With Shannon & Andy. Weather was great. Shannon and I hiked in from the Thendara trailhead about 7ish miles to Middle Settlement Lake. When we first started out we passed by a trail crew mining and splitting rocks to shore up the creeks righ near the footbridges. Made good time to MSL, it has been a long tome since I was here. Lake level was super low. The island was surrounded by grasslands. The shelter log indicated the beaver dam went out in 2023 lowering the water level significantly. Shannon went to her tent for a moment and when she returned, she said a group of Mennonite women were standing behind the lean-to. A dozen of them, not making a sound. They moved on to the campsite around the point. Andy arrived just after dark, he saw our campfire which helped him navigate the sparsley marked path to the lean-to. A little chilly the first night as the wind kept stealing my warmth from the underquilt.
Cool morning made for great hiking weather. We crossed over the outlet and saw where the beaver dam had been. Made our way on the Lost Lake trail towards Pine Lake. Stopped a few times for some breaks. Lost lake was pretty. Passed by a huge beaver dam. The flooded section from 5 years ago was still there, but with the drought, it was just muddy. Had to be careful where we stepped as some spots were quite deep. At the junction to Pine Lake, the inlet was flooded. Andy went to scope out a reroute as the signs indicated. He found a well worn herd path. Shannon and I were talking with a hiker from the Niagara region. He was waiting for the other ten in his group on their way to Middle Settlement. Shannon and I found the herd path, but then lost it right as we crossed the inlet. We were checking out some old stove remnants alongside an uprooted tree. Made a hard left turn through the brush to re-capture the main snowmobile trail with the lean-to only a few hundred yards away.
A canoe was near shore, later on I would check it's seaworthyness only by pushing it out into the shallows and standing in it to see how quickly it would gather water. It will need some patching if anyone wants to really use it. Also no paddle. Lean-to was in good condition. We checked out the site of the old cabin which showed on the old maps. Some concrete and iron were all that was left in the overgrown field.
The next day we headed to Middle Branch Lake. We stopped at the campsite on Big Otter Lake for a water break soon after we checked out the new bridge. I took the group off trail a short ways to the waterfall/cascade on the South Inlet Creek which eventually feeds into Big Otter. We sat on the rock and had lunch. Someday I would like to fish the pool just below the falls. There appears to be a campsite on the far side. I had recalled this from my visit here with Jim 5 years ago. Getting to it would likely require a wet crossing.
After lunch we hit the wet section which was now completely underwater for over 200 meters. Shannon tried to skirt the edge along the beaver dam. Andy donned his crocs and headed right through the water, he was glad it was an old roadbed with a durable bottom instead of the sometimes squishy muck. I removed my boot liners and socks and waded through. On the other side I poured out the water from my boots, replaced the liners and my socks. Socks were then damp all afternoon, but it was better than really soggy had I left them on.
At Middle Branch I opted to set up a ground set-up with my tarp just for practice. andy and Shannon stayed in the lean-to. We had some laughs about the entries in the shelter log. Apparently the previous night the Menonnite women came upon a couple celebrating their anniversary and witnessed a bit more of nature than they bargained for.
A great sunset over the lake. Some small showers over night. Just enough to add some moisture to the super dry trail and make my tarp wet to pack up. Rained a bit more on the hike out. We saw the work the trail crew from the first day had completed. Next time here I think I will do the northern loop on the minimal maintenance trails and fish the South Inlet at the falls.
