Aug 16 Killarney to Baie Fine / The Pool / Topaz Lake

Aug 16

Another really nice day on the water/land.  This last week has provided some of the most scenic anchorages we’ve visited.  The Bustards, Devils Door Rapids, The Covered Portage Cove, and now The Pool.   The locals say that’s only scratching the surface and hitting a few of the most popular spots.  I can see how you could spend months during the short summer season gunkholing nonstop and still just scratch the surface of all the wonderful places available to drop your anchor.  Past Loopers always say the Georgian Bay and North Channel areas are some of their favorite places and I now understand why.

  We took off from Sportmans Inn Marina after a hearty breakfast at the inn.  Figured about a 3-hour cruise out of Killarney, across Frazier Bay and then down narrow Baie Fine (pronounced Bay Fin) to our destination at the end called “The Pool”.   Nice weather with sunshine warming up the flybridge and nothing more than a gentle breeze creating an occasional ripple on the crystal clear water.  Baie Fine is another one of those fiord-like passages with stone outcroppings on either side.  

Entering Baie Fine

Skimming along the cliffs

Gone is the pink granite replaced almost entirely by stark white quartzite which almost gives the impression of snow covered mountains.   It’s said to be some of the oldest and hardest stone dating back over 2.3 billion years old.  

One of the reasons we wanted to visit this anchorage is because there’s a lake at the top of the ridge with a defined hiking trail leading to it.  Once settled we dropped the dingy and headed over to where several other dinghy’s were tied to trees designating the trailhead.   Topaz Lake earned it’s name from the amazing color and clarity. It’s completely landlocked (or in this case rocklocked) with quartzite ledges that drop straight down from many sides of the lake.

Pictures can't do justice to the real color

   The water is warm enough for people to go swimming although we settled for just going in up to our knees. You can stand neck deep in it and still see your toes clearly!! Amazingly clear and an awesome color.  After visiting the lake, we continued a bit further on the trail and were rewarded with a wild hike over the top of a quartzite ridge.  There were places where huge sheets of the rock were as smooth and flat as a table top while others had a decidedly weather worn smoother appearance.

We discovered it was one of the ridges opposite Topaz Lake that looked down onto “The Pool”.  So, we were able to snap a few more pictures of the boat at anchor, although these were from a far greater distance and height than yesterday. 

Yup, that white dot out there is our boat.

 The high hills surrounding our anchorage give great wind protection but prevented us from  seeing any kind of sunset. And no cellular service – at all.  None, nada, zip.  Not a single bar.  Can’t even get a text message.  This is pretty remote.  We’re above 45 degrees north lattitude – about the same as Bangor, Maine. 

Journey for Aug 16