A Most Spectacular Flight

 

Once having entered the country by way of Kingston, Ontario, the topography and scenery became spectacular. Unfettered by any cities, and just a few small towns, most of the landscape was strewn with lakes and many winding rivers. Lots of rivers. The land around all those lakes and rivers created a lot of thermal activity heated by the sunshine. My planned altitude was 4500 feet, but it became quickly apparent that was going to be pretty uncomfortable as my head occasionally hit the ceiling of the airplane when the bottom would drop out, losing a good 500 feet in the process. And then back up just as quickly. This would have been great glider country, as the thermals followed me up to 6500 feet. 

Half way to my destination I decided to take a break and see what was up in Muskoka, the most significant town along the way. Parking next to some of the Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources finest DeHavilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft, and in front of some Bombardier DHC-300 commuters waiting to be painted, or just plane waiting, put my little Arrow in perspective.

From there it was a race to the Georgian Bay, where I hoped the turbulence would leave me behind with smoother air. In the meantime, with the Arrow on autopilot (let it wrestle with the ups and downs), I gazed at some of the most beautiful landscapes that could only be appreciated from that lofty point of view.

I could almost hear the tin whistle of Killarney as I dropped back into the turbulence and set the compliant Arrow up to land on the narrow and relatively short strip situated between two nearby tree-lines. About three miles out, a call came over the radio from a Beaver on a training flight approaching the same runway from the east. They planned to make an inspection pass, followed by a landing, taxi-back, and take-off.

Who’da thunk out here in the middle of no where I’d run into potential conflicting traffic? So I took the opportunity to tour around some, flying up the north channel a bit before circling back for landing. I flew over what I later learned was a favorite channel of boating cruisers and hikers that led to a narrow passage opening to “The Pool” at the end. This is a popular anchorage safe from all weather, and the location of a favorite gathering site of the famous Canadian "Group of Seven" artists. Many famous Canadian landscape paintings come from this area.

A Video of the Tour of "The Pool"

The deviation was well worth it. After setting back up for landing, I rode the turbulence straight into the wind, feeling the benefit of having flown the same plane a lot over a short period of time. Once on the ground, I found a parking area to the left mid-field and parked near the trees and tied the plane down for what would become an extended stay. 

Packing clothes into my backpack I headed out for the walk to the Killarney Mountain Lodge.