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the massasauga

Three Legged Lake Access Issues 
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When accessing the park via Three Legged Lake please be very respectful of the local cottagers rights and wishes.
They were here long before the park was established and many resent the intrusion, if not the park itself.  
With a little effort and consideration on each side hopefully we can avoid problems in the future.

What follows is the abridged version of a couple emails I've exchanged with a very friendly informed cottager in the area. 

February 25, 2004

Blair....Thanks for the map of Spider camp sites.  I thought the gov't web site would have it, but they don't.  

If you think it might help defuse some of the problems on 3LL then by all means you can post some of my information to the discussion group. 
I think it would help if trippers were aware of the situation at the 3LL landing, even if it just alerts them to why some of the cottagers seem annoyed and even unfriendly.  There has been a long history of problems, starting with the formation of the park, so it is not surprising that those who have to deal with it the most (cottagers near the landing or those who use the landing a lot) lose their patience with canoe trippers who probably haven't a clue why people are upset and what has been going on - other than that they can see the congestion there.

I have heard positive things said about the new person (Natural Resources?) in charge of the park.  
They have repaired the gov't wharf, where the previous administration was letting it fall into ruin, and they seem to be
trying to help out with a difficult situation which the previous administration preferred to ignore.

However, the fact remains that all the canoeists and kayakers who enter the park by way of 3LL have to use a 66' road allowance to get
 on the lake and there is great congestion, especially on the weekends.  And there have been people parking along the side of the road, 
which is not allowed. The land on either side is privately owned and the cottagers are not happy about the noise, congestion, any trash left behind, or having to rescue tenderfeet who overload their canoes.  I think Oastler Park should hand out a little flyer to each party explaining 
the situation, and I hope the cottagers will understand that most of the trippers are stepping into a situation that they are not aware of
 so patience and "cool" are required.  
  With the parking lot beside the lake blocked off (as it will be now that the
Cottagers' Association has a deed and in the next couple of years will be removing their ramshackle docks and replacing them with wharves 
that meet standards), I don't think they will have any choice but to do that.  There simply is not enough room for all the cars, vans, trailers to unload by the lake. 
 I do hope that cottagers and trippers do not get into any altercations over this, but I am concerned.  I don't want to see anyone's
vacation spoiled because of the difficulties at the landing or on 3LL.

When I first heard that Massasauga would be a wilderness park, I was very glad, and I have remained so. I feel very privileged  to have a little
cottage not far from the park. I am sure there are thousands of people, like you, who have traveled through it and who love the area and want to keep it wild.  Thanks again, Blair, for putting up your photos.  I visit them every now and then just to renew some of my memories.  
Hope to see you up there one of these days.

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