Day 22 2nd year. June 11. On to Lovesick, Lock 30. Miles 16 Total miles 3073

 Had a lazy morning and untied from the wall around 11:00 and headed past Lakefield.

The winding channel lead us to Lake Katchewanooka, Obijwa for lake with swift rapids.  We are now officially in the Kawartha Lakes, a series of nine lakes, each created by a dam.  The Canadians call this cottage country where many a summer cottage can be seen on the forested shoreline.

As we cruise through Katchewanooka Lake the terrain became hilly and rocky and I finally got a photo of the elusive loon whose calls are so distinctive in the evenings and mornings. 

At the end of the lake we came to Lock 27, Young’s Point and rose 7 feet.  

Then we entered Clear Lake and travel its length of about 5 miles.  This lake has even more cottages dotting it’s shore.

At the end of Clear Lake there are several islands which we negotiated around and we start to see more granite shoreline and small granite islands.  One channel in this area is called Hell’s Gate with its narrow channels and granite outcroppings.  We made sure we stayed in the channel!

From here we took a short side trip into Stoney Lake- aptly named for its many rocky islands and submerged rocks.  Apparently all the well to-do from Toronto have very large summer cottages here.

We wound our way back out of Stoney Lake and into the channel for Burleigh Falls Lock, which raised us 24 feet. this is a picture of the rapids and falls.

After the lock we entered Lovesick Lake and traveled between its small islands.  We crossed the lake to Lovesick Lock #30 and rose 3.5 feet. Will tie up to their lock wall for the night.  Since Lock 30 is on an island, the lock workers must travel to and from work in a boat. 

                               This is the Anglican Church of the Lake which parishioners attend during the summer. It is only accessible by boat.

The picture below is our view from our boat.

Lock 30 on Lovesick island is connected via the dam walkway to the Provincial Park on Wolfe Island. We decided to check out the park and hike on its trails.  Bill was in his glory with all the rocks!

Since the Lockmaster left, we are the only ones left on the island.

I bet you are wondering about the name of this island -Lovesick.  Well, according to legend Lovesick Lake got its name when beautiful Polly Cow, the daughter of handsome Jack Cow, a charismatic Chippewa chief of the 1800’s, fell in love.  But she was rejected and heartbroken, fled to a deserted island on the lake where she nearly died of lovesickness.  Another version of the story is that Richard Fawn, a local young man, who fell in love with an Irish girl, Katherine O’Donahue.  When he was rejected, he paddled to the Island and pined away until his friends discovered him and took him home.  Take your pick, either way a man or woman ended up with a broken heart.