April 1, 2012 I was paddling on Canoe Lake. I never thought it would be possible at this time of year. It was snowing but a very pretty day, water was very calm. This scene of me paddling through the ice was shot on the back side of the point where Thomson’s cairn is. This day I was in search of the cairn and Mowat Cemetery where Thomson was originally buried and thought by many to still be.

I had with me a map showing the site of Mowat Cemetery but it wasn’t  very accurate. I wandered for over 2 hrs looking for this site, following a ridge behind Winnie Trainer’s cottage and the place where Mowat Lodge once stood. I had given up and was returning to my canoe when I finally came across a small unmarked trail. As it turns out, it was only 300 yards from where I had pulled the canoe up.  There in the middle of the woods was this little fenced in graveyard so important to the Thomson story.

Tom Thomson often painted Tea Lake Dam. The original dam is gone so I couldn’t paint the same scene, but I thought it was important to capture the essence of his painting by re-creating “Tea Lake Dam”. Painted April 15, 2012. I’m sure close to when he would have painted it. This was a painting of adversity. It was raining, I was set up in the water, and had to crouch the whole time in order to be where I wanted to be. Part of the challenge of painting on site.

I came across this fox while staying at Bartlett Lodge on Cache Lake in Algonquin Park. My early spring headquarters until I start tenting. The Lodge is closed this time of year so there is no one around except this solitary visitor. He came to greet me each morning. Wonderful start to my day. Also, a very unique experience and one I won’t soon forget. I can see a painting of her one day.

Mark Robinson was an Algonquin Park Ranger and good friend of Tom Thomson. His cabin was on the south east shore of Joe Lake. Nothing remains of it, but I believe I found the foundation and the front step that Tom Thomson and Mark Robinson would have sat on while talking of fishing and painting. I sat and had my snack in this very same place.

I love fly fishing. Something Tom Thomson also enjoyed very much. Joe Lake Dam was fished by Thomson 100 years earlier and by me now. I love the sound of the water rushing by, the challenge of picking the right fly as well as the quiet of the nature in general. I actually filmed myself catching a really nice bass in this spot, which is a lot of fun with a fly rod, but I decided to post a video of the peace in this place instead. That and a funny moment with my dog.

I love the quiet of sitting by the fire and listening to the night sounds. This night I was lucky enough to have a loon calling just off shore. I thought I’d share the experience of sitting all alone in the woods and just listening. Quite an experience. Hope you get a sense of what it is like for me and would have been like for Thomson. Not much has changed in reality, especially in the dark of night.