One Week on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail | Killarney Park

Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario

Sitting here at the dining table with a comfortable chair beneath me, muscles fully relaxed, and zero bugs buzzing around my head makes our one week on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail seem like so long ago. In late June, Mac and I decided to head north to Killarney Provincial Park to hike the 80km loop trail that circumnavigates the park. We opted to do the loop in seven days/six nights – it would be our longest backpacking trip to date.

One Week on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail

History

This giant hiking loop is named after the painting done by Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichael, “La Cloche Silhouette”. The trail is divided into five main sections, ranging from 8km to 19km. The trail was made into a complete loop with the completion of the middle section – Hansen Township – in 1987. The La Cloche Silhouette Trail meanders through hardwood forests and eventually up and over the La Cloche mountain range – whose quartzite peaks shine in the sun’s rays. The trail follows lakes, crosses streams, and is home to many species of wildlife. Moose, black bears, beavers, deer, and grouse frequent this area, and many indications of their presence can be seen throughout the park. Killarney is also home to Ontario’s only venomous snake – the Eastern Massasagua Rattlesnake. As if hiking this challenging trail wasn’t already intimidating enough!

Our Route

We opted to hike the trail counter-clockwise. Though the La Cloche is most commonly hiked clockwise, Mac and I figured that we would rather tackle “The Crack” – aka the toughest, most technical and grueling part of the hike – with fresh legs and heavy packs (rather than on tired legs with slightly lighter packs). Going counter-clockwise meant that we would hike up the crack on Day 2, rather than Day 7. Our first day on the trail barely counted as a day since it was so short. We decided that instead of paying premium prices for a campsite in the George Lake Campground, we would hike 2.5km in the late afternoon to our first campsite on the trail. We saved $22 and enjoyed an additional night of solitude this way.

Day	Route	Campsite	Distance
1	George Lake to Wagon Road Lake	H51	2.5km
2	Wagon Road Lake to Heaven Lake	H47	13.4km
3	Heaven Lake to Silver Lake	H37	6.5km
4	Silver Lake to David Lake (via Silver Peak – 543m)	H34	6km (9.8km w/ Silver Peak)
5	David Lake to Unnamed Lake	H22	12km
6	Unnamed Lake to Three Narrows Lake	H16	15.4km
7	Three Narrows Lake to George Lake	—	16.6km

Daily Recap

Day 1

We left southwest Ontario in the morning and headed north around Toronto (and the ongoing Raptors parade!!). After a long day of driving, we made it to George Lake/Killarney Provincial Park around 5pm. We checked in, paid for our reservations and got our camping permits. After a last-minute pack in the parking lot, we were on our way! Not two minutes after leaving the trail head we nearly stepped on a snake!! I don’t think it was a Massasauga Rattlesnake, but it spooked us nonetheless! We arrived at our campsite around 7pm and enjoyed watching the sky light up with the colours of the sunset.

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Day 2

The day started out by precariously crossing a beaver dam and only rose in difficulty from there. We navigated the giant boulders of The Crack and made it to the top by noon. The views were amazing, and we shared the summit with a number of other day hikers. Eventually we soldiered on into what was some of the most difficult terrain on which I’ve ever hiked. There was lots of up and down and our campsite at Heaven Lake couldn’t come soon enough! In what would become a nightly ritual, we went for a dip in the lake before making dinner and setting up camp. It was such a great way to cool down and rinse off all the dirt and grime from the day.

Day 3

A slight rain in the early morning convinced us to snuggle deeper in our sleeping bags and wait it out. Additionally, because today was a shorter one, we knew that time was on our side and so we didn’t set out until 10:30am. Due to the rain, many of the rocks and boulders on the trail were slick and still wet. I took a fall and went down right on my kneecap on the sharp point of a rock. I was glad for the low mileage because I was a hobbling wreck by the time we arrived at Silver Lake.

Luckily the sun was shining on our campsite and we enjoyed a sunny nap after our swim. The high pitched chirps of what must have been hundreds of tree frogs sang us to sleep. We actually considered quitting the hike and turning back at the beginning of the day. We were so tired and sore and itchy, and we had a number of tough days ahead of us. Ultimately (and obviously) we decided to forge on, and I’m so glad we did.

Day 4

After a morning dip, we were on the trail by 9:45am. The trail wove through the forest and soon we arrived at the turn off for the Silver Peak side trail. My knee still wasn’t 100%, so I continued on to our campsite at David Lake, but Mac made the two hour return trip to the top of Killarney. We really lucked out with weather and had clear, blue skies all day. As Mac was enjoying spectacular views from the summit, I made it to David Lake and set about pumping water on the breezy rocks along the shore. Mac arrived mid-afternoon and we enjoyed a dip in the lake followed by more basking on the rocks. The wind chime-like songs of a group of birds on the lake lured us to sleep.

Day 5

This section of the trail took us up and over several “balds” – bare rock tops with epic sweeping views of the lakes and forests below. We met three groups of fellow loop hikers and we stopped to compare notes and commiserate. The last section before our campsite was over “Moose Pass” and it was definitely treacherous and exhausting. Our campsite on the small, unnamed lake was right beside the trail, but the lake was so gorgeous and serene that we felt like we had struck gold. While settling in for sleep, we looked out of the tent and saw a deer in our campsite!

Day 6

The biggest highlight of this day’s hike was descending a 20m waterfall. The rocks were slippery, and the “route” was precarious and not for the faint of heart. One particular hiker (I’ll let you guess who) dunked an entire boot in a stream after having lost her balance on a creek crossing soon afterwards. Luckily there was an incredibly picturesque hilltop shortly after the creek crossing where I could change my socks and admire the incredible views in the process. Our traditional swim in Three Narrows Lake after we set up camp was just what the doctor ordered after a long day of hiking.

Day 7

Our last (and longest) day was fairly flat and pretty monotonous. What it lacked in tricky terrain, it more than made up for in wildlife! I saw a black bear cub run across a dam, which was pretty exciting, until we realized we didn’t know where Mama bear was. Mac and I crossed the dam, staying vigilant and alert for any bear signs, but fortunately never saw the cub (or Mama). We did see fresh bear tracks though! Further on, we saw huge moose tracks, and then almost walked right into a deer on the trail!

We passed a few more loop hikers and later had a great lunch stop at Topaz Lake (H7). Eventually we made it back to George Lake around 4:30pm and nearly cried with delight. On Day 1, we parked our car in the parking lot nearest the end of the trail, meaning we only had to make a short trek. (We walked the extra distance through the campground on the first day and I’m SO glad we did.)

After a while stretching at the car (and immediately exchanging hiking boots for airy sandals) we then headed into the small town of Killarney (population, <500) for ice cream and French fries to celebrate our successful one week on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail.

Cost & Logistics

Backcountry campsites in Killarney can only be booked by phone. (Nearly every other provincial park has an online reservation portal.) The reservation number for Ontario Parks is 1-888-668-7275. Killarney is a popular spot, especially in the summer, and campsites often fill up quite quickly. Mac and I flew by the seats of our pants and only booked a week in advance. We were fortunate that all but one of the campsites we requested were free, but we met folks on the trail that booked months in advance to ensure they got their preferred spot.

Back country campsites are $11 per person, per night (plus tax). When booking over the phone you pay a $50 deposit plus an $11.50 Admin/Reservation fee (plus tax). In total, we paid $162.16 for six nights of back country camping.

Killarney Provincial Park is just south of Sudbury and a few hours north of Parry Sound. Mac and I spent a day driving from the GTA to Killarney and it took us a good six hours (with several breaks).

Pumping water from inside the tent to escape the bugs!

Water & Food

Though the lakes in Killarney are crystal clear, all water needs to be filtered before drinking. We used an MSR ceramic pump filter, and had purifying water tablets as backup.

For food, our meals were pretty similar throughout the week. I made a trip to the Bulk Barn the week before setting out and spent a full afternoon organizing all our meals in separate Zip-loc bags.

Breakfast: quick oats with chia seeds, raisins, powdered soy milk, powdered peanut butter, hemp hearts, cinnamon, and brown sugar. I divided the mix into two bowls, poured boiling water over it, let sit while we took down the tent, and by then it was ready to eat!

Lunch: Wraps with sun-dried tomato and walnut hummus or wraps with peanut butter and dates

Dinner: We alternated between two homemade meals – couscous, textured vegetable protein (tvp), and dried veggies; and powdered potatoes and “soyrizo” (tvp with smoked paprika, soy sauce, vinegar, and olive oil). We brought along a few freeze-dried meals we picked up from MEC and they were great to supplement some dinners (especially for Mac, who has a hollow leg).

Snacks: I made seven baggies full of the same mixture, and we (surprisingly) never got sick of it! The baggies contained pretzels, dates, raisins, peanuts, chocolate chips, apricots, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts.

In total, I spent ~$65.00 at the Bulk Barn, and we spent about another $30.00 at MEC on freeze-dried meals. I had plenty of leftovers from my Bulk Barn haul, and considering that food lasted us 7 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, AND snacks, I’d say it was a bargain.

Because bears are so common in Killarney, all food (and anything scented – think toothpaste, food wrappers, cutlery, dishes) needs to be hung out of reach. Look for a high branch, and hang the food a good two meters from the trunk (bears can climb trees!).

The Bugs

Ugh, you knew it was coming, didn’t you? I thought about not even mentioning them, but they were just SO bad. Killarney had the holy trinity of mosquitoes, black flies, AND deer flies (compared to our hike in Algonquin that was only mosquitoes). Now that we’ve had 2+ months of distance away from the trail, my feelings about the bugs had subsided a little. I can look back fondly and remember how scenic and rugged this hike was and scarcely remember the constant buzzing in my ears and the continuous swatting of the bugs from my skin. However, the amount of bugs we trekked through on this hike was more than I had ever experienced before. EVER. Which makes the perpetual itching and adjusting of my bug net very hard to forget.

Related Reading:Hiking the Western Uplands Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park

The first day and a half Mac and I braved t-shirts (the temperature was in the mid-20’s all week) and rigorously applied bug spray to our exposed skin. Well, it turns out that mosquitoes can bite THROUGH fabric. After that painful and itchy realization, we took to wearing our rain jackets (velcro-ed tight at the wrists) with a bug net hat for me and a bug jacket for Mac (with a few holes). We also tucked our pants into our socks to prevent the black flies from crawling up our legs and having a feast on our stomachs (as is what happened to Mac). It was hot, sweaty, and still very annoying as the bugs continued to buzz endlessly around our bodies.

Because the bugs were so bad, we couldn’t enjoy any of our campsites and were often in the tent by 7:30pm. Getting into the tent at night was a challenge in itself too. It started by one of us running around the campsite while flailing our arms to get any stragglers off that clung to our sweaters. Then, we’d charge into the tent at full speed while the other person zipped it shut around the ankles before our boots were tossed off with reckless abandon. Once both of us were inside, we then began the process of killing the bugs that managed to sneak inside. In the morning we would have actual handfuls of dead bugs to sweep out of the tent. It was awful.

Summary

I like to consider myself a fairly accomplished and capable hiker. I say with all honesty that hiking one week on the La Cloche Silhouette trail was one of the hardest things I’ve done. From the rugged terrain, to the bugs, and the never-ending up and down hill slogging, this trail kicked my butt. I often joke that Ontario is completely flat, with just a few gently rolling hills. Well spending one week on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail certainly put me in my place. There would be times where Mac and I would exit the forest only to come face to face with a sheer 20m-high rock wall. Every single time we would do the fun dance of looking to our left and right trying to find a trail that didn’t involve us hauling our tired bodies up the intimidating rock wall. And every single time we would come to the realization that we were fools. A lesson we learned quickly was that when in doubt, the trail always follows the most difficult route.

Where’s the trail? Well straight up of course! ALL the way up!

You’d better believe we scrambled up and over these rocks!

Due to the constant hill climbing, Mac and I were definitely happy with our choice to spend one week on the La Cloche Silhouette trail. Most folks do it in five to seven days, but we met a few that tackled it in less than five. If you choose to do that, your camping permit will be stamped “High Risk”. This means that in case of an emergency – especially one that requires a helicopter evacuation – you will be required to pay for it yourself. Hikers taking longer than five nights are free to mangle themselves in any way shape or form, free of charge (please don’t do that).

Despite the struggles, this was definitely a spectacularly beautiful hike. The forests were immense and calming, while the hill tops were stark and rugged. The scenery from above the tree line was jaw-dropping. The trees blanketing the earth with remote lakes dotting the land was enough to make us stop and stare each and every time. The barren hilltops were sometimes so barren that we relied heavily on the many cairns (pointed rock piles) that adorned the hill mountaintops. loved having a near-private lake to ourselves every night, and the trail wasn’t crowded or overrun at all.

I would definitely do this hike again, but never* in the early summer – the bugs were just too much. I’ve heard September is quite lovely up in those parts. (*Note the bold, italics, AND underline. They were that bad)

Tell me, have you ever been to Killarney? Would you spend one week on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail? Are you fed up yet about me complaining about the bugs?? Ha!

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