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-normal start: last minute packing, left London at 05:30, frequent stops
- some for fuel, but most to drain the kids. One stop was next to a reindeer
reserve where we saw our first wildlife.
-stopped for last civilized lunch (and washroom) at Mattawa Subway
-the kids worried that the trip would be too easy & boring - no portages,
& staying on first lake. When they saw the put in point, a small opening
on a narrow meandering overgrown creek, there were no more complaints of
a "wimpy" trip.
-at this point Larry realized he'd forgotten to phone home to confirm we'd
survived the most dangerous part - the ride to the park. Off he went back
to civilization while we headed out, leaving him a boat and some gear for
ballast. |
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-the "North River" sounds like something that voyageurs would use, but
it's more like a creek. Probably averages about 6 feet wide, with lots of
hairpin turns. The scruffy shoreline vegetation (mostly alders, I think)
grows over the creek and meets in the middle creating a tunnel. In many places
we had to almost lie down in the boats to get past. (can you see the
second boat in the picture?) Numerous beaver dam liftovers as well. |
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-Larry did catch up with us, after navigating the meandering maze on
his own. We pitched camp at the site that's about in the center of North
River Lake, on the south edge of a promontory, directly across the bay from
the portage to Merganser Lake. This picture shows the view from the
site into the long bay to the south west. Another good (but hilly) site
is the one in the middle of the north shore of the lake. of our
site. It wasn't long before we were preparing our traditional first
supper of spicy chile with pita bread . |
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-discovered a great sandy beach on the east part of the north side of
the lake, guarded by a vocal loon, and inhabited by a million tadpoles
-did a day excursion eastward along the North River, and got almost as far
as the 1830 meter portage. Saw a beaver on this part (named McGuinty), and
we all did a lot of paddling. On the way back we scrambled the boats over
an old log jam rather than take the 75 meter portage. The portage would have
been quicker, and less work, but nowhere near as much fun. |
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-another day we portaged over to Merganser Lake and explored a bit. Had
lunch and a swimming/shampoo session on the island. We'd considered walking
the 1570 meter portage to the south, but decided to forgo it.
-from another swimming spot on the south east side of N.R.Lake, the girls
did a marathon swim back to the campsite, with Lindsey talking to the loons
on the way. |
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-as usual, there there were critters around camp - a chipmunk that ate
out of Kate's hand, squeaky frogs that did dinosaur imitations, and a fair
number of mosquitos which provided a feast for the bats as darkness set in.
Another camp diversion was creating temporary tattoos in various geometric
designs with tubes of henna. |
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-My sister Martha gave me a hanging sling chair which was quite popular.
It did need to be re-hung when a too-vigourous entry by yours truly broke
the dead branch that had been supporting it. Fortunately, the falling firewood
missed both me and the adjacent tent. |
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-and it wouldn't be a dads & daughters trip without a marshmallow
roast. If you look closely, you might see evidence that Brianna likes her
marshies "well done" |
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-a highlight of our trips, even as reported by the younger participants,
is the culinary masterpieces we manage to create. Here is a typical scene
where some combination of dried ingredients have been transformed into a
delicacy by application of water, heat, time, and spices in various amounts.
In the top left corner of the picture you'll see the Bart Brush, an adlibbed
replacement for the forgotten pot scrubber, made from some frayed plastic
rope bound together. Note also the ever-present theme on Larry's shirt. |
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-had a nice cliff/lookout point great for catching rays, watching sunsets,
taking pictures, rolling rocks into the lake. This picture shows Lindsey
and Larry returning from an evening fishing expedition. We found mint growing
on the path to the cliff, and made a drinkable mint tea from it. |
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-Nicole was feeling a little cold at one point so she wrapped herself
in a tarp, creating the cheesy Nicky Burrito, which tempted perennially hungry
Lindsey. |
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-this trip marked the first use of the Mark II version of my
camping oven in the wild. It's
documented in the tips page, and did produced edible
brownies and square
muffins, which were well received, he said modestly. |
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-our last day trip was to explore the west end of the lake. When we got
to the river mouth, we lashed the 3 canoes together with bungee cords, and
let the wind blow us back to camp. Had a leisurely lunch while we drifted,
although we got as much jam on the boats as we did on our pita bread. |
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-after breaking camp, we headed back across the lake to the mouth of
the river, which was an area covered with lily pads and their flowers, inhabited
by the occasional little frog. |
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-the channel hadn't gotten any wider - it was still a challenge to maneuver.
At least we knew what was coming, and the boats were lighter due to an almost
empty food pack and the results of "Larry laundry"- burning your dirty clothes. |
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-oh, yeah, forgot about those beaver dams. They've a little more work
when you're going upstream, especially if you're trying to keep your shoes
dry for the long ride home. |
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