Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: July 2021
There’s a good reason we typically don’t visit the cabin in the late spring or early summer. That’s when the mosquitos are living their best lives. But we somehow always think it’s going to be fine. And it never is.
The road into the cabin is in rough shape and isn’t well-maintained. Since we just got our muffler fixed in Sudbury a few days ago, we didn’t want to take any chances. So we parked at the top of the hill and walked in. It’s not like we had that much stuff since we’d only be staying at the cabin for one night and we planned to leave the next morning. Essentially we just had to carry in our sleeping bags, pillows, food for dinner and breakfast, water and maybe a change of clothes.
This turned out to be an excellent decision as mid-way through our walk to the cabin, we came across a massive tree that had fallen over into the middle of the road. Oh boy were the mosquitoes celebrating. It seemed like they were all here waiting for us as we slowly tried to figure out a way past the wreckage. You know how I said that we didn’t have to carry too much stuff with us? Well, turns out I forgot to pack the bug spray. Eventually we made it through the bramble scramble of branches, leaves, and mosquitoes, and pretty much ran the rest of the way to the cabin.
For the remainder of the afternoon we mostly stayed indoors to admire the views of the lake behind the safety of the bay window. I made an attempt to go outside to trim back some of the greenery that had grown wild around the fire pit. Despite my efforts, the bug situation was terrible, so it was short-lived.
I retreated back indoors. While we forgot to bring the bug spray, we at least remembered to bring a bottle of cider that we bought from Busl Cidery on the drive to Charleston Lake Provincial Park. We cracked open a bottle of the newest edition of their collection: the Quaran-TEA-NE, which was a hibiscus and raspberry cider. It was very delicious and well worth the extra weight.
Perhaps it was from the braveness of the cider, but I made an attempt to start a fire to burn all the ferns and saplings I pulled from around the firepit. And in hopes that it would fend off the mosquitoes. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
Sitting by the fire was also short-lived. Needless to say, we went to bed rather early as there wasn’t much else to do. Plus we were tired, probably from fear of being eaten alive by the mosquitoes as we were figuring out the best way to get over that fallen tree.
The next morning there was a light mist coming off the water. It was a little chilly outside, so the mosquitoes weren’t as aggressive … yet. I decided to risk it and go outside to take a couple of pictures of the lake.
Afterwards we made breakfast and cleaned up around the cabin. We headed out shortly after 9:30a.m. This time we had a strategy for passing by the fallen tree, which was really to not hesitate and try to move as fast as possible. After that it was smooth sailing, or rather hiking, back to the car.
From here we planned to visit one last provincial park on our road trip, Petroglyphs, before heading back home.
L
Looked like a wonderful summer getaway! I gotta say that mosquitoes are evolving at an alarming rate. Sounds pretty suspicious to me how that tree fell. I think the mosquitoes had something to do with laying down that trap for you!
The Quaran-tea-ne drink is hilarious. Well timed product release. That fire looked very idyllic and hopefully the smoke kept some of the bugs away!
Right!? It feels like each year they come a little earlier and stay just a little longer. I’m also starting to wonder whether they’re getting immune to bug spray. Oh, I mostly certainly wouldn’t have put it past the mosquitoes to set up a trap and coordinate their efforts for an attack. With a name like Quaran-tea-ne, we couldn’t resist. It was pretty tasty.
Mosquitoes getting immune to bug spray sounds terrifying. 😆
Oh gosh. It begs the question about what people used to do before bug spray was invented. Life back in the day doesn’t sound very fun.
They got eaten alive, that’s what. 😆
Ha! No wonder they had such short life expectancies!
You must certainly have the most vicious mosquitoes in the world there by you!! Thanks for risking your life to take some beautiful pictures of the lake! And what a great name for the cider – gotta love it! Looking forward to see your next park visit (can’t believe it’s almost done for the season 😧).
It definitely feels that way sometimes! Despite the conditions, I forced myself to take a few pictures to remember the situation as I may have experienced a blackout from all the mosquito trauma. I know what you mean, it’s hard to believe it’s already mid-October and that we’ll have to wait until next year to go camping again. For now I have a backlog of provincial parks and camping posts to write about, which in a way, is kind of nice as I get to relive the experience.
Oh great, I’m glad to hear I’ll still see more park and camping posts although the season is over! Looking forward to that!
Thanks! We’re actually hoping to squeeze in a trip (possibly outside of Ontario) before the end of the year.
Sometimes you need the thousand words to go with a picture. How else would we know those beautiful, peaceful settings were mosquito havens.
For sure, otherwise the pictures look quite deceiving …well, minus the one of the tree fallen down in the middle of the road. Somehow I picture it looking bigger and more dramatic in my head though.
Those pesky mosquitos! Raised in Alberta we had our share as well. Looks like you made the best of your time anyway!
They sure know how to be annoying, don’t they? We should have known better and to have avoided the cabin during the early summer. Either way, it’s all part of the adventure. Thankfully it’s fall now and they’ve all gone away for the time being.
Ugh, those damn mosquitoes. THey spoil the best moments, and if you are like me you may be paying for it for days afterwards in mountainous itchy hives. I admire your courageousness 🙂 Still, the cottage, the water, the fire pit, and the cider seem to be worth it!
Mosquitoes are the worst. The sound of them buzzing by my ears still haunts my dreams. The things I do for adventure. It was nice to visit the cabin though and we haven’t had a chance to return since we moved into our new place. We’re hoping to go this weekend (depending on the weather) or sometime in November though.
I’m swatting above my head as I read this! The best part of fall is that the mosquitoes are almost gone.
No kidding! It seems they lingered around a little bit longer than usual this fall. But then again that could have been because we had such nice weather in September and October. Now that it’s been cooling off, the mosquitoes are gone for the time being. Until next spring.
Mosquitoes can really ruin a trip…hopefully you had a bit of fun, even with being stuck indoors. Your next park, Petroglyphs, sounds like it’s going to be cool!
Let’s just say that I haven’t forgotten to bring the bug spray with me since. It was still nice to getaway and visit our cabin though, even if we had to stay indoors for most of our visit. The worst was going outside to use the outhouse!
You’ve had quite a time with mosquitoes but you have a great sense of humor about them which seems to help… 🙂 Your photos are lovely and your cabin is in such a picturesque location!
Thanks for your lovely comment. We were pretty miserable on the walk into the cabin, especially when we had to navigate over and around the fallen tree in the middle of the road, but it’s good to laugh about it after the fact.
Uhg, the mosquitos can ruin a good trip! I despised them as a kid and still do. The cabin was your safe zone!
Those pesky mosquitoes seem like they are getting more clever (and bigger) each year. The cabin was definitely our safe zone and it was much better than sleeping in a tent.
Love your sense of humor! – “That’s when the mosquitos are living their best lives”. When you mentioned the cider, I thought you were going to tell us a new way to get rid of mosquitos? LOL. 😄 Oh my, this post was pretty funny. … “we somehow always think it’s going to be fine. And it never is.” You are True optimists. 😁
Thanks for your kind words. We were pretty miserable during the walk into the cabin, but we had a good laugh about it afterwards. The thing with cider is that if you drink enough of it, the mosquito bites don’t itch as much after awhile. Ha. Too bad we didn’t bring another bottle for the walk back to the car the next morning!
Quaran-TEA-ne made me LOL!!
With a name like that, we couldn’t resist buying a bottle of it. It was pretty tasty and a good way to ignore our mosquito bites for the time being.
That makes sense. Glad you enjoyed it!
Too bad we only bought one bottle of it. I guess this gives us a good excuse to return!
Oh yeah!
You have such a wry sense of humour! Do you keep a bug spray supply in the cabin? Too bad there were so many mosquitoes as you have such a beautiful spot there! The lake and firepit are so lovely.
I love the name of the cider – great marketing!
Why thank you. There might be some bug spray at the cabin, but it’s probably like 20 years old. The early spring and summer is always a bad time to visit the cabin as the area is a bit swampy so it’s a mosquito magnet. Thank goodness it’s fall now so we shouldn’t have anymore mosquito issues for the next few months. And yes, the name of the cider was very fitting, and best of all, it was delicious.
Beautiful photos, such a pity the outing was marred with those pesky mosquitoes.
Thanks for your kind words. It was too bad about the mosquitoes, but it sure gave us a good laugh afterwards. It was also good that we found out about the massive tree that was blocking the road as K’s dad ended up coming with his chainsaw later in the summer to remove it.
So sorry about the mosquito situation but it was good you got to spend an evening at your cabin.
It was nice to visit the cabin, even if it was a mosquito festival. We haven’t been back to the cabin since, so I think we’re overdue for a visit. Thankfully all the mosquitoes are gone for the season now that it’s fall.
Darn mosquitoes gotta ruin everything. Terrible to have a cabin and have to avoid it due to the skeeters. But good on you for trying. Allan
Oh yes, those pesky mosquitoes sure now how to ruin spending time outdoors. You’ll be happy to hear that I put a bug jacket on my list for Christmas.
Where better than deep in the woods to enjoy beautiful views and meaningful silences? I’ve seen your cabin through your posts many times yet always gasp in awe every time it pops up in my feed again, Linda 🙂
We’ve had our fair share of noisy neighbours while camping so it was nice to get some peace and quiet up at the cabin. We haven’t been in awhile, but we’re hoping to go soon to enjoy what’s left of the leaves changing colour. Enjoy the rest of your week.
The view of the lake makes me forgetting how bad the mosquitos can be at times.
Have you tried to plant some peppermint around your cottage? Or other fragrant plants? It seems the mosquitoes do not really like that, and it might help. Until they get used to that🤣
I haven’t heard of that, but I’d be willing to plant some peppermint to give it a try, especially in my own backyard. The smell of peppermint alone seems like it would be worth it. Thankfully it’s fall now and we don’t need to worry about those pesky mosquitoes for at least another 5-6 months!
If you like the smell of peppermint, it can be used also in salads, drinks, or even in a vase with other flowers🙂
I’ve only every used fresh peppermint for mojitos, but I’ll have to give it a try in a salad. Thanks for the tips!
You are my heroes! Even though your camp looks absolutely beautiful and serene, I think I’d be too much of a wimp to deal the bugs!
Julie
Thanks for your lovely comment. We have no one to blame but ourselves for visiting the cabin during peak mosquito season. Either way, it makes for a funny story and we sure got some good laughs about it afterwards. Have a wonderful weekend. Linda
For whatever reason mosquitoes love me so I can empathize. Your property is beautiful and I enjoyed the pictures. I hope your next trip is cooler so the mosquitoes stay away.
Mosquitoes are drawn to me as well. Maybe it’s because I have such a sweet tooth? The property around the cabin has been in K’s family for over a hundred years. It’s located in the middle of the woods and is a great place to visit to get some rest and relaxation and away from the crowds. Thankfully it’s fall now so we won’t have to worry about those pesky mosquitoes until next spring!
Mosquitoes, they can always interfere in any good moment.
The sound of them buzzing around my ears still haunts my dreams. Thankfully it’s fall now and we don’t need to worry about them for a few months. Have a wonderful weekend.
Mosquitoes are horrible! Hope you had a pleasant stay inside the cabin 👍🤝
Mosquitoes are definitely the worst. We should have known better that the bug situation would be terrible at the cabin, but it’s all part of the adventure. Thankfully it’s fall now and we don’t have to worry about the mosquitoes until next spring!
What a day! That fire looks so cozy. I’ll have to see if I can get a fire going here in Utah before it gets way too cold!!
It was quite the adventure and obstacle course just to get to the cabin, but it was well worth the effort. It’s too bad the mosquito situation was terrible as we couldn’t actually sit around the fire for too long to enjoy it. We’re hoping to return in November. This time the bugs should be gone and we should be able to enjoy the warmth from the fire.
Wow such beautiful photos
Thanks for your kind words. You wouldn’t be able to tell from the pictures, but the mosquitoes were terrible!