Tag: wilderness

Charlton Lake Camp in Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario: Your Canadian Adventure Destination

by stephsimply, posted in Travels

“You get a strange feeling when you are about to leave a place, like you’ll not only miss the people you love but you’ll miss the person you are now at this time and place, because you’ll never be this way ever again.”–Azar Nafisi

Welcome to your Lake Charlton Camp cabin!

Looking for a Canadian Adventure? 🇨🇦

If you have ever considered traveling to Canada, and you enjoy scenic, out-of-doors vacations, then add Charlton Lake Camp (CLC) to your list of places to visit. Situated in Killarney Provincial Park in Willisville, Ontario, CLC is surrounded by clear, tea-stained waters, heavily wooded islands, and rocky outcrops with the craggy, quartzite rise of the La Cloche Mountains in the background. The camp sits along the Whitefish River connecting visitors to the sparkling waters of Charlton Lake, Frood Lake, and Cranberry Lake.  

Bring your own boat or rent a boat, the choice is yours at Charlton Lake Camp.

Clean, Well-Equipped Cabins 🏕️

Charlton Lake Camp offers a variety of cabin sizes designed to accommodate families, friends, couples, or even a solo retreat. From fishing to boating, from swimming to hiking, and from exploring to plain ol’ relaxing, there’s plenty to do when staying at CLC.  Throughout the camp there are plenty of hammocks and Adirondack chairs for reading and lounging about. Each cabin has its own picnic table, barbeque, and a screened porch overlooking the Whitefish River.  Additionally, there is a boat dock for every cabin, and visitors can either bring their own boat or rent one from CLC.  The camp also has well-marked hiking trails on and near the property.

Roped-off area for swimming, and in the background you will see the fish cleaning cabin as well as the camp’s official pontoon boat.

Kayaks, canoes, and peddle boats, oh my! 🛶

CLC has kayaks, pedal boats, and canoes available for every camper to use. For those who like to cool off in the heat of a summer day, there is a roped-off swim area with a platform and its own beach area. Plus, in the center of the camp is a large fire pit area for which the camp provides wood for those interested in roasting hot dogs, making smores, or simply swapping tales at the end of the day. And, yes, there is wifi!  

Dan and Lisa help you shift into vacation mode, so you have more time for enjoying scenes like this from your cabin’s front porch.

Welcome to Charlton Lake Camp 🏕️

The owners, Dan and Lisa McGuire, go out of their way to welcome guests and help new arrivals get situated on their first day.  The McGuires meet and pick-up visitors in a pontoon boat at the camp’s parking lot. From there, visitors and their belongings are boated across the short distance of water to their camp. Once across the river, Dan typically has a four-wheeler with a trailer available for loading up campers’ belongings, and he will then drive those belongings straight to the assigned cabin.  This makes it much easier to get everything unloaded and unpacked, so visitors can quickly get started on vacation mode.

It’s a quick, easy trip back to the CLC’s parking lot to get you back to town for anything you forgot or any other adventures you wish to partake.

No worries if you forgot something 🤔

Once campers are settled, Dan will go over the boat basics for those renting one of CLC’s boats.  From that point on, campers can travel with ease to the three different lakes for sight-seeing or fishing adventures.  Additionally, anytime visitors want to travel back to town, they can either boat themselves across the river to the camp’s parking lot, or Dan and Lisa will take campers across the water on their pontoon. It’s a win-win situation, especially on those days when kids (or adults, for that matter) get a bit restless.

Espanola is a friendly, welcoming town.

Hiking, shopping, dining, Exploring . . . 🥾

The closest town, Espanola, has several stores, grocers, and restaurants, including one of our favorite pizza places, Toppers.  Additionally, in the opposite direction, a little bit further down the road, is Manitoulin Island, with its closest town, Little Current . This town offers unique shops, grocer, and restaurants. Additionally, Manitoulin Island possesses a wide-array of day-trip worthy activities, including numerous hiking trails, stunning lookout points, beautiful beaches, golf courses, and museums to name a few.

A fishing paradise 🎣

However, with all that Charlton Lake Camp has to offer, it can be difficult to tear yourself away from its picturesque surroundings. This is especially true for those who enjoy fishing. The waters at this camp are teeming with small and largemouth bass, walleye, pike, and a variety of panfish. John and I have had the pleasure of staying at CLC twice, and both times we were able to find excellent fishing spots. This is because the water is full of structure, baitfish, rocky points, channels, weed beds, and plenty of boat docks.  It is truly a fisherman’s paradise.

Idyllic surroundings 🏞️

That said, for those who love canoeing and kayaking, this camp is situated in a wonderland of picturesque and tranquil surroundings. Whether you canoe or kayak for exercise, fishing, observing nature, or the simple pleasure of being on the water, the waters surrounding CLC are ideal for all types of boating adventures. Plus, the camp offers paddle boats for the kid in all of us.

Mother nature Likes to play 🌦️

While staying at CLC this past June (2024), there were drastic weather shifts.  We arrived with a cold front that sent temperatures into the 40s at night. The subsequent highs during those first two days were in the 60s.  During this time, rain moved in, followed by a heat wave.  With the heat wave, lows never went below 70 degrees, and the high temperatures reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit (30s Celsius). However, by the very end of the week, temperatures moderated a bit.  

Fat-Bellied, Chunks 🐟

The extreme weather shifts made for some interesting fishing conditions. Therefore, we weren’t able to catch as many fish as we did the year before, but we did catch fish daily. We caught some real beauties too!  There were numerous fat-bellied smallmouth bass, which are always fun to catch and release. Plus, there were several chunky largemouth bass, a few random panfish, and John even caught a pike while fishing for a bass!  

licensed for fun 🤩

In fact, we caught over 40 fish by the week’s end, which was great, given the weather. We released all that we caught; however, the camp does offer a nice fish-cleaning station for those who keep and eat their catch-of-the-day. That said, anglers need to ensure they purchase the right fishing license in order to do this (conservation license vs sport fishing license).

sensory experience

Personally speaking, while John and I do enjoy catching fish, it is the pristine beauty and serene surroundings that sent us back to CLC for a second visit.  Honestly, there is nothing like gliding along in a boat on the still morning waters of a backwoods, upnorth lake, listening to the call of the loon, feeling a light breeze nuzzle your cheek, and inhaling the aromatic scents of pine and moss.  Furthermore, spending time with nature for hours at a time stokes an appetite, making even the simplest of food taste like a feast. Plus, all that sun and fresh air lulls you into the most restful sleep at night.

Make Memories that last a lifetime 🍁

If you’ve ever considered experiencing a Canadian wilderness trip with friends or family, consider giving Charlton Lake Camp a look. The owners are fantastic, the cabins are clean, and they are fully stocked for your camping needs. With its panoramic scenery, tranquil waters, and plenty of choices for your out-of-doors activities, CLC is a spot where vacation memories are made to last a lifetime. This is one place John and I hope to visit again at some point in the coming years.  

Finding Stillness at Charlton Lake Camp: A Reflection

by stephsimply, posted in Travels

“Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.”–Hans Marggolius

The view through the screened in porch overlooking Whitefish River a throughway to Charlton Lake, Frood Lake, and Cranberry Lake.

Still Waters 🏞️

I sat observing the waters of the Whitefish River flowing toward stillness–moving from one lake to the next, but in a relaxed state of flow that most often seemed to occur in the early morning or late evening.  Occasionally, something would break the surface, and rings would begin spreading outward from the epicenter. When this would happen, I often caught myself holding my breath in anticipation until the last ring dissipated, and the water was once more placid.  Then, with the stillness restored, I resumed my own cadence of breathing slow and steady, matching the river’s pulse.

The peaceful, craggy rise of quartzite rise of the ancient La Cloche Mountains surrounding the lakes.

Lake Charlton Camp 🏕️

My husband, John, and I were staying in Charlton Lake Camp (CLC) located in Killarney Provincial Park, Willisville, Ontario. This was our second trip to CLC, situated in a natural showcase of diverse pines, surrounded by the white quartzite crests of the La Cloche Mountains and translucent, tea-stained waters of Charlton Lake, Frood Lake, and Cranberry Lake with the Whitefish River providing a throughway to the lakes. In the morning, CLC was filled with a wilderness chorus of birdsong, loon calls, bull frogs, lapping sounds of water against rocky shores, and, of course, the buzzing hum of countless varieties of insects. 

The cabin in which we stayed at Lake Charlton Camp is just beyond the steps that lead to the dock.

Settling into Quiet 🤫

Breathing in deeply, my lungs filled with the aromatic aromas of pines, damp soil, sunned rock, and a hint of morning coffee as I continued to sit and observe, communing with my surroundings. The sun would soon begin lifting above the craggy cliffs behind the cabin in which we stayed, and life would soon begin stirring with those gleaming rays. But, in that moment, hovering between the hush of night and the dawn of daybreak, there was a stillness in which my heart was soft and open–receptive to that still small voice that resides within.

Boating through Frood Lake with the La Cloche Mountains in the foreground.

Slipping into the Gap of peacefulness 😌

I once read that praying is talking to the Divine Creator; whereas, meditation is stilling the mind for the purpose of listening.  Sitting there on that screened porch on the cusp of a new day, I was reminded of that idea.  My heart, head, and soul had relaxed enough to hear the truth–to really parse the ongoing narratives that, when left unchecked, my brain tends to repeat on an endless loop. By settling into the surrounding peacefulness, I could focus on listening, and begin to see how many of those narratives were (and are) often baseless claims forged by past experiences, trauma, anxiety, negative self-talk/criticism, and even a little fear. 

Sitting, breathing calmly, and savoring CLC’s peaceful surroundings through my senses, I found I could let my mind rest easily as if the wheel of ceaseless chatter had ground to stop, or at the very least, slowed its revolution. Taking in a deep breath of the clean, wilderness air, I softened my gaze on the water and continued listening. 

Afternoon sun glistens off the calm waters of Frood Lake.

Riding the waves of emotional influence🌊

Matching my inner calmness to the stillness of the river led me to a realization. My own mind often mirrors those waters of CLC. My mind tends to be at its calmest in the early morning or at night–just before drifting off to sleep, letting go of the day’s worries.  However, once the day fully begins, I am immersed in work and various tasks with multiple decisions being made throughout the day.  As my decision making increases, my judging brain kicks into high gear.  With that continued judgment comes an inner dialogue often influenced and affected by emotions, which rise and fall throughout the day much like the water around me did during the week.

Throughout our time fishing, resting, and relaxing in CLC, I observed how the river and surrounding lakes could quickly become stirred up, rising and falling with the winds of the day, tossed about with a changing weather front, or even fill with large waves when an occasional boat sped across the waters to the farthest end of a lake. There were additional times, when for no discernable reason, the waters would suddenly ascend and descend, jostling the boat John and I were in. 

Riding out the waves of emotions can be similar to navigating a fishing boat over wave-filled waters.

Restless emotions 😬

Fishing during those moments of restless waters and winds was challenging.  The wind would take hold of a perfectly thrown cast and carry the line and lure in a completely different direction than intended. Likewise, when the waters were lifting and dipping with waves, the view beneath the waters was clouded and murky–not allowing the eye to determine if the boat was above rocks, a weed bed, a submerged tree, or any other number of possibilities. Conversely, during the moments of calm, settled waters, navigating and fishing those waters was fairly easy and what was beneath the boat was clearly visible.  

Looking out at the peaceful waters of Whitefish River through the screened porch.

The influence of a RAcing Mind 🤯

The riverview before me, in that early morning hour, was emblematic not only of ideal fishing waters, but also a peaceful state of mind.  Unfortunately, our modern world tends to create and drive the opposite effect–a constant flurry of stirred-up waters–our minds fidgety and/or frantic, racing from one thought to another, moving through agendas of busyness, entertainment, and avoidance. Therefore, if we don’t set aside time to allow our minds an opportunity to cease its chatter and rest easy, how can we ever feel calm and think clearly?

Settle into into the stillness.

The importance of intentional Quiet 🤫

Our inner dialogue is often affected by the changing weather of our emotions.  Those emotions vacillate and shift with each decision we make and with each event we encounter.  And while I fully admit that mind chatter, and all of the emotions that come with it, cannot necessarily be avoided, in similar manner to the weather fronts we experienced during my time at CLC, our emotions can vastly change within the course of a day, much less a week. Therefore, deliberately providing pockets of time for stillness allows us to detach from the emotional narratives, and instead, fosters listening to that still, small voice of knowing, which allows us to, well, “fish” for the truth.

Listen for the whisper of our Creator, the great I AM.

LeT us Listen for the whisper 👂

Ralph Waldo Emerson once penned, “Let us be silent, that we may hear the whisper of God.” What a powerful reminder of the importance of settling the mind, like the still waters that were before me on that morning at Charlton Lake Camp. The type of quiet we choose can be a formal meditation/reflection, but it could also be achieved through walking or other forms of exercise, tending to your flowers/plants, or simply sitting on the porch sipping coffee or tea and listening to the birds. It really doesn’t matter as long as it is an intentional moment set aside to calm those mental waters of ceaselessly, flowing chatter. Prioritizing time for quiet reflection or meditation, however you define it, allows the flow of our hearts and minds to settle, soften, and encounter the “whisper of God.” 

Willisville, Ontario