-I got up at 9:30. Breakfast (oatmeal and breakfast bar) was not done until 12-we commute back to yesterdays location
-I am leading the group along the trail and see a huge bear crap beside the trail. About 10 feet away is the hapless victim – the can of chainsaw bar oil. The bear had punctured the can and all the oil leaked out. Now we will be limited in the use of the chainsaw.
-our goal is to finish this trail to the lake (which is unnamed) and then make a trail to Scallop Lake.
-We continue working on the trail. However, as we get closer to the water the vegetation changes and there are a lot of cedar trees and the vegetation is quite thick. Walt scouts out the best path to the unnamed lake and the cedars are so thick he has to sometimes crawl on his hands and knees. We cut a rough trail through the cedars to the unnamed lake.
-lunch was sundried tomatoes tuna salad, beef jerky, and a granola bar
-Phil and Walt take a canoe to scout out a trail to Scallop Lake beyond the unnamed lake. They say they will be gone about an hour or so and Dave and I can work on cleaning up the trail. As soon as they leave, Dave says he is going to take it easy. I start clearing the trail.
-as much as I have been avoiding it, at 4:30 I have my first wilderness dump. Now I am a true outdoorsman :)
-continue clearing/grooming the trail. It is actually starting to look quite good. I am rather proud of it. Dave comes by a couple of times to tell me to take a break and that I am making him feel guilty. I take a break and pump some more water at the unnamed lake (I have drank 2 litres again) and he goes swimming. Walt & Phil come back after about 2 hours and compliment us on how nice the trail looks!
-Walt & Phil have bad news though. They couldn’t find a way to Scallop Lake and there are no campsites anywhere on the unnamed lake so we have to spend another night at the bog campsite. Phil said they will try to access the lake from the other direction next year. So at this point the portage we worked on doesn’t go anywhere. I name it...Futility Portage. Once again Dave proved to be the smart one. I should have lazed around all afternoon and taken it easy.
-we go back to the campsite
-we have supper which is powdered eggs, hash browns, and bacon. A fruit cup and oatmeal cookies are for dessert.
-Phil decides on an alternate plan of action. We will work our way to Whitewater Lake which is far away. However, we may be able to stay in some outfitter cabins along the way (some with showers). Sounds like Shangri Lai!
-Phil said there may be time to see Wendell Beckwith’s old cabin on Whitewater Lake.
-we go to bed at 10. I get up at midnight to check for the Northern Lights again but no luck
Favorite Phil Story: Wendell Beckwith was a researcher for the Parker Pen Company and invented a pen that could work in zero gravity. He wanted Parker Pen to patent the invention but they were not interested so he quit and took his invention with him, left his family and moved to an island in the middle of Wabakimi and built a cabin. After several years, NASA was interested in the invention and the Parker Pen Company came with hat in hand asking to buy the patent. Wendell turned them down for several years.
3 comments:
OK -- where was the Bear attack? On the oil can? Where's the excitement in that????
Anyway, it sounds very nice, except for the bathroom facilities! yucky!!
And Ray, you can't help it, you are a "beaver": hard working and a "do it right" kind of guy! If you HAD lazed around, you would've felt guilty the whole time!! I know you!
--Cathy
Sounds like Dave is very lazy. He doesn't seem to work hard. You must have been very frustrated. Especially, when told, that it was all for nuttin'. :(
What an adventure!
Interesting about the pen!
Was that Phill in the picture?
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