. We were approximately just over two hours away from the park however took the 401 route instead of Highway #7, due to the Havelock Jamboree and the traffic we may hit in that area on the way. We made a pit stop in Napanee and had an early lunch before arriving at the park around noon. This is when we noticed that the risk of driving all this way may not pay off. Like I stated earlier, the parking area was full. This being said, in a non-operational park that camping is permitted, sites are on a first come basis so if you cant get one, well.... be prepared to call it a day trip if nothing comes up. We spotted one other person getting ready to head out just ahead of us and I chatted with him for a few minutes and wished him a safe solo trip, but not before I admired his red canvas cedar strip canoe and two Duluth packs he had loaded up and ready to go. It was easy to see he was a seasoned paddler and before we were loaded and ready to go he had covered the length of the Gull creek, Gull lake and was out of sight. We hopped in our canoe, once again with my Wife, son Hiker and our ACD Blue Heeler "Chaya" accompanying me.

We started out slow taking in the scenery and worked our way around the point to the right of Gull Lake heading to where I had envisioned the first portage. Not the case. We had missed the portage completely. I did not bring a map of the park, I took a picture of one on my phone to reference but I felt I had researched the park enough to navigate without to much assistance. So after I realized we were at a dead end in Little Gull lake we noticed two campsites on the small lake, with one being occupied. This however was not our destination, we were looking to camp on Loyst lake which I came to find is a very popular location and you will soon find out why.

After taking a quick survey of Little Gull we made our way back to Gull lake and our intended portage, a short but rugged one that lead us past a tiny waterfall and into Puzzle Lake. Once gear was taken to the put -in I retraced my steps to get the canoe, it was then that a sense of urgency came over me. When I arrived at the canoe I noticed about halfway across Gull Lake, two canoes heading straight for the portage trail that we were occupying. Normally I would stick around and chat, swapping stories etc. but this was different. It was almost like a race to secure a campsite, so I hoisted the canoe and pretty much ran to the other side of the portage trying to yell while out of breathe "load the canoe lets jump in, they are coming" My wife frantically loading the canoe as she asks "Who". I began to let her in on our situation and the need to paddle quickly and efficiently, which she has no problem doing. We make a beeline across a section of Puzzle Lake to where the next portage is located, continuously looking behind our backs for the two canoeists. It seemed though that they were not as rushed as we were or new something we did not. At one point I was thinking that for sure,  they knew a shortcut and would pop out in front of us. Silly me!. As we approached the portage from Puzzle to Loyst we noticed the man with the cedar strip canoe. We thought maybe we had been so fast with our paddling that we caught up to him. Turns out he was coming back out of Loyst Lake so our heads deflated a bit when we found that out :) We chatted once again with him, to find out that he was heading to Norway lake but said that Mud Lake (which is on the other side of Loyst) was pretty dried up and was not really passable. We asked about Loyst and whether there were campers, he sadly notified us that the prime campsite on Loyst was taken, We asked about the second known site. He said there was no one there, however it was not a great site. We thanked him and made our way into Loyst Lake and what a lake it is. Crystal clear bluish green waters, a jumping cliff to the left side of the lake and a small rock island located further down the lake.



Loyst Lake coming from Puzzle Lake

 We spoke with some people at the put-in who happened to be camping on the popular Loyst Lake site, who mentioned they are not leaving for a few days. That only left us with one option, check out the other campsite. Here is a quick description of the "other" site, if you could call it that. It did have a fire pit made out of rocks but that was it. Located very high up on rock cliff with no level ground for a tent it was not ideal for what we needed as a family of three. Had I have arrived on my own, I could have made due. Needless to say, we had to backtrack to find a site. Part of me enjoyed the chase and adventure of trying to locate a site within this beautiful park. On our way out of Loyst we were met by the same campers coming back in who said that there is a site out on the point that could be seen from the Loyst to Puzzle portage. We loaded our canoe once again and headed towards the point. As we got closer we could see a red shape at the point, yep, you guessed it, it was the man with the red cedar strip. As we floated by he asked us how we were making out and pointed to a possible campsite on the opposite shore of Puzzle lake. Desperately wanting a place to call home for the night we made our way to the said site. When we arrived we noticed two wooden tables, a plastic chair, some garbage and camp cups. Knowing this lake can be accessed by motor boat and was home to a couple of cottages we thought it was just a littered site. My Wife Kelly began to set up camp while I took Hiker out to do some fishing. We relaxed in the canoe floating down the narrows of Puzzle lake where we watched a Loon swim under the boat and heard its yodel from 20 ft away. On the way back we noticed two guys fishing out of a boat in the area of our site. I paddled wide, out and around them not to disturb their fishing. When we got back to the site my Wife was reading a book in the plastic chair, having already erected the tent. She began to tell me that she overheard the fisherman saying how we must be tourists and  said "who would camp at a fish cleaning station". Instantly I thought of the movie "Deliverance", lets not upset the locals. It was all clear to me know, the tables, chair, garbage and cups. This is where they come to clean fish, cook fish and drink beer. I explained to my wife that we don't want to stay here if we are going to be in everyone's way and besides, a fish cleaning station may very well attract any bears in the area. After a short debate with my stubborn wife ;) We broke camp and made our way towards the last known, unoccupied site on Little Gull that we first discovered. We were hoping at this point that it was not taken between the time we first had noticed it and now. If it was taken that would have been our last option and from there it would mean a swim and then the two hour drive back home but... we were in luck. The site was still vacant. Not the greatest site but much better than then our option on Loyst and way better than tussling with the locals or getting mauled by a bear looking for fish, lol.

We were quick to unload and set up camp. After camping we had a much needed swim to wash of all the stank we acquired during our adventure race throughout the park. After swimming came a campfire, fishing and dinner, followed by a wonderful sunset. We retired to our tents early, around 9:30pm after an exhausting but great day. In the morning I woke at 6am and fished the shore with Hiker catching a couple small mouth and one bucket mouth making our total for the trip five smallies and one large, all catch and release. Hiker even reeled in his first fish, a small mouth bass putting on an acrobat show for him. It was wonderful to see the excitement in his eyes and reminded me of why I put forth all the effort to bring the family into the backcountry. Sometimes the preparations are tough as well as parts of the adventure but the moments where you get to take it all in are what it is all about. These family adventures are what I will be able to look back upon in my later years and be proud of. Bonding with my family in the great outdoors.

What did I take away from this trip? Arrive at Puzzle lake on a weekday early in the morning to give you a better chance of securing your site. If not you may find yourself being confronted by a couple local fisherman in an area you are not wanted (cue the banjo) ;)

Until next time, adventure awaits!

Johnny- Two4adventure

                                     

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Early morning catch