Elusive Aurora Lk
Jan 10, 2025
In October we attempted to hike to Aurora Lake but discovered the old logging road to Aurora was completely flooded over where it crossed Basin Creek. Over the years the flooding has created a large, deep pond and wide marshlands that made it impossible to go further on foot. We decided then we would wait until winter and try to ski across the flooded area once it was frozen over. On January 10, after several very cold nights, we made the attempt.
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We had checked out the condition of Basin Depot Road the previous week so we knew that while it had been several weeks since the road had been plowed all the way to the trail into Foys Lake, there had been some truck traffic which had packed the surface sufficiently to be able to drive in using 4-wheel drive.
Km 24 on the Basin Deport Rd.
We started out around 9:30 AM on the trail that goes to Foys Lake -- temperature -12 C and no wind.
There were several places where, despite recent night temperatures nearing -20, water was flowing over the trail. At those points we left the trail and skied across the frozen ponds.
The tracks of a truck are visible in this photo. It went in about a km from the main road. A short distance from this point the road has been dug out in an effort to stop vehicles from going further.
Skiing along the edge of the marshes provides an opportunity to see what animals have been crossing the area.
Signs that otters had slid across this part of a marsh. Nearby they had made a slide down a slope to some running water.
At this point, at approx. 4 km, we left the trail that goes to a campsite on Foys Lake, and headed toward Basin Creek -- the open area beyond the trees.
In October we were able to get only as far as the taller trees behind me in this photo. The area to the right of the trees is also flooded. The logging road to East Alder and Aurora, which is now submerged, ran along the straight line of lower brush which has been built up by beavers.
The location of the old logging road is just barely apparent as a small opening in the trees ahead of us. However, we discovered that windfall and new growth have completely blocked that entry point.
We checked Jeff's map to see if there might be an easier spot to try and get on the trail to Aurora. Always helpful to have a copy of Jeff's map in the pack.
Jeff indicates the old logging road to Aurora is likely grown over, and as we discovered that is certainly the case. The outline of the road is visible in the following two images, but it is now so clogged with new growth that using this route to ski on or even for hiking does not seem possible. Map courtesy of Maps by Jeff.
The Algonquin Forestry Authority work plan for 2005-2006 called for logging operations all around Aurora Lake. If that is the last time the area was logged it is understandable that little would remain of the road after 20 years. We left our skis and did try to hike for some distance toward the lake, but walking through the bush in a foot of snow in hilly terrain didn't make much sense. We returned to the spot where we had crossed Basin Creek and decided to follow the creek to Foys Lake.
Basin Creek is visible in the photo, not completely frozen over. There is a wide marsh on both sides of the creek. In the distance you can see Foys Lake.
A large beaver lodge along the creek. There is a good stockpile of twigs and branches in front of the lodge that will provide a food supply for the beavers during the coming winter months.
Skiing onto Foys Lake. The ice was thick and safe to travel on.
Crossing the lake there were fresh signs of wolves and deer. We made our way around the far point on the left side of the image and from there to one of the 3 campsites on the lake. It was getting to be time to think about the return journey, but Instead of returning along the creek we broke a new trail to get back to the track we had made coming in during the morning.
Our route
A few images on our return to the access road.
Our final hill. We did 10 km -- long enough for the first sk trip in the Park for 2025
On our drive out we checked the spring water at the 22 km mark along the Basin Depot Road. It was more iced over than it was when this picture was taken before Christmas but it was still flowing.
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This marked our second attempt at making it to Aurora Lake. While we made it to less than a km from the lake it remains elusive.​​