After camping our first night on George Lake campground, the sky cleared and it looked good to go although the forecast still called for some rain. We lined up our canoes along the beach and packed our gear. The wind was moving around sometimes behind us and sometimes circling around. We had a nice paddle which involved two portages. Our first portage was short and easy however, our next portage was messy from the rain, muddy and slippery. As we went back and forth carrying our gear, our two male companions thought they could use the portable wheels to carry their canoe with everything in it. This attempt was short lived and everything collapsed on the ground. As they packed with many loose items, it took several pickups with everyone helping to get all the gear to the next put in. During this time, our friend Gord slipped in the mud and fell hard on his side. He recovered but his side felt bruised. He was able to continue and so we did. We arrived at our first campsite on Killarney Lake. It was here we would camp for two nights. The wind was fairly constant but the sun and blue sky made up for our beginning. Our tents were set up and some of us went out for a paddle around the lake. Upon our return we went in for a swim and then prepared for supper. We were able to have a campfire that evening and I was glad to get into my sleeping bag.
The next morning was beautiful, today we paddled over to the trailhead to the Crack, a trail that goes up between a split in the rock wide enough to hike through to the summit overlooking Killarney Lake into OSA Lake and furter to Georgian Bay. We enjoyed a great day of hiking and hanging out on top taking in the views. Once again we could see rain clouds moving in with the wind and so we made our way down. We thought at first the clouds were moving another direction but soon enough the storm clouds were over us with lightning and thunder. We had to take cover among the trees and rocks until the system passed. The worst was over but we still needed to get ourselves down from the slippery rocks. The rain continued for a while and finally stopped and cleared. We were soaked and cold and only too glad to get back on the water moving quickly towards camp before another system came through. That evening was beautiful and clear. Given the wood we chopped up was soaked from the rain, it was difficult to get a fire going but we managed a little one.
The following day, we were to head over to OSA Lake to our next campsite for the next two nights. We were still in our tents when we heard Gord give a loud shout of pain. He had gone to the bathroom and slipped and rolled down the hill hitting his side against a rock, landing in the water. As he came back into camp, all we could hear is his grunts of pain everytime he moved. We quickly got out of our tents to assess what was going on. Gord didn't want to believe how seriou the situation was. He is diabetic with potentially broken ribs, having difficulty breathing not knowing if he has any internal bleeding, out in the middle of nowhere. It was clear that we needed to use the SPOT. I turned on the SPOT, placed it on an open rock by the water with a clear view of the sky. Within two hours we could hear a helicopter approaching. I ran out to the rock and saw across the lake a helicopter approaching. As it moved closer it came down almost skimming the water to see where a possible landing could be. It circled overhead and came down closer as I kept waving to it. The officer waved his arm out the window confirming he saw us and now it was how he would reach us. The helicopter moved to a shallow area where the officer could jump out. He quickly made his way pushing through the trees and brush until he arrived. He introduced himself calmly, friendly and then after speaking with everyong he approached Gord who was sitting in a chair. He knelt down in front of Gord and asked him all the necessary questions to determine how best to help him. I suggested that we could paddle him over to the helicopter which proved to be the best choice given our location, Gord's inability to move through the trees and the waiting time for another rescue canoe to come in to get him. We paddled Gord over to where the helicopter was sitting and after a short exchange of phone numbers and contacts, we paddled away so that the hellicopter could take off. It would take about an hour to fly from Killarney to Sudbury where the closest hospital was where Gord could be treated. With one man down and Gord also being one of the drivers, we had to bail from our trip and return to the cars and help Gord's paddling partner Jake pack up Gord's car and drive to the hospital to pick up Gord and take him home. Fortunately, Gord had an apartment in Petawawa so they did not have to make the journey all the way back to Cornwall.
The challenge wasn't over yet as Jake fell with the bear barrel when we were portaging back between lakes and his arm was sore so he sat out while the remaining of us got all the gear back in the canoe and we paddled on. Gord left a message at 2pm that he was okay and ready to be picked up. By the time Jake left, it was about 4:30 pm. As it was late in the day, the remaining of us stayed another night at the public campground and the next morning we headed home. We did enjoy a couple of good days and the other news we discovered was another system was moving through bringing rain and high winds which would have been difficult to paddle through. So in all everything worked out for the best.
