-woke up early to the partridges poking around the tent. I get up to find it very windy and very cold with grey threatening clouds.
-it would be possible to canoe Pickett Lake but we wouldn’t be able to canoe on Whiteclay Lake because it would be like a wind tunnel so we decided to stay put
-breakfast was a breakfast bar, hot chocolate and a granola bar. I finally figured out that Dave is the smartest one of the bunch and I went back to my sleeping bag to warm up. Read a book and my devotions. Dave slept most of the day. He said he had to keep his sleeping bag warm.
-a late lunch was soup, crackers and summer sausage
-we were jealous of Jeff & Karla having a nice heated cabin while we were freezing outside. Phil went inside the cabin once to talk about something or other with them and we thought he lingered for awhile (probably to soak up as much heat as possible).
-Since there is an outhouse I don’t have to ration my ever-so-valuable stash of TP. There are numerous notes scrawled in the outhouse. One says “You can’t catch them if you are sitting here”. So I decided to fish from the end of the dock. I have read numerous trip logs of the excellent walleye fishing in Wabakimi. Unfortunately I didn’t catch anything :(
-Walt went fishing later and caught 2 small perch. He had bought a fishing license for this trip so he said each perch cost him $10
- We spent most of the day huddled in the gazebo. It was a great day for camaraderie. Phil would be giving one of us heck for something and we would playfully kick each other under the table as if to say “Come on, dummy!”
-we didn’t finish supper until about 9:30 pm: pasta primavera, stuffing and carrots. After supper Walt thought we should do dishes by the fishhut so he started walking to the fish hut while I went to the tent to get my headlamp. Walt came back yelling: “Ray, your Northern Lights are out!”. At first I didn’t think they were that great; they just looked like some back lighting behind the clouds but then the lights spread to the West and then to the East and the light intensified. The lights started moving and there were various “fingers” from East to West and a couple of streamers straight overhead. It was incredible and I was so glad to have seen them. Jeff & Karla even joined us to watch the lights. Given the cold weather they probably would have missed them if we were not there. It was kind of surreal to do the dishes and watch the Northern Lights. Everyone went to bed at around 11 but I stayed to watch the rest of the light show on the dock by myself until 11:30 with a hot apple cider and vodka. The Northern Lights were not over yet but we have to paddle 26 kms tomorrow and I will need my rest. Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out. I think you may need a special camera to properly capture the show.
-It was a very cool night. I put my sleeping bag inside the summer sleeping bag and wore my sweater so I was comfortable.
Favorite Phil Story: Phil only paddles on the right side because of an old injury so I will have to paddle the entire way on my left. The injury was from many years ago when he and 2 other guys were carrying a 300 lb canoe and the carrying yoke snapped. The other two guys ducked out of the canoe and Phil left Phil holding the canoe. He broke a bunch of ribs and other bones. They duct taped him up until the trip was over.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Wow...
...you can hardly get a word in edgewise around here!
It has been an eventful week, with tons of things going on everyday but....I am loving Sunday nights now that the evening service is at 4pm. It gives us such a relaxing evening at home before the weeks starts all over again.
We decided on Monday that the garage really ought to be stained before winter...and with the balmy temperatures in the forecast, we thought this was just the time to squeeze it in. Crazy idea, staining in November. In the summer you really don't give any thought to temperatures and daylight hours. But..the mornings were below 10 degrees, so you couldn't really paint....and then the wall faces the afternoon sun and you can't paint in direct sunlight.... and the sun dips below the horizon around 5ish, and a seasoned, crusty, old painter at the paint store told me not to paint after 4pm. I dared not continue after that time each day.....Short version? Just get it done in the summer! After supper is still the best time!
I got lots of work done on a top secret project I've been working on. That is looking like it will get done in good time. I am also teaching a class at our school scrap and stamp event coming up in on Friday. I am teaching a board book, and have to prepare kits for about 30 people. I have 26 done but should make a couple more...just in case. I like the teaching but I like the preparation work too. Lots of tedious fun.
Each time I look at the calendar I am amazed at the lack of empty squares. I am sometimes tempted to erase some writing but it's always in pen. I flip the calendar over to look at the next month but it looks the same as this one. This week was really busy, but it created this great energy while I was painting and working and looking forward to a date on Saturday with Ray. I like the down time, but for now, the busy is okay too. I am taking some time for scrapbooking and having lunch and going painting with friends, studying with and quizing the kids when they have a test coming up.....sometimes the secret is just in spending time with each other, no matter what your hands find to do.
(PS we were going to see 'the Changeling' but we were still 4th in line when it was sold out. So...we went to see Eagle Eye....sooooo far fetched....but what a ride! .)
It has been an eventful week, with tons of things going on everyday but....I am loving Sunday nights now that the evening service is at 4pm. It gives us such a relaxing evening at home before the weeks starts all over again.
We decided on Monday that the garage really ought to be stained before winter...and with the balmy temperatures in the forecast, we thought this was just the time to squeeze it in. Crazy idea, staining in November. In the summer you really don't give any thought to temperatures and daylight hours. But..the mornings were below 10 degrees, so you couldn't really paint....and then the wall faces the afternoon sun and you can't paint in direct sunlight.... and the sun dips below the horizon around 5ish, and a seasoned, crusty, old painter at the paint store told me not to paint after 4pm. I dared not continue after that time each day.....Short version? Just get it done in the summer! After supper is still the best time!
I got lots of work done on a top secret project I've been working on. That is looking like it will get done in good time. I am also teaching a class at our school scrap and stamp event coming up in on Friday. I am teaching a board book, and have to prepare kits for about 30 people. I have 26 done but should make a couple more...just in case. I like the teaching but I like the preparation work too. Lots of tedious fun.
Each time I look at the calendar I am amazed at the lack of empty squares. I am sometimes tempted to erase some writing but it's always in pen. I flip the calendar over to look at the next month but it looks the same as this one. This week was really busy, but it created this great energy while I was painting and working and looking forward to a date on Saturday with Ray. I like the down time, but for now, the busy is okay too. I am taking some time for scrapbooking and having lunch and going painting with friends, studying with and quizing the kids when they have a test coming up.....sometimes the secret is just in spending time with each other, no matter what your hands find to do.
(PS we were going to see 'the Changeling' but we were still 4th in line when it was sold out. So...we went to see Eagle Eye....sooooo far fetched....but what a ride! .)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wabakimi - Tuesday Sept 2/08
Note: for those of you just tuning in, I (Ray) am a guest writer on Tetcy's blog to give an account of my trip on the Wabakimi Project. I was in Wabakimi Provincial Park for the first week of September. Sorry about the shameless teaser on the previous post, but yes the only victim of the bear attack was the oil can. Thank you for reading and for posting comments (Karen I LOL'd on your first comment).
Now, back to the story:
-we get up around 10 (I read in bed for several hours). Breakfast was oatmeal and a breakfast bar
-we pack up camp. Walt & Dave had said that Phil is very particular about how his equipment is packed up. Phil definitely does not belong to the stuff the tent in the bag camp. Everything must be folded up perfectly. Phil brought his tent back to the manufacturer for some repairs once and when he unfolded it they jokingly offered him a job folding up new tents. Phil was even consulted on the design of some of the Eureka tent models.
-we carry everything to the shallow muddy pond. The water level has fallen and now that the canoes are loaded it is even more difficult paddling/poling on this pond
-we cross the next pond and then take a 900m portage to the Raymond River. This portage is maintained by the park’s portage crew and it has many small stumps along the path. It certainly isn’t up to Phil’s standards. The trail is very hilly and rocky and it is pouring rain. It is still very hot and muggy and I am having difficulty navigating the trail because my glasses are fogging up.
-Phil moves rather slowly on the portage and carries only some small packs - now he is showing his age. Given all the packs we have, it takes quite awhile to complete the portage.
-we paddle 4 or 5 kms in the rain down the Raymond River to Pickett Lake. We hope to stay at the Ogoki Outfitters Outpost Cabin. However, when we get to the the cabin we find it is being used. So much for Shangra Lai! Jeff & Karla from Chicago were staying there f
or the week to do some fishing. It must have been quite a surprise for them to have paid several thousand dollars to have been flown by float plane into the middle of nowhere and then have a bunch of soggy yahoos come out of the bush to knock on the door. They graciously allow us to set up camp on the lawn and use the gazebo as shelter from the rain. There is even an outhouse. So much for wilderness camping! There are very few potential spots for any campsites so I don’t know where we would have gone if they had turned us away.
-after we got unpacked, I went for a swim. The water was cold but I wanted to get cleaned up a bit. Lunch was salmon salad on bread and Gorp (trail mix).
-it kept raining for the whole day, the wind started to pick up and the temperature got cooler. I was a little chilled from the swim so I put on extra clothes to try to warm up. The gazebo is
screened so it started getting quite c
old just sitting there.
-some partridges came out of the woods during the day to look for food in the lawn which was cool
-Dave slept a good part of the afternoon in his tent
-Jeff & Karla stayed holed up in their cabin. I didn’t even see them come out to go to the outhouse
-supper was soup which helped to warm me up abit
-we have a lot of paddling to do in the next couple of days so Phil showed me a more efficient paddling stroke called the Canadian stroke. Phil teaches the Canadian stroke to most participants but I still feel a little embarrassed that he criticized my paddling
-since we are just sitting around we do alot of talking and hear more interesting stories from Phil. Phil even met the hermit Wendell Beckwith once.
-the plan is to get up at 7 tomorrow morning because we have a 26 km paddle ahead of us. Yikes. The farthest I have ever gone is 15 km and then I was tired. However, Phil’s canoes are cruising canoes which are more efficient in the water than my prospector canoes
-I went to bed around 9 or so and read for a bit and then fell asleep. Walt & Phil talked for awhile in the gazebo. I must have slept well because I didn’t even hear Phil come in the tent.
Favorite Phil Story: He went to Baffin Island in the 1970's as a cook for a group of 28. The group had not met their freight allowance so Phil took along some milk to trade since it is worth $6 a litre there. He traded his milk for a whole hind of caribou
Now, back to the story:
-we get up around 10 (I read in bed for several hours). Breakfast was oatmeal and a breakfast bar
-we pack up camp. Walt & Dave had said that Phil is very particular about how his equipment is packed up. Phil definitely does not belong to the stuff the tent in the bag camp. Everything must be folded up perfectly. Phil brought his tent back to the manufacturer for some repairs once and when he unfolded it they jokingly offered him a job folding up new tents. Phil was even consulted on the design of some of the Eureka tent models.
-we carry everything to the shallow muddy pond. The water level has fallen and now that the canoes are loaded it is even more difficult paddling/poling on this pond
-we cross the next pond and then take a 900m portage to the Raymond River. This portage is maintained by the park’s portage crew and it has many small stumps along the path. It certainly isn’t up to Phil’s standards. The trail is very hilly and rocky and it is pouring rain. It is still very hot and muggy and I am having difficulty navigating the trail because my glasses are fogging up.
-Phil moves rather slowly on the portage and carries only some small packs - now he is showing his age. Given all the packs we have, it takes quite awhile to complete the portage.
-we paddle 4 or 5 kms in the rain down the Raymond River to Pickett Lake. We hope to stay at the Ogoki Outfitters Outpost Cabin. However, when we get to the the cabin we find it is being used. So much for Shangra Lai! Jeff & Karla from Chicago were staying there f
or the week to do some fishing. It must have been quite a surprise for them to have paid several thousand dollars to have been flown by float plane into the middle of nowhere and then have a bunch of soggy yahoos come out of the bush to knock on the door. They graciously allow us to set up camp on the lawn and use the gazebo as shelter from the rain. There is even an outhouse. So much for wilderness camping! There are very few potential spots for any campsites so I don’t know where we would have gone if they had turned us away.-after we got unpacked, I went for a swim. The water was cold but I wanted to get cleaned up a bit. Lunch was salmon salad on bread and Gorp (trail mix).
-it kept raining for the whole day, the wind started to pick up and the temperature got cooler. I was a little chilled from the swim so I put on extra clothes to try to warm up. The gazebo is
screened so it started getting quite c
old just sitting there.
-some partridges came out of the woods during the day to look for food in the lawn which was cool
-Dave slept a good part of the afternoon in his tent
-Jeff & Karla stayed holed up in their cabin. I didn’t even see them come out to go to the outhouse
-supper was soup which helped to warm me up abit
-we have a lot of paddling to do in the next couple of days so Phil showed me a more efficient paddling stroke called the Canadian stroke. Phil teaches the Canadian stroke to most participants but I still feel a little embarrassed that he criticized my paddling
-since we are just sitting around we do alot of talking and hear more interesting stories from Phil. Phil even met the hermit Wendell Beckwith once.
-the plan is to get up at 7 tomorrow morning because we have a 26 km paddle ahead of us. Yikes. The farthest I have ever gone is 15 km and then I was tired. However, Phil’s canoes are cruising canoes which are more efficient in the water than my prospector canoes
-I went to bed around 9 or so and read for a bit and then fell asleep. Walt & Phil talked for awhile in the gazebo. I must have slept well because I didn’t even hear Phil come in the tent.
Favorite Phil Story: He went to Baffin Island in the 1970's as a cook for a group of 28. The group had not met their freight allowance so Phil took along some milk to trade since it is worth $6 a litre there. He traded his milk for a whole hind of caribou
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