White Lake Campsite 79 - A Work in Progress

Today was our third day at White Lake Provincial Park with another sunny and warm 82F (28F) day.

After taking the dog out for her morning walk and enjoying the loons and their babies on the calm lake we returned to the trailer and had breakfast.















While relaxing over our morning cups of tea or coffee, we discussed our plans for the day. Ron wanted to go fishing and try his luck again, but with my knee still hurting from being in a cramped position in the canoe yesterday, I decided I would stay here at the campsite and sketch.

After taking a number of reference photographs I started this sketch of the empty campsite across the road. It had some lovely birch trees nestled among the pine and spruce trees, with a lot of wild flowers in bloom around the edges of the lot.

Ron returned a few hours later and once again he didn't have any luck catching Walleye, Northern Pike or any other type of fish for that matter.

We decided that after lunch, we would walk the Deer Lake Trail which gives the option of a 1 mile (1.5km) long walk to the observation deck or continue around Beaver Pond for 1.6 miles (2.5km).

The trail was fairly level with just one section that went slightly uphill and then back down to the observation deck.

The observation deck allowed you to view almost all of the Beaver Pond.















From there we opted to follow the Deer Lake Trail around the Beaver Pond.

Aside from a few pathways through the forest we were pretty much within sight of the pond.

Some areas of the path went over soft, wet, marshy areas and a pathway made of wood planking wound its way through the forest on the edge of the wetland.

While on the trail you would catch glimpses of birds and butterflies, hear the rustling sounds of small animals scurrying through the underbrush and the never ending chorus of frogs.

It wasn't long until we were back to the beginning of the trail and heading back to our campsite.

We saw the sign for Clearwater Lake and decided to check it out which is listed as a fairly easy trail and only 1.2 miles (2km) long.















When we arrived at the start of the trail, Ron wasn't particularly thrilled about reading the warnings about meeting a bear on the trail, but decided that with it being fairly well travelled, the odds were worth going anyway.

The trail going through the forest was of hard packed earth and fairly level without a lot of tree roots near the surface which, if you are not watching where you place your feet could be a problem.















It didn't take long for us to make our way to the lake which as we approached it, we could see the sandy bottom through the crystal clear water.

There were canoes available for rent and a bench by the water where you could sit and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place. The only sounds were the whispering of the leaves as the wind blew though them.















It was nice to see the fingerling speckled trout in the water by the shore and I watched them for a little while, until it was time to retrace our steps back to the car.

As we drove back to the campsite we talked about going on the Tiny Bog Trail in the morning and going fishing in the afternoon on our last full day in the park.















It wasn't long after we returned to the campsite that we had supper and the dog was taken for her final walk.

As the sun was setting it was time for a bonfire while we relaxed and enjoyed the evening.