Woodland Challenge crosses Temagami (Part VI)

Day 9: August 13 - A day not soon to be forgotten

Ah.... so we made it to Wolf Lake! A generous sleep in is how we began the day (which in hindsight was brilliant). I was up way before everyone else and tried to find a better spot for my tent which didn't exist I realized after moving it all over the place. I laughed at Murdoch as he was near the edge of a 15-20 ft drop and had set up a couple barrier rocks to let him know if he was getting too close to the edge; he's learning. I took a hike up the ridge, eating blueberries along the way. The sky was crystal clear and the sun was peaking over top of the ridge as I watched a bunch of loons take off down the lake.

Murdoch's tent complete with 'barrier rocks'

Wake up and breakfast was once again a struggle even without having to pack anything up. Everyone was pretty exhausted which is expected I guess but overall the lethargy seems to be running rampant. I think we had pancakes but it could've been anything. By this point we were eating anything and everything. I had a few things I wanted to do that day, three things really. However, I knew that I'd only be able to do two probably as we didn't finish breakfast until 11 or something like that. The three options I told the kids about were

1. A hike up the Wolf Lake ridge - a pure bushwack but short and a great view at the top and not far away
2. Paradise Lagoon - a great waterfall that they will L.O.V.E.
3. The McConnell tower which we passed yesterday and I'm pretty sure we'd be able to climb. However, getting there is pure bush wacking and last time Anelynda and I did it it was mad tough, however this time I have a new approach (compass and map, haha) and it won't be so bad.

The general response was that of apathy so I got to decide that we'd be going to Paradise Lagoon and the McConnell tower. However at this point we'd have to seriously get going. We grabbed some lunch to eat at the lagoon and headed south leaving all our stuff at the campsite... ahh, empty boats. Somehow Murdoch and I were the last ones to push off and got to paddle together. What a dream, paddling through Chiniguchi on tropical blue waters under a crystal clear sky late August and heading to a waterfall to go swimming.... I really was in heaven.

After the 2.5 km paddle our arrival at the top of the stream was met by a whole bunch of other empty canoes. We weren't alone and there were tons of people around the lagoon. Fortunately our arrival at the lagoon bolstered some lame attitudes and the excitement returned, enough to be annoying to all the other groups and they left in short order. We had the place to ourselves. Murdoch had dug out the masks from sunny water, which no doubt were in Hokitika, and we could swim around and see everything. The water was HIGH and less clear than I've seen it before but the waterfall was just blasting. Murdoch and Kim went under it to get massaged by the falling water.

We ate lunch around 3pm and began our trek back up the lakes. The swift at the bottom of Silvester was basically non-existent due to the high water. Every site seemed to be filled with people though. We finally got back to the site around 4:30 and began to pack up to go on the hike to the tower. This is where my judgement was lacking. I specifically remember having this thought 'Oh, I should bring a headlamp just in case.' Then I responded, 'No, that will just give me an excuse to stay too late.' so, I decided against putting the headlamp in my bag (hindsight say this was a bad idea). The epidemic of lethargy had struck again and getting people moving was proving impossible. By the time we pulled out of camp it was 5pm, allowing 1.5 hours to get there and climb the mountain and 1.5 to get back. Ya, I'm not sure who I thought I was with or what kind of motors we were putting on our boats but it's probably a 6km paddle, not to mention the swamp portion or the 200m portage into Dewdney.

So, we got across the portage into Dewdney and paddled up it into the western half and then proceeded north into a small lake that would get us close to the base of the big hill. Oh wait, there is a beaver dam holding the entire lake up and now we're in a swamp. We had tried this way a couple years ago but didn't want to navigate the logs with the lower water. However, our forest trek that year didn't turn out so well and this year the water was higher so I thought this might work. We ended up getting pretty close to the dam, well, sort of. When it got too shallow we just had to get out and walk through the muck and drag our empty boats up the dam. Murdoch and I were on a roll moving those boats as he yelled about the pleasures of "Moose-Piss Pond". haha. But seriously, it did smell. Once above the dam we paddled up the small lake and took a good look at where the tower was and made a beeline towards the shore. Getting out was tricky as it was a bit swampy but we all changed our shoes and got ready for the bush wacking adventure of our lives....

Woodland Challenge crosses Temagami (Part V)

Day 8: August 12

Today and tomorrow are ones to go down in the history books for Woodland Challenge. They truly made the trip what it was and sum up the essence of challenge.

The day began with a leisurely paddle through the remaining section of Dougherty Lake, a truly magnificent place to which I must return. The upcoming portage began on an old logging road and promptly turned into a steep uphill climb on a path riddled with trees, most of which we cleaned up on our way back. The paddle through Button Lake was uneventful although I recall Anelynda making some ridiculous claim about something and us agreeing to Google it when we got back. The exit from Button into Adelaide involved a miniature portage/liftover onto a nice flow coming over a beaver dam. I may or may not have helped the flow out a bit to make it easier to push the canoes up. We pushed into Adelaide avoiding a portage and felt good as the sun shone down.

Adelaide was really small and we quickly reached the end and stopped for a snack while I scouted the portage trail (along with every deer fly in the forest). It turned out to be a labyrinth of trails and took me quite a while to find the right path. Explaining to everyone where to go proved more difficult than I thought and Nick and Jordan went the wrong way, albeit not very far. The end entering Sawhorse lake was home to an army of mosquitoes and no one really cared where the stuff went and just chucked it in the boats and pushed off. Once again Addie forgot her shoes... Why they weren't on her feet is still a mystery. Shortly thereafter we got into a standoff with Natalie regarding sunscreen... no one went anywhere until she had put it on. Her tan had seriously not suffered on this trip despite her constant assurances of liberal application.

The short liftover out of sawhorse and into Chiniguchi marked the final leg of the trip which was new for me. I had done the rest of the trip previously and thus felt a bit more confident as far as campsite location and general directions went. We pushed onto McConnell Bay. The water was beautiful and clear as we passed the shallows into the bay. However, upon turning the corner into the bay we saw the three campsites on the beach were occupied... truly devastating. It was already 3pm and we hadn't had lunch and were counting on this site. Anelynda paddled up to make sure they were actually staying the night and not just hanging out for the day as there were a few motor boats pulled up. They were. We chowed down on massive amounts of cheese and jam on our pitas while I contemplated the options. I presented the kids with three options:

1. Go and stay at a campsite that I know is there but is small and crappy
2. Go look for a decent campsite around Lake Chiniguchi which may or may not exist
3. Push on to Wolf Lake, tomorrow's destination, and have a rest day tomorrow

They chose option 3 which meant over 10km more paddling, not to mention an 800 and 200m portage before reaching the site. Off we went at full speed.

The weather was great and we were moving but not very fast by this point. People were drained, the long days were showing (especially in my boat.... Natalie....). We jumped off some rocks along the way to wake us up. Upon passing an island on the southern end of the lake we passed a couple heading north to the Sturgeon. I told them to be prepared for extremely dark water and that it was kind of gross. They seemed worried after that report. The kids laughed.

The 800m into Dewdney went fairly smoothly after a long gorp break yet took a long time. People wanted to camp at the end of the portage trail at a small campsite... Murdoch and I weren't convinced. We pushed on. The paddle across Dewdney was long and the sun was getting lower. However, Anelynda still had her sunglasses on and upon removing her shirt she knocked them off her head and into the water. I was right beside their boat and watched them sink. I would've gone in but she had just finished a sermon on how she only spent two dollars on them. They're at the bottom if anyone is interested. You could see the McConnell tower on the east side of the lake. I had Kim in my boat by this time and it was agreed that we would push ahead at the next portage and would quickly bring all of our stuff over and try to get a site on Wolf while we could still see.

Upon arrival in Wolf I noticed a group camping right across from the portage which is not a campsite. This didn't bode well for campsite availability on the lake. However, the first site on the far side of the lake which is massive turned out to be empty and also appeared (from the fires seen later) to be the only vacant spot on the lake. PHEW!!!

Wolf Lake the next day

It was now getting dark and Murdoch and Anelynda were spearheading the final portage into Wolf at dusk. It seemed to take them a long time as I built a fire and set the wannigan near the cliff for them to spot. We signaled them over and we made dinner in the dark, quickly set up camp and settled in for a well deserved night's rest.

Canoe partner: Kim, Nick, Natalie
Distance Travelled: ~ 20km
Put in time: 9:30
Take out time: ~8:00pm
Dinner: ?
Dessert: ?
Weather: Gorgeous

Woodland Challenge crosses Temagami (Part IV)

Day 7: August 11

Today I woke up to a wet, misty morning. Gross. My tent wasn't too wet (on the inside) but Murdoch's left much to be desired. Apparently he fell asleep on his back laying on his thermarest holding his sleeping bag on his chest because he didn't want to get it wet (his tent was less fortunate than mine). haha. It had been a rough night sleeping on Canadian shield yet again.

We packed up our stuff and paddled over to the rest of the group for breakfast. The campsite was a complete disaster zone and we did our best to clean up the firewood pieces that were scattered about the jagged rocks, moss patches and jack pine. Everyone was eager to leave and leave Kettle Falls behind us, yet you wouldn't be able to tell in the speed in which they moved.

We only had to paddle across the river to the next portage. It was wet, narrow and rocky. I threw my boat in before the rapids ended so I could at least have the current push me for a minute or two.

Upon entering Renfrew Lake we could see something bright at the other end and I called it if it was a canoe. Low and behold it was, but not in any sort of paddling condition. Apparently it had gone down the upcoming Ragged Chute. I was able to paddle the top of this rapid which had some tricky turns before the waterfall with Nick (he did great!). We didn't really realize that we then stopped at the beginning of the next portage just at the top of the waterfall so I had to paddle back with the now empty boat. I then ran the upper rapids with Anelynda and Murdoch? and then ran one solo where I came really close to bailing huge and would've had to watch the boat get eaten by the chute. All the stuff slowly made it's way over to the spot where Nick and I had originally stopped. It was a small, slippery take out just above a watefall and the current was moving pretty fast. Needless to say, tensions were high. There were more canoe carcasses at the bottom of the portage where we picked up a padded thwart with the intension of pulling the blue foam off and using it on one of our yokes. In actuality we just carried it around for the next 3 days never using it. This put in was slippery and dropped off quickly in the water. Jordan and I got pretty wet in the dark spooky water.

Finally after getting into the boats I realized it really late already. We stopped for a gorp break as it began to drizzle.... just great.... I tried fishing, didn't catch anything.

We paddled through Perkins Lake (I'm pretty sure there were 2 campsites on it) to the 260m portage which we subsequently killed and came out the other side in what seemed like mere minutes. Hazel Lake had nothing special on it and the few rapids that we hit on our way out were small and uneventful. Passing Dougherty Creek showed signs of hope as the water flowing from Chiniguchi was cold and CLEAR! I was temped to just go up the creek but not having read anything on it we continued down the river to a tricky section of rapid which Nick and I scouted from a rock at the top of the set in the middle. I really wanted to run it just to avoid the portage but thanks to Nick's suggestion we didn't. It would've been really hard and there was a massive strainer. Good call.

After the portage Nick and I sat at the bottom of the rapids and caught a few Walleye, my first ever.

First Walleye

The group carried on to the 860m portage that would lead us off the Sturgeon! Upon arrival everyone was hungry and grumpy as it started to drizzle. A fitting end to a miserable journey on the Sturgeon. We were going to eat lunch until the rain started... Murdoch picked up a canoe and led the charge into a portage that looked like it was leading us to the heart of darkness. On this portage Natalie soloed a boat for a good chunk at the end and Anelynda tackled the barrel/wannigan combo. It sounded like she was literally dying back there as she talked to herself about how it didn't hurt and she could do it.

Upon arrival at the end of the portage it was exhilarating to see the clarity of the water as well to see the boats loaded and floating away with people in them. Anelynda and I got in the last boat and we paddled over to the group to FINALLY eat lunch. She and I in a boat together was a bad idea and quickly resulted in some shuffling so that we were separated.

Clear water!!!

I was pretty excited about making it to northern Chiniguchi from Ishpatina and we carried on south through Stouffer Lake looking for these alleged campsites....

The scenery was breathtaking as the skies opened and sun dried us out. The dark grey rocks of the Sturgeon were replaced by beautiful quartzites and scraggly jack pine with towering white and red pines.

Stouffer ended with a 190m into Federick Lake but thanks to high water levels and a willingness to do almost anything to avoid a portage at this point we were able to pull our loaded boats up a creek. The clear water made it cinch.

Frederick was supposed to have a bunch of sites but alas, they didn't exist anymore so we carried on as Murdoch and I yelled Johnsonville Brats, testing the echo. We came to an old logging bridge at the south end of Frederick which was really cool. It must've gone down 30 or so feet and you could see the structure all the way to the bottom. The 'almost limitless' campsite here now had 15ft trees on it... bummer. At this point we stopped for some juice and gorp. Anelynda was having a hissy fit about water and refused to use the gravity filter for some reason and pumped the only liter of water on the entire trip here. I just drank directly out of the lake. It seemed clean enough. It was getting later than I had hoped and so we continued to the next portage which on the map doesn't show up but it's there and no, we couldn't just pull up the beautiful stream this time.... unfortunately.

Into Dougherty lake! by this time it was late and we FLEW to the campsite. I told everyone it was on an island and then Addie and I motored to find it. Kim and Emma stopped to get firewood from an old beaver lodge (thanks beaver). We stopped at the first campsite we could find on a small island and it was totally gorgeous. The entire lake was ours.

Hauling it across Dougherty (6km/h)

This campsite was totally awesome. The tent sites were good for the big tents, Murdoch and I set up on bedrock yet again. The fire pit was set against a flat slice in the rolling rock that made up our island. Tons of blueberries! (clearly no one had been here in a while) Trips had to be made to the mainland if you had to use the facilities to do the deed. I never had to make the trip but upon watching others do it the shore was quite a bit further than it looked and I think a few people barely made it. haha!

Our island campsite (paradise)

It was great to get to the site and relax, if only for about 45 minutes before the sun went down. Kraft dinner was a welcome meal and the lobster sized crayfish that cleaned up the scraps on the rock near the water agreed. Dessert was Rice Krispies I think and somehow Jordan agreed to clean that up by himself. Murdoch and I slept without flies and fell asleep watching an amazing display of stars...

Canoe partner: Nick & Addie
Distance Travelled: ~17km
Put in time: 9:30
Take out time: 7 - 7:30
Dinner: Kraft Dinner
Dessert: Rice Krispies
Weather: started out disgusting with drizzle and cloud but opened up into clear sunny skies by late afternoon

Woodland Challenge crosses Temagami (Part III)

Day 6: August 10

Today started like most days with a slow start and departure. We headed down the Sturgeon going through Goul Lake past some pretty big cliffs and into what appeared to be a dead end except for the two waterfalls. The pool above the falls was pretty big and the water was dark. We portaged across the island through a site which was totally demolished by over use. Apparently there was great pike fishing on the river as carcasses were all over the landing for the site. Gross. I decided it would be a great idea to try my hand at fishing and see if I could catch a fish or two above the falls. However I got my new 'cyclops' lure snagged on the first cast right after all the boats had been portaged. I either had to go swimming or cut my line. There was no way I was going swimming in that tar coloured water. However, another idea came to mind and I managed to convince Anelynda to wade/swim out to get it. She kept asking if there were big fish that lived there and I reassured her there must be because the carcasses were huge. I also threw in that if there were sea monsters they must live there, in the darkest water in the world... She didn't manage to unsnag it and I don't know why she went out there at all but I was appreciative. This just gets better. On the other side of the portage she managed to drop her sunglasses right by the put in. It was less than a foot deep but couldn't find them because of the darkness of the water. Bummer... Luckily this happens to her frequently and she only buys sunglasses for $5 and had another pair. I immediately put that strap thing on my glasses which cost significantly more than five dollars.

We continued down river practicing some C turns and grabbing eddies on some smaller stuff. We entered into Eaglenest Lake and I jokingly said it was called that because there is a huge eagles nest on it and pointed randomly over my shoulder. Everyone including myself looked and there actually was a massive nest in a tree! Crazy! After a short water/sunscreen stop where we had to force Natalie to put sunscreen on we carried on to a set of class II rapids that were actually interesting and had lunch in the middle on a tiny rock. There was a campsite nearby that Murdoch wanted to stop at instead, it looked gross as we passed it afterwards. We then hit a bunch of tiny rapids as the river traveled through and area with less exposed rock and big overhanging conifers. I felt like I was in Jurassic park. The big ferns, the massive conifers, the dark water, the shallow river. I half expected a stegosaurus to lumber out in front of me at any moment.

Towards the end of this area there was a rock ledge with a chute that we were supposed to portage but we ran. All you had to do was go straight down it and then avoid the ONE rock at the end by turning either way. Everyone made it no problem except for one boat that nailed it head on. I can't remember who that was though. We ended up in Lyman Lake and stopped for a gorp break and drifted in the sun (it finally showed up).

Kettle Falls

At the end of the lake was Kettle Falls. The book read " The Kettle Falls portage is insane, you have be half billy-goat to make it to the other side." It couldn't have been more accurate. The kids took what they could and no one could take too much to ensure balance as one creeped along the side of the cliff. Anelynda carried the wannigan on top of a barrel, hardcore tripper style while the boats were left for Murdoch and myself. Getting them across was an absolute feat. My method was to basically military press the boat and tilt the front end almost to my feet and shimmy sideways along the 6 inch wide scree slope/cliff. By the time I did get out of there the kids had already headed over the to driftwood pile in the pool below and were collecting firewood. Their training was beginning to pay off. Paddling away from that one felt GREAT and I looked forward to the 'excellent' sites below the falls. HA! The book couldn't have been more wrong on that. The sites were cursed. The ground consisted of jagged bedrock that poked towards the sky and small patches of dirt occupied by scraggly jack pine. Jordan scoped all three and we decided to set up 3 tents on one site while Murdoch and I stayed on a neigbouring site on a flat piece of bedrock.

I set Anelynda up to make dinner while Murdoch, Jordan and I went to take a 'shower' in the falls. Dinner was chili and all you had to do was add some water and stir. We paddled over to the falls which got significantly bigger as we neared them. Murdoch was the first to get out at the base with Jordan quickly behind. I stopped Murdoch a few seconds later after noticing the bushes he was scrambling through was a patch of poision ivy... Jordan and I went around another way. The falls were powerful and we stayed in a side channel. The guys washed their legs with soap after getting back to the site.

After returning to the site the guys washed their legs to hopefully remove any poision ivy oils and we started dinner just as the skies opened up. Mmm, chili and pitas! The kids ate in their tents while we talked and grumbled around the fire. Apparently the water in my hair made me look like a MEC ad, Anelynda disagreed. Murdoch and I returned to 'our site' to asses the dry status of our tents post downpour. Mine was ok, Murdoch wasn't so lucky. It was a rough night of sleep on good old Canadian shield.

This was not fun.

Canoe partner: Can't remember
Distance Travelled: 15km (ish)
Put in time: ?
Take out time: ?
Dinner: Chili and pitas
Dessert: Cheesecake with blueberries from the top of Ishpatina
Weather: started out gorgeous, huge downpour at dusk then solid cloud

Woodland Challenge crosses Temagami (Part II)

Day 4: August 8
Written from ishpatina: Ontario's highest peak (690m/2264ft)

I kept tossing and turning last night eager for the climb. Finally woke up just before 7 to the sun coming up and hitting my tent on the east side of the island. Fog covered most of the lake; a truly breath taking site. Our island alone in a sea of mist. Getting ready for the climb took FOREVER!! The chaos of the night before was evident while the clothesline showed the soaking wet clothes anxious to dry. I've never seen so many wet clothes and homeless socks. The lake looked spectaular as the sun burned the fog off.

Our island home.

The wind picked up and began to dry things while we had Bible study on the rock. Murdoch stood a few feet off shore and led us. Pretty cool. I caught a garter snake during the study and managed to hold onto it until the end without any of the kids noticing. We finally left our campsite around 11:30 and headed for the trail. It began in an area where a small forest fire had been, probably lit by a poorly planned campfire, crossed a beaver dam and a couple marshes. One of the marshes had walking sticks at one end for everyone to use as we scampered across logs only inches wide and barely above the water. We placed them on the other side and carried on the trail. The kids were exceptionally fast and the trees along the way HUGE. I kept pointing out the massive trees while Anelynda insistently pointed out every mushroom while trying to convince me 'saprobes' was a word for mushroom/fungi. Apparently it was the only thing she remembered from first year biology. Moose tracks were on the path right near the top and so was a sign saying not to climb the tower.... crappy. The view is alright, it's no Silver Peak. Our island sits all alone in the middle of Scarecrow Lake. We need a few voyaguers with some saws to go trim some trees around the edge. The vista is great but b/c we took so long leaving the site clouds rolled back in.... gah! Let us pick blueberries and swat blackflies like it's still May.

On top of Ishpatina!

We gathered a ton of firewood before paddling back to our island.

Canoe partner: Matthew Skinner
Distance Travelled: 2km of paddling
Put in time: -
Take out time: -
Dinner: Chicken pot why/Chicken pot cry/Chicken pot holy crap that's a lot of salt
Dessert: Tiger balls
Weather: started out gorgeous, solid cumulus clouds prevailed for most of the day

Day 5: August 9
Today is the tomorrow I worried about yesterday...

The book describes three options for exiting the Ishpatina region into the Sturgeon River. The first is via a 1.8km portage from Stull Lake which apparently goes through a swamp. Based on current high water level I thought this would be a bad idea as the swamp would be in full effect along with the bug population ruling this option out. The second was via a 3.5km ATV path exiting Hambone Lake. Ouch, pretty long. The third and most desirable was via Stull Creek which was 3km of liftovers and lining, especially in this high water... When purchasing our permits from the ranger's office Murdoch and I inquired regarding Stull Creek. A couple of rangers, obviously experienced, had done it the week before and it had taken them 2.5h and they had fully outfitted boats... uh oh. Not wanting to lose gear or someone to get hurt and because we didn't have painters on our boats we decided to do the insanely long portage down the ATV trail. Not wanting the kids to freak out I covertly rubbed out the 3.5km portage written in pencil off the map and we continued on the bus ride to the Montreal.

Because everyone likes to portage in this kind of weather...

Today I woke up to a disgusting mist. Clothes not taken off the line yesterday when they were somewhat dry were now soaked. Another breakfast of pancakes started the morning while packing up camp once again was a struggle. Finding where the food is in the barrels is crazy. I'm not too sure about this packing technique of breakfasts in one barrel, lunch in another and dinner in another. Murdoch just tells everyone what they're looking for is in Kea, regardless of what it is.

Master pancake cook.

There is a slippery rock near the water's edge that has claimed many, some multiple times. Anelynda taught the girls a new song while travelling to the mainland. We finally leave late and proceed through a swift to Woods Lake. While waiting up for a straggler Kim's water bottle fell overboard and sank! I really didn't think it would sink but I guess if a metal water bottle is completely full it's less dense than water. I just looked at it. There was no way I was going in for it. Anelynda willingly volunteered despite it feeling like 10degrees out. At the end of Woods Lake we passed into Little Scarecrow Creek which was beautiful but really shallow and full of nice rounded cobbles. We travelled down ducky style, possibly a little too close as I had to use my paddle as a brake and jam it into the rocks to slow us down. We then passed over an old logging bridge overwhich I managed to scrape an old nail pretty good but everyone else nicely glided over with a little instruction. Then onto Hambone. Here I pretended like I didn't know where we were, and initiated a gorp break, thinking I might be able to somehow justify going down Stull Creek. However after some gorp and scouting we landed and prepared for the beast of a portage.

Five hours later, after being passed by multiple trucks and trailers, we emerged at the mighty, or not so mighty Sturgeon River. It was not what I had expected, a very dark tea stained river, fed by fens in the north, surrounded by huge conifers and ferns. It really had a Jurassic Park feel to it. Anyways, if we hoped to find a campsite we had to get going. The moving water was tiny but a nice change from portaging! We emerged onto Paul Lake and we greeted it with the customary "Johnsonville Brats"to see how good the echo was. The echo turned out to be spectacular! The site and the lake, not so much. The kids quickly spread out and grabbed the first tent sites they could find and as per usual missed a total gem at the back of the site. It was deemed 'The Secret Garden' and was home to the leaders that night. Everyone was pretty disgusting after the portage and the guys and girls took turns paddling out to where it was deep enough to take dips. Murdoch and I went out when it was dark and were both scared, he kept thinking he was going to jump out of the boat and land on a dead head. The water was dark, really dark, and spooky.



Canoe partner: Jordan Lewis?
Distance Travelled: 14km?
Put in time: 10:30
Take out time: 8:00
Dinner: Black bean burritos made by the guys
Dessert: ?
Weather: started out as drizzle and cloud cover, ended clear

Woodland Challenge crosses Temagami (Part I)

I didn't leave Tim Horton's on a whim, with no direction. I left with a mission, to go back to OPC and work at Woodland Challenge; a program I didn't get to do as a kid but was determined to own when I was able to one day staff it. I had talked to Murdoch part way through June and confirmed early July I was in for Woodland 2009. The staff line up sounded excellent and the route for the 10 day trip I would lead was totally left up to me. The choice was an easy one, a dream trip that I had planned three years ago crossing the far western regions of Temagami. The trip would prove to be everything I thought it could be and more.

Day 1: August 5
*taken from my trip journal (which only lasted until day 4)
Alright, we made it. After getting on the bus at 8 or 8:30 we finally arrived at the Montreal river around 4:30pm!!! That was after an approx. 50km detour past the bridge crossing the Montreal. The weather was ominous clouds but rain held off until after dinner and then it was only a sprinkly despite looking scary. At one point I was scrambling with the instructions of my new tent trying to figure out how to set it up before all my stuff got soaked. Step number 1: Be sure to practice setting up tent before taking it into the field. - gah The 14ish km paddle took until 7:30 and we were moving quite fast with the wing gently at our back for most of it. Lots of wildlife on the Montreal; herons, Bald Eagle (unconfirmed), loons, Megansers and ducks. We picked up firewood along the way and arrived to the beach site. Not exactly as imagined but still vast and with neighbours to the south. Smoothwater Lake is bigger than I had imagined. The hill around are HIGH with steep sides. Ishpatina is near. The group was tired and the leaders a bit edgey due to lack of sleep (Rob and Anelynda - 3 hours, Murdoch -0!). To bed and a sleep in is in order.

Canoe Partner: Kimberly Kawaja
Distance Travelled: 14km
Put in time: 16:30h (Montreal River)
Take out time: 19:30h (Smoothwater Lake)
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas
Dessert: Sleep
Weather: Scary clouds, slight drizzle

Day 2: August 6
written at 10:00h
Holy crap, I actually woke up to sun on my tent. A rare event in the summer of 2009. A plane landed nearby and pulled up to our neighbours beach. Not sure but I think they got a food drop or possibly more people. The beach here is HUGE and I tried to set my tent up off in the forest but as it was just on the edge I still have sand in it. The sand is everywhere. I know better than to stay on a beach... This lake (Smoothwater) is beautiful! The water is super clear and the view across the lake, spectacular. Pancakes for breakfast... I hate making pancakes. The new MSR gravity filter has already saved a lot of pumping!

Campsite complete with banquet table and thrones. The kids were still scared of me at this point.

Today ended with a really long breakfast and then a move down the beach to the portage to Marina where a campsite awaited with banquet table, benches and two thrones made of cedar. Around 4 we finally we finally had camp set up and set off for Sunnywater Lake. A downpour greeted us as we began to cross Marina and everyone got soaded. 100m into the first portage and 5/7 of the campers decided to go back and Anelynda pulled the short straw meaning she had to go back with them. Murdoch and I carried on with Emma and Jordan who really wanted to go as well. After a 700m, 1000m (with a crazy canyon/drop), and 300m portage we made it to Sunnywater. The lake was exactly as described; crystal clear and gorgeous blue! Just watching your paddle cut through it was amazing. We brought a couple masks and could watch people wim forever. The bottom was sandy and the rocks looked like Chiniguchi. We could watch a white one drop in the water for over 20 seconds. We spent 2 hours there and headed back through downpours to the campsite where Anelynda was trying to keep the rising anarchy at bay. The lack of a fire seemed to be the stumbling block between the group and eating. We arrived at 9 and everyone was hungry. Dinner in the dark..... but hey, at least there wasn't sand everywhere.

Yes, it was THIS blue.

Canoe partner: Natalie Love
Distance Travelled: 4km of portaging
Put in time: -
Take out time: -
Dinner: Veggie stirfry ( Kim cut up enough veggies for an army, thanks!)
Dessert: Due to countless requests **cough**Natalie**cough** Lucky Charm Krispies
Weather: started out gorgeous, turned into a few big down pours and cloudy. Cleared up at night.

My paddle reflection.

Day 3: August 7
An absolute grinder. Our first encounter with portages and all our gear. Smoothwater Lake was a mirror as we paddled across this morning. The first 815m portage was killer. No one wanted to help and we as leaders took way more than our fair share. The next 1200m went a bit smoother thanks to Murdoch's 'what to carry list', that was except for the last algonquin pack he forgot to put on. Oh, and having the sweeper in the middle of the pack didn't help either. We then had a pita, meat and cheese lunch followed by a couple portages we could lunch box and then a couple short ( less than 160m) ones. We finally entered Scarecrow creek at 6:30 for the estimated 2.5h paddle.... eek! We made it out at 8:10, just as the sun was setting behind the ridge. The group in front of us had taken the campsite at the base of the hike to the summit so Addie and I booked it to the island site and LUCKILY no one was there. Dinner was again made in the dark (brutal) but the kids were pretty good. One tent was pitched on a massive boulder. You can always count on the kids to take the worst spots. Had a great time with Murdoch and Anelynda after the kids went to sleep. We can see the tower from our island. I'm really excited for tomorrow.

Scarecrow Creek!

Canoe partner: Addie Stewart (amazing in the bow on Scarecrow Creek)
Distance travelled: N/A, have to look up
Put in time: 10:00h
Take out time: 21:00h
Dinner: Pesto Pasta with sundried tomoatoes, yum
Dessert: Smores
Weather: sun and cloud, cool. cleared in the evening.

When things go right..... Killarney (Session III)

Early July I was paired up with a good friend to lead an L4 group (16-17 year olds) through Killarney Provincial Park, the crown jewel of Ontario Parks. The weather proved to be totally unpredictable and thus we changed our plan and climbed Silver Peak a day early when we knew the weather was supposed to be nice. I can't remember seeing such unsettled skies for so long before.

TH doesn't take grills so cooking over a fire sucks when your campsite doesn't have one. Our guys managed to improvise this tripod, complete with a curved stick holding the pot on.

The plan was to climb on day 2 as opposed to day 3 meaning we had to haul it to make it up there by early afternoon. The first portage of the trip was an 830 and I lead the way with a barrel and a boat. Upon arriving at the other end I turned around to get more and on the way back was stopped b/c apparently we had portaged it in a single shot! The guys were packed out to the max and even soloed boats! What a change from the last boondoggle of a trip. The next portage would prove to take significantly longer as 2 guys went right instead of left on the portage trail and went 1.5km the wrong way. I ran back after taking my own stuff to the end and helped bring their stuff the now 2.5km to the right point. Upon departure we realized that we had left two paddles back at the beginning and the two 'leaders of the day' gladly volunteered to wade through a big stream to run back and find them. Apparently upon arrival back at the other end they ran into another TH group that wouldn't give the paddles back. Jamie (my co-leader) was livid. I on the other hand just saw it as two less things we had to carry. One was an extra and one was for the princess; so basically useless. Thanks Grizzly for taking those back for us. haha. Along the way to our campsite on David Lake we saw a big black bear wander out and take a swim before heading back to the forest.

This bear really wasn't that far from our campsite now that I think about it...

The hike to the top was uneventful but the view from the top was spectacular! The guys loved it and so did we. It looked like it might rain at a couple points on the way up but those clouds blew over by the time we got up.

Matt was a 'parachute' camper who had never been in a canoe before much less a canoe trip. However he loved every minute of it and was a blast to have around!

The next day we sat around the campsite in the drizzle and basked in our decision to climb a day early. The rest of the trip went super smoothly as these guys knew their stuff and made things happen. Definitely in the top 3 groups I've ever had on trip!! Thanks guys!

More Highlights

• inventing and playing 'Rockball' for 3 hours
• Scoring site 66 at 9:30 am and hoisting our pirate flag
• crazy rain pulling the tarp down
• the annoying snapping turtle that wouldn't go away
• blueberry cheesecake
  
• talking movies
• Tanner's opinion on everything
• 'Jordan'
• paddling in the POURING rain
• wearing a toque in mid july
• boatloads of drift wood
• sunset campfire overlooking silver peak