Victoria Day Long Weekend. Until a few weeks ago, the lakes up North were still covered by a sheet of ice. The leaves on the trees here in Mississauga just started to appear about two weeks ago. Time to get out of the city and breath some fresh air.
We left Friday afternoon and arrived at Marten River Provincial Park in record time. It seems that the weather forecast discouraged many people from heading north.
After speaking with the Warden at Marten River, he pointed us to McLaren Road, about 5 km south from our camp site.
We left after breakfast and headed south on Hwy 11. After the Rock Pine Hotel and Restaurant we turned west into McLaren Road. The surface is hard packed gravel and in good condition.

This first impression is misleading. There will be scratches in the paint, the road to Finlayson Lake was built for ATVs and Snow Mobiles.
About 2 km in, we took the "Finlayson Lake North" road according to a tiny signs posted on the tree.

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The story goes like this: We went shopping - we returned to the Jeep. Somebody hit the Jeep and left. Bumper and flare damaged. Insurance does cover the repair, but it is frustrating.
We do have a dashcam installed, but when the Jeep is parked, it does not record. I was looking into a time-delay circuit to keep recording for about two hours AFTER the Jeep is parked. My calculation was that this would cover most scenarios and not drain the car battery.

I gave up on the time delay relay and settled with a battery pack. It charges with an USB connector and it has a USB-out to power the dashcam. The USB-out port runs for about seven hours and then turns off, this is a built-in timer and I didn't find a way to overwrite. Running the dashcam on the power pack drains about 50% of the power. It works as expected and we could even jump start the Jeep if there is ever a need. The unit was on sale at Canadian Tire for $110 and it is small enough to fit into the glove compartment.


And now about the dashcam.
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We found out the hard way that the trailer will 'suck' the car battery dry when left connected. The connection on the 7-pin plug supplies constant 12 volts to the trailer. So the trailer battery keeps charging and charging and charging. We had three instances where the Jeep almost didn't start. Once back home, the research started. To make a long story short, we needed a way to disable the charging when the Jeep alternator was not providing power (=engine not running). There are some rather expensive solutions out there, but we settled for the cheapest and simplest way, a relay. That's what this clunky 'solenoid' is, a simple relay. I found this solenoid at 4 Wheel Parts for $21. The big connectors on the side are battery-in and battery-out (to the 7-pin harness). The smaller connector goes to a wire that supplies power when the engine is turned on. The wiring is simple and I will follow up with the gory details once I don't have to freeze my fingers off in this cold. And beside this solenoid installation, I'm still waiting for a time delay relay that will keep the dashcam and other accessories charged after the engine is turned off and the key removed. I hope to be able to install both at the same time.

We were lucky enough to get yet another site with lake view. The site #54 was overlooking the eastern part of the Panagapka Lake and part of the Sausage Lake. And guess who we met at Sausage Lake? Click the image to launch youTube video >>>

We didn't get a cell phone signal at our site. About 30 meters down the road we were able to connect to a tower and make phone calls, get emails and post some pictures on facebook. Posting pictures was a very lengthy exercise that tested our patience. This Temporal Rift was only 5 meters wide. Definitely a site we'll keep in mind for future trips.

We learned a few things about glaciers from way back when this area was covered by a 2 km sheet of ice. As a result of the ice that moves and grinds rocks, a lot of sand was deposited here. But more about that later.
The park is about 600 km north from Mississauga and can be reached in one day with plenty of stops to make the trip pleasant. It starts on Hwy 400 from Toronto and then follow Hwy 11. Located about 35 km north of Kirkland Lake, a small town with all the stores needed to refill the cooler - or spend a rainy day exploring the towns history.

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We spent three nights at the Nagagamisis camp site. Lake front property, the view was spectacular.
For all the Provincial Parks we visited, this is the most awe inspiring place so far. Many sites were occupied by seasonal permit holders. Their trailers were decorated with dim LED lights and Canada flags. Seating arrangements were finished with carpets and flower pots. They all used solar panels to keep their batteries charged and the lights going all night long.
We try to stay humble and didn't get flower pots yet


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On our way to Nagagamisis, we stopped mid-way at the Finlayson Point Provincial Park just south of Temagami. We spent one night and left the exploring of the lakes and trails for another day.
Not so with Temagami, a small town just north of the park. We couldn't miss the beautiful train station which also serves as information desk and craft store.

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We needed a roof rack for our canoe before we're heading north this summer. The Marten River trip was clearly an experience which we don't want to repeat. Without going into too many details, the short version is "slippery roof surface". The pads that clamp on the canoe have no grip on the Jeep roof. Rain and/or dust combined with the wind on the highway will shift the canoe - End of this story.
So, we were looking for a rack that can hold a canoe now and a second spare tire, two 20 liter gas canister and the canoe for future excursions. That is a combined weight of about 150 kg.


A rack with a basket is not an option for the following reasons:

A basket makes the high roof even higher by 6 or more inches. Lifting a canoe, spare tire or gas tank to a height over 6 feet and 6 inches is a challenge even for my stature.

The basket rims don't seem to have the same rigidness as the other rack components. Strapping a canoe to them defeats the purpose of a sturdy rack.

After reading comments about the wind noise of racks, the Kargo Master Congo Pro had practically no serious complaints and has a rating beyond our load capacity.
When we picked up the boxes from Just Jeeps, we learned that it is a very snug fit inside the 4 door Jeep. The rails are actually a one-piece metal tube and only fit diagonally into the Jeep. The trailer would have been a better solution.

Installation is simple: Does not require drilling. Uses some very odd sized hex screws. I had to sand down a key to size. There are plenty of Youtube instruction, so no need to repeat them here. When ordering accessories such as cross bars, the Kargo Master Congo Pro has all 2 inch tubes, the Congo has smaller tubes. The cross bar connectors are specific to the model. Follow the instructions and do not tighten any screws until the whole rack is assembled. Wind noise from the raw rack without attachments are minimal but noticeable. Once the canoe is strapped to the rack, it will be noisy. But that's a given and accepted.