Killarney Provincial Park - La Cloche Silhouette Trail - ~80KM - July 2024

Let's make a small detour before getting into the details of my hike at Killarney Provincial Park. 

I've been thinking about religion for years and yet, haven't whole-heartedly adopted any yet. However, I have always been fascinated by the strength faith can provide - faith in a super-power (existent or non-existent, depending on your belief), faith in a fellow living being, faith in yourself and the list goes on... Faith elevates the confidence in yourself and to some extent, isolates you from yourself (and your capabilities) in order to believe in something bigger. If channeled well, faith can do wonders - it can get you through difficult situations in life, it can give you the strength to keep going no matter what and, it can help you remain positive irrespective of your situation. 

Now, here is the connection to Killarney that you've been waiting for - in each one of my multi-night, solo hikes, the first couple of nights have always been difficult. When I land on the trail, I am not tuned in, I don't know if I have it in me to complete the hike and do not know if I'll be able to overcome my internal fears. 

I feel vulnerable. 

However, I trust myself, and my physical preparation and somehow, get through this period of anxiety and self-doubt. I call this routine the "one step at a time" framework - I am sure others have written books about breaking down projects/tasks into mini-bits and tackling them one at a time. Federer talks about "one point at a time" in his commencement speech at Dartmouth university (transcript here and video here). A very simple philosophy of "one moment at a time" but probably the most difficult to execute because your mind keeps wandering ahead. 

On this trip, I had fever for the first 2 nights and felt weak - and, as you'll see in my gear list, I didn't carry a sleeping bag this time (intentionally, to reduce weight). I had to trust myself and dig deeper (probably as deep as I had to in the Himalayas in 2013) to get through these 2 days. Faith in my abilities got me though, made me stretch beyond what I thought was possible when I am not at my best. I wanted to start with this somewhat philosophical detour to inspire you to continue trusting in your abilities and preparation. 

Now on to some tactical details on the trip... 

The overview

This is the flagship trail of Killarney Provincial Park (Ontario, Canada) and shows you almost the entire park in 7-8 nights and ~80 kms. It has been quoted as one of the best multi-day hikes in Canada and I can now see why. Campsite reservations can be made at Ontario Parks website. My only advice would be "Know your capabilities before you book" - this is a difficult hike and is risky in wet conditions.  Do your research and plan your sites accordingly.

My itinerary

[Distances are as per Ontario Parks map]

Day 1: Drive from Toronto to George Lake Campground in Killarney Provincial Park (~5 hrs). Start the hike towards campsite H6 at Cave Lake [7.3 KM]

Day 2: H6 (Cave Lake) to H18 (Three Narrows Lake) [14.7 KM]

Day 3: H18 (Three Narrows Lake) to H23 (Not on a lake but adjacent to a stream) [10.1 KM]

Day 4: H23 to H35 (Boundary Lake) [11.9 KM]

Day 5: H35 (Boundary Lake) to H46 (Bunnyrabbit Lake) [10.8 KM]

Day 6: H46 (Bunnyrabbit Lake) to H50 (Sealey's Lake) [Cross the "Crack"; 12.6 KM] 

Day 7: H50 (Sealey's Lake) to Goerge Lake Campground; Drive back to Toronto [7.2 KM]

The Hike

Day 1: Drive from Toronto to George Lake Campground in Killarney Provincial Park. Start the hike to wards campsite H6 at Cave Lake [7.3 KM]

After a relatively long drive from Toronto very early in the morning, I started in good spirits. 

An hour or so into the hike, I realized that I'd have to transition into "creek crossing" mode quite often on this trail due to heavy torrential rain in the last 2 days. Most of the creek crossings on this trail were on beaver dams which couldn't hold the volume of rain in the last couple of days. That meant that the only way to cross these streams is... through them. This also meant allocating time for changing from hiking shoes into sandals, and then back into hiking shoes. This could easily add an extra, unbudgeted hour to the day if there are 3-4 such crossings. 

The trail was very well marked though. Blue markers for the hiking trail and yellow markers for the campsite detours. 

The crossing below (broken bridge in the first image, overflowing beaver dam in the second image below) was a little more time consuming as you had to evaluate the right place to cross and the rocky climb right after the crossing added a bit more complexity to the logistics. And, there was navigational complexity after crossing this one as the marker was nowhere to be found at the top of the hill. Luckily, I was able to navigate back to the trail with my AllTrails app. 

I had to cross one more beaver dam before reaching my site. This one, luckily, had a path around it and I didn't have to step into the water. 

Finally, I reached my campsite H6 and was treated to some very good views of Cave lake (If you spotted the bug on my camera lens in the second image below, you'd know what I was dealing with)

After dinner, I hung up my food and settled in for the night. However, I was exhausted (partly because of the drive), fatigued and had signs of fever. I took some meds and hoped that "this shall pass".

Day 2: H6 (Cave Lake) to H18 (Three Narrows Lake) [14.7 KM]

I woke up to a beautiful day. The weather lifted my spirits. The image below is of site H6 on Cave lake - now you can see what I mean by "lifted my spirits".

The hike had fewer creek crossings than the previous day, so that helped keeping up to planned times. The trail continued to be wet though. 

I cross an abandoned cottage on the trail - this is probably a 100+ years old. 

I was treated to some beautiful views along the way... 

And, after a relatively long day, I reached the site a couple of hours before sunset. The day wouldn't have been this long had I not taken a detour at Kirk Lake. I missed a straight through path (may have missed the marker) and ended up adding ~4KM to my day. That being said, the view from the site (H18) took away all the tiredness. 

Most of the park does not have cell phone coverage and I love the forced isolation. I use a satellite device called Zoleo to send my GPS coordinates to friends and family (once at start of my day and once when I reach the site for the day). This lets them verify my location vs. my planned itinerary. This device is the only way for me to seek help in an emergency - it has a functionality to notify local authorities via satellite and provides them with my coordinates if I need help. 

After dinner, I packed up, hung my food and looked forward to another beautiful day in the wilderness. I was less anxious by now and was slowly getting "tuned in". The fever remained though but I hoped for the best and called it a day. 

Day 3: H18 (Three Narrows Lake) to H23 (Not on a lake but adjacent to a stream) [10.1 KM]

I woke up to another beautiful day. Weather plays such a critical role in all wilderness adventures and I have always respected nature and am always prepared to change plans in adverse weather conditions. That was not required today though!

The meds worked, and I was now fully tuned in. I could see myself completing the hike and did not need to plan contingency measures which were on my mind the first 2 days due to the fever. The plan was on. I had breakfast, packed up and left for site H23. 

As I gained elevation, I was treated to beautiful views of the landscape.

As the trail progressed, I came across a waterfall which I was to climb up. I just couldn't resist and stopped to take a shower in the waterfall. The cold water was refreshing and helped me cool down a bit. 

After I reached the site, I got a fire going to keep the bugs away for a while. After dinner, I packed up, hung my food and settled into my tent. 

I was now ready for a very long day the next day with significant elevation gain and a big chunk of the trail on granite rocks. Luckily for me, the weather forecast (from my satellite device) had no rain. 

Day 4: H23 to H35 (Boundary Lake) [11.9 KM]

As I started gaining elevation, I was able to get a better view of the overall terrain and the path taken by me. In the picture below, you can see Three Narrows Lake where I camped a couple of nights ago. 

The trail was overgrown at a couple of places but these sections were fairly short and didn't pose a significant risk of surprising a bear or a wild animal. I always announce myself in these sections. 

On the steep granite sections, the only markers were the rock piles as shown below. These reminded me of Inukshuks on my Canadian Arctic hike more than a decade ago. 

I met with a small snake on the trail - it moved off the trail well before I reach it. I prefer to not interfere with the wild, so I let it be and continued on. 

As I was gaining more elevation, the frequency of viewpoints increased, and it felt like a very different trail altogether. I was treated to beautiful views each time I crossed a ridge, and the weather was perfect for this section of the trail. Had there been rain, my progress would have been very slow, and these views wouldn't have been possible. 

Finally, after a long, arduous hike, I reached my site for the day, H35 on Boundary Lake. It was a beautiful site, and I couldn't resist taking a dip in the lake (away from the site). 

By this time, I was fully dialed-in and was able to visualize me completing the rest of the hike. As always, once I finished dinner, I hung up my food and called it a day (rather a night!)


Day 5: H35 (Boundary Lake) to H46 (Bunnyrabbit Lake) [10.8 KM]

I typically wake up an hour before sunrise (~5AM) so as to finish my breakfast, pack up my tent, watch the sun rise and start my day in ~3 hours. The sun rise on this site was beautiful...

The trail did gain and lose elevation pretty much every single day. And each time I went up on the granite section, I was treated to beautiful views. 

There was some motivation along the way as well. I typically crossed 1-2 groups (3-4 people in total) in a day, so, these moments of motivation were indeed helpful on this solo adventure. You sometimes get tired of hearing your own voice in your head!

I traversed the hills and reached my site for the day, H46 on Bunnyrabbit lake. Yes, the lake does look like a bunnyrabbit on the map (see below)

I settled in, got a fire going and called it a day. I'll be going up the "Crack" the next day and I was expecting significant elevation gain. But I was well acclimatized and also fully tuned in. 

Day 6: H46 (Bunnyrabbit Lake) to H50 (Sealey's Lake) [Cross the "Crack"; 12.6 KM] 

I wanted to start early since crossing the Crack wasn't going to be easy. I woke up at 4:30AM and started my morning routine. 

The tall trees at this site (H46) gave it a majestic feel. 

I started my hike and was now hiking through familiar terrain - rolling hills, creek crossings (none in the last couple of days), granite rocks etc., Once in a while, you get some humor on the trail. The first one is right before a very steep uphill section (that captured my sentiments as well!) and the second one was a fallen marker tree. 

As with other days, as soon as I reached a ridge, I had an open view of the La Cloche Mountain range of and I could visualize the trail along it.

As I reached mid-day, I was hungry and wanted to take a pitstop for a full lunch (I normally just eat trail mix and energy bars for lunch). I was near site H48, so I thought it was worth a visit to see it was empty. Luckily for me, it was. It was a beautiful site on Proulx Lake and had a 360-degree view of the lake. If I do this trail again, I'd stop by here for a night. 

Post lunch, I knew that I had an uphill section to the "Crack" and was ready for it. Some of the granite sections would have been risky if wet (see the uphill climb below)

Once I reached the top of this section, I had a very good view of Little Superior Lake. 

And, after a few hours on granite and hilly forests, I reached the "Crack". I could see some clouds approaching for the first time on this trail and couldn't have been more thankful to the weather gods for providing me with clear passage. 

This (below) is the rock formation called the "Crack" and attracts a lot of day-hikers. For the first time on this trail, I must have seen 10+ people in a span of an hour - it was a weekday, so, the day-hike trail was not that busy. And I loved it (both the Crack and fewer people on it). 

There was a minor re-routing of the trail post the Crack but it didn't alter my plans by much. 

I finally reached my site H50 on Sealey Lake and called it a night. I knew that the trail was more or less over. The remaining trail of 7+ KMs is routine rolling hills with a very light gradient. I had the reservation for site H54 near the entrance of the park just in case I needed more rest before starting my drive to Toronto. I left the decision for the next day. 

Day 7: H50 (Sealey's Lake) to Goerge Lake Campground; Drive back to Toronto [7.2 KM]

When I woke up, I felt good and made a decision to reach the park entrance, take a shower and start my drive towards Toronto. The plan was simple but, as I realized later, the execution was not meant to be. 

The last sunrise on this trail did not disappoint as well... 

The trail was fairly light and as expected, rolling hills with a light gradient. 

In a couple of hours, I reached the entrance of the park, and this completed a full loop inside the park. 

I love this sign at the beginning and end of these long-distance hikes - they post it at both ends so that both clockwise and counterclockwise hikers can see it before committing to it. 

And, I reached George Lake campground after a few minutes and was relieved (that I could complete), fulfilled (because this was a very good test of my abilities), and a little sad (because I have to leave this awesome place) all at once. 

I always finish these long-distance hikes with mixed feelings - one part of me is happy to get back to civilization and the other part wants this to continue forever....

Up next: A video blog of this trip that shows various campsites and a few creek crossings. 

PS: I did have to find a hotel on my way back as I was too fatigued to drive. Better be safe than sorry. I reached Toronto the next day.