Thursday Sept 4/08 - I can paddle for miles and miles and miles..... (with apologies to The Who)

My watch alarm went off at 7 and I got up. It is very foggy outside but very calm and the sky is clear; the water is like glass. Last night, Phil told me to get him up at 7 because he wanted an early start on the day so I went back in the tent at 7:30 to wake him up but he doesn’t seem interested in getting up. So I go back to sit in the gazebo. Walt got up and sat in the gazebo for awhile with me and then he went back to bed. I read my devotions in the quiet of the morning while the birds were singing and the fish were jumping. What seems strange in all my camping trips is the absence of birds in the forest. At home I have to sleep with the windows closed because the birds are singing so loud in the early morning but in the woods it seems quite rare to hear birds singing. After devotions I decided to try my hand at catching some of those jumping fish but again no luck.
-everyone else got up we had breakfast and we packed up camp.
-The outfitter came by in a Cessna to drop off some supplies to Jeff & Karla and to give them batteries for the fish finder. Jeff, Carla and Phil chatted with the outfitter for awhile. We didn’t leave until 12:30! Phil gave Dave & Walt directions and they started out while Phil and I loaded up our canoe and then started out after them. We crossed to the other side of Pickett Lake and went around the bend but there was no sign of Walt & Dave. Phil thinks they may have misunderstood the directions and gone down the creek which is just before the bend. Phil & I turn back and paddle along the twisting creek calling out loudly for them. We finally meet them. Walt & Dave turned back because they figured it must not be the right route. Since time was of the essence Phil wasn’t happy about the delay. Walt apologized. The paddle down the creek was quite scenic.
-I am finding the Canadian Stroke rather awkward. The problem with having Phil in the stern is that he can see when I revert back to my normal paddle stroke or if I bend my left elbow.
-The Raymond River flows into Pickett Lake so we are now travelling on the Raymond River
-we have to do a 250m portage to go around some rapids. The portage is fairly easy and it has lots of blueberries. The portage is muddy in some sections. Due to the rocky put-in (with some downed trees) I had to wade in the water so my feet got wet. However, I am wearing canoe shoes rather than hiking boots so getting wet feet isn’t a big deal. Phil has very strict equipment requirements about what to bring on the trip and he doesn’t allow hiking boots. Several years ago I sprained an ankle on a Sunday stroll through the woods with the family so I really appreciate the ankle support a hiking boot provides. So when Phil said no hiking boots (his reasoning is that only cement shoes make better anchors) I actually lost sleep agonizing over my footwear choices when I was planning on what to take on the trip. I ended up choosing Merrell Gaulley shoes and Phil has given me positive comments on them a couple of times
-we continue paddling along the Raymond River. We paddle/pole through some reeds to get to Whiteclay Lake and take a short break in the canoe to have a snack. Whiteclay Lake has beautiful white sand beaches along it and there seem to be some spots along it that could be cleared out for some potential campsites. There is a gentle wind at our backs. Phil is an awesome paddler. I can truly say that I have paddled with the best of them. Phil and I are making such good time that we often have to wait for Dave & Walt to catch up so we got extra breaks which is good because my right arm is sore. I am getting more comfortable with the of the Canadian stroke and am falling into a rhythm.
-at 7:00 we finally get to the resort. There are several cabins but the resort is deserted. Phil is scouting around while we wait on the dock. Phil says we may have to push on to a campsite by the Ogoki Falls (where Phil says the fishing is excellent). I hope we stay at the resort, even if we stay in tents on the lawn. I mentally prepared myself to canoe as far as the resort and now that we are here I don’t know if I can go farther. I am dog tired and laying flat out on the dock exhausted.
-Phil calls the the Ogoki Frontier outfitters on the satellite phone and they give us permission to stay in the cabin. I am ecstatic.
-it is September and there a lots of blackflies at the resort. I would have thought they would have all died in July. The are not biting but they do swarm around our heads and we have to be careful not to inhale any.
-Phil does all the cooking on all of the trips. He figures it is easier that way because the participants on the trips would constantly be asking questions such as how much water to add, how long does this simmer, what pot to use, etc. He does a good job of cooking for 4 people on a one-burner stove. Even though he does the cooking we do help by getting him supplies and running errands.
-the resort has a really nice gazebo with a large dining table. We set up to eat in there. Phil seems a little grouchy and Dave calls him an old codger (but safely out of earshot).
-Supper is dumplings, corn, sweet and sour pork on rice. The dumplings weren’t that great but everything else was great. Dave wouldn’t eat all his dumplings and offered them to the rest of us but they are very filling so we all declined. We teased him that he shouldn’t get any dessert if he isn’t going to eat all his supper. I got to choose dessert and picked mandarin orange fruit cups and oatmeal cookies.
-Walt & Dave do the dishes. I can't remember what I did (if anything).
-Phil puts the woodstove on in the cabin and we hang up our clothes to dry. There are huge log beams about 5 and a half feet from the floor. One of us will probably knock ourselves out on those things. The walls and beams are adorned with all kinds of notes from past users of the cabin. The notes typically brag about a huge pike that was caught or a moose that was shot but there are also numerous notes about killing a about 12 mice in one day. Yikes, I hope I don’t wake up to mice in my bed!
-we spend the evening writing our journals and enjoying some libations
-the plans for tomorrow are for another long trip to another resort on Whitewater Lake. The trip may involve some tricky rapids
-we had hoped to see some moose on our long canoe trip today but we didn’t see any. We did see a large osprey, a woodchuck, some loons and a couple of birds.