Detailed Itinerary
Harrison Lake
You begin your trip by paddling West across the South End of Harrison lake, until after about 30 minutes you hit the river mouth. For most of us canoeing is an occasional past-time, so by this point you’ll already feeling those new muscles burning.
Paddling the River
Fear not though, as you venture down the Harrison River and explore the coves and eddies, admire the wondrous secluded cabins, and debate the names of the wildlife none of you really know, this pain will soon be forgotten.
From here the river flows South West and is gentle and slow moving which makes it ideal for any level of paddler. Wind is likely to be your only enemy, so be sure to ask the rental shop for their opinion before you start. You’ll probably have the wind with you in one direction, and against you in the other. Take your time exploring the rocky sidings and wildlife and keep going for about an hour until the river opens up into a wide expanse of water, met on both sides by the mountain slopes tumbling into the river.
Fighting the Reeds
After another couple of hours you’ll meet a junction in the river (see the map at the bottom). Take the right hand junction, a smaller tributary which over a period of a couple of kilometers will turn you through about 150 degrees to face North East. Depending on the time of year this area can be fairly overgrown with reeds. It’s very easy to begin down what looks like a tributary, distracted by your partners apparent lack of effort, or the constant circles you find yourself going in. It is possible to push your way through these reeds, though you may find it easier to go round until you find the correct path. With a little luck, you’ll find the small channel which leads to Morris Lake, another 40 minutes or so through the reeds.
Morris Lake
You’ll reach a small lake with a steep rugged cliff face on the far side. On old burnt out car lies at the bottom of the cliff, not important in itself but is a good marker as to where the camp site is (at the top of the cliff). To the left of the bottom of the cliff you’ll find a shallow and convenient exit point where you can hop out easily from your canoes. If you’ve got a big lock with you, you may be able to find a tree down here at the bottom to lock up your canoes for the night. If not, we chose to carry the canoe’s in pairs upto the campsite.
Morris Lake Campground
We camped here when we first arrived in Canada, one of our very first trips when we were totally clueless about the Canadian wilderness. (thankfully I had some paddling experience). When we camped here we sat on the cliff top until midnight or so with a beer in hand, listening to the low groaning sound of what we thought were two moose in the forests below, calling intermittently to each other as they got closer and closer throughout the night. Only 5 years later, and completely by chance would I discover that that noise is actually made by a particular species of frog!
Paddling Back Up The River
The paddle back up the river is likely to take you significantly longer than on day 1, since the river is now flowing against you. Add to that wind that’s often blowing down from the lake and you’re in for a decent slog. Stay close to the banks to avoid the wind as much as possible. Once you get to the lake you may find it surprisingly windy. Again stay close to the shore and take breaks at the many little beaches along the way as you make your way back to the rental shop.
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