Northern Tier Scout Trek - July 2007

2007 Northern Tier Trek – July 7^th through July 17^th

Crew B070807B

Troop 165, Round Rock, TX

 

Crew Leader

Michael Horsley, 17

Crew

Aaron Graves, 18

John Seidenberg, 16

Tim Haines, 15

Nathan Doughty, 15

Kevin Barfield, 14

Nick Salmon, 14

Matt Paulsen, 14

Adults

Randy Barfield

Bob Horsley

Ron Salmon

 

Preparation for the trek began months in advance and took a lot of work and planning. This is the journal of the trek itself, including the travel on each end of the trip.

 

Saturday (7/7/7)

Nathan, Matt, and John spent the night at our house and the boys stayed up all night playing video games. I got up at 4:30 and was downstairs by 4:55, we were supposed to be at the fire station between 5:00 and 5:30 so were running a bit late. We got there at 5:20 and everyone was waiting for us. Lisa was going to drive up with us to the airport but she decided to stay behind so we got everything loaded into my van and Ron’s SUV. A quick check of everyone’s passports and we were off. Kevin, John, Nick, Nathan and Matt rode in the van and the boys and Bob rode with Ron. The boys played x-box games but one by one they dropped off to sleep; only Nick was awake when we pulled into West, TX for kolaches and breakfast.

Ron, Bob and I discussed the options for getting to DFW and decided to go the Ft. Worth side. All the boys except Nick slept on the way from West to DFW. Saw a beautiful sunrise heading up I-35 with ripples of pink clouds across the sky.

We arrived at the United terminal about 9:15 without a hitch after parking the vehicles in the long-term express south parking lot.

The attendant checked us all in at the same time. Since the flight to Denver was at 11:00 we had some time to kill and most of the boys went and got a Starbucks drink. John and Matt found a McDonalds. We were all in our Class A’s which is nice because I had at least two folks come up and talk to me and say how wonderful it was to see the scouts.

We landed in Denver at gate B81 and the flight to Winnipeg was at B80, right next door and at the very end of the terminal. We checked everybody’s passports and boarding passes with the gate agent before getting lunch. She was thrilled that all of the boys were over 12 years old; guess there’s some additional paperwork involved for younger kids. Lunch was at Heidi’s NY Deli – huge sandwiches for a total of $105. It was typically expensive airport food but very good. We all loaded the plane at 1:00 for a 1:20 departure. The flight was relatively empty so the boys spread out. In fact, the pilot asked some of the boys to move to the rear to achieve better balance distribution.

We landed in Winnipeg at 4:30 and proceeded to get our luggage and head to customs. John’s fishing pole didn’t make it through so that delayed us getting over to customs. We filed a lost luggage claim and maybe it will show up later but we didn’t have an address of where we were staying so only gave them the phone number of our contact person who was supposed to be meeting us at the airport.

I had to dig out all of the parental permission slips to get the boys through customs. Everything worked out fine except for Kevin as I had signed his form and not Jennifer. The immigration agent was giving me a hard time and wasn’t going to let me take him into Canada when another agent finally came over and told him it was OK, that we were Boy Scouts and did this all the time and were taking the crew up to Bissett. Guess he thought I was going to kidnap my own son.

Once we cleared customs, we were met by Mary and Deborah of Transcona Scouts. Deborah was who arranged the hosting with Ron and Mary was her mother. Deborah had a small home-made trailer behind her minivan and we threw all of our gear into it and split up into the two vehicles for the ride from the airport. The airport is on the far western side of Winnipeg and Transcona is a suburb on the far eastern side of the city. I rode with Deborah, pulling the trailer. We definitely took the scenic route through town – along railroad tracks, through warehouse and commercial districts and across absolutely horrible roads. The city generally appears to be mid-western, industrial in character and relatively modest with lots of old and worn buildings.

Deborah explained that Scout Hall, where we were headed, is the only scout-owned building left in the province (and maybe country). All other scout organizations are hosted by a sponsoring organization like in America also. She is from the 3^rd Transcona scouts and the Scout Hall is owned by 1^st Transcona but the troops share in hosting events such as our visit.

 

Scout Hall

 

 

A worn cinder block building with lots of character. I estimated the size at about 45’ x 60’, 2/3 of which was just a large open room, also a kitchen and a couple of storage rooms, two small bathrooms, and a back hallway. What a neat place! It had peeling paint and uneven floors but was generally clean and you could tell that it had seen decades of use. Renato was cooking burgers on an outdoor grill and we were met by Wendy, the apparent matron of the 1^st Transona scouts. A couple of other adults, one Venture scout and a younger sister were there to help us get settled in. We sort of expected some other scouts around but everyone was friendly anyway.

Everyone put there gear in a corner of the big room and we setup several folding tables and chairs for dinner which was burgers, potato salad, macaroni salad, chicken wings, condiments, watermelon and ice cream for dessert. There was a small city park adjacent to Scout Hall and the boys played dodge ball after dinner. The adults chatted with Renato and Wendy for some, discussing winter camp and how to build snow shelters. They pile up 5-6 feet of snow early in the morning and by mid-afternoon it has settled down on itself and is packed and firm and ready to dig. Then scoop out the inside, leaving walls about 1 foot thick but the opening is only large enough to crawl through. A canvas bag is stuffed with snow to seal off the doorway and the inside is ready to go. Renato said that a small candle would be enough to warm the place up! They make the show shelters big enough for 2 or 3 boys each. The greatest concern is not the cold air but the frozen ground underneath so lots of padding is required for insulation from the ground.

The boys played ball outside, basketball inside, and generally ran around and had a good time. Most of them took off exploring the neighborhood and returned with giant sodas. The neighborhood is made up of small houses on neatly lined side streets. The houses look to be about 1,200 ft² without garages – they remind me of my grand-parent’s neighborhoods. The doors were all self-locking on Scout Hall but Wendy had left us a key to get in just in case. We laid tables flat on the floor and put our sleeping bags on top of the tables for bed. Lights out at 10:30.

 

Sunday (7/8/7)

I was up at 5:30 – already daylight. What a night – tossed and turned and woke up every hour. Thought my snoring was bad – we for sure don’t have to worry about wild animals bothering us. Between me, Ron and Bob it’s loud enough to scare off anything!

It’s a beautiful morning. Wendy and Deborah came over with ham (Canadian bacon, eh!) and we fixed pancakes, grilled ham & tang plus muffins leftover from last night. It was a full breakfast and there were plenty of leftovers so after cleanup we made sandwiches (ham & cheese) for the road. Vital Transit showed up right on time at 9:00 with a big yellow school bus! We said our goodbyes and loaded onto the bus.

Doug, our driver, had never been to Bissett before but he had maps so off we went, pretty soon leaving all signs of civilization behind. The terrain is densely forested with tall evergreens, poplars, and birch and the land is most pretty flat. However, the trees are relatively slender – not good for lumber but we would later find out that one of the country’s largest paper pulp processors is in Winnipeg. There were lots of signs of fire from past years.

About 2 hours into the drive we stopped for a break and lunch in Pine Falls. The ‘mall’ is a small restaurant and convenience store on a corner in the middle of nowhere. We bought chips and sodas to go with our ham sandwiches, sharing lunch with Doug the driver. Back on the road, after another 45 minutes or so, the pavement ended and we were on gravel. The sign said 49 kilometers to Bissett. It was a bumpy ride for the next hour and we only passed a couple of vehicles the whole way.

 

Bissett Base Camp

We arrived at the base camp in the tiny town of Bissett (population ~200) by 1:00 PM. Flies and mosquitoes are abundant and out in force. We met Keith who would be our guide. The first thing we did was a gear check – everybody dumped out everything on the ground outside and separated it into piles of what would go on the trail in our packs, what we would wear on our backs the first day on the water (tomorrow), and what would stay behind at base camp. Even with following the thorough list provided by Northern Tier, it looked like we have too much stuff – which is good since that will lighten the load.

One by one, Keith checked over everybody’s gear and advised on what could stay behind.

After this he brought out 3 large gray packs and a medium sized red pack. These are also called Granite packs (or Duluth packs as oldsters like Bob know them). They are huge duffle bags of heavy canvas and straps for carrying on your back but without any frame. Inside each pack was a giant size, heavy duty plastic liner bag. We were to practice getting all of our gear loaded into these packs, including the base-issued tents. For tents, we went with new 4-man tents, 2 for the boys and 1 for the 3 adults. Keith would carry his own pack and tent separately from the crew. Keith also brought out the Kettle Pack, a rugged Rubbermaid plastic Action Packer that carried the cook gear, fuel stoves, fuel, utensils, dining fly, etc. There is a permanent fire ban in this area of Manitoba so all of our cooking would be done with small back-packing type white-gas stoves. Overall, we looked to be in pretty good shape, gear-wise.

There are several bunk cabins of varying sizes and we were assigned two 8-man cabins as there weren’t any other crews in camp at the time. The boys all took one cabin and the three adults took the other cabin. Also at base camp were 4 showers, a couple of bathrooms, and a very large sauna, big enough to hold a dozen or more people easily.

Next on the agenda was a visit to the map room to discuss various options and plan our route. On a large table was laid out four laminated and connected sections of standard 1:50,000 scale topographical maps. The map table was about 4 ft by 6 ft In addition to the printed features, the maps were well marked by the Bissett staff with known and designated camp sites, portages, beaver dams, swifts, rapids, etc. Some of the larger lakes and rivers were named, mostly Indian names like Sasaginnigak Lake, but some of the lakes had hand-written in names which seemed at odds with the traditional Indian names; e.g. Chicken Lake and Elvis Lake. We noticed that many of the portages had their own names as well – Heartbreak and mini-Heartbreak, Beaver Damnation, Billy Goat, and more.

All the boys wanted to hear about Heartbreak, a long portage into one end of Scout Lake, which is where we would begin and end the trek. After much discussion about the various routes and things we wanted to do, we settled on mostly a lake route with lots of fishing opportunities and some built-in layover time. We have an option along the way to decide if we want to go for the 75-mile patch which several of the boys are leaning towards, but the basic route would be shorter. Once we had our route selected, we would need to purchase our own maps at the trading post and mark the relevant features, campsites, portages, etc. on our own maps.

In the meantime, the boys had some free time until dinner. I went to the office and checked in with the Nicole, the camp director, to go over all of the paperwork, medical files, documentation, etc. At 5:00 we gathered for dinner and walked the short distance, 10 minutes or so, into town to Wynn’s Place. Wynn’s appears to be the local diner and general store combo. Dinner was double-cheeseburgers and fries – found out that the lady proprietor has been serving the same meal to Boy Scout crews for 22 years.

Late in the afternoon another crew pulled in; two cars from Missouri. They would be going out the next morning as well.

After dinner we waited around until 7:00 when Nicole opened the trading post. We needed 3 of the 4 topographic maps for our selected route and the recommendation was a full set for each canoe. Ouch! That set us back $120 for 3 sets. We figured Keith would have his own maps in the canoe he was in. Since the maps were big and on regular paper as opposed to Tyvek or otherwise waterproofed or resistant material, I cut up the maps into smaller sections that only included the territory we would be crossing – which was way less than 25% of the map coverage area. These I could fold up into small panels so they would fit into my one of my waterproof vinyl bags. However, I saved the larger map sections so I could tape them back together when I got back home at the end of the trip.

The boys had plenty of time after marking up the maps and several walked down to the lake to look around. It was still light at 10:00 but we would need to be up early and down to breakfast at 7:00 and down to the lake for our plane flight to Scout Lake by 9:00.

 

Monday (7/9/7)

Woke up at 5:30 after the usual tossing and turning all night long. All three of us were up well before six and worked on getting the granite pack packed. Took us a couple of tries before we figured out that we could lay the tent horizontal at the bottom of the bag with our sleeping mats folded flat vertically against the front inside of the pack (next to the shoulder straps); and this would then leave room to stuff the rest of our gear – 3 sleeping bags and 3 stuff sacks of clothing, etc. into the pack. The pack was very full and very heavy – or so we thought until we hefted the two food packs! Reveille was shortly after 6:00 for the boys. Their cabin looked like a tornado blew threw it. In short order however they were all up and packing their gear. It took the boys several times of repacking to get everything loaded. We also took all the extra gear that was not going on the trail and loaded it into storage lockers for our return next week.

Shortly after 7:00 Keith arrived and we headed out to breakfast. We chatted with the other crew that was heading out today also – they were from Branson, MO. Breakfast was egg & ham on a bun, potatoes, toast, juice and coffee down at Wynn’s Place. After breakfast we checked out PFDs and paddles. Then we filled up all of our water bottles and Keith brought out the food packs. Talk about heavy! Whoa, these must have weighed close to 100 lbs. We had two full food packs and a smaller day pack with some extra food. After a few days we’d be able to consolidate the packs but it sure looked like a lot to start out with.

The other crew was to leave first at 9:00 so we waited around and finally loaded up and hiked down to the pier about 9:45. Three adults from the first crew were still waiting as the float plane couldn’t carry everyone in one trip. We spent some time talking with them; they are planning an international trip over Christmas to Switzerland.

About 10:15 the plane comes in. It’s a DeHaviland Otter – totally cool! The 3 Branson guys and six of our crew loaded up and the plane took off; it was really neat to watch it go. I stayed behind for the next trip. About 11:00 the plane returned again and the rest of us loaded up. We climbed up on the pontoons and into the cabin. There were 8 seats in the forward section of the cabin, 4 on each side of the plane facing the middle. The rear of the plane was used for storage and we entered mid-ships between the last seat and the rear storage compartment. The cockpit had seats for the pilot and co-pilot. We took off for the 45 km flight to Scout Lake. After about 15 minutes the pilot banked sharply and lined up for the descent to Scout Lake. The view from the air was fantastic as we had our first aerial view of the terrain we were headed for.

The landing was so smooth you couldn’t even tell when we were on the water. The pilot cut the engines as he headed towards the small dock and coasted in right alongside the pier with a perfectly parallel arrival only inches from the side. After we unloaded from the plane, he took off and we began bringing the canoes down from the cache and loading our gear into them. This took about 15 minutes or so and finally we were all ready to go. Everyone climbed in and we launched from the pier. It was an absolutely beautiful day out and we headed up the lake towards the NE end. After about 4 km and narrowing down to a small channel only a few yards wide, we came to end and faced our first portage.

 

The First Portage

We exited the water and faced a climb up and over the hill. This side didn’t look too bad and the distance was only about 40 yards but the other side of the hill was extremely rocky. It took us a good 15 minutes to get across the rocks and carefully back into the canoes. This was a good successful introduction for the rest of the trip. Since we started so late, it was also a good time to stop for lunch before heading onward. After lunch we cruised on for another 1 ½ hours or so, up a narrow weedy and lily-thick river and across a beaver dam. Then we hit No Name Lake and headed toward our first campsite, a small island on the NE side of the lake. We setup camp about 3:30 PM – it was a great first day. The boys took off to go fishing, we treated some water, setup the tents, and started dinner.

 

Dinner was chicken fajitas, onions, bell peppers & rice. After dinner some of the boys got fishing rods out. Ron was showing Nick how to cast and he hooked something right away. As he started reeling it in all of a sudden the rod bent way over. Quickly he worked the line in and we saw that there was a Walleye on the hook and a huge 2 ½ foot Northern Pike had bitten into the side of the Walleye! Ron almost had both fish out of the water when the pike let go and then Walleye also go free. Needless to say, everyone was pretty excited and after this we all got the itch to try some fishing. It was only 6:30 and there would be hours of daylight left.

 

Tuesday (7/10/7)

I woke up about midnight and found out that all the warnings about mosquitoes at night were true – they were so thick there was no way to avoid hundreds of them swarming as I hurriedly hiked across to the other side of the island to relieve myself. Ron woke up about 4:30 and watched the sunrise – it was already light at 4:30 but sunrise was about 5:15. I got up about 6:00; the bugs were still thick. I dug out my mosquito head net and discovered that it worked pretty well. We started water for coffee, hot chocolate and oatmeal. Breakfast was instant oatmeal and a chewy granola bar.

After several fits and starts we finally managed to break camp, get loaded, and on the water by 8:45. The Dingo patrol as usual contributed to most of the delays. We headed out from our island camp and the SE side of No Name Lake and crossed the lake to exit the river on the north side. I was front man in our canoe and Ron was in the rear for this leg of the trip. We had a pretty strong north wind blowing all morning against us so it was tough going; we had difficulty keeping the bow into the wind so we lagged far behind the rest of the crew. Finally we made it the 5 km NW up the lake and came to the next portage but the first two canoes were already up and over the hill and out of sight. This portage was really steep climbing out but then it leveled off for a relatively easy stroll through a well-worn path in the forest – probably about 200 meters before we got over to the other side. Bob carried our canoe over this time so I had a light load and brought up the rear.

From here we headed NNW up the river some more until we came to our first set of rapids. Technically they’re called swifts since there’s not really any white water. We had worked our way to the front of the crew and made the first attempt at the rapids. Bob was our helmsman so he took charge but wouldn’t you know we got stuck on a rock. It took a little bit of back-paddling but we came through OK the 2^nd time. After us, the other canoes saw how to get through and they all made it just fine. We pushed on up into David Lake and turned west whereupon we came across a couple of guys in a motorboat. They stopped by and Keith chatted with them for a bit. Said they’d been up here for 4 days. Further down the lake we saw the lodge where they came from. It looks very enticing – a remote fishing lodge that you can only get to by amphibious plane!

About 1:15 we pulled into our campsite for today. It was roughly halfway down David Lake. We discussed pushing on further to the full western end or even all the way through the narrow rivers until we got to Lake Kawaseecheewonk. However, the western-most campsite on David Lake was closed for the season due to bear activity and there were not any other campsites until we got into Kawseecheewonk proper which was at least another 10 km away. So, we had an easy day and made camp early. Got lunch out and set up camp. After lunch the boys all took off fishing, exploring or relaxing.

The camp site was a large flat plateau of mostly flat rock and mosses about 15 feet above the water line and extended for 100+ yards parallel to the water and 25 yards back before the terrain broke up into more forest and brush. It was a great site to spread out the tents. Keith always goes as far as possible away from the crew so he had plenty of distance between us at this spot.

I started water for dinner about 5:30. It took a long time to get the water boiling for chili-mac; everyone was hungry while we were waiting; lesson learned is to start the dinner water much earlier. It was well after 7:00 before dinner was ready. In the meantime a storm was blowing in and threatening to dump on us. Fortunately, we only received a few drops as the bulk of the dark clouds were off to the west and north. The wind still blew quite a bit but we got through cleanup without any further incidents. Of course, there was still plenty of daylight left but after dessert (Snickers bars!) Kevin, Nick, John and Matt turned in to their tent – not to sleep of course. By 8:45 the other boys were in there tents too. Ron commented about how early the boys were heading off to their tents – if we were allowed to have a campfire it might be nice to gather everyone around. However, with a permanent fire ban in this part of Manitoba and the fact that the mosquitoes come out in force by about 9:00, it was probably only to be expected that the boys headed off to there tents. Not sure when they’ll all go to sleep but expect I’ll be out by 9:30 at the latest! Tomorrow we push on to Sasaginnigak Lake, a huge lake and where we are planning a layover day. It looks like it’s going to be a long day – probably 20 km and 3 portages!

 

Wednesday (7/11/7)

Yesterday, I had suggested to Michael, the crew leader, that we leave early today because of the distance we needed to cover. But he talked to Keith and the other boys and they collectively figured that we could leave about the same time as on Tuesday and still make camp by early afternoon. So, we slept in. I got up about 6:30; Ron had already been up for an hour or so. Breakfast was peach juice, hot chocolate and coffee, oatmeal and a chewy granola bar. We filled up the water bottles and packed up our gear but it looked like stormy weather so Keith had us wait until the clouds cleared up before we got on the water. We finally headed out about 8:45 or 9:00.

We headed across to the far west end of David Lake and entered a narrow channel for the next 3 km. Shot through a couple of rapids just fine but we also had to get out and walk the canoe through one set of rapids that was too shallow and rocky.

Then we canoed through another set of rapids before arriving at our first portage of the day – Devil’s Babymaker. That was a telling name for what we were about to encounter.

Winding through the narrow, deep, river channel before the portage was very beautiful with steep hills on either side of us. Keith had pulled all together in the middle of the lake before we got to the portage and warned us about how dangerous this one was. The exit from the river for the portage trail was on the south side of the river but it was right next the next set of rapids and there wasn’t any room to maneuver or correct for any mistakes. Plus, there was only the narrowest of landings to get out in the midst of the steep exit. Consequently, we were to line up single file a hundred yards or so back from the rapids and let one canoe at a time drift into the current, hugging close to the left bank and grabbing hold of a couple of spindly trees or digging fingers into rock crevices to hold the canoe against the shore while it was unloaded. Unfortunately, just about the time Keith in the lead canoe lined up to get out, the skies opened up.

Ron, Bob and I were in the last canoe. One by one the canoes took their turns at the landing to get unloaded and hoisted up on someone’s shoulder. It was several minutes later before it was our turn. As we climbed out, we struggled to hold our footing on the slick rocks in the rapid current leveraging the canoe up onto my shoulders and then tackling the steep, rough climb out of the water and onto the forest trail. Ron took off with the granite pack while Bob had the smaller food pack and stayed near me. I slipped and fell after 10 minutes or so of climbing and Bob took over and carried our canoe the rest of the way over the hill while I took his pack.

Keith, who always carried his own pack, canoe and custom paddle – all in one trip – came dashing back toward us on the trail exclaiming that the boys were all messed up and needed help. It was the first time I had seen a real sense of urgency from Keith and it alerted us to the seriousness of the weather and what was going on. Turns out the two middle canoes did not see the trail that Keith took and they took a wrong turn – getting completely tangled up in the dense, rocky forest. Wet, lost and standing in the rain with 85 lb canoes and packs; disoriented, not knowing where the guide was in front of them and not seeing us yet behind them; they were getting demoralized in a hurry. Keith had come back and found that John had just dropped his canoe and was walking along the trail without anything in his hands at all! We passed the lost boys and got them back on the right trail. After I dropped off the pack I was carrying, I went back to help John and ended up carrying his canoe the rest of the way. I was the last to get over the hill but getting down the other side was also dangerous, particularly with all the rain and slick rocks.

In the meantime, Keith had taken of the canoes and turned it on its side up against two trees, got out the dining fly, and rigged a lean-to to block the wind and rain. Then he had the two stoves pulled out of the kettle pack and started water to boil so we could get some hot chocolate into the boys and head off any potential insipient hypothermia. The rain had slowed to a moderate drizzle but everyone was soaked and it was a little chilly still even though it was about noon. Keith and the rest of us adults kept up a lively banter to be sure that the boys’ spirits were not sagging and we also got out lunch. I made it a point to check individually with several of the boys and have them affirm with me that they were doing well, not too cold, not hurt or exhausted, etc. Mostly, they were just hungry, wet and tired. Lunch was salami, cheese whiz, pita bread, gorp or nut mix, and a fruit bar.

We got everything packed back up and the canoes loaded and the rain blew over – for now – so we headed out again. Just a short distance away, not even 150 yards, was the next portage. And another couple of hundred yards was a third portage! At this last one, we all even managed to convince Nathan to carry his canoe for his first portage!

After getting through all of these portages we were now on a somewhat wider (200 yards), small lake heading NW but the wind and rain kept hammering us all afternoon so progress was miserably slow. We were hugging the north shore of the lake in an attempt to use any type of rocky out jutting or other terrain that might help block or deflect the wind from blowing against us so hard. After a while, Keith turned back his canoe and paddled back to our canoe and told us to mix up the seating arrangements as we were falling too far behind the other canoes. Bob returned to the rear and took over the steering again as neither Ron nor I were as capable in keeping the canoe bow headed straight into the wind.

Some time later we came to another set of rapids which dumped us in the SE end of Lake Kawaseecheewonk. This is a long lake about 7 km, running NW-SE with a huge island in the middle of it and long fingers extending up the northern sides and down the two southern sides. We had entered the lake on the far SE side and needed to go all the way up and exit on the far NE end. All the way up the SE finger we battled the wind. Just before entering the main body of the lake we took a break to brace ourselves for crossing the large open expanse of the main body.

The wind kicked up even more as we moved away from the shelter of the shore and got into the main lake proper. Soon we were in the middle of whitecaps with a stiff wind blowing straight against us. It was over 1 ½ km of wide open water to reach the big island in the middle of the lake. It was brutal.

We finally made it to the island and there we decided to switch up the seating in all of the canoes in hopes of making better time. I got in the back of one canoe with Tim in the middle and John in the front. Kevin and Matt got in with Keith. Michael, Bob and Aaron were in the 3^rd canoe and Ron, Nick and Nathan got in the fourth. We hoped that having an adult in each canoe would be a better distribution. We had to round the large island and then tackle another 2 km stretch across open water before we would reach the NE finger of the lake. Of course, we were at the moment on the south side of the large island and so were sheltered from the still-driving north wind. As soon as we took off and left the shelter of the island we were back battling the elements.

John and I did pretty well; with his power and strength up we were able to make reasonable forward progress. Tim pitched in several times when the whitecaps were particularly nasty and I managed to keep the bow mostly straight into the wind. After a long time of pretty demanding constant paddling we reached the far side of the lake – shortly behind Keith’s canoe. We pulled into a sheltered spot on northern side, just before the entry into the NE finger which would lead to the exit of the lake, and waited for the other two canoes.

Here we waited – and waited some more. Finally, some ½ to 45 minutes later Ron’s canoe finally succeeded in crossing and met up with us. They had got caught cross-wise in the rough water and wind and really had a hard time of it. Ron said later that at one point there were turned around backwards and the wind was blowing them back south down the lake. We switched around the seating again. We were about ½ way to camp and it was already almost 4:00 – another 9 km to go.

We continued up the NE lake finger to the exit but still had to deal with the wind against us. Plus, it kept raining off an on. Each time it would start raining, we’d brace ourselves for the stinging cold needles.

About one km up the finger we came to another portage. This was a long one, ¼ mile at least. I hauled up the canoe and took off but fell to my knees trying to scramble up a rock face. Ron & Tim helped me get the canoe back up and fortunately I was able to make the rest of the portage without incident. I dropped it in the water on the other side and we continued the long, slow progress down the river against the wind.

Three km further and we were at the last set of rapids for the day. These were too rough to ride through but the water looked deep enough that we decided we could get out and walk the canoes through them. It was mostly thigh- to knee-deep but of course there were terribly treacherous footings. We managed to get through with the canoe safely but Tim lost his footing and fell down in the water. Once we got through these rapids we only had about 3 ½ km more to go to reach our campsite which was on the very far SE entrance, just barely inside the huge Sassaginnigak Lake.

As we rounded the last winding corner of the river leading into the lake, we could see our campsite in the distance – it was occupied. A group of scouts from Hope, AK were gathered at the water’s edge chatting with Keith. (Our canoe was the trailing the crew and they had apparently been there talking for 15 minutes or so.) They did not have a guide with them and were apparently very seasoned; they had their own canoes and camp gear, etc.

We pushed on around the corner into the big portion of the lake proper. Fortunately, there was another campsite nearby and we didn’t have much farther to go before we pulled in on the south shore of the lake. 8:00 PM! Whew! Cold and wet, all of the boys hurried to get their tents set up and don some dry clothes. Keith started dinner – rice basically – and I set up the dining fly as a wind break around the kitchen area. The wind was blowing something fierce straight across the lake and right into our campsite. Dinner was uneventful but very late. Of course, all the boys ate heartily. I stayed up well after dark with my headlamp and mosquito net on recording the day’s events in this journal. We had covered about 20 km today and had been on the water in bad weather all day long for 11 long hours!

 

Thursday (7/12/7)

Today was a layover day. Everybody slept in. I finally got up about 7:00 and I was the first one one up! Decided to try out the dutch oven cooking and got out the blueberry muffin mix. The dutch oven is unique for working in an area where you can only use fuel stoves. It’s two heavy-duty aluminum outer pans that seal together with an inner liner pan. The idea is too put water in the bottom and then set the liner pan in with your batter and then lock on the top pan face down. The steam from the water circulates around the inside, around and over the liner pan and does a reasonable job of baking.

The blueberry mix was enough for two liner pans so I got to try the oven out twice. About the time first batch was done – a little doughy in the middle and it had taken a good 40 minutes to cook – Keith came out and told me I had the oven upside down. We turned it over and I saw how the pans locked together much better and the second batch cooked considerably faster because I wasn’t losing so much steam outside the cooking envelope. We also had orange juice, granola and chewy bars. After cleanup from breakfast it was close to 11:00!

Eight of us decided to head out to the middle island on the lake where there was an old fire lookout tower. Kevin, Nick and Nathan decided to stay in camp with Keith. The rest of us packed up lunch, water, first aid kit, etc. and took off. After storming all last night, today was a beautiful day. We made great time and crossed the 5 clicks to the island in short order. As we rounded the point to where the tower was marked on the maps, we saw that there were also two buildings along the shore of the cove where we were headed. The first was a cottage with two bunk rooms, a kitchen and dining area, a wood stove, propane refrigerator, and a well-stocked pantry! Turns out it some sort of community fishing lodge that folks from the area can use. It was quite neat and could serve as a refuge from a storm I’m sure. I noted that some of the markings on one of the doors dated back to 1961! The other building was a boat storage shed. The doors were locked.

The boys started looking around for a trail to the tower which was just behind the lodge up on the hill; but the terrain was very rough and thickly covered with bushes and trees so no obvious approach or path was visible. As they were searching John noticed a ripe raspberry on the bush at his feet. As soon as we saw it, we realized there were raspberry bushes all over! We grabbed some zip-locks from the pantry in the lodge and Ron & I started picking berries. They were pretty sparse but we managed to get a good 1 ½ cups. We also found tons of blueberries but they were not ripe except for an occasional one.

Took a break for lunch and Bob and Tim and some of the other boys went to find a path or break through the brush to the fire tower. They finally got there but fortunately for the adults the ladder was broken so the boys couldn’t go climbing up the 100’ abandoned tower. Somewhere up on the hillside they found another big patch of raspberries and when they came down they had another couple of handfuls and bags. Altogether we had about 1/3 of a quart zip-lock baggie of fresh, wild raspberries! I planned to make some sort of cobbler out of them when we got back.

We headed back across the lake towards the south shore and stopped a couple more times along the shoreline looking for more berries. We only found one more patch at the top of a hill but it had not fruit. Got back to camp about 2:45 or 3:00. The boys who had stayed behind tried fishing but didn’t catch anything. Kevin & I walked around looking for berries on the perimeter of our campsite but couldn’t find any there either.

About 4:00 – 4:30 I started on dinner. Nick and I took the leftover rice dish from last night and made them into cakes for pan frying. We mixed up some cornmeal and spices and Nick made the patties while I fried them. The boys loved them! Of course, pretty much anything fried would taste great at this point. Anyway, they were a big hit as the appetizer and made good use of the leftovers. We then fixed egg noodles and chicken alfredo with broccoli. Freeze-dried broccoli leaves something to be desired but the dish was pretty tasty overall with bacon bits in it also.

While the main dish was being served Nick and I mixed up the dessert. Turns out there wasn’t any white cake mix or something that would do for a cobbler so we settled on chocolate - raspberry cake. From lunch we had something called Bay Bread, a hard, thick and chewy bar that packs a whopping 3,000 calories! I took half of one of those and had Nick crumble it into the batter. We greased the pans and then spooned a big glob of jelly onto the bottom of the pan before pouring in the batter, which had all of the fresh mixed raspberries. I locked down the lid on the dutch oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. I also put a heavy rock on top of the stove to help keep the steam from escaping.

The cake turned out great and we started the 2^nd pan. It was a hit all around and everyone thought it absolutely delicious. The secret extra ingredients (jelly and Bay Bread) added a boost to the flavor and texture for a wonderful special dessert mid-way through our trek.

After cleanup, Michael and I talked about the plans for tomorrow. We are going to try to get an earlier start and go for a no-cook breakfast.

Kevin also wanted to talk – about crew assignments. He really wants to ride with Keith again but apparently so do John and Matt. We talked a bit and he finally called Michael over to discuss the situation. After a few minutes, Michael suggested that Nick and Nathan go with Keith as they were not as strong at canoeing as the rest of the crew. We felt that Keith may also be able to give them some pointers and help them get better. Kevin would ride with Ron and Bob and he felt good about that because he wants to canoe with an adult. Michael said he felt comfortable with Aaron so that just left John, Tim, and Matt besides me. He decided that John & Matt would go with me as they seemed to be good pals, while Tim would go with Michael. I thought the plan sounded great but suggested that Michael wait until the morning to announce the change-up in the assignments.

We have about 15 km to go tomorrow and will be heading all the way back up through Kawaseecheewonk Lake on our way to Chicken Lake. Sure hope the weather holds up for us.

 

Friday (7/13/7)

It started raining at 4:30. Still going steady at 6:00 when we started to get up. I gathered together the dry breakfast – granola, fruit bar, and chewy granola bar – and made fruit punch while the boys were getting up. We broke camp in the rain and were away before 8:00.

It was overcast all morning and started raining again at our first portage – the rocks we had walked through on the way down river. This time we had to portage around but it was pretty short. Matt carried our canoe – his first canoe portage of the trip. Retracing our path we shortly hit upon the second, really long ¼ mile portage which put us back into Kawaseecheewonk Lake. From here we had a good 7 km to cross the lake, passing the big island and in the open water twice. The wind was pretty stout but not as tough as Wednesday.

We went back down the SE finger of the lake but at the far south end of the finger we took we took the southern most right side exit to head toward Chicken Lake rather than the exit a little farther to the east which would take us back the way we had come earlier in the week. Pretty soon we came to the end of Kawaseecheewonk and cruised through a narrow marsh channel that wound us into a small, narrow lake about ¼ mile wide and maybe a mile long. As we were crossing this lake, Keith spotted a bald eagle in the treetops. We all floated, coasted and maneuvered about until everyone was able to see the majestic bird.

We went through two additional weedy, narrow, grassy channels, crossing each time into another small lake. We saw a couple of fisherman in small boats / skiffs on each of these two small lakes.

As we neared the end of the 3^rd small lake, it started raining again. We had only one last portage before us and we’d be in Chicken Lake and the camp was very close to the portage exit on the other side. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the portage entrance at the end of this lake. Instead we turned left (east) and navigated through another narrow reed channel for another ½ km or so that put us into a 4^th small lake, really more like a large pond. We crossed over this body still looking for the portage – all of the edges of the lake were thick with tall reeds and marsh so it was slow going looking for the entrance. Suddenly, it started raining much harder; sheets of hard, cold, driving rain. Keith got out of his canoe to wade through the marsh and see where the portage was and we all just sat huddled in the canoes getting drenched. He didn’t find it.

Of course, when we looked at the map it was obvious we’d taken a wrong turn. We had been pushing to make it to camp before we stopped for lunch and it was well past 1:00 now. There was nothing else we could do but turn around and backtrack. A few minutes later we came back through the narrow, reedy channel into the larger lake and finally we saw the portage – just where it was marked on the map! Actually there were two places marked on the map to get across here but Keith assured us we wanted the one on the left. The other one was called Billy Goat.

The entrance was in a muddy, reedy bog just barely wide enough for a single canoe; which was why we had such a hard time seeing it. The only thing visible was a few yards of marsh and then a dense forest that went straight up. Keith was first us usual. Before he got out he warned us that this was a tough one. My canoe would be the last to go. Since we could only get one canoe at a time out and it took a few minutes for each to one to get unloaded by the time we started to get out the others were out of sight already.

We were standing on a very small stretch of soggy, squishy ground of beaten down reeds and marsh and mud as we unloaded the packs. I got the canoe up with John’s help and took off ahead of John and Matt who would come behind me with the packs. The first several yards I was wading through ankle deep mud and muck so was going pretty slow and careful; but I could see where the beginning of the forest started ahead of me and the ground looked to be firmer up ahead. Just before I got to the end of the mucky area, I had a large step up onto dry land.

I suddenly sank up to my knee with the next step. I called for John and Matt to come hold up the canoe weight while I tried to get free. With a huge sucking sound I wrenched my foot free and got started again. For the next ¼ mile I huffed and puffed up the steep path and down the other side, several times having to walk through more mud and muck that at times came up to my calves. Michael and Ron were ahead of me with Michael’s canoe having much difficulty as well. Finally, we got to the end. This was by far the toughest portage yet. I couldn’t imagine how hard the alternative Billy Goat portage must be.

The camp was just across the lake about ½ km. We unloaded the canoes and setup the tents just in time to avoid another rain shower. Then we had lunch – it was almost 3:00. Needless to say, the boys were ravenous.

After lunch we had several more showers and the boys went fishing or just goofed off. I tried to fish also and wonder of wonders – I caught a Northern Pike, about 1 ½ foot long. I had just pulled him out of the water when he thrashed free, landed on the rocks at my feet, and started sliding back toward the water. I made a grab for it but it escaped and instead I banged my knee up. Oh well.

Dinner was fixed by Nick, John and Matt – spaghetti and meatballs. Kevin and I went fishing together at one end of the peninsula for a while. We didn’t catch anything.

We canoed about 20 km today and were on the water for 7 hours.

 

Saturday (7/14/7)

After the hard slog yesterday we had planned another layover day at Chicken Lake where the fishing was supposed to be great. So of course everyone slept in. Ron was up early but came back to the tent. I finally crawled out about 8:30. No one else was up at all! Keith was probably awake because he showed up right after I got up. We went down to the shore and fished for a while. I got a good bite from a huge pike; it looked to be at least ½ foot across the back as it came to the surface but it escaped. A few minutes later Kevin showed up. He picked up a rod and on the first or second cast as he threw it out, a giant something lunged at the lure just as it hit the water! It bent the pole way over so Kevin handed it to Keith who worked it closer for a few seconds but the fish broke the line and got away.

About 10:00 everyone was finally up. I got coffee started and Keith started fixing banana muffins. As we started to get out the supplies from the kettle pack, we discovered that the oil container had been left open. At least a liter of oil had been spilled and we only had a cup or so left. Well, even if we get fish, there won’t be any fish fry now.

Most of the day was goof off. I fished most of the day off and on. Kevin and I went out in a canoe and fished for an hour or so. Lots of close calls but no catches.

Dinner was egg noodles and chicken alfredo. John and Matt fixed dinner. Dessert was cheesecake – an instant pudding, no-cook style. I showed John how to make the graham cracker crust and whisk up the pudding mix. After he set it up in the pan he set it aside for a few minutes to get setup. In the meantime Nick was going to start KP. Wouldn’t you know, John went to move the cheesecake and dumped it on the ground. They managed to save about ½ of it.

 

Sunday (7/15/7)

Today is our last full day on the water. We were to head back to Scout Lake today – via Heartbreak portage. Ron and I were up by 6:00 and Ron got water and coffee going. We had camp broke by 7:45 and the canoes loaded up. After a short church service (prayer) we headed out. It was a beautiful morning with a glass-smooth lake surface that reflected the trees from the shoreline.

1 ½ km up Chicken Lake we came to the first of dozens of beaver dams and marshy, rocky, narrow channels that extended for over a km. We had reached the entrance to Beaver Damnation.

Mostly we just tried to muscle through them although there were many times we had to get out and walk the canoe through the obstacles. The weeds and marsh were higher than our heads so it was pretty weird winding our way through for as long as it was. At the very end we came to a huge beaver dam about 5 feet tall that we had to heft the canoe over and into a narrow small lake.

The next 1 ½ km were through small lakes with frequent portages. At the end of that stretch we went into another weedy, winding channel for about ½ km that eventually dropped us into a little larger lake. Through that lake and two more portages and small lakes and we finally stopped for lunch. It was time to get fortified for Heartbreak. We each had a piece of Bay Bread, pepperoni sticks, gorp and trail mix, etc. for a total of about 3,500 calories. We also filled up all the water bottles.

We finished lunch in 25 minutes and headed back out for another portage and another ¼ km more of narrow, reedy, winding channels. Two more lakes and another portage and were at the entrance to Heartbreak. It was about 1:00 and we already paddled about 7 km and made 6 small portages.

 

Heartbreak Portage

The plan was to take the first ½ km as a regular portage, carrying the canoes and packs normally. The 2^nd ½ km was going to be muddy and we were going to leave the packs behind and drag the canoes through the mud first and then go back and get the packs. We got loaded up and I picked up the canoe. Michael was behind me ready to spell me. The terrain was relatively good and level and I trucked on at a steady pace. Some ways in we came upon John who needed some help so I headed past him and Michael gave John a break and carried his canoe the rest of the first ½ km stretch. We got to the end of the dry ground and although this was by far the longest portage of the trip, either we were getting better at this stuff or the level terrain really made a difference, because I made it all the way in a single stretch without too much huffing and puffing.

Next up was the muddy portion of the trail, another ½ km to go. How difficult could it be?

Words cannot do justice for describing the mess we waded into. A muddy bog with thickly forested trees and brush, the trail was obvious – a wide, muddy swath beaten down by hundreds of Northern Tier crews. There were lots of broken branches and exposed roots and downed logs. The first few yards seemed OK. It was hard pushing the canoe through the muck but with three of us (Michael, Aaron, and me) we were making do. But then the fun started.

The muck was deceiving and all of a sudden we’re calf deep in the stuff. At times there were patches that could you sink you up to your knees or higher. We learned to wrap one arm around a tree trunk and lean out into the muck with only one foot lightly placed on the mud for balance, and then pull the canoe along. It was slow, back-breaking work. Don’t even mention the mosquitoes – which were thick of course in the best possible climate for them – standing mud and muck and a thick, dense jungle. We were too busy pushing, pulling, and grinding away to worry about the bugs.

Several times we sunk into muddy holes over 3 feet deep. I had to get Aaron to pull me out on one occasion because I couldn’t grab a hold any nearby tree to lever myself up. With a huge, sucking, squishy sound, we pulled our feet free from these traps and trudged on.

This went on for long time.

Finally, we saw Keith coming back toward us and he informed us that we were about ¾ of the way through and didn’t have much further to go. We got to the end and gratefully tanked up on water before heading back for the packs and to see how the others were doing. So far Keith, Ron, Bob, Michael, Nathan, Tim, Nick and me had got 3 of the canoes through the muck. We still needed to get Kevin, John and Matt’s canoe pulled through plus all of the gear brought forward.

Back into the muck I went, ½ km back to the packs. I was falling behind and picking my way carefully – or so I thought – when all of a sudden I stepped up to my thigh in muck with my right leg. There was no getting loose. I tried and tried to no avail. After a couple of minutes I heard Nathan and Tim on the other side of the trail. I hollered at them to come over and pull me out. They wrapped their arms around my thigh and heave-hoed and finally I was able to work my leg free. Good grief – this was tortuous. I began to think that even Indiana Jones wouldn’t have survived this treacherous trail.

We got back to the packs and loaded them up and took off again through the muck – 3^rd time now. Ron and Bob were carrying the last two granite packs while Michael picked out a path for them and I followed behind Ron in case someone took a wrong step and went in too deep in the muck with the 100lb pack on their back. Twice Ron got sucked in and I helped pull him free.

Finally we got back through to the water and started loading the canoes for the trip across Scout Lake to our camp site. At the water’s edge it was still ridiculously muddy and Nick was up to his chest in the muck on one side of a fallen log. The log stretched across a patch of mud that was easily 15 or 20 feet in each direction. We decided to avoid that side and carefully walked out on the log like a balance beam act to load the packs in the canoes one at a time.

We managed to get Kevin, John and Matt loaded and launched – Keith having as always already loaded and headed out across the lake. As we started to load up Bob & Ron’s canoe, Ron stepped into the mud on the other side of the log. In a flash he was up to his chest in the muck!

Well, this was a Kodak moment if there ever was one. I snapped a picture of Ron before Bob and I managed to pull him out.

Michael, Aaron and I were last to load our gear and get launched. It was 4:00 – 3 full hours later we had made it through Heartbreak portage!

Another ½ hour of canoeing and we pulled up to the pier where we had launched last Monday. Some of the boys were swimming (jungle boots and all) to try to wash some of the mud off. After we unloaded the canoes we submerged them all to give them a thorough cleaning from all the mud and muck. I stripped off my shirt, put back on my PFD, and headed for the water. As I got to the edge of the dock I turned around and called for Kevin to give me a hand. As he reached out I grabbed his arm and fell backwards into the water, pulling him in with me. We laughed and enjoyed the cold water and helped swamp and then pull up the canoes back onto the dock. Most everybody took a refreshing swim, boots and PFDs on of course. After that we setup camp and Tim and John fixed dinner.

Dinner was macaroni and tuna fish. John also mixed up the bisquick and made drop biscuits in the dutch oven. Plus, he tried his hand at another cheesecake for dessert. The biscuits were delicious, especially with some of the leftover blackberry jam from lunch! By 8:00 most of the KP was done and the boys were busy cleaning up and packing up all of the crew gear and personal gear, separating it for when we got back to base camp. We were to be ready to go by 8:00 in the morning since there’s no telling when the plane would arrive.

 

Monday (7/16/7)

Reveille was just after 6:00 and the boys did a great job getting their tents down and packed up. We were done with breakfast and had all of the gear ready and at the dock by 7:45 – now just had to wait for the plane to arrive. While we were waiting we watched three loons out in the lake. Beautiful birds but what a funny take-off – like a lumbering C-5 that needs several hundred yards to get airborne. We also got a game of Hearts going to kill time while waiting for the plane to show up.

About 9:45 a Cessna flew over to see if we were here. He circled and landed and took 3 of the crew with him. A few minutes later the Otter arrived and the rest of us loaded up for the return flight. Once again, it was a great experience. We landed at the lake in Bissett and made the last portage of the trip – hauling the packs back up to base camp.

From there we had check-in and clean-up for the gear – washed out all the tents and set them up to dry, washed and scrubbed all the packs, PFDs, food boxes, etc. After clean-up the boys had a much appreciated shower. About noon we had a fresh lunch of sandwiches at the picnic table. The boys also made several trips into town to spend money on soda pop and candy bars.

About 1:00 a group from State College, PA arrived, 21 of them! We had fun exchanging stories and socializing with them. That afternoon two teenage girls from town showed up and of course attracted the boys – they went into town to play basketball after dinner and then the girls hung around throughout the evening. Turns out there are only 9 children in the town school and 3 of those are in pre-school. These two girls were sisters and the oldest of the six school-age children in town. Talk about a small place!

I sat in the sauna for over an hour and sweated out all of the week’s accumulated bug bites and sores – it was great. Kevin joined me for a while and I enjoyed a really good talk with him about ambitions, goal-setting, what a great example Keith was for the boys, etc. Turned in about 10:30.

 

Tuesday (7/17/7)

Reveille at 6:00. Got the boys up and packed and in our Class A’s for travel. Breakfast was at 7:00 with Keith and a last farewell and exchange of e-mails. He has promised to send some pics of the bald eagle, etc. that he caught on his digital camera. We all climbed aboard the bus and headed off to Winnipeg and the return home.

The trip home was long as we encountered some weather delays. In fact it was almost midnight when we finally landed at DFW and were on our way to the remote parking lot to get the cars. From there we still had to drive back to Round Rock. Much, much later early in the wee hours of Wednesday morning we pulled off the interstate and I dropped the boys off who were riding with me at their respective homes. Kevin and I finally pulled into our driveway about 5:00AM!

What a trip! All in all, a fantastic experience and something that these guys will remember for the rest of their lives!