August is the time where we drive North to visit family in Chapleau. We load up the car with kids, language and camping gear and make the long 8 hour journey. During this trip, we sneak away and complete a multi-day mixed-gender FKT. This year, Casques Isles (out & back) was next on our list.
Day 1: Terrace Bay to Twin Harbour, 19 miles - After sleeping at a local motel, and getting repeatedly woken up by a loud thunderstorm, we drove the short drive to the trailhead where we left our car parked (with permission). We were both grateful we were in a motel for this storm and not on the trail. We started our hike at 9:35AM. The day included some easy terrain but also included Death Valley, the hardest part of the trail. This rugged trail is gorgeous, but the views come after steep ascents. The rocky shoreline is always a challenge but thankfully the rocks were dry. We set up camp at 7:45PM.
Day 2: Twin Harbour to the end, and back, 29 miles - Most campsites on this trail have picnic tables, thunder boxes and bear boxes and we certainly took advantage of them. The night temps were perfect for sleeping. We set our alarm for 6AM, to take advantage of all of the daylight. The day went well. The highlight of the day was beautiful Rainbow Falls Provincial Park. This is where we saw the bulk of the people, who were out enjoying the glorious waterfall. We took in the sights and climbed a large hill out to continue the trail. We knew we would be passing by again later that day. We reached the end of the trail at ~1:15PM where we took a small break before turning around to continue our FKT attempt.
The way back passed by super fast. We made great time. The hardest part was the mile of shoreline rocks and boulders. To give you and idea on how technical these shorelines are, this 1 mile took 35 minutes to complete...and we werent even slacking! Once this section was done, we had 2km to go. We finished our day at 8:15PM, giving us enough light to make our dinners and be in bed as the last light ended.
Day 3: Twin Harbour to Terrace Bay, 19 miles - Alarm went off at 6AM again. Another great sleep! Back on the trail and and moving at 6:45AM. We knew the terrain and that the 19 miles would include the hardest part of the trail, Death Valley. We definitely were feeling our feet from all of the rock. We were lucky to have tons of water sources along the entire hike. It was never an issue. With a few miles left to go, we saw a group of 2 thru-hikers who just started the trail. We chatted with them for a bit. We reached the end, under two and a third days. Another great trail and amazing trip accomplished together ❤️.
Post-Trip:
The hike ended with over 14,000 ft of elevation gain!
Gotta love social media sometimes! While eating our post-trip French fries at a Chip Truck in Schrieber, the president of Casque Isles trail showed up to chat with us and personally deliver our trail patches! Absolutely amazing!!. Super nice guy! We learned about their incredible volunteers, the trail's history, the association's vision, and local culture.
Thank you,
Chantal & Jamieson