Wabakimi, Goodbye For Now

It's time to finish the story.  It's still on my mind everyday.   There is something about being in the wilderness that agrees with me.   To be in a place where I have such a sense of belonging that it feels strange to leave.    That in my regular world I now feel a bit out of place. To have every one of your senses drink this in 24/7...to hear the water on your canoe, and on the shore, to hear the rain on the tent and the tarp, to hear the wind whispering and stirring the tops of the trees, to stare into the embers, to see the endless sky from East to West: sunrise, sunset, meteor showers, and innumerable stars at night.  To have no internet, no telephone, no answering machine, no vacuum, no microwave.  Life is simple.  Multitasking is unnecessary. You only have to think about today.  

The word that comes to mind is sanctuary.    Haven of rest, not for the body, but for the soul.   To be shielded from the daily bombardment for a while.  To be led beside quiet waters and made to lie down in thick green beds of moss.   It is calming.  Peace.  Yet, the work is a pattern I dive into eagerly. I know hard work. I like the physicality of hard work. I love the satisfaction of seeing that I can keep up with the rest of the team, along with a sense of accomplishment that I can hold my own.     

I am amazed to be the only people in this place, and I am also amazed at how quickly our presence impacts the areas we occupy.    How a game trail quickly becomes a beaten path when we make 3 and 4 carries with our gear.  It makes me want to walk softer.   It makes me glad that the park is inaccessible and that it will stay this pristine.   It's here for those who are willing to fight their way in.  

I loved seeing the ancient blazes.  Time has passed here at the same speed as elsewhere but at the same it stands still.   Progress hasn't affected this place much.    I hope it never does.   

It was really hard to go home.  To give up this simplicity. I worry that when I find my groove again it will feel more like a rut.   At the same time I recognize the choices I make to come here and the choices I make that keep me there.    I accept that it can only be temporary, and I have to embrace it as such.   God has work for me to do in my "real" world.  He guides me and I have an impact to make there.   I am His hands and feet, and hopefully I don't walk softly.  Live out loud everyday.

Maybe that's what I need to take away from this: the reaffirmation that I am where I'm supposed to be, refreshed by being fully immersed in the middle of nowhere.

Wabakimi, the Gear

When you go into the bush you have to be prepared for anything, yet try to keep things light and sparse since you have to CARRY it all!.  I thought I would include this chapter because there are a lot of people who don't regularly head into the bush with a canoe, away from the campground.   I have been on other wilderness trips for 3 or 4 days, but never for 7 days.  The Wabakimi wilderness is much wilder and more remote than any place I have ever been.  On a trip like this, a satellite phone is a MUST.  

On our trip, we brought  2-60L barrels which contained all the food we needed for the week....mostly freeze dried meals from Mountain House, and Bauly.    This took up almost one whole barrel.  The other contained:breakfast items like oatmeal, snacks (GORP, trail bars, etc...), dessert (pudding, fruit cups, and cookies), and the small lift out barrel pack pantry (coffee, tea, salt, pepper, peanut butter, etc....).  The food we ate was sooo good, especially at the end of long working days...my favourite was the Mountain House Pasta Primavera, Bauly carrots and yummy Finnish Bread Dumplings.   

Every team of two(Ray and I, and Phil and Jerry) had a personal pack which contained their four man tent and 2 each: sleeping bags, liners, utlralight thermarest, 20L drybag of clothes, and room for camp shoes (usually dry).   This pack always weighs a TON....I LET the boys carry this one( big  & red)!!!   I usually carried the food barrels, and the equipment packs.    The personal packs also held one tarp each.   One 12'x14' tarp functions as rain shelter and is always the first detail that gets taken care of, and one 9'x14' that covers the gear at night.    The second detail is....making a bench for us to sit on, or more often for us to lean against.     Seat pads double as canoe seat pads and campfire cushions(they're on top of the food barrel in this picture....)

The logic behind bringing 2 four man tents is in the case that one tent becomes unusable...that the participants on the trip CAN all fit (snuggly) in one four man tent.   All the camp sites inventoried had to be able to support two tent pads to be marked on the map with the GPS.  Phil carries it on his person at all times.  He marks the campsites that are inventoried, and all the way points.    There was one map pack for each canoe that contains topographical maps of the current area we are visiting.  The topo maps are great for checking elevation.   Most of the trails follow the contour lines quite closely.   Phil predicted that we would spot very few campsites along the Western side of Granite Lake since the contour lines indicated cliffs!   He also predicted that we would find some near the South end, where we ended up making camp. 

There are two equipment packs which house the rest of the gear....ropes,a Pelican case full of first aid items, the satelite phone and case, utensils, a case for the fishing reels, two camp stoves, 4 Nalgene bottles of naphta fuel, an extensive repair kit, 2 cases of fishing paraphernalia (telescopic fishing rods are housed under the bow seat in Phil's canoe in PVC tubes with caps), a buck saw, sierra saws and blades, a soft cooler with sandwich meats, and cheese for wraps, two map cases and contents, camp shovel, cooking pans, and plates and bowls.  

Do the math.....2 canoes, 6 paddles (2 spares), 2 monster personal packs, 2 food barrels, 2 equipment packs, a chainsaw and case, can of gas, can of oil, and four knapsacks (one per person)...plus my camera.  This has to be carried up and over every portage(and you get to eat blueberries by the handfull when you head back for your next load :)    Jerry has a portaging song in his catalogue called "Rocks and Roots" which quickly became an anthem, but at the same time became the dreaded song that gets stuck in your head, that you don't know all the words to....yet.  (Jerry  has promised to rectify the situation and send us the CD once he records that one AND the Wabakimi song.) 

I REALLY wanted to bring my new camera to Wabakimi.    I wasn't sure how well that would be received since the Pelican case is a very bulky, but water proof and impact resistant container.    I sacrificed room in my daypack to bring it along ( I left my dogeared wildflower books at home....).    Not too much photography has been done previous trips, so YEAY me!    The day we measured the portage from Granite to the first pond toward Van Ness Lake, I actually had sore knees from all the crouching I did.     It was so beautiful and the lighting was great almost all day.     I took over 900 photographs from the beginning of the trip to the end.  The case is open on the front seat of the red canoe.  

Dual purpose.  The central tarp line makes a great clothesline too.   Lots of things can be found drying at any given time...usually swimtrunks, wet clothes, towels,  the odd Wa"bikini", hankies, socks (when you run out of trees),  and barrel gear.  



On the day that we flew into the park, we had to bring the extra canoe along since there was only one 2 man team in the park. (Phil and Barry sent the extra canoe, chainsaw, etc...out so that they could travel light for the week.)  So this is how you bring a canoe along on a bush plane,  tied to the pontoon.  All the things you learn when you head out of town.....  I'm not going to lie, flying in and out on a DeHaviland Beaver was a huge thrill!    It's the smoothest take off and landing I've ever experienced.   To the people who live up here...it's just something they do everyday.    I don't know if the novelty would ever wear off for me!       This is by far the most expensive part of the trip.   Ray and I daydream about going up there again.    I would love to take the train in and out the next time.  

This is Jerry's daytrip gear: hat, gloves, Nalgene bottle and a water filter(in a case).  Out in the bush you filter all your water so you don't ingest any nasty critters.  The filter fits on a wide mouth Nalgene bottle and the water is filtered right into it.    Often we use drink crystals to flavour the water....it tastes fine on its own but iced tea is really nice.    The water is already that colour so it might as well taste like it!!  The colour comes from the tannins in the water.    

The two things you can't live without in this environment: a good tarp, at least 12'x14', and the Wabikimi fireplace.  Putting up a tarp without pegs and poles can be a tricky thing, but it can be done.    Most people know how to put up a tarp...but I....didn't.  Phil taught me and so now  I know.  Anyone who witnessed my throwing a tarp over my tent in a torrential downpour in the Bruce, should rest assured that I now have a solid foundation in proper tarp management.   The main rope is strung between 2 trees near the top of a ridge.  The tarp is placed over the rope and the corners are secured with ropes and large stones.  Pegs....just won't work on granite.  :)   Poles are fabricated from small fallen trees, growing trees rarely need to be cut down for this purpose due to ever present blow downs.   There....a thing of beauty.   The back or the front can be dropped down in case of driving rain...I sure am glad we didn't have a storm.  The fireplace is constructed of several stones found at the campsite: several medium sized stones set on their sides and one large slab for the topper which usually cracks by the end of our stay because of the incredible amount of heat that is generated.   The topper helps keep the sparks contained when it has been really dry, and keeps the fire dry when it is raining.   The nearby moss is scraped off the ridge to make a 6'-8' clear zone around the fireplace.  If Phil knows he will be returning to this campsite in the near future, he will leave wood in the fireplace.   There is usually a stash of firewood cut up and left behind so it can season.  If you ever find yourself up there, and find an intact fireplace...you'll know Phil has been there.  

The right outer wear matters.   Quick dry pants, wool socks and polypro liners, and water shoes.    Pants need to dry quickly after they get wet(both from rain and from sweat!), and synthetic fabrics don't feel as cold as cotton.   Wool socks are warm even when they are wet, and polypros make the wool bearable...also keeps the sand from getting between your toes!    Shoes with drainage are a must since your feet are wet A LOT, not only does the water drain out as quickly as it gets in, they dry quicker too!  The orange thing in the left corner is my whistle.  We all wear one when we're out on the trail (and we should wear it in the canoe too!).    It is soooo easy to get lost, especially when you're on wild and wooly trail....like a piece of bog with tall grass or a thick scrub, and you stayed behind to take pictures and all the mossy footprints have sprung back already.    One blast means "I'm here", two mean "come to me" and three...."help".    If you hear a whistle you respond with the same call to confirm that you've heard.  The rain gear is kept in the day pack, so that it's with you in case the weather changes.

I loved the tents we had.    Eureka! 4 man tents 7'x7'.   How awesome to stretch out and not hit the sides!   My favourite feature was that both ends of the tent had a zippered entrance.   The tent also had a fly with a "storm door".   That end of the fly was pegged down to create a vestibule around the entrance.   This is great to keep the rain out of your tent, but also gives you a spot to keep unused gear, like your empty tent bag, your empty personal pack, and at night: your camp shoes, your seat cushion and life jacket so they don't blow away.    Yes....a seat cushion....you know the ones you kneel on when you're gardening?   These are a real luxury around the campfire at night on the granite ridge, and if you've sat on a canoe seat for hours on end....you'll probably go out and buy some too!    Sometimes you sacrifice space for comfort.  I loved sleeping with both doors open on the warm nights, and looking at the stars while I was laying in bed.   Incidentally, every tent pad site we slept on was made up of this lovely soft, deep moss.   It DOES compact after three days to reveal every rock and bump but overal, it is sooooo comfortable.   Ray and I talked about Wabakimi while we were staining the garage today.    He has been to the western side of the park and it looks a lot different than the Elf and Granite Lake areas...so I guess that doesn't guarantee this cushiony comfort in all areas!

The item that gets used the most is probably the stove.  We boiled all our water, and cooked all our food on this single burner Coleman stove.   It's about the same diameter as the kettle (coffee pot) and uses naphtha fuel like the regular camping stove. The shield is by Outbound and  is a really great feature...I can't believe they don't make those anymore.   We had coffee "first thing" every morning, and then brekkie, a daily routine that wrapped up around 11am or so...leisurely to say the least.

And about that sat phone.   It cost $2.50 per minute and there is no plan.  It is used only for emergencies, and three regularly scheduled telephone calls.  The phone makes it possible for Phil to keep in touch with the real world, and the real world runs on a schedule with details.  There are also people in Phil's real world who care about him and would be concerned if these regular calls were not made.   Phil calls the home base each Wednesday night(anytime after 9pm) with a shopping list.   In our case it included getting new chains for the chainsaw....aka Husky,facilitating the sharpening of the Sierra saw blades, more sugar cubes( we only had one cube left at the end of the week!),  and Phil was anxious to track down two missing fuel bottles.   This call gives ample opportunity for the supplies to be tracked down and sent along with the team that heads in on Saturday morning.    The second regularly scheduled call is on Friday night(at 5:30 sharp) when the next team of participants has assembled at Phil's house.  I can't  remember if he or Sara (home base) calls Mattice Lake Outfitters, which run Wabakimi Air Ltd. and gives them our coordinates so that the pilot knows where to find him for the rendezvous.   Wabakimi Provincial Park is currently larger than PEI.    There are a few outfitter's outposts scattered around the park, but most of the time you are the only group for hundreds of square kilometres.   There's no one to help you if your run into trouble.   We had no problems at all....but the potential is always there. It's called Murphy's Law, and Phil says Murphy comes along on every trip.  

I hope this takes some of the mystery out of wilderness camping. I hope it makes you think about getting out there.   I have not always been a camper, but....I have grown to love going into the middle of nowhere with these bare essentials.  Roughing it isn't nearly as bad as you think it is. Some people argue that we should have celebrated our 20th anniversary with a cruise...but I figure...we were still in a boat:a 52lb Kevlar boat, and I loved every minute of it!

Wabakimi, the Flora

This is my third post about Wabakimi Provincial Park and our canoe route reconnaisance trip.   To read the whole story, start with the "First Chapter".

There is a 1600+m portage between Granite Lake and the unnamed pond on the way to Van Ness Lake. There are literally 100's of unnamed bodies of water in Wabakimi. Imagine having to give directions to the pilot of the bushplane to pick up you there...  1600m is a long portage on a good day.   The first challenge was finding the landing....and this is the picture of the "wall".    According to the "section sheets", the portage was right next to these palisades, and you have to try and keep an open mind....but every bone in your body tells you that this will be a long uphill climb.

Phil spent a long time looking at it from our campsite, reading the landscape, and the most likely place to pull up.  And once we paddled over....this blaze was clear AS DAY, and certainly not old.  Our best guess is that it was made by Native hunters following caribou in the winter.  Notice how high up the canoes had to go?  I'm standing on the rocks at the landing and the branches of the tree are hanging over me.     The section sheets point you in the general direction but once you get there, you still have to actually find Point A.    Occassionally there are 6 trees laying across the path at Point A and you have to create your own alternative.....

This is my favourite chapter, the highlight of my trip (I won't say "our trip"" because I think Ray liked different things than I did).  This day of "work"  turned out to be one of my favourite days because I got to take pictures all day.   I could indulge my inner flora geek.  We went through quite a few different kinds of terrain so there was also a wide variety of plant life.   A bog with a creek, caribou ridges, dense boreal forest, more bog, and a beaver meadow.   We had to find the blazes on the way to the other landing and Ray and Jerry measured this portage on the way back.    We  did not clear this portage....so we traveled light with relatively empty hands.   We didn't  make it to the very end, because it ended in a bog that was so long we couldn't spot the water....we dove back into the treeline, found a new game trail and a few blazes and got closer but not to the end.   Phil asked me to photograph the treeline on our flight out and send him the pictures.    Our last way point is marked on the GPS, and the crew that comes up from Van Ness, later this season,  will try to connect the dots from the other direction.     With the photograph, they be able to see whether it is worth pursuing a trail through the trees,  and Phil can see where the top of the bog is....the GPS will confirm where we've been.    The flat light green area on the right side of the picture is the bog and the place where we first entered it  isn't even visible.  The slice of water at the top right is our leg of Granite Lake and the forest in between...spans about 1.5km.   Can't wait to see what Phil will do with this one, I sense that he and his crew will end up with at least 2km of portage trail if they skirt the entire length of the bog, but at least they'll keep dry feet. :)

On the day we set out on this trip, Phil has given his blessing for me to click away to my heart's content.  I sense that he enjoys my love for the wildness of this place, and my desire to capture some of its essence so others can see it the way it is.  I saw the most beautiful mushrooms and  fungi on this trail.    Some species must have popped up overnight encouraged by the rain the day before.     I love looking them up in a book and finding their names.  The next time I am hiking and look around on the ground it's like seeing a familiar face.  I imagine God looking down and seeing all of us walking around here.  He knows all our names and the paths that we're on.    He knows the name of every star in the sky, from one end of the Milky Way to the other....and then some.   That blows my mind!   So I feel small again, but welcome, privileged, and invited to see how fearfully and wonderfully He has crafted this remote piece of His Creation.    I marvel at the hundreds of little sections that make up a piece of peat moss, and how the sections differ between the species, and how the colour depends on the amount moisture it receives and how much sun it receives.   I love how much more I can see when I watch the pictures pop up on the screen, especially the close ups....and how much more I notice when I see them for the 3rd or 4th time.  I am amazed to peer into the pitchers of the pitcher plant and see the downward facing hairs that prevent insects from escaping.    I was looking at this tiny species of mushroom that actually only grows on other decaying mushrooms, and I saw a moss, that  I had paged past a few times in my book, growing right in front of them....and yes...I get excited when I see the portrait gallery at http://www.lichen.com/portraits.html.

I've decided to end this post with a web album so I could show more photos :):)   There are some great close ups, and some great general shots that are typical of the Boreal forest.  I never get enough of looking at these and they tell their own story..... Click  here to see it (I highly recommend it as a slideshow!!).   And if you read between the lines, you will realize that Ray, Jerry, and Phil...did the "real" work on this day.

The Lost Chapter

Phil is almost 70.  He calls us "kids".    When I'm talking to Phil,  I call Ray and Jerry,  "the boys"    ....and I'm the only "girl" in the family.  And you become a family unit after 24/7.  I'm also the official trip photographer and now scribe.  This is a group shot, sitting on the bench under the tarp...we sat there the entire previous rainy day.    Coffee is on, and breakfast is about to be served.   Mountain House Granola with Blueberries....my favourite!!!! Just before this photo was taken I took a group shot without myself in it.   I thought I had set the timer so I could be in it too, but I hadn't and just got one of those three!  ROFL 

After the fear of bringing my bulky camera was laid to rest....I brought it everywhere....except on ONE reconnaissance trip where we were guaranteed to get very wet.   I got a lot of ribbing over leaving the camera "home".  We have dubbed it: "The Lost Chapter"...and although there is no photo evidence,  it was one of the most discouraging, wettest, most exhilarating trips of the week. It should be told next,  lest it really be lost.   If you're just tuning in, you should begin with the previous post:  "Wabakimi: the First Chapter".

Near the end of our work week, we head across the bay.( which is really a dog leg at the Southern end of Granite Lake), straight into the mouth of Ballast Creek.    Ballast Creek marks the departure from Granite Lake in the direction of Otter Bluff Lake.   It starts in the creek....but it is more like a "rock garden".    Think of what a rock garden will do to the bottom of your beautiful new 18' red Kevlar Souris River  canoe.   It almost hurts.   It's probably good that there is no visual evidence....  We navigate the "creek" as far as we can.....

Before I go on...I must tell you about the existing MNR (Ministry of Natural Rescources) "maps".    They exist in book form and the pages are called "section sheets".    On each sheet is the lake area you are navigating, with numbers and enlarged circle sections that correspond with each number.    So if you are looking at the section sheet for Granite Lake and Otter Bluff Lake, you will see the lakes, the creeks and ponds that connect them, and dotted lines that represent the approximate whereabouts of the portage trails.  The sheets date back to the 1940s and are the most up to date route information for paddlers heading into Wabakimi Provincial Park for a paddling trip.  The sections are not to scale, have no contour lines,  and the portages are not measured....so basically....you have no idea what you'll encounter when you head into the park.  Each circle section shows a dotted line for the portage....  Phil does not have many flattering things to say about the MNR or the section sheets, yet they are foundation for his work and he keeps meticulous records, even if only to eventually show the MNR how poor and outdated the sections sheets  really are. 

We navigate the creek as far as we can....and are keeping our eyes peeled for a blaze on the left hand bank of the creek.   That's where the dotted line starts.     We don't see a blaze anywhere.  Occasionally the tree with the blaze blows down and the landing place is lost.    Since there is very little foot traffic, you don't spot the beaten path either, like you might in Killarney or Algonquin.   We make landfall near a beaver draw, this is an area near a beaver lodge where the beaver will haul branches up onto shore or into the water....it's almost a little hallway among the hummocks, in the winter it is a tunnel of sorts.   We walk through the grass to the treeline.  Often you connect with a portage trail in the treeline that is more protected.   A short way into the treeline, the spruce and pine disappear and give way to a close scrub of alder and birch trees, with the odd evergreen.   This is clear evidence of a burn.   This also means that any blazed trees have likely gone up in smoke.  Morale plummets.    The tree line usually begins where the water line stops and the Canadian shield begins.  Where the sun warms the ground, and there are no evergreens, alder, birch, and aspen take over quickly.   They  grow close together and branches intertwine like the fingers of praying hands.   Imagine trying to walk through this.   Then imagine having a 130lb pack or a canoe on your shoulders.    THAT's why we're here.    We fight our way through the scrub and make it to the pond, which seems to have decreased in size and the boggy shoreline has increased proportionately.     It would be a horrible portage.    We fight our way through back to the canoes and put in.    It is discouraging and exhausting to slog around for 2 hours and come up empty handed.     We head further up the creek and the water level drops...we get out and pull the canoes up the creek.   It is the wettest we've been yet....you get soakers when you're walking through the bog, but wading knee deepish in the creek is new for us.    Actually a neat new part of the adventure.   When the water is deep enough we paddle,  ever vigilant for and dodging the boulders....they sneak up on you and you leave some paint behind.   Ouch.  The bow paddler is supposed to be the spotter.    Supposed to be....  You also have to fight the current here and there when the creek narrows, which becomes tricky paddling with a lot of "draw!"....NO!! DRAW!!!  and "cross draw!"(my new favourite stroke).

We make it through to the shrunken pond section,  paddle through, re-enter the waterway, and by wading further up the creek we eventually come to the bend that should be the landing for the second portage.    The dotted line indicates that it's on the right hand side.  There is a mess of about 6 blowdowns....things are NOT looking up.  We climb out and up and over....hoping that as we head a little ways inland we will stumble onto the portage trail.     We have a short break, and look around for a while...eventually I find the first blaze!!!    This is such a great feeling after the morning we've had!  Adrenaline starts to flow and the boys are filled with new enthusiasm.  The next blazes are easy to find and they walk ahead of Phil and I.

Phil is flagging the blazes and I'm keeping him company.    He is a fount of information: history, bush lore, and tracking tips.    Phil's movements are slow and deliberate.   He insists on climbing over the blowdowns on the game trail.   The blazes line up in almost a perfect straight line when we look over our shoulders and spot the flags.    On the way back to the canoes Phil tells me that his feet tell him a lot.    He can feel the trail and that's why he climbs over the obstacles, because the way the moss compacts under his feet will tell whether we are still on the trail or have lost it.     Sometimes it's hard to tell, it all looks like the same lush green moss.   When there are blow downs, all game abandon the original trail, continuing to follow the path of least resistance.     There was one place where you could clearly see hoof prints in the moss.   Any foot prints we make in the 6-8 inch thickness of  wet spongy moss usually decompress by the next day...this is the resilient nature of moss.   Caribou and moose can be there one minute and gone the next but you'll never hear them.    I try what Phil has just taught me.    I try and feel with my feet.  I know....sounds hokey...but once you tune your senses to this new frequency you realize that it works.  I learned a lot from Phil.   He teaches a lot to those who are willing to listen.   Hearing and listening are two different things, and education is a big part of what Phil does.    He doesn't just tell you the "what" but also the "why", and it all makes perfect sense.   I call it "simple brilliance".

Flagging the trail is a science with its own protocol.    The tape is tied above a blaze.    One must tie a double knot and never a bow, the whiskey-jacks can untie a bow as they desire to bring this bright string/tape to line their nest.  (At first mention, I thought whiskey-jacks might be "alcohol toting lumber leprechauns" but it turns out that they are the curious  and bold Gray Jay with a magpie like affinity for bright things.)  The knot in the tape indicates which side of the tree the trail passes by.  A tree with a true blaze will be marked on both sides of the tree, the front and the back....a third blaze will mark a departure from the trail and will show the direction of this departure.  A departure will be indicated by a second colour of tape and if its tied above the primary tape then it indicates a clearer, easier path to travel....   When you paddle through here someday, the marking tape will be long gone, but the blazes will remain....they are your trail markers.    The next crew will come in,  measure and clear this portage.   Once it is cleared and measured the flagging tape will be removed....or else it would be litter....and after all,  this is a wilderness trip....not walk in the park on a marked footpath.  

The other reason Phil climbs over the mess of blowdowns is that he is wearing the GPS.   He marks every landing, or way point.   It tracks every move we move we make and he would like our moves to be in as accurate and clean a line as possible, not a "Family Circus" outing circling every blowdown and rootball.    The GPS measures the distance between the way points horizontally as the crow flies, and it follows us as walk.   It does not allow for changes in elevation....and there are some steep climbs which can 50 or 60 meters to the length of your portage.     A couple of those can add a few hundred meters!!  Phil has a photographic memory.   He studies the topo map very closely.   He compares it to the section sheets and figures out where we need to be.   Phil loves to use the GPS to show where we've been, but rarely needs it to show where we're going.  

We did not even stop for lunch on this day, so excited to see where the portage would lead.  I had a few handfulls of GORP.   This portage leads to big water, not a pond...but the sausage shaped lake on the section sheet.    Beyond this is another pond, another portage and a creek that leads to Otter Bluff Lake.     This is one of the three routes that meet up in the lower section of Granite Lake.

So what will happen with the non-existing first portage?     Phil and the next crew will make a new trail through the alder scrub.    You can't portage by wading up the creek since water levels change throughout the season, and it is mighty cold up here in May.     They will flag the most direct route to the pond, with the shortest piece of bog.   They'll cut a path through the scrub and then an amazing thing will begin to happen.     Once you create a path of least resistance...the moose and caribou will begin to use it and beat it down, which will keep the alder from growing back in.   

With ominous black clouds at our backs, we head for home...  We are almost back at the mouth of Ballast and out of the corner of our eyes is a lone spruce tree at the edge of the creek bank...with an obvious blaze.  Sometimes you can't see the tree for the forest.

Wabakimi, the First Chapter

We're back from an unforgettable trip to Wabakimi.  

Ray and I were part of a volunteer crew that flew into Wabakimi Provincial Park for a canoe route reconnaissance mission.   Fly in...fly out.   ...and that was an adventure in itself!!  Our mission included locating and scouting out old portage routes originally used by aboriginal people and fur traders.    We  inventoried and marked by GPS campsites that could support 2 four man tents on  the lakes on our particular route.   We discovered two portage trails and flagged them, measured another that had been flagged by a previous crew, and cleared several others.  One route had been cleared in June and had become impassible with several large downed trees by the time we arrived last week.     If you were due to meet your bush plane in the lake on the other end of THAT portage, you would have missed your flight. Over the entire 7 days we probably traveled 60km over both water and land.

What was it like?  Pure unspoiled wilderness.   To walk game trails that haven't seen human foot traffic in decades, maybe even  a century is an experience I won't soon forget.   To see the Milky Way from one end of the horizon, stretching overhead, all the way to the other end of the horizon...immense.   It makes you feel so small but so welcome...like having a front row seat at the greatest show.   You really ARE  in the presence of Greatness.  The sky just goes on forever...night and day.    It almost makes you feel a bit claustrophobic to be back inside town limits, with just the little open square above you.   

 












If you want to know more about the Wabikimi Project click here.

One of Ray's favourite parts of the trip was scouting out "new" trails.    If you were travelling through the park on your own you would need to locate the beginning of a portage trail, or the "landing",  which is marked by a "blaze" on a tree (usually) visible from the water.   This is what a blaze looks like.   The old ones are made with three strokes of an axe, two downward and one upward, which strips the bark from the tree.  Newer ones are made by chainsaw.   Hence the name "trail blazers"....this dawned on me while I was sitting in my living room this evening.   

The close up shows the hairs that mark where the blow of the axe stopped.    Every tree heals differently which affects the appearance of the blaze.    I suspect that the blaze with the resin is Jack Pine and that the other is Black Spruce.    Once you locate the first blaze you travel from blaze to blaze following the portage trail until you reach the next body of water. Aboriginal people and fur trappers and traders logically followed existing game trails created by moose and caribou that still use those routes today, following the path of least resistance   Most often there is a visible trail, quite often cluttered up and made impassible by blow downs.   Blow downs are very common since the pine and spruce grow very tall in very shallow soil on the granite ridges of the Canadian Shield.  A tall tree catches a lot of wind and when the shear winds, or down drafts hit they often take down a tree or two....   So that's a little history behind the origin of the portage trail.    Sometimes there are no trees on the "caribou ridges" close to the trail, and rock cairns or inukshuks like this one are used to mark the way.

I could go on but will stop with this small glimpse.   The image near the beginning of the post of the moss covered forest is etched in my mind.   It is characteristic of the boreal forest.    If you look closely as you meander, you can spot where the hooves of a moose or caribou have sunk in....it's not a wonder you can't hear them coming or going.   I realize now what we lose in order to have paper for our daily use.    I know we need it, and I know I can't do without it....but it's a steep price to lose this irreplaceable wilderness and a good reason for projects that seek to protect it.    This remote park is beautiful in its grandeur, but also in its minutia.

Look for more posts and feel free to ask questions!!

Sights, Sounds, & Echoes

Common Tansy

Casting a few before sunset.

Pinot Grigio on the deck while the lads swim.

The Mapleglen heading for the Iroquois Lock

The Mapleglen gliding through.

I love holidays...it doesn't matter whether they are long or short.   I'll take them.

I should share that we've been white water rafting on the Ottawa river and all survived.   We stayed at Doran Bay Resort, a rustic little spot we've stayed at several times over the years.   Home of the original two cup coffee maker!   We rafted with OWL Rafting, in Forrester's Falls and highly recommend them!   Their facility is tops, their staff are all so welcoming and open, and the adrenaline...well that's free.    The whole adventure was first rate, from beginning to end!

We drove up on wednesday, our anniversary....and drove to OWL on Thursday morning for our afternoon adventure.   It almost didn't happen as our original trip was cancelled.   But we were able to join up with another group only missing the first chute...and looking at the video, that was okay because lots of rafts tipped there!   We went through class I to V rapids and all had an awesome time!   The general consensus is that we'll likely do it again....and the next time stay at OWL and go for two days....

Holidays always have three parts:  Anticipating the fun, having the fun, and remembering the fun.    These are the things we saw and heard and want to remember.

The sights:

• looking across the St Lawrence at the American shoreline.
• having my first coffee of the day on the deck watching Ray fish in an anchored canoe.
• seeing a freighter, that you've been hearing for miles, glide into view.  
• seeing Joe and Ray in whitewater kayaks learning the fine art of the "wet exit".
• my blue finger, crushed and sprained when it got rolled between the raft and the buckles of my life jacket, after my "wet exit" on the river.   It still blue-ish.
• the incredible smoothness of the black water before it hits rock and turns into white froth.    (I love the accompanying feeling of gleeful dread as you stare the whitewater right between the eyes, and attack with your paddle "double time".)  Rafting is NOT a spectator sport.



Ray and Joe in class.



Ready for action.



Joe's kayak is belly up....the "wet exit".  Travis has it under control!



Joe in his "skirt!

The sounds:

• four voices laughing in unison.
• waking up to the sounds of the pounding of a freighter's enormous diesel engines.
• the trees rustling through by the open bedroom windows.
• the splash of the boys jumping into pool apres-rafting.

Highlights:

• brekkie in my pj's on the deck watching Ray go fishing and hearing about the awesome fish he fought.   He is still talking about it.
• wearing jeans, socks and a fleecy because it was we got cold in the wind, after rafting!  
• the tug boat and pontoon ride back to the dock.
• making our guide Kari's day by giving her a blueberry-strawberry muffin out of our snack stash.   We gave her a tip and a muffin and she said thanks for the MUFFIN.   
• being surprised by my beautiful diamond pendant necklace anniversary surprise....and knowing Ray is equally thrilled with his gift...our going to Wabikimi together this week.....STOKED!!
• returning to Doran Bay at this totally different stage in life.   
• Anniversary supper at Swiss Chalet, and shopping at IKEA and the Bass Pro Shop on the way up.

Sporties on top.  Below are the 12 person rafts....

The echoes:

Craig & the pontoon boats that took us back to OWL.

• ....this is the after-part of vacation.    Think and drive.   It's what I do.   It happens on the way home, during a great tune or lyric, or the 18th time you've heard the stock market recap on AM980.    Driving after days spent together with your beloved ones...it sure is close quarters in a Sonata, for teenagers.   It was different fun when they were toddlers with short arms strapped in car seats:)   I came to the realization that being a family  is quite a ride....very similar to being out on the water.   Some days it is smooth sailing,  you can take time to do some relaxing, fishing...you don't have to work at it.   Then there are days when you're tripping or trekking.  It's work and you have to invest regular constant energy to keep things moving forward.   There are even whitewater days where you find yourself in the fray and froth paddling double time just to stay in the boat, or if you fall in...keeping your head above the water and the paddle in your hands.  But if you have the right equipment on, and the right Guide, you know you'll get through.   If you don't equip yourself, or condition yourself , even the smooth water will be strenuous.   
• I love paddling with Ray...we happen to be a perfect compliment....he paddles left and I paddle right.   It's good to have that difference.... among others.    It wouldn't work well if we were both lefties!!  One of us would be very unhappy a lot of the time, and Wabikimi would probably turn out to be a solo trip. 
• Part of the secret is learning to find contentment.  When getting what you want becomes less important than giving what someone else needs.   It's about  the offering  of yourself, not because you want to please the other person, but because you love the feeling of making the other person happy.   It's very satisfying.  It's not about giving and taking, it's about offering and receiving.   "Learning how to bend not how to break." -Jon Foreman.